The hidden factory
Every factory has another factory running inside it. This second one does not appear on the organisation chart.
This is where the rework, the scrap repairs, the workarounds are made – and the unofficial procedure a shift supervisor came up with seven years ago because there was no other solution at the time. It has run that way ever since.
Estimates put this factory’s share at 20–40 per cent of capacity. Where it has grown large, the cost of poor quality is 20–30 per cent of revenue.
And it appears in no report. That is why it is called hidden.
The hidden factory has no director. Everyone works there.
Source and further reading: Hidden Factory: Uncovering Manufacturing’s Invisible Waste