31st International Conference of the

KukonAskel
TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
www.tocpractice.com 9 March, 2017 Helsinki, Finland

Why quality work sucks?

And how this waste can be
analyzed and eliminated
with TOC

Rami Saajoranta, Leo Lauramaa, Finland

9 March, 2017
 Presenters
Rami Saajoranta
M.Sc.(eng.), Jonah, TOCICO Certified TPP, LSS GB, has more than
15 years experience of different development positions. Long
career as Quality Manager and the last years in strategy
development in Gasum Oy (Nordic Gas company) have
motivated to dig deeper into the conflict in the presentations
title. Rami has especially concentrated on utilization of Thinking
Processes both in strategy and development work.

Leo Lauramaa
M.Sc.(econ.), Kukonaskel Oy, is experienced management and
operations development consultant. He has more than 35
years experience on international trade, supply chain
management, strategy work and participative change
management. Leo is representing the Finnish translations of
TOC developer Eli Goldratts books and he is utilizing constantly
TOC Thinking Processes and other TOC-related methods in his
consultancy engagements.

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 The initial audience

Half day workshop on Theory of Constraints

Presentation was pre audited by the members of Finnish TOC
community
Audience: 10 Finnish development professionals from well known
organizations only two had some knowledge of TOC before
An example of the feedback received: The best presentation in the whole
conference
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 Different views
Management
Quality / development people
Employees
ISO9001 Standard
Internal auditor
External auditor

Road to hell is paved with good intensions 4

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 How is quality work seen in
our current reality?
Quality work brings very seldom real verifiable and measurable added
value for business and its development

Business units/areas reject quality work coming from outside and is

not supporting it actively

The management is perceiving quality system as paralyzing the

organization and does not grant the required high level support

The efforts of the quality organization are focused on tinkering with

secondary things from business viewpoint

The instructions are not serving the needs of the organization

Usually quality system is standard-oriented

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 Evaporating cloud / Conflict
resolution diagram

B. Avoid non- D. Management is

productive over- weakly committed to
resourcing internal quality work

A. Ensure that
company
succeeds now
and in the future
D. Management is
C. Ensure smooth
strongly committed to
operations
internal quality work

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 Quality work is not
effective

In the worst case management is

playing an act with quality work an
emperor with no clothes

Management needs to
pretend that they take The management is perceiving quality system
Business units/areas the requirements of
reject quality work coming as paralyzing the organization and does not
standard seriously grant the required high level support
from outside and are not
supporting it actively Quality work brings very seldom real
verifiable and measurable added value
for business and its development

Quality people may

(unintentionally) sub-optimize
their work as they are not able
to see the big picture The efforts of the quality organization
are focused on tinkering with
secondary things from business
viewpoint
The external
auditor acts as a
Usually management
judge keeping
is not willing to set
the certificate on
real business goals
the wall
as quality targets

The instructions are

not serving the needs
The requirements of ISO of the organization
standard are giving
peculiar impression of the
reality from management Quality system is
and value creation points Instructions are usually few steps
of view visible sign of behind from current
quality system reality and is not
Usually quality system is supporting the
standard-oriented development

ISO Standard
outlines quality Quality manager seldom has
work Quality work and corresponding comprehensive real-time business
know-how is focused on viewpoint
conventional operative work on Quality manager is seldom
Quality involved when important business
grass roots / shop floor
organization is changes are being prepared
working isolated
from the business
8
Management is weakly committed to
on its own corner
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internal quality work
 9
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 TOC thinking, quality and
competitiveness

Couldnt the kind of quality work, which is really

building the competitiveness, be the special
expertise of the quality/development organization?
Then this expertize could be spread wider into
the organization.
Focused quality assurance
Also to not to take actions which are not
contributing to the bottom line

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 What kind of future do we
want?
Quality work brings very seldom real verifiable
Quality work brings substantial visible added
and measurable added value for business and
value for business and its development
its development

Business units/areas reject quality work coming The business units / areas utilize quality work to
from outside and is not supporting it actively reach their own business goals

The management is perceiving quality system

The management is supporting quality work by
as paralyzing the organization and does not
giving its own strong contribution
grant the required high level support

The efforts of the quality organization are The organization in all levels is utilizing the
focused on tinkering with secondary things from focused toolset, applications and know-how of
business viewpoint the quality organization

The instructions are not serving the needs of the Each employee finds the needed instructions
organization effortlessly in different work roles

