As Purse-strings Tighten

Managers are often crawling idiots that have to be ignored to keep death rates down and as testing actually helps reduce death rates I don't intend to reduce testing in any way.

Testing adds no value to a process?

The Managers a moron.

If you don't test how do you develop optimum standards? Qualify processes? Hire employees? Keep your product in spec?

Etcetera Etcetera ...

Excuse me I'm just going to pull this number out of my ____! That is not a long term strategy.

I will put more efficiency into my tests but testing and quality are inter related.

Brad

NO NO NO NO NO!

INSPECTING adds nothing... you can't inspect quality into something.
You can test it to see if it works, you can't inspect it to see if it works.

You build in the quality, you test it and, ok if the test results are good enough you can reduce the test procedure, but always at your peril.

The day you think you've solved all the quality problems, is the day a batch of bad springs arrives untested on the factory foor.

MANAGERS add no value.

Del

Make "lemonade".

Make the testing a known and valued piece of the "product". Provide certified results. Put the testing process description into your advertising. Make documented tests a product option.

Improve the process of investigating test failures and publicizing test results within the company organization. An organization with a positive culture will thrive on this; a negative culture won't.

OK, I realize that these ideas won't fit every product or market segment. But if it fits remember the winners in the current recession will be the ones who stay on the positive side.

Ed Weldon

Lousy semantics input = lousy replies output received.

Testing is vague and implies quality control inspection. Quality assurance requires instruments and systems to assure the process functions as designed, assuring process is in control. Poka Yokes and Process validation expenditures will increase this year in our industry, as any "spills" in quality will literally be "the straw that breaks our camel's back" regarding economic sustainability.

I disagree that managers add no value; to me the false economies demanded by bean counters and corporate finance types in the short term is what fails to add value.

I managed a steel plant during a corporate bankruptcy of a huge multi plant operation. The plant I ran made money even on starvation rules I had to live with. Was only profitable plant in the company during the reorg. We had a mandatory monthly meeting for managers who didn't make their goals; I NEVER had to attend that meeting.

That plant sold out of bankruptcy for 7X the cash received for the assets of another plant that had three time s the capacity. It was management coaching the staff that made the difference. It was management assuring the crew had the tools and materials they needed that made a difference. The ceo said so, the staff said so, the buyer said so, and of course, the customers said so with their continued orders.

The bankruptcy was triggered by the flippin accountants running the place.

milo

Good management will be able to determine if the testing that is taking place is adding value or not. Good managers will accept the data as accurate after careful examination. Good managers will admit their mistakes at their own peril if so confronted.

I love a good manager - and I loathe a bad one. The opening sentence in this article could have been written by the latter.

A GA for you Milo

Bit differrent take on the subject of testing but still relevant I'd guess.

The accountants at a company I worked for decided, in their bean begotten wisdom (no referrance to anybody ) by subtraction, to de-lump the testing and calibration division into separate entities. It was then decided that the calibration division had excessive employees (there was only the one..me) and I was ceremoniously relieved of employment (lots of tears and well wishings before the door slammed).

Two severe lawsuits later the outfit shut its doors and I was in business for myself...working 25 hrs/day @ 10 cents an hour....with most of the machinery and tooling from aforementioned company bought at rock bottom prices ( I mailed the calculator to the accountant as a gesture of goodwill).

If I didn't test what I repair..........I'd be on welfare.

If it wasn't so heartbreaking, I'd say great story, But I know its true and the Bean counters have no idea they inflicted it on themselves. Probably just blamed the customers. "Bad luck" and all that.

Very sad.

However, that 10 cents an hour figure explains to me why all the Canadian Geese are down here in Ohio instead of up there where they belong. Down here they get a quarter an hour and its in US funds.

milo

Y'know....I'd be the first to say it was heartbreaking but those bozos brought it on themselves. Contrast that against those who depended on the accuracy of the instruments with downtime and lost contracts as a result....I'd say fate played it's own hand.

And yes....their defense was to blame the customers up until the point where an expert witness was subpoenae'd. Besides, those guys had no business being in that business anyway. Prior to that they filed income tax returns and got lucky on the markets.

Thankyou. We've trained our Geese rather well we have. The next crop of Golf Course and lounge chair geese should be arriving your way this spring.

Toronto now traps the buggers and trucks 'em down to Florida. The geese usually make it back before the trucks.