Re: System vs Individual

["Dr. W. J. Latzko" <Latzko@att.net>]

David Flatman in reference to the contribution of workers and system 
to a problem asked, "Can anyone give me the proper quotation and 
confirm or refute its rhetorical nature." Hereis a partial answer:

It has been noted that originally Juran said or implied that 80% of 
the problem came from 20% of the causes. This has been attributed to 
Juran's Parato Analysis concept. Originally Deming said that 90% of 
the problem was caused by the system and only 10% by the people. My 
measurement at the Irving Trust where I was quality officer and had 
access to the data showed that 6% were people caused. I think that Ed 
Deming may have used this figure. He used the 94-6 split for a long 
time although in the last few years of his four day lectures he said 
that people contributed less than 6% of the problem. (See "Four Days 
with Dr. Deming" by Daivid Saunders and myself, p.96)

A lot depends on the definition of causing a problem. I counted 
mistakes made by trained operators in posting the wrong amount as a 
people problem. However, I did not consider the environment. 
Uncomfortable conditions can distract a worker and thus result in an 
error. Is this a problem caused by the worker? Our experience on 
moving an operation from a crowded space to an open space designed 
for the task, cut the error rate in half.

Problems are always associated with a worker even if the ultimate 
cause is the system. It is a matter of operational definition. For 
that reason, I believe Deming said that less than 6% of the problems 
are attributable to the worker. My experience indicates such a 
statement to be correct. In fact, I wonder if, in a strict sense, any 
problem can be attributed to a worker.

Bill Latzko
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Dr. W. J. Latzko
Tel: +1 201 868 5338
Latzko@att.net
www.latzko-associates.com
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> Can anyone enlighten me?  I recall Deming saying something like 95% 
> of performance is due to the system and 5% due to the individual.
> David Flatman