Bridging the Gap: Uniting Quality Control and Production with KAIZEN?

In manufacturing, the divide between Quality Control (QC) and Production often disrupts smooth operations, creating inefficiencies and tension.?

This "cold war" emerges from differing priorities: Production is focused on meeting delivery deadlines and maximising throughput, while QC is tasked with ensuring that every product meets stringent standards.??

When departments work in isolation, conflicts arise, mistakes are frequent, and delivery times lag, creating inefficiencies that drag down Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).?

We have seen that KAIZEN? fosters collaboration between QC and Production by emphasising transparency, shared goals, and structured problem-solving. Here’s a breakdown of how it works and the specific tools we use to achieve alignment.?

Understanding the Root of the Conflict?

Identifying key drivers of QC-Production tension is the first step toward resolving it with KAIZEN?:?

1. Conflicting KPIs: Production often measures success by quantity and speed, while QC emphasises quality and defect reduction.?
2. Communication Breakdown: Siloed information flow can lead to misunderstandings, where Production blames QC for being overly stringent, and QC blames Production for cutting corners.?
3. Reactive Culture: Many manufacturers tend to operate reactively, addressing issues only when they arise rather than preventing them.?

These elements create a climate ripe for conflict. Instead of allowing tensions to persist, applying KAIZEN? principles and tools can replace friction with a proactive, collaborative approach.?

KAIZEN? Principles to Bridge the Gap?

Solutions that are grounded with KAIZEN? principles set the foundation for QC and Production to work together effectively:?

1. Know Your Customer:

Focusing on end-customer expectations, QC and Production teams can blend quality and efficiency across stages, building a culture of autonomous quality. KAIZEN? principles encourage Production to treat the next operation as their "customer," promoting quality at each step. In a project with a client, persistent misunderstandings between QC and Production led to blame-shifting?

“QC’s criteria is not clear and just rejects us to justify their work”,? said the Production Team?

“The production team is wasting our time by producing defects”,? said the QC team? ?

Hinging on this, our KAIZENTM Consultants gathered the team together and dissected the customer requirements together, ensuring a complete alignment between two parties. It was later found out that there were cases of MISINTERPRETATION where QC did not actually reject the parts, but merely giving a remark. Through the revamped alignment and gathering together, the QC and Operations team have made efforts to close their gaps and have had a significantly improved working relationship? ?

2. Let it Flow

Regularly updating Value Stream Maps (VSM) across QC and Production ensures smoother workflows, reduces bottlenecks, and minimizes redundant handoffs, ensuring smoother transitions from one stage to the next.? ? In a recent project, a VSM uncovered that there were multiple QC inspections that were rather duplicative and hence causing delay to production due to a double-checking process. By adjusting the workflow and implementing "in-process" quality checks at earlier stages, we identified a potential of cycle time reduction by 30%.?

3. Go to Gemba

When QC and Production teams dedicates time to observe each other's processes firsthand, it enables both sides to be a new set of a pair of eyes to positively challenge each other to explore better alternative ways. On top of that, the rapport established fosters empathy, reduce friction, and encourage more collaborative practical solutions.? ?

4. Empower People

KAIZEN? encourages cross-functional collaboration by defining each team’s contribution clearly. By empowering cross-functional collaboration, KAIZEN? reduces adversarial mindsets and redirects efforts toward shared goals.? ? One facility reduced QC-Production disagreements by ~50% simply by implementing a visual “stoplight” system, where green, yellow, and red markers on the production work order to indicate quality check outcomes – eliminating the need for production to check and interpret QC’s assessment. ? ?

5. Be Transparent & Scientific

Data-driven tools and methods in KAIZEN? help both QC and Production address root issues constructively. This transparent, evidence-based approach enables teams to resolve problems without placing blame, promoting continuous, collaborative improvement.? ? One of our clients implemented a joint weekly defect review between QC and Production to review to ensure all defects are documented and investigated. By applying PDCA to a specific issue—defective parts slipping through due to rushed production— in the cross-departmental meetings, root causes and solutions that worked for both teams are established. This led to a streamlined process that improved defect detection while maintaining production speed.? ?

The Results: Moving from Conflict to Collaboration?

Collaborative QC-Production efforts can deliver transformative results:?

• Improved KPI alignment translates to more effective continuous improvement projects.?

• Higher throughput and fewer defects due to collaborative problem-solving and shared accountability.?

• Improved morale and communication, as both departments see themselves as partners rather than adversaries.?

In today’s manufacturing world, silos between QC and Production are no longer sustainable. By implementing KAIZEN? principles and tools, manufacturers can bridge the gap, building a culture where quality and productivity go hand in hand.?

Break down silos and create seamless collaboration between Quality Control and Production with KAIZEN?. Discover how Kaizen Institute Singapore helps manufacturers eliminate inefficiencies, reduce defects, and improve workflow alignment for higher productivity and better quality.?

Schedule a call with Kaizen Institute Singapore today and start building a unified, high-performance production environment!??

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