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The quality of the output is therefore dependent on the quality of the process and the inputs which it transforms. This is why we must focus our attention on our internal systems and structures, and on the systems and structures of our suppliers and subcontractors. This is where the improvements are to be made.
Picking the Right Tools
To understand quality and plan for it, we need a "wide angle view" -- one that stretches from our suppliers and subcontractors, into every aspect of our own company's internal operations. Nine times out of ten, (if not more) this requires teamwork. Teams are the key ingredient in quality improvement, simply because no single person can ever get their head around all of the issues. So, the first step is to assemble a team. The second step is to charge the team with achieving a very specific, very well defined objective. Once the team is assembled and they know what they have to do, they can use the following tools to better understand and plan for the work ahead.
To understand the steps in an existing process, or plan the steps to be taken in a new process or plan, you can use the Top-down Flowchart.
To understand both the steps in a process, and the decisions that must be made in that process, you can use a Decision Chart.
Sometimes, the work of quality improvement requires that we develop theories about the factors effecting a given outcome. When this is the case, you can use the Ishikawa Diagram, also known as a Fishbone Diagram.
Other times, we need to understand how the process is operating in spatial terms - we need to know how the work actually moves through a physical space. For this task you can use a Flow Diagram.
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