An article on ezine talks about a Six Sigma team whose Champion was not satisfied with the customers’ feedback. And so, the Master Black Belt introduces the concept of mistake-proofing.
Mistake-Proofing is a technique where we use wisdom and ingenuity to create devices that allow us to do our job 100% defect free every time. You see, in the transactional and manufacturing worlds, we make mistakes because there are a lot of opportunities for defects. We know that 100% inspection will not catch all these errors, which leads us to believe that not much can be done. But, we should not accept these errors as inevitable. Experience has shown that with brainstorming and careful analysis of causes, any type of error can be reduced considerably, if not eliminated altogether. Mistake-Proofing focuses on removing some of these opportunities by replacing repetitive or error-prone tasks with tasks that can only be done the right way.
I like the idea that a Six Sigma team does not stop with the tools they have to reduce, if not eliminate, defects. The team finds more ways to reach a zero-defect status, and found it in this quality sigma mistake-proofing.
