Andy Brody

On a smaller scale, I’m in your same position only with QS 9000.  I get very little cooperation except for a few people and I can’t lean on them for everything.  The problem is management.  The company owner/manager almost to be President Hates QS 9000 because of the time and resources required and the fact that there has been no financial pa…[Read more]

I work at a 150 year old paint company (the oldest in the south).  A company can’t stay in business like that without listening to the VOC.   We are a custom coatings developer with no “off the shelf” items.  All of our products are geared to the OEM manufacturer.  Because they feed into some facet of the automotive market their voice to us is “me…[Read more]

BRAVO!  Study after study has proven that regular positive daily recognition goes along way.  A sense of loyalty can be fostered by a management that goes out of its way to make their employees feel a part of a team (and if management is good enough, a sense of family can be fostered).  People may be attracted to a job by money, initially.  But…[Read more]

I realize that this doesn’t all fit the theme, but when I saw you mention “Happy Valley” I was wondering if some of the people in this string are located at my beloved alma mater – Penn State (1972).

Thanks, that was helpful and put some things into perspective. We do indeed have fewer than 100 defects/year – actually close to 10-20. This is due basically to our being a mature industry (coatings) there isn’t alot of new technology that would offer cost effective improvements based on the way operate. We’ve been in business for 149 years and…[Read more]

BRAVO! This is something that has been sticking in my craw (whatever that is). If my company wanted to implement six sigma, the cost would be prohibitive versus our revenues, and the payback would be minimal. However, a continuous improvement team may uncover an opportunity perfect for six sigma. We would have to use traditional methods, but…[Read more]

In the paint industry there is very little statistical opportunities for improvement (processwise). At least in our company. We are 149 years old, a custom manufacturer of coatings for OEM manufacturers. We have several thousand formulas and it is rare that we make the same formula once in a month, so a statistically valid study is not really…[Read more]

It would seem appropriate to me that the “Large Company” mindset of many of the quality initiatives especially six sigma must come up with new perspectives, definitions, processes and operative parameters that will still allow them to be considered fully six sigma.

Case in point. My company is a small OEM coatings manufacturer that is QS 9000;…[Read more]