On the 14th of September 2011, an article appearing in the New York Times highlighted the case of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The quality issue in the article was mainly procedural non-compliance as it noted that in a bid to make up for weeks behind schedule and budget overboard, the company adopted shortcuts aimed at speeding up the process (Broider, 2011).
Proposed quality management tools
- Check sheet: In a case where the procedure is of critical importance, it is important to develop a check sheet to help ensure that every recommended procedure is followed.
- Brainstorming: Brainstorming is important in helping identify various possibilities and challenges the project is likely to face.
- Pareto diagram: It is important to note that more often not few problems result in grave consequences and hence addressing them can save the project lots of trouble.
3 steps to take in investigating the problem
Undertake a careful review of the procedural guidelines relating to the project and relate the same to the procedures employed by the corporation.
Identify possible consequences of every case of non-compliance recorded.
Narrow down analysis to focus on the defects observed and hence find the precise causes of the defects recorded.
References
Broider, J.M. (2011). BP Shortcuts Led to Gulf Oil Spill, Report Says. New York Times, p. 8.