I cannot speak for, or of, an entire industry on why printers, in general, don't "get" Quality. I understand, however, that it's nothing specific to our industry. If you look at nearly every industry in the USA, there is an abundance of not getting it. Compare and contrast Toyota and GM, and know that Toyota has made the strategic decision not to lay off a single person during this recession, and is using the opportunity to train, re-tool, and improve their processes. When this recession ends, as they inevitably do, Toyota will emerge stronger, rather than weaker.
That being said, productivity in US industry grew at 4% between 1990 and 2003. Productivity in the printing industry grew at less than 1/2 that: 1.9% (NAPL 2004.) We, as an industry, really don't "get" it. It's a managment issue. Deming, Juran, Sholtes, Joiner, and the others there at the start of the Quality Management movement were quite clear that management is the problem. It's particularly a problem in the printing industry. Naturally, there are large cultural elements to this model, and the managers are part of that culture. Indeed, management is the group with the influence and access to the resources necessary to address those cultural problems.
Most printing managers wouldn't know a process if it bit them on the butt. That's notable, because those processes bite them often, daily, even. Why is this so? Well, I ran a small two-press shop when I was in my 20's. My family had some money invested in the place, and the fellow running it washed out, so I stepped in. I knew about camera work, and was a quick-study on the rest. The guy running the presses stayed on, so I had his help. Knowing next to nothing, I got the work out, at a profit. I knew next to nothing about printing, and I knew nothing whatsoever about management, yet acceptable work came out the back of the press, at a profit. Point is, this is repeated more frequently than not, this dynamic of making it by luck, this "winging it and hoping for the best."
Our internal, departamental, managers in printing nearly always come from the shop floor. I'd guess it's over 95% of them (please offer your estimates, this is an interesting point.) These folks might have been good operators, and in some cases, even good departmental managers who took promotions as company managers. They were not, however, professional managers. The know about getting the work out, in their own particular department. They do not know about management, especially about modern management. There is naturally an aversion to risk and to trying new things in management methods; lost, anyhow, going anywhere in the forest of management is particularly frightening. There is a need to cling to what's worked in the past. That is a key cultural element applicable in most of our industry.
There is a lack of appreciation for a system, to refer to Deming. Variation is not understood. There is no value placed in the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, most changes occuring by decree, and without follow-up (a particular killer, in my experience.) Using the capability maturity model, the printing industry is at Level 1, without a systemic or systematic approach, or maybe Level 2, the reactive phase. Especially in offset printing, the processes are not defined, no less controlled. New hardware is seen as the solution, even though upgrades are generally disruptive and rarely well-utilized. These symptoms lead back to the management issues, and the lack of appreciation for a system.
I have clashed with un-willing managers in the past over process improvement. As a career printer, with nearly 40 years experience, and as a Quality Management professional with three ASQ Certifications, I had/have something to offer. Nevertheless, it's futile offering to help where the help is not wanted. This is common knowledge in Quality Mangement circles, and applies generally, in all sectors and endeavors.
I am available for employment. I have concrete strategies for breakthrough improvement, especially in commercial offest printing. I have an understanding of color reproduction and hold a US patent pending on a method of integrating the color reproduction system; work on another patent relating to statistical process control is under way. I also know statistics and process capability. I am aggressively seeking to market my skills and knowledge. I will work for, and make a significant diffrerence in, a shop where management is willing to follow Quality. If that willingness is lacking, I'm not interested in wasting either my time, or theirs.
