This month we had a theme: Shingo — How does it avoid “improvement fatigue.” Seven people (all ASQ Raleigh members) participated in the discussion.

The discussion started with the term QMS. Are we talking about Quality Management Software or Quality Management Systems? They aren’t the same. A tool to assist compliance vs. a system or framework to advance quality?

Who is Shingo? What is the Shingo Model?

Most of us are familiar with TQM, JIT, SMED, Gemba, etc. in Continuous Improvement (CI) but may not know how much Shingo contributed to the knowledge and practice. It’s time to learn more about the concepts/tools and some history of quality by reading a few books by Shingo!

The discussion went around the core elements of the Shingo Model — results, tools, systems, and finally guiding principles and culture. How are these elements connected and what are the most critical?

A common challenge in CI is that it’s often reactive, not built in the structure and operations of the organization. We all heard Deming saying “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” Obviously, creating systems that support the people using the CI tools is management’s responsibility.

The Shingo Model could be a solution to building a sustained CI culture. But why are so few organizations embracing it? We wished that we had more time to discuss how leadership, value, purpose, scientific thinking, and organizational alignment come into play. To be continued…

The next SIG meeting at Frontier RTP will be on Thursday, April 10.