Quality Starts With How We Live: Lifestyle Insights From a Lifetime in Manufacturing

As someone who has spent decades setting up automobile and auto-component plants and training engineers at all levels, I’ve come to realise that the true foundation of quality goes far beyond machines, methods, and metrics. In this article, I share a perspective shaped heavily by my Japanese mentors and my years on factory floors.

Quality Is Not Just a Process—It Is a Behaviour

Throughout my career, I have managed everything from building new manufacturing units to leading teams through production, quality, and service challenges. I have also trained hundreds of engineers in manufacturing practices and efficiency systems.

But the strongest lesson that emerged from all these experiences is surprisingly simple:

Quality begins with people, not with processes.

It is deeply rooted in how we treat one another and in our discipline with the basics of daily work.

Over time, I’ve identified three non-negotiable pillars that determine the quality of anything we create—whether a product, a service, or even a relationship.

1. Respect for Every Individual

One of the most powerful influences on my philosophy came from Japanese manufacturing culture, which emphasises respect as the very first quality tool. Whether someone is a trainee operator or a senior manager, the dignity with which they are treated affects how they approach their work. A respected person takes ownership. Ownership leads to care. And care naturally produces quality.

I have witnessed this on the shop floor hundreds of times. Plants with modest infrastructure often outperform high-tech facilities simply because people there feel valued. Where respect flows freely, excellence becomes a habit.

2. Respect for Time

In manufacturing, time is the most unforgiving resource. Once lost, it cannot be recovered.

A delay in communication becomes a defect. A delay in preparation becomes rework. A delay in responding to a customer can lead to dissatisfaction.

When individuals value time, the organisation moves with clarity and purpose. When teams neglect it, quality begins to erode quietly.

Time discipline reflects personal discipline. It influences production schedules, meetings, training, customer commitments—everything. In that sense, respecting time is equal to respecting quality.

3. Communication That Is Clear and Consistent

If respect is the foundation and time is the structure, communication is the system that keeps everything connected.

Most quality failures I’ve encountered over the years have not come from technical incompetence but from communication gaps:

• A requirement from the customer that was never clarified

• A process change that wasn’t shared fully

• An assumption that remained unspoken

• A problem that wasn’t escalated early

Communication must be simple, complete, and continuous. When information moves smoothly, quality follows. When it doesn’t, errors multiply.

Quality Is a Lifestyle, Not an Inspection Activity

Today, as I write books such as The Productivity Blueprint, Mastering Time, and Lean Management, I see even more clearly that quality mirrors our lifestyle. A disorganised individual cannot produce a structured outcome. A disrespectful culture cannot create a dependable product. A careless team cannot deliver consistent service.

What we create is always a reflection of who we are.

Quality is a behavioural habit long before it becomes a production result.

From Engineering to Writing: The Philosophy Remains the Same

Even though I’ve transitioned into writing and mentoring, the principles that shaped my engineering journey continue to guide me. If we want excellence in anything—be it manufacturing, service, writing, or leadership—we must begin with these three fundamentals:

✔ Treat people with respect

✔ Honour your time

✔ Communicate with clarity

Everything else in quality is built on these.

If You Enjoyed This Insight

Explore my books and upcoming articles on productivity, lean management, and time management under the News and Books sections of this website.