“The last turn tightens the bolt. The rest is just movement.” ~ Shigeo Shingo.
One of the first innovators of the Lean movement from the Toyota Production System made this observation. In the Western world, we may be more familiar with the expression as ‘God is in the details’. It takes a profound dedication to the task to ensure that every bolt has been given that last turn despite the obstacles that can arise to confound that goal.
The customer, be it internal or external, isn’t interested in those obstacles. They just want to know without any doubt, that all the bolts are tight. Is it impossible to have an absolute 100% error-free organization? No, but there is a reality that nothing is perfect and mistakes happen. So that leaves two alternatives – Minimize the errors, and mitigate the consequences. The goal is three errors per one million opportunities. If you’re doing the math, that’s 99.999997%. That’s Six Sigma. at first blush, it seems unattainable. Especially in light of what many people deem acceptable – 99.73% error-free. That is until you realize that even operating at a this Three Sigma level can result in completely unacceptable conditions. Consider the following Three Sigma operating standard:
- Virtually no modern computer would function.
- 10,800,000 healthcare claims would be mishandled each year.
- 18,900 US Savings bonds would be lost every month.
- 54,000 cheques would be lost each night by a single large bank.
- 4,050 invoices would be sent out incorrectly each month by a modest-sized telecommunications company.
- 540,000 erroneous call details would be recorded each day from a regional telecommunications company.
- 270,000,000 (270 million) erroneous credit card transactions would be recorded each year in the United States.
Sometimes it takes a little reality to throw the light on what really is acceptable and what isn’t.
