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Last week we talked about a few common myths regarding Quality Control (see “5 Myths About Quality Control”), but one myth we did not cover was the one about Quality Assurance being the same thing. It’s not uncommon to hear them used interchangeably, and in a closed-loop environment of a large facility, it might not make a difference if everyone agrees to what the definitions are in their environment. But if you ever plan to use outside resources in any way, or want to make sure you are on the same page with suppliers and customers, it might be a good idea to understand the differences and apply them accordingly.

While there is generally NOT any disagreement about the need for quality control, there are definitely different levels of appreciation for it and commitment to it. No manufacturer would want to admit to not having a quality control process, and we assume that it would be rare to find any that don’t. However, there are a lot of myths about the topic which permeate perhaps because they work as an excuse for not doing things to the level the business should be – or is capable of. Change is hard, but the myths make it harder.  Here are five of them we dispel here today.

What kind of facility looks like a factory but isn’t? Or looks like a warehouse, but looks far more industrial than a typical facility with racks principally designed for storage? The “Added-Value Warehouse” is something of a hybrid. It is a facility that does some additional work on a product before it ships out rather than just storing, picking, packing and shipping previously finished products.

Staffing, employee retention, and productivity are hot topics during an economy with a low unemployment rate of 3.7%. In August we shared the benefits of Big Ass Fans, and in July we shared how to reduce employee turnover and improve productivity.

Last month, we published Part I of this article, where we talked about making that transition from “freewheeling inventor” to “process-driven listener”. Basically, it is about being more systematic in how you collect the data and insights that lead to more relevance in your new products. This is hardest for the business which was started from a single brilliant idea that succeeded, because it is not uncommon for the small manufacturer to not really understand WHY their initial product succeeded. Play-Doh, the ubiquitous colorful molding clay of everyone’s youth, was originally created in the 1930’s as a wallpaper cleaner. Success is great, but if you started out intending to be an innovator in the cleaning products business but all of your customers are under five years old, where do you go next?

Over the years you’ve seen a lot of material coming from us about using “Lean” Manufacturing and using Lean techniques in other areas like distribution and logistics. As a manufacturer ourselves, we have always strived to take our own advice, but like many of you, we also learned in the process that while the reward is great, the work to get there can be HARD.

If you’re like many small manufacturers, you started your business in one of the following ways:

1. You saw a gap and had an inspired idea that you turned into a successful product
2. You worked for another manufacturer and saw a better opportunity to become their supplier.
3. You cashed out of your first career success to fund your dream startup.

And if you are a 2^nd or 3^rd generation business owner, then your family likely started one of those ways too, and they did well enough to make it successful for over a full generation.

Regardless of how you started and what you started with, everyone has the same problem:

(Or, we just wanted  to use the word “Big Ass” in a serious business article.)

While we’ve seen the topic of staff retention in warehouses and manufacturing plants  come up more frequently than ever, most of the discussion until now has been focused on compensation and skill training. While there are legitimate needs to address stagnant pay, lack of career paths and insufficient training, in many cases retention is much more about creating a great work environment.

In our annual customer satisfaction survey, “Space” and “People” continued their five-year run as the top two issues that keep facility managers up at night. But what specifically is it about these issues that weigh so heavily on the minds of every type of customer we have – big, small, high-tech, simple, etc. An annual survey by FLEXE, a warehouse services group that runs a marketplace of over 800 warehouses provides some insights into the specific aspects of space management that are a concern for so many customers.

Receiving in a manufacturing environment is an overlooked process area that can be the start of numerous bottlenecks, accuracy errors and wasted motion. A few simple tools that have transformed receiving in the logistics world can be leveraged in a manufacturing environment to radically change the outcomes and improve your metrics in this critical process area while achieving a positive ROI in less than 12 months.