Question

The Japanese say that “a defect is a treasure.” What way do they mean, and how does this relate to lean?

Answer 1

The Japanese say that defect is a treasure because if you want to make your process defect free then you have to search defects like a treasure to fix and eliminate it from your process and it will help you in identifying and overcome from unwanted results from the system. It is very important for the organizations to deal with all aspects of quality which could help them in getting excellent results by reducing the possibilities of defect to highest possible extent. And by following above philosophy, they can deal with the factors like quality, design, inventory and delivery which are required for defect free process. This process is related with lean because it will help in eliminating wastage or different types of activities which are not adding value to the process. The lean process is about to produce better products or delivers better services using less resource. It is like doing more with less resource and also in improved way. Lean process for organizations includes improving quality and customer satisfaction, creating more value for the customers, eliminating waste, reducing lead time and reducing costs. Therefore ultimately it is related to a defect free process where a defect is a treasure.