12dz Chapter 572 It's Okay to Be a Little Slow
Chapter 572 It's Okay to Be a Little Slow
"Being famous isn't necessarily a good thing," Li Xiangyang said thoughtfully, putting down his newspaper.
Ma Qingfu looked at him, puzzled: "Isn't this a good thing? Our factory will be famous now, making it much easier to recruit workers and find customers in the future."
"Don't you understand the saying 'the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow'?" Li Xiangyang walked to the window, looking at his son playing in the yard. "Right now, we're still a small factory; it's better to keep a low profile."
Ma Qingfu scratched his head: "What do we do now? The newspapers have already been sent out."
“Since things have come to this, let’s be prepared.” Li Xiangyang turned around. “There will likely be various inspections and ‘learning exchanges’ coming up, so we need to prepare in advance.”
Sure enough, starting from the second week, the factory received wave after wave of "visits and learning".
Other businesses in the county, peers from neighboring counties, and even inspection teams from the province all want to come and see this model of "quality management innovation".
"Mr. Li, another group of people is coming to visit." Office secretary Xiao Liu knocked and entered. "This time it's the regional industrial bureau."
Li Xiangyang put down the documents in his hand and rubbed his temples: "When should this be arranged?"
"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."
"Understood, please inform Teacher Liu to prepare."
After receiving the notification, Liu Wanshan shook his head with a wry smile: "General Manager Li, this is already the eighth visiting group this month. The workers are getting impatient, saying it's affecting normal production."
Li Xiangyang understood the workers' concerns. Frequent visits would indeed disrupt the normal production rhythm, but in this situation, a firm refusal was not realistic.
"How about this, from now on, all visits will be scheduled for the afternoon," Li Xiangyang said after thinking for a moment. "The mornings are the prime time for production, and we can't afford to be disturbed."
"What if they specifically want to come in the morning?"
“Then let’s say we have a designated visitor time this afternoon, so as not to affect product quality.” Li Xiangyang paused. “Anyone who disagrees shouldn’t come.”
The next afternoon, the inspection team from the regional industrial bureau arrived as scheduled.
The leader was a cadre in his fifties surnamed Zhao, who looked very authoritative.
"Director Li, I've long admired your name." Director Zhao extended his hand proactively.
"You're too kind. We just did what we should do," Li Xiangyang replied modestly.
During the visit, Director Zhao asked very detailed questions, wanting to understand every step from raw material procurement to finished product inspection.
"Your scrap rate is indeed very low," Director Zhao said, looking at the statistics. "This is rare among companies in our region."
"The main reason is that the system is strictly enforced," Liu Wanshan explained from the side. "Each process has clear standards, and anything that doesn't meet the standards absolutely cannot proceed to the next stage."
"Won't that affect efficiency?" a young cadre in the inspection team asked.
"In the short term, it might have some impact, but in the long run, efficiency is actually higher," Li Xiangyang explained. "Because rework time is saved, customer complaints are almost nonexistent."
Director Zhao nodded: "Quality is the lifeline of a company; that's absolutely true."
After the visit, Director Zhao spoke with Li Xiangyang privately.
"Director Li, your factory's management model is very valuable for wider application," Director Zhao said bluntly. "The region plans to promote your practices among all industrial enterprises in the district."
Li Xiangyang's heart tightened; this was exactly what he had been worried about.
“Director Zhao, our approach may not be suitable for all companies,” Li Xiangyang said tactfully. “Each company’s situation is different, and we may need to adapt to local conditions.”
“You make a good point.” Director Zhao pondered for a moment, “However, exchanging experiences is still very necessary. We plan to hold an on-site meeting next month, and the location will be your factory.”
Li Xiangyang knew it was hard to refuse such a request, so he could only nod in agreement.
After seeing the inspection team off, Li Xiangyang called Ma Qingfu and Liu Wanshan to his office.
“It seems we need to be even more careful,” Li Xiangyang said. “Now, not only are our clients watching us, but our competitors and superiors are also keeping an eye on us.”
"Then what should we do?" Ma Qingfu asked with some concern.
"Focus on your own work and don't let outside attention throw you off balance," Li Xiangyang said firmly. "Continue production as usual, and manage as usual."
Liu Wanshan agreed: "President Li is right. We can't let the desire to save face cause us to neglect the substance."
The on-site meeting next month will be held as scheduled, with representatives from more than 20 companies in attendance.
Li Xiangyang personally chaired the meeting and gave a detailed introduction to the establishment process and implementation effects of the quality management system.
"Our approach is actually quite simple: we standardize every single detail," Li Xiangyang said at the meeting. "But simple doesn't mean easy; the key is consistent and persistent execution."
After the meeting, several factory directors privately spoke with Li Xiangyang.
"Director Li, could you send someone to our factory to provide some guidance?" a textile factory director pleaded.
“We can arrange technical exchanges, but each company’s situation is different, so we can’t just copy and paste,” Li Xiangyang answered truthfully.
In the following months, Li Xiangyang did arrange for Liu Wanshan to provide technical guidance to several companies in need, but all of this was done on the premise of not affecting the normal operation of his own factory.
This approach further enhanced Li Xiangyang's reputation in the local industrial sector and also brought some unexpected benefits to the factory.
After a food factory implemented a quality management system, the results were remarkable. The factory manager took the initiative to approach Li Xiangyang, hoping to establish a cooperative relationship in raw material procurement.
“We need a lot of packaging materials, and we’ve heard that your suppliers are of very stable quality,” the food factory manager said.
"I can introduce you," Li Xiangyang said, not immediately agreeing to act as an intermediary, "but you'll have to negotiate the specific terms of cooperation yourselves."
This non-competitive attitude has actually made many companies trust Li Xiangyang even more.
As autumn deepened, Li Xiangyang's new production line was basically completed.
"How's the equipment debugging going?" Li Xiangyang stood in the new factory building, watching the workers busily working.
"There are basically no problems. We can start trial production tomorrow," the technician in charge of equipment installation replied.
"Then proceed as planned, but safety must be ensured," Li Xiangyang emphasized.
The commissioning of the new production line has nearly doubled the factory's capacity, and orders for 120,000 sets are no longer a problem.
But Li Xiangyang did not slack off because of this; instead, he paid even more attention to training new employees.
"Quality awareness must be instilled from day one," he said at a new employee training session. "We'd rather be slower than have quality problems."
A new young girl raised her hand and asked, "Director Li, if we're slow, will we get criticized?"
“As long as you’re working diligently, taking your time is fine,” Li Xiangyang replied patiently. “But if you make mistakes because you’re rushing, that’s a big problem.”
This management philosophy allowed new employees to quickly adapt to the factory's pace.