As we all know, at MSA we continually emphasize the importance of quality in our work and all of our systems and processes. Our mission includes the goal of the highest quality parts.
Why is MSA so concerned with the requirement of quality? What does this mean to all of us? There are many reasons, not all of which will be discussed in this article. If you have a reason that is not discussed, share it with us.
At the very least, our quality is important because it is required and expected by our customers. If we manufacture parts that are not of the customers’ expected and required quality performance, then our customers will reject the parts, and MSA cannot make a sale. Repeated quality failures will have a severe negative impact on the continued success of MSA, and that impacts all of us negatively.
Beyond our own self-interest there exists another very important reason for MSA to always work for the highest possible quality standards for our processes. We need to make the best parts possible for our customers, whoever they may be. Our parts are typically used for the most critical applications in the aerospace industry. If our parts fail, then the failure can lead to catastrophic effects with the engines and other applications for which these parts are used.
It is very important that we all remind ourselves of the importance our parts have in the aerospace industry. Whether our parts are used in the commercial or military aerospace industries, let us always build the highest quality parts that will always exceed our customers expectations.
When we go to a symphony orchestra concert, it’s nice to arrive to listen to the orchestra members tune their instruments and practice a few bars of the music that will be played later. Every single member of the orchestra is an accomplished musician, ostensibly dedicated to playing the best he or she can at all times. The cacophony produced by the mixture of these musicians during this period is so starkly different from when the conductor arrives and raises his baton and produces the score, that it always underscores the distinction between teamwork and just a bunch of learned and skilled personnel all producing their own music.
This distinction is equally important in companies. Unfortunately many times there is not the obvious separation of “warming up” and actually “playing” that one can observe from an orchestra. Even the best conductors willing their managers and workers to play together as a team cannot make it so, unless the team members see the mutual benefit and agree to pull in the same direction. How many times have we seen pictures of players on a tug of war team pull differently a