Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/12/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Doesn't Pascal mean quality *perception* improvement? I think that the certificates smack of being designed for public relations purposes. And I think it has a negative effect. We have heard that the workers in Germany, Portugal, Switzerland and Canada were trained to be extremely good about quality, even when there were no certificates So why should they now need certificates as incentives? Sounds like a Franklin Mint "certificate of authenticity" to me. Or maybe Leica wants to (forcibly) hold someone accountable for its high warranty costs on the M6. And what is it really saying if a IIIg or an M3 did not need one, but yet M6s do? That would tell me that something is wrong or was wrong with M6 quality control in the past and that it needed to be corrected with extreme measures. This is not the right message for Leica to send. The Leica name should be the guarantee that everything has been inspected and calibrated. After all, the M6 is brought almost completely assembled into Germany, there is at least 60% (~$1200) in "value-added" activities going on there. We know from previous posts that a lot of that value is in the calibration and checking department. They should not even put the Leica top plate with a Made in Germany stamp on it on the cameras if there is any question these inspections have not taken place properly, because these inspections and calibrations are (1) why people buy Leicas and (2) the justification for stamping "Made in Germany" on the camera (due to trade rules). Certificates could undermine the Leica name. Quality is better achieved by keeping any signed certificates in the factory with the rest of the records and not airing dirty laundry in public. Nathan Wajsman wrote: > Pascal, > > The idea is of course that the person signing will feel personally > accountable for the quality of the camera and will therefore really make > sure that the rangefinder is in alignment, there are no loose screws etc. > It is a bit of the same rationale that has led some auto makers to replace > production lines with team "pods" so that each individual car is built from > start to finish by a small group of people. > > Whether it will work for Leica, time will tell, but the idea is certainly > sensible. > > Nathan > > Pascal wrote: > > > >To corroborate Joseph, I am pretty sure that during the meeting at > > >Photokina, the > > >Leica people specifically mentioned this as a new quality-improvement > > >practice they > > >had just implemented. > > > > not sure I understand what this really means for quality-improvement... > > > > Pascal > > NO ARCHIVE > > > > --------- > > Visit my photo pages at http://members.xoom.com/cyberplace > > --------- > > <<< PGP public key available upon request >>> > > -- > Nathan Wajsman > Herrliberg (ZH), Switzerland > > e-mail: wajsman@webshuttle.ch > > General photo site: http://belgiangator.tripod.com/ > Belgium photo site: http://members.xoom.com/wajsman/ > Motorcycle site: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/1704/