That is pretty funny, since that issue is right below the surface of this entire discussion.
Like many of you, I do a good deal of research before I make purchases, and the data (manufacturing tolerances, failures, recalls, etc.) reflect that the highest quality of production-line items consistently emerges from the mainland of Japan and certain segments of western Europe. North American products (U.S. and Canada) are a second tier, followed closely by South Korea. China mass produces with low production costs as well as low quality (akin to post-war Japanese production up until the 70's). This is a bit frustrating because North American technical capabilities are very high and should transfer and reflect better in mass production quality.
Very true, but unfortunately, management most of the time has decided to put the shareholders first, production second, and quality somewhere in the middle. This has been the trend for almost 15 years in many US industries. It comes down to the bottom line, no more, no less, and as long as we continue to reward management with high bonuses, and forget about the workers performing the job, it will continue as he is ultimately responsible for his work, no one else. Furthermore, if he speaks up on the line about quality, it may be addressed once or twice, but he will soon be noticed as a trouble maker in a non union plant that is, and he will soon loose his job. In a union plant, the poor quality typically continues as it´s hard to remove someone for not performing their job.
Quality is everyone's job, not one person, it is reflected as a whole, it is a mindset of a company.
If you take a look at this example, you soon see how many people within the company had a chance to correct this issue. Sure it started with the welder, as in proper fit ups, rod selection, proper welding procedures and adherence. Then you had a quality inspector, where he accepted this work, then it continues down the assembly line, where more welding continued by another welder, he saw this, but yet he continued, or else he mentioned it to his peers, but it went on uncorrected, then you have the painters, who I am sure saw this work, then I figured there was a final QC hold on the whole unit which would consist of and overall visual inspection, and perhaps a functional test of the tractor, and yet we have what we have here. So to me, its more than jsut one person, its a company issue and why it was not addressed when it was observed by who knows how many people.
See quality is a mindset and it should be fundamental in any craft, it needs to be in the forefront and beyond anything else. And as Americans become more conscious on how their money is spent, many will look elsewhere if this poor craftsmanship continues (US autos for instance). It is also very, very hard to win them back once they have seen the light.
Only a fool remains loyal to a company in this day and age, for he will miss out on much of what others have to offer, and in many ways that loyalty is one sided, as in the bottom line!
