Kate Tice

🚨 Product Safety needs more than compliance – it needs leadership. In many organizations, Product Safety is still viewed as a support function — reactive, procedural, and often under-leveraged. But as systems grow more complex, the role of Safety must evolve. We’re entering an era where fragmented ownership and delayed escalation can cost more than just reputational damage — it can put lives, assets, and entire operations at risk. That’s why the question is no longer “Do we have a safety team?” The real question is: 👉 “Do we have clear, empowered safety leadership at the table?” Leadership in Safety isn’t about managing paperwork. It’s about embedding foresight, accountability, and a proactive mindset across the entire lifecycle — from design to delivery. 💡 Forward-thinking organizations are recognizing this, and creating Head-level roles that unify governance, accelerate decisions, and foster a safety-first culture. Because at the end of the day, Safety is not a checkbox — it’s a mindset. #ProductSafety #SafetyLeadership #SafetyCulture #OrganizationalExcellence #SystemSafety #RiskManagement #OperationalIntegrity #LeadershipMatters #JustCulture

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In small companies, quality tools only work if they fit how people actually operate. When they don't, workarounds appear, timelines slip, and the QMS becomes something people avoid instead of rely on. The real difference is all about culture fit. Lightweight tools, operator-focused design, and leadership that doesn't just buy-in on paper, but actively uses the systems themselves. I break down why this matters and how “feral systems” form when tools miss the mark in my newest Substack post, check it out: https://lnkd.in/gtGAM2jr

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Most companies don’t actually have a cost problem. They have a waste visibility problem. As a Quality Engineer, I’ve seen that waste doesn't hide—it lives in plain sight. It’s in the rework pile, the "pending approval" inbox, and the excess inventory gathering dust. Lean tools aren't magic wands that slash budgets. They are spotlights. The "Hidden Factory" Example: Some Companies was obsessed with "labor efficiency." Yet, they weren't tracking the Lead Time from receiving raw material to shipping the finished product. The result? Materials sat in a warehouse for 10 days. They were processed in 2 hours. They sat in "Quality Hold" for another 5 days. The company was "efficient" at the machine level, but hemorrhaging cash in the gaps between the steps. They didn't need faster workers; they needed to see the stagnation. My Lean "Value-Add" Toolkit: VSM: To see the 15 days of waiting you didn't know existed. 5S & Kanban: To stop the chaos and overproduction. Poka-Yoke: To kill defects at the source so you stop inspecting "in" quality. Gemba Walks: Because the truth is on the floor, not the spreadsheet. The Hard Truth: Waste is rarely an inspection issue. It is almost always a process discipline issue. Lean isn't about doing more work; it’s about stopping the work that shouldn’t have existed in the first place. #LeanManufacturing #QualityEngineering #OperationalExcellence #ContinuousImprovement #AS9100D #ISO9001:2015

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Speed to market isn’t just about tools. It is about collaboration and how supplier partnerships help machine builders reach the finish line faster. Great insights for any team: https://lnkd.in/gadanv9m

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Remote-first quality consulting isn’t a shortcut — it’s a strategy. “Why remote?” It’s a fair question. Remote-first consulting isn’t about avoiding onsite work. It’s about using time and resources where they create the most value. For many organizations, activities like: • Internal audits • ISO readiness reviews • Corrective action system evaluation • KPI development and data analysis • Documentation alignment can be performed effectively — and often with faster start times — without travel costs, lodging expenses, or production disruption. That doesn’t mean onsite work isn’t important. Targeted onsite support makes sense when: • Physical process observation is required • Hands-on validation adds value • Major system changes are being implemented The goal isn’t to eliminate onsite engagement. It’s to be intentional about when it truly improves outcomes. That’s the philosophy behind JSM Quality Consulting: structured, practical, and remote-first — with onsite support when it adds measurable value. If you’re evaluating how to strengthen your quality system without unnecessary disruption, visit jsmquality.net and start a conversation.

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The best process is minimal process. 🚀 In my latest chapter of Sanity at Scale, I explore why "more control" usually leads to "less output." We often treat organizational mistakes like injuries—we build "Scar Tissue" (bureaucracy) around them. Ten years later, the company is so covered in scar tissue it can no longer move. If you want to scale without losing your mind, you have to apply The Algorithm from Elon Musk: 1️⃣ Question every requirement. If a department (not a person) gave you the rule, it’s a ghost. Find the person. Ask "Why?" 2️⃣ Delete the process. If you aren’t adding back 10% of what you delete, you aren’t being aggressive enough. 3️⃣ Simplify first, optimize second. Never spend money making an unnecessary step "efficient." 4️⃣ Accelerate. Speed is a feature. 5️⃣ Automate last. Automating a mess just creates a faster mess. In a previous program, we stopped complaining about the "Machine of Slow" and started treating legacy processes as hypotheses. We ran experiments, gathered the data, and proved that the simpler path was actually the safer one. Stop managing the evidence of work. Start managing the work. Read the live draft of Chapter 2: The Process Paradox here: 👉 https://lnkd.in/ede3qqz2 #EngineeringLeadership #Lean #SanityAtScale #SpaceX #Innovation #AgileTransformation

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This was a great article about how to build a company culture that encourages feedback - I particularly appreciated this section on specific suggestions for improving how we ask for feedback: “Asking skillfully is not an innate capability. Without guidance, people tend to rely on vague, closed, or performative prompts (“Any feedback?” “Was that okay?”), which rarely generate useful responses. Help your team build this muscle by offering concrete examples and structured practice. For instance: 1. Be specific: “What’s one thing I could improve in how I handled that client objection?” 2. Name your learning goal: “I’m working on being more concise in presentations—can you flag anything that felt long-winded?” 3. Invite nuance: “Where did my approach work—and where might it have caused friction?” 4. Use follow-ups: “Can you say more?” or “What might that look like in action?”” Great company cultures take intention and effort to build!

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Before you spend another $1,000 on a new manufacturing tool or training program, read this...... Most factories have excellent SOPs and maintained tooling. Yet, the same quality spills, safety gaps, and missed deliveries keep returning on a loop. Why? Because you are likely applying a process fix to a pattern problem. A new software won't fix a supervisor’s low "Situational Awareness." A revised safety protocol won’t improve a team’s weak "Ethical Courage." If you don’t diagnose the subconscious behavioral patterns on your shop floor, operational failure is inevitable. Stop throwing budget at symptoms. Start measuring the traits that drive performance. Try this free behavior correction tool in manufacturing: https://lnkd.in/dM5CJ-NB #ManufacturingExcellence #OperationalLeadership #LeanManufacturing #HumanError #Traits4XL

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