The requirements of different standards are

Usually quality system is standard-oriented
followed in most practical, simple way

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 Evaporating cloud / Conflict
resolution diagram

B. Avoid non- D. Management is

productive over- weakly committed to
resourcing internal quality work We will shift
from standard
A. Ensure that based quality
company
work to
succeeds now
and in the future Strategic
Quality Work
D. Management is (SQW)
C. Ensure smooth
strongly committed to
operations
internal quality work

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 What kind of elements
the SQW could contain?
We must rethink the content, targets and organizing of the
Money making quality, flow
Quality/effective methods belong to everybody
The formal quality system is authorized to stay in secondary role
We have to be able to identify and justify the gained
competitiveness and benefits (strategy process) of the quality /
different tools & approaches
We have to create a culture where one is allowed and also required to
question the prevailing restricting paradigms. A culture where new
breakthrough solutions are welcomed, if they increase
competitiveness.
Compare with Peter Drucker in 2001: it is not your job to tell your
business leaders what to do! we do not agree

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 What kind of elements
are not in the core of SQW?

ISO standards?
EFQM?
Aiming at Balanced line
Malcolm Baldridge?

Can these be the dominant continuous improvement

frameworks for ever improving organizations?

maybe not?

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 SQW roadmap

Strategy and holistic system view

Focus and priorities

Application toolkit
(TOC applications, DDMRP, TLS, LSS)
not only operations management view!

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 The solution

We will shift from standard based quality work

to Strategic Quality Work (SQW)

Management becomes aware of importance of high quality

work and actively supports only internal activities to gain
knowledge.
Higher internal knowledge will lead to higher throughput and
especially a steeper learning curve of the organization.
Requirements of quality standards will be fully achieved with
benefits for the whole organization.

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 Is this an utopia?

Such companies do exist and they are very profitable.

(comment provided also by Fredrik Nordstrm on May 2016)

According to experienced though seasoned quality work

seniors these companies represent some 10-15% of all
companies
which is depressingly small number

The new ISO9001:2015 is established to demand approach

which is close to what we have presented

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 Quality work is effective quality shotgun
has been converted into sniper rifle

The management is supporting

quality work by giving its own
strong contribution Quality work is not causing
waste

Quality work brings substantial visible added value

for business and its development
The requirements of different
standards are followed in most
practical, simple way

Audits bring more added

value than just the
certificate stays on the
wall
Audits are based on the
goals and strategy of the
company
Internal and external
audits are focused based
on the existing business
needs
The business units / areas
utilize quality work to reach their
own business goals
The organization in all levels is
utilizing the focused toolset,
applications and know-how of the
quality organization
Quality measurements help
The requirements of
people to understand what
standard are fulfilled
is expected from them
regardless where they
have been documented Each employee finds the needed
(vs. comprehensive Quality instructions effortlessly in
management system) different work roles
Quality measurements support
the achievement of business When preparing the instructions
goals the different work roles and
The requirements of respective instruction
standard and the practices requirements are considered
of company have been
linked

Quality work and corresponding know- We have switched from Quality manager ensures 1. Only critical and
Quality work is based on the how are based on the goals and that management system relatively stable
the measurement of
comprehensive up-to-date system view strategy of the company meets the external matters are included
resource efficiency to
flow efficiency (TIC TOC) requirements of quality in the instructions
standard 2. DSUI-practice
(Destruction Sessions
for Unnecessary
Quality organization has a
The know-how of quality tools is Instructions)
consultative role on
constantly developed based on 3. Those who are
applying effective quality
potential gains (i.e. TOC, TLS, using the instructions
tools (i.e. TOC, TLS, We have shifted from standard based quality
DDMRP) are engaged to
DDMRP) work to Strategic Quality Work (SQW) prepare them

Quality work has been integrated to business SQW empowerment is ensured by It is allowed and required to
development (no separate quality management and organizational challenge dominant paradigms that
management system development) resourcing (i.e. COO) are constraining development
19
The management
st and line organization are internalizing ever
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better the added value potential of the quality work
 The Choice, chapter 18

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 Discussion about the solution and
the implementation

The next steps of the thinking processes

NBR, PRT, implementation plan
Solving the flying pigs
What was good, what should be developed further,
what other elements we might need?
Where could we start?

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 Thanks!

Rami Saajoranta and

Leo Lauramaa

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