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A quality management
consultant was visiting a small and somewhat antiquated English manufacturing
company, to advise on improving general operating efficiency. The advisor was
reviewing a particular daily report which dealt with aspects of productivity,
absentee rates, machine failure, down-time, etc. The report was completed
manually onto a photocopied proforma that was several generations away from the
original master copy, so its headings and descriptions were quite difficult to
understand. The photocopied forms were particularly fuzzy at the top-right
corner, where a small box had a heading that was not clear at all. The advisor
was interested to note that the figure '0' had been written in every daily
report for the past year. On questioning the members of staff who completed the
report, they told him that they always put a zero in that box, and when he asked
them why, they looked at each other blankly. "Hmmm... I'm not sure about
that," they each said. "I guess we've just always done it that
way."
Intrigued, the
consultant visited the archives to see if he could find a clearer form, to
discover what was originally being reported and whether it actually held any
significance. When he found the old reports, he saw that the zero return
continued uninterrupted for as far back as the records extended - at least the
past thirty years - but none of the forms was any clearer than those presently
in use. A little frustrated, he packed away the old papers and turned to leave
the room, but something caught his eye. He noticed a folder in another box
promisingly titled 'master forms.' Sure enough, inside it he found the original
daily report proforma master copy in pristine condition. In the top right corner
was the mysterious box, with the heading clearly shown ...... 'Number of Air
Raids Today.'
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