Twenty years ago, at the beginning of the European turbocharger boom, I started to work in MTEE as an engineer. Entrepreneurial times. We did not have any engineering tools. We did not have a Sample Shop, no Test Cells, no CAD stations or simulation tools. We even did not have internet, communication went by fax. A lot has changed in these twenty years. In the first year I went to Japan and visited my sensei, Takashi Mikogami, currently President & CEO of Mitsubishi Logisnext but at that time the Turbocharger Engineering Manager in Sagamihara. I asked him what he expected from me and he replied: ‘A the-buckstops-here mentality. Everywhere in the organization, at suppliers, at customers, mistakes are made. But they will never pass your desk. You will not forward it to the next desk. You solve it. That is what I expect.’

MTEE developed enormously the years after. But during these two decades I also noticed that mistakes often reoccurred. In the basis a mistake is not a problem, in fact it is a blessing. Mistakes are a necessity to develop ourselves, a necessity to be able to find the borders of what is achievable. But a mistake should only be made once. We learn from it and we make sure the mistake does not happen again. This is the foundation of a learning organization. No reoccurrence! An incident will not happen again. Never again. All organizations nowadays follow the principles of Kaizen (continuous improvement). But when you think about it, Kaizen is nothing exceptional. Kaizen is just a formalization of the intrinsic desire of humans: to improve ourselves continuously. From nature we want to be faster, richer, smarter. We want to win, to succeed or to make our life easier. The will to improve is in our DNA. ‘No reoccurrence’ is something different. This requires an essential change of mentality. This is not standard in our DNA. We prefer to do things a bit more easy, less fundamental. ‘No reoccurrence’ makes the difference between becoming good and becoming the best. Solving incidents by common sense is not sufficient to prevent an incident of occurring again. We need to apply the available tools consequent. Not partly, but fundamentally. Becoming the best is not easy, it is extremely careful work.

5S methodology is a workplace organization process to increase efficiency and effectiveness. In general we all know the principles. But do we truly understand how to apply Shitsuke (Sustain)? 5-Why methodology is a problem solving technique to drill down to the real problem by asking ‘Why’ as many times till the root cause is found. Then implement a counter-measure. A counter-measure, not a solution. A counter-measure is an action that prevents the problem occurring again, while a solution just deals with the symptom. 

8D methodology is an 8 steps problem solving technique designed to find the root cause of a problem. Surprisingly almost everybody skips step 7, ‘modify the management systems, operation systems, practices, and procedures to prevent recurrence of this and similar problems’, while this step is the step that makes the difference. 

Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) are all tools to make the design easier to manufacture, easier to assemble and to make the design more robust. This together with the D-FMEA and P-FMEA are essential tools to prevent reoccurrences. Above list is for sure not complete. There are several other systematical approaches like our project management gateway system, TPM, 6, LEAN and all these techniques, methods, systems have somewhere in their process steps to prevent reoccurrence. These steps are often neglected, but these steps are the key to become the best. In the end, only the best remain.

By consequent preventing reoccurrences we will become a real learning organization. An organization where we can develop ourselves. An organization where we are proud of. An organization where it is a pleasure to work. The ‘The-buck -stops-here’ mentality made us good. A ‘No-reoccurrence’ mentality will make us the best! Together we will move the world forward!