How Ridgway Transformed Quality Management and Boosted Production by 60%

Defect detection is only a portion of quality management; others include developing systems that empower staff, improve communication, and guarantee that every step of the manufacturing process is in line. That's what Ridgway Manufacturing found when they reassessed their quality approach.

An attempt to enhance inspection procedures turned into a complete overhaul of the company's operations, data keeping, and interactions with its employees. The result was remarkable: a 60% increase in output volume.

Here's how they did it.

Engaging Employees in Quality Control

One of Ridgway's breakthroughs was in employee engagement. In many plants, quality control is like a management task responsibility that is measured from the top down. Ridgway flipped that view.

Quality control was a collective effort by ensuring that employees actively participated in inspections and were provided with the tools to quantify their own contribution. Workers weren't just "checking boxes" since they could see how their role influenced quality outcomes. That change of thinking caused the engagement to become measurable and established a culture of accountability on the floor.

It went beyond merely compliance. Employees began taking responsibility for identifying problems, offering suggestions, and improving situations. Aside from promoting inspection accuracy, this fostered a culture where frontline staff members felt invested in the broader goals of quality and safety. In actuality, this resulted in fewer surprises, increased accountability, and positive shop floor morale.

Building Quality Into Every Step

Instead of treating quality as a barricade at the end of the production process, Ridgway built quality checks into every stage of the process:

• Receiving raw materials: Ensuring good quality before they are sent to production.

• At the production stage: Tracking of consistency and identifying problems in time.

• In storage: Safeguarding of goods made and maintaining standards until ready to ship.

This stratified solution formed a safety net. All stages served as a checkpoint and a learning experience. The team was able to trace sources of problems and prevent their spread, and use the experience in the next production run.

Breaking Down Communication Barriers

Another major change was the removal of communication bottlenecks. Most quality issues in operations get stuck in silos; employees see the issue, but information isn't moving quickly enough to be useful.

Ridgway addressed this problem by creating more transparent reporting lines and responding to issues decisively. The elimination of bottlenecks enables managers to get high-quality data much faster and address issues before they become an expensive failure.

An accelerated feedback loop was the result. Teams didn't have to waste time waiting for judgements since problems were cleared up before they got out of hand. This communication also decreased the frustration of employees and improved their teamwork as well.

Improved Problem-Solving With Data

Finally, Ridgway addressed persistent issues by using statistics and the Pareto principle. Rather than reacting to every defect, the team focused on identifying the majority of root causes that were responsible for most of the issues.

Apart from increasing efficiency, this method allowed the leadership to more effectively allocate resources. Teams focused on problems where they had the greatest impact rather than trying to distribute them over dozens of smaller difficulties.

Having a better overview of data trends, they would be able to prioritize resources and address issues at the core, as well as avoid recurrent issues.

The Results: 60% Production Increase

How did the production volume go up over 60 percent? Improved problem-solving, better communication, regular quality checks, and employee participation.

For Ridgway, efficiency is more important than speed. They have created capacity without compromising standards through incorporating quality into their culture and processes. But the figures are only half the story. The 60% increase led to fewer defects, less downtime, and less rework, along with being able to move more products off the shelf.

By integrating quality into the culture and procedures, Ridgway created capabilities they were unaware were achievable. Because there were fewer errors and delays, teams were more confident, the workflow was more efficient, and customer satisfaction rose. Simply put, improved quality allowed for expansion rather than just protecting standards.

Lessons for Other Manufacturers

The Ridgway case study has some compelling lessons for manufacturers seeking to enhance their quality management:

• Make quality a collective effort and not dictate management.

• Employ inspection at each production phase.

• Eliminate communication silos to ensure that information moves fast.

• Make data drive the issues that are of the highest priority.

The reward is obvious: improved quality, more involved employees, and a scaling production system.

What are you doing to incorporate quality into your processes? Do you continue to consider inspections an end-of-line activity, or have you embedded them throughout the process as Ridgway has done?