Improvement Insights Blog
Start with Safety and Housekeeping
How do you start a quality transformation? Maybe it’s in safety and housekeeping.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I was telling you about John (the executive from the lumber company), and when he was in Japan they noticed something interesting: Everything was spotless. Even the corners and the production line were spotless. It led him to this idea that a place to start with quality is with safety and housekeeping because it tells the employees that you care about them. It’s not a bottom line thing, it’s about them, right?
“And so he mentioned this a couple of times, that if you were trying to start a transformation, start with safety and housekeeping. You know, make everything spotless. Maybe that’ll tell people things that you want them to know about how much you care about them, and then they’ll get involved in Quality to start working on other things.
“So let’s create a hassle-free planet, hassle-free healthcare. Let’s go out and improve something this week.”
