Many may not know that a rather interesting story unfolded between the U.S. Air Force and parachute manufacturers during the middle of World War II.
At the time, parachutes were not perfect. Even after manufacturers made continuous improvements, achieving a 99.9% yield rate, the U.S. Air Force still refused, demanding a 100% pass rate for all delivered parachutes. The parachute manufacturer's general manager then went to the flight squadron to discuss the matter, hoping to lower the standard, even just to gain that 0.1% tolerance. The manufacturer believed that achieving this level was already close to perfect and there was no need for further changes. Of course, the U.S. Air Force flatly refused, as quality was not compromised.
Later, the military changed the quality inspection method. They randomly selected one parachute from the manufacturer's deliveries of the previous week and had the manufacturer's representative equip it and personally jump from the fuselage of an aircraft in flight. After implementing this method, the defect rate immediately dropped to zero.
As Konosuke Matsushita famously said, "For a product, it's either 100% or 0%. Any product with even the slightest quality problem is a failure." Some might think that finding a single hair in one out of 100,000 bags of food is nothing to be alarmed about. But for us, it's one in 100,000; for the consumer who finds a hair, it's 100%. Every year there are 20,000 cases of medication errors; 15,000 babies are switched at birth; 500 surgeries are performed incorrectly every week; 2,000 letters are misdelivered every hour. Seeing these statistics, we certainly all hope that everyone in the world can achieve 100% in their work. Because we are producers, and we are also consumers, aren't we?
Therefore, quality issues, like moral issues, are the highest principle that cannot be compromised, the bottom line that must be upheld.
1. So how can we achieve 100%?
Perhaps after thousands or even tens of thousands of hours of practice, someone might develop an instinctive reaction, ensuring that every step is completed through muscle memory, without conscious thought or error due to distraction. But how many people are like that?
Undoubtedly, perhaps only one in 100 people is such a person. So, how do we turn 1 into 100?
It's actually not difficult. We simply need to record one person's experience and operational methods in written form, and then have everyone else strictly follow these steps.
This ensures that what the individual knows, the organization knows—transforming individual experience (wealth) into everyone's wealth. In enterprise production management, this approach and behavior is collectively known as standardization.
2. The Purpose of Standardization
In our daily work, the daily task is to produce products of uniform quality and meeting specifications within a specified cost and timeframe. If production line operations, such as the order of processes, are arbitrarily changed, or if work methods and conditions vary from person to person, it will be impossible to produce qualified products. Therefore, it is essential to regulate and consistently enforce work processes, methods, and conditions—this is standardization. So, in addition to the technology sharing mentioned above, it also improves production efficiency and prevents errors from recurring.
When standardization is implemented in every work procedure, it ensures that even if different people perform the same task, there won't be significant differences in efficiency and quality.
Standardization also prevents new employees from repeating past mistakes by taking valuable experience such as problem-solving methods and operational techniques with them when they leave. Even with instruction during handover, it's difficult to fully retain everything from memory. Without standardization, different mentors will produce different apprentices, leading to inconsistent work results.
3. Chinese-style Standardization
Nie Shengzhe once said, "I admire the German national character of meticulousness to the point of rigidity. I believe this inflexible, mechanical attitude is actually a valuable quality, ensuring the faithful execution of systems, stable product quality, and repeatable experimental data."
I agree with and respect this quality; however, every nation has its own characteristics. Haier's CEO, Mr. Zhang Ruimin, once gave a vivid example: If you ask a Japanese person to wipe a table six times a day, they will do so without fail, consistently wiping it six times every day. However, if you ask a Chinese person to do the same, they might wipe it six times on the first day, six times on the second day, but by the third day, they might wipe it five, four, three times, and eventually give up. The characteristics of Chinese and foreigners are not entirely the same. Therefore, in our company, we must develop corresponding methods and measures based on different environments and the characteristics of different people, implementing what is known as "Chinese-style standardized management."
Chinese people have their own distinct personalities, and individuality and standardization are a contradictory combination. Individuality is a driving force for standardization improvement; the two are interdependent and complementary. As long as this balance is maintained, the "Chinese-style standardized management" model can inevitably be achieved.
4. Problems in the Standardization Process
Some might say that standardization is just adding a few forms, putting on a show, and going through the motions. Actually, that's not the case. When you treat the form as a standard, follow the standard, and keep records, the standard will naturally form. Filling out forms just for the sake of filling them out feels like a formality, not a formality on the form's part, but a formality on the person's part. The root of the problem lies within yourself.
Some people complain: "Standard operating instructions are written in such detail and complexity; production is too busy, we simply don't have time to implement them." Therefore, to avoid operating instructions being out of touch with reality and unenforceable, we've decided to incorporate suggestions from implementers into the writing and improvement of the instructions. As the saying goes, "Sharpening the axe saves the work," standardization improves efficiency, reduces labor intensity, and operators benefit. Implementing standardization aims to change the situation where everyone is too busy and must operate according to the operating instructions.
Some veteran employees feel, "My experience is all written down, so I'm not that important anymore; the company can lay me off at any time." This thought is understandable, but it won't happen because improvements in business will inevitably lead to improved efficiency, and the company's development will create better career prospects for every employee. As employees, we must realize that only when the company develops will we benefit and have a better future.
5. The Necessity of Standardized Implementation
Waste is the most direct consequence of implementing standardization.
What is waste? In production, it specifically refers to all human activities that consume resources without creating value:
1) Errors requiring correction;
2) Producing products that are not in demand;
3) Inventory and stockpiling resulting from this;
4) Unnecessary processes;
5) Blind movement and handling of employees or goods;
6) Delayed delivery from the previous process, forcing those in the next process to wait;
7) Goods and services failing to meet customer needs.
Any of these problems can disrupt the entire production line, creating a vicious cycle.
For example, unnecessary processes lead to lower production efficiency, reduced output, and inability to fulfill orders on time. Then, blindly accelerating production to meet orders leads to product quality issues, customer complaints, and decreased morale, ultimately resulting in staff instability and unmanageable teams—a vicious cycle that repeats itself.
Therefore, in the production process, we must strictly implement standardized production and management, ensuring that every step meets the requirements. These standards should not merely remain on paper but must be put into practice; otherwise, it's just empty talk and meaningless.
Lean Thinking
When we can truly implement standardized production and management, it means we have laid a perfect foundation for lean production, which will be our next goal after thoroughly implementing standardized production.
Striving for excellence and endlessly pursuing perfection is the core of lean thinking. It requires us to operate according to standardized processes while considering how to achieve the best possible result. When you can perfect a certain task, you must step back, take a higher perspective, and look at the entire production process to find and identify problems, and then improve them.
Therefore, the promotion and implementation of standardization is currently of paramount importance to enterprises. When you can perform the producer's tasks from the consumer's perspective, you may have already succeeded.
If we must define standardization, it must be the guardian of enterprise production and the most powerful guarantee of product quality!
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Luohe Industrial Electronic Shielding Bag Manufacturer
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