Non conformances can lead to great continuous improvements

Pretty much everyone I meet doesn't like receiving a non-conformance from their own business.

I don't either, I like to think that I am competent at what I do.

However, once the sting of the 'NCR' abates the opportunity appears...

Many businesses suffer from their staff addressing the problem directly infront of them and leaving it there.

The symptom is taken care of, by the root cause doesn't get explored.

If you can persist with your thinking about why the symptom appeared in the first place you can quickly arrive at a very logical and powerful destination, at the root cause. At the root your changes are more effective and prevent a wide range of other problems arising in the future.

At the symptom level you find yourself running around in circles, moving from one (mini) crisis to another.

At the root cause level, you are in control.

If your teams are paying lip service to handling the non-conformance reports generated in your business it might be time to guide them to some better thinking.

Giles

Giles Johnston
Author of Business Process Re-Engineering and creator of the 'Making It Happen' continuous improvement strategies online course.

P.S. If you want to learn some effective root cause analysis and continuous improvement strategies, check out Making It Happen programme. The first month is free, and you can find out more information here.

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