The Red Bead Experiment

1. The Red Bead Experiment • Dr. W Edwards Deming

2. White Bead Production Corporation JOB POSTINGS • 1 Industrial Engineer/C.I. Coordinator. Train workers, enforce procedures, report compliance to management • 4 Willing Workers. Must be willing to put forth best efforts. continuation of job is dependent on performance. Educational requirements minimal. Experience in pouring beads is not necessary. • 2 Inspectors. Must be able to distinguish red from white, able to count to 25. Experience not necessary. • 1 Inspector General. Same qualifications as Inspectors and have a loud voice. • 1 Analyst. Must write legibly, good in basic math be sharp POSITION FILLED

3. White Bead Production Corporation Procedure WBD-HT81-C: White Bead Generation. • Required Tools: Paddle, for retrieval of beads. • Required Materials: Container with beads.

4. White Bead Production Corporation Process Steps • Ensure paddle holes are empty of all beads. • Grasp the paddle by the handle. Ensure that the holes are orientated facing upwards. • Slide the paddle down into the beads until paddle is covered with beads. Pick up paddle to 4 inches above the bead level. • Tilt paddle at a 47 degree angle to release excess beads. • Withdraw paddle, ensuring that one bead is in each hole. • Present to Quality Control for count of beads produced. • Empty paddle back into bead container.

5. White Bead Production Corporation Do it Right the First Time!

6. White Bead Production Corporation Take Pride in Your Work!

7. White Bead Production Corporation Procedure Compliance Is Mandatory.

8. White Bead Production Corporation The Goal is 0

9. White Bead Production Corporation The Goal is 1

10. System of Profound Knowledge

11. Knowledge of Psychology • Rewarding or punishing the Willing Workers had no effect on the outcome. Extrinsic motivation is not effective. • People are not always the dominant source of variability. • Slogans, Exhortations and Posters Are At Best Useless To The Willing Worker. • People want to do a good job

12. Knowledge of Variation • Numerical goals and production standards can be meaningless. The number of red beads produced is determined by the process, not by the standard. • We can use statistics to create a quality control chart and look for problem areas and to predict future performance. • A faulty item is not a signal of "special" causes. A process can be stable, in-control and be producing 100 percent defective items. "Defects" are defined by specification, not by process.

13. Knowledge of Variation

14. Knowledge of Variation • Mean- Also called the average, a measurement of a center point in a data set. • Standard Deviation – A measurement of variation. Specifically a measure of how a set of data values fluctuate around the mean. • Upper/lower control limits – The highest/lowest value that can be expected to occur for a particular data set. 99.7300% of all results will fall between the upper and lower control limits. 3X Standard Deviation ± Mean

15. Knowledge of Variation

16. Knowledge of Variation Excel Formulas • MEAN Formula: =AVERAGE($B$2:$G$5) • 3X Standard Deviation Formula: =3*STDEV($B$2:$G$5) • UCL Formula: =$mean $cell+$3x std $dev cell • LCL Formula: =$mean $cell-$3x std $dev cell

17. Knowledge of a System • It’s the system, not the workers alone that determine results • Rigid and precise procedures are not sufficient to produce the desired quality.

18. Knowledge of a System

19. Theory of Knowledge • If you want to improve performance, you must work on the system. • Quality is made at the top. Quality is an outcome of the system. Top management owns the system. • Keeping the place open with only the "best" workers was acting on "superstitious" knowledge • Management was "tampering" with the system by rewarding and punishing the Willing Workers. • Management never looked in the box/Gemba

20. Management is Prediction

21. Lessons Learned Thoughts from a Willing Worker named Ann. A Willing Worker named Ann, after the experiment on the Red Beads came to a close, expressed to Dr. Deming some provocative thoughts. She wrote her thoughts down in the following letter: “When I was a Willing Worker on the Red Beads, I learned more than statistical theory. I knew that the system would not allow me to meet the goal, but I still felt that I could. I wished to. I tried so hard. I felt responsibility: others depended on me. My logic and emotions conflicted, and I was frustrated. Logic said there was no way to succeed. Emotion said that I could by trying. After it was over, I thought about my own work situation. How often are people in a situation that they can not govern, but wish to do their best? And people do their best. And after a while, what happens to their drive, their care, and their desire?”

22. Dr. W. Edwards Deming: 1900 - 1993 The Deming System of Profound Knowledge Appreciation of a system Knowledge of variation Theory of knowledge: Knowledge of psychology • Once the individual understands the system of profound knowledge, he will apply its principles in every kind of relationship with other people. He will have a basis for judgment of his own decisions and for transformation of the organizations that he belongs to. The individual, once transformed, will: • Set an example • Be a good listener, but will not compromise • Continually teach other people • Help people to pull away from their current practices and beliefs and move into the new philosophy without a feeling of guilt about the past."

23. Funnel Experiment

24. Funnel Experiment Team Roles Ball dropper – Places ball in funnel Calibration Technician – Puts blue dot on drop location, measures distance from target in mm, reports results to analyst Quality Analyst – Enters drop distance into spreadsheet Targeting Specialist – Ensures funnel is located directly over target