Organizations need a systematic approach for risk containment when quality, delivery, and design product and service issues occur. Such a system should also help them to recover quickly from errant decisions made by executives, operations personnel, and the quality department.

This article describes how well-chosen metrics can help mitigate these risks if the measurements contain good tracking and reporting methods that lead to the most appropriate action. Many of these ideas are covered in my books, Integrated Enterprise Excellence Volume II—Business Deployment: A Leaders’ Guide for Going Beyond Lean Six Sigma and the Balanced Scorecard, and Integrated Enterprise Excellence Volume III—Improvement Project Execution: A Management and Black Belt Guide for Going Beyond Lean Six Sigma and the Balanced Scorecard (both Citius Publishing Inc., 2008).

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