Part 2 — Preventing a $1,000 Orange

by John Gross

Last month I wrote about how effectively managing defects can prevent a customer issue from blowing up and becoming a “$1000 orange”. This month let’s discuss how to prevent the issue!

Since the other oranges looked great and considering the bad orange’s basket location, the person packing the basket probably saw that the $1000 orange was bad or going bad and packed it anyway. Our $1000 orange could have been avoided with simple, visual standard work. Visual standard work that told the packer what defects to look for and how to handle them.

Additional protection against a $1000 orange: quality minded leadership and trained supervisors that view preventing defects as a key element of growth and profitability and who focus on finding and eliminating them.

Creating visual standard work may sound complicated. It’s not! In the digital age, creating a 1-page (not 20 page) document with pictures showing the best way to complete a process is not rocket science.

How do you start--by writing down the high level steps needed to complete the process and taking supporting pictures. Next, review the steps for opportunities to simplify the process, then create the document. The key: keep it simple and visual.
The final step is getting everyone trained and following the process. This is where leadership comes into play—making sure everyone knows this is how the process will be done and creating checks to make sure everyone follows the standard work.
$1000 oranges can be prevented! Properly documented processes and a quality mindset are key.

John Gross is an EOS Implementer who helps businesses achieve Vision, Traction, and Healthy. You can contact John at John@DrivingChangeInc.com or call 636.667.0579.