I’ve made the point many times that the quality function and the lean/continuous improvement/kaizen function within an enterprise are really one and the same. Treating them as separate value streams with their own documentation, procedures, and goals is wasteful, short-sighted, and disrespectful of employees and customers alike. Why? Because all that duplication impedes the ability to create flow and add value, which are what employees and customers are most interested in, anyway.

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