When I got into the work force back in the mid-1970's it seemed
everyone dressed in a suit and tie, drank black coffee, smoked
their brains out, and worked their butts off. Today, golf shirts
have replaced suits, herbal tea and bottled water have replaced
coffee, nobody is allowed to smoke, and rarely does anyone work
beyond 5:00pm. More importantly, we used to care about the work we
produced; there was a sense of craftsmanship, regardless of the job.
My Brother-in-law in Cincinnati conducted me on a tour of his company's
machine-tool shop years ago and showed me how he could take a block of
aluminum and convert it into a high-precision machine tool. It was a
pleasure to watch him work, as it is to watch anyone who knows
what they are doing, be it a waitress, a programmer, a laborer or
a clerk.
Quality and service used to be considered paramount in this
country. If it wasn't just right, you were expected to do it over
again until you got it right. We cared about what we produced
because it was a reflection of our personal character and
integrity. But somewhere along the line we lost our way and
craftsmanship has fallen by the wayside. Why? Probably because
we no longer care.
We've also become a nation content with doing small things. America
used to be known as a powerhouse that could tackle large projects,
such as building skyscrapers, designing innovative bridges and tunnels
spanning substantial bodies of water, engineering transcontinental
railroads and highway systems, conquering air and space travel, and
defending freedom not just once but in two world wars. If you really
wanted something done, you talked to the Americans and no one else. Now
we get excited over iPods, cell phones, and other electronic trinkets.
I believe Craftsmanship is in decline due to the general apathy found
in today's society.
Some might say craftsmanship is a simple concept that we should
intuitively know. Not true; most people today have no comprehension as
to what makes up a good craftsman; they have either forgotten or it has
simply passed them by. Craftsmanship can be found in any field of endeavor
imaginable, be it in the product sector or service industry. Craftsmanship,
therefore, is universally applicable to any line of work.
Craftsmanship is not "workmanship", nor is it synonymous with quality,
although the three concepts are closely related. Let's begin by
giving "Craftsmanship" a definition: "The production and delivery
of quality goods or services from highly skilled workmen."
Quality relates to the absence of errors or defects in the finished
product or service. In other words, finished goods operate
according to their specifications (customers get precisely what
they ordered). Such products are normally durable and require minimal
maintenance. Craftsmanship produces quality products. In the absence
of craftsmen, a rigorous methodology or assembly line process is
required to produce quality goods using workers without the expertise
of craftsmen. Such processes detail "Who" is to perform "What" work,
"When", "Where", "Why" and "How" (5W+H), thereby assuring a quality
product or service is produced. Such is the underlying rationale of
the ISO 9000 certification as used by many companies today. The point
is, quality is not the exclusive domain of the craftsman.
Craftsmanship is also a human trait. Some might argue a computer or
industrial robot can produce quality products and are, therefore,
craftsmen. However, we must remember these devices are programmed by
human beings in accordance with the rules of the craftsman. As such,
they are an extension or tool of the craftsman.
Craftsmanship can be found in either the overall work process or
a section of it. For example, there are craftsmen who are intimate
with all facets of building furniture, such as a table, a chair or
desk, and can implement the product from start to finish. However,
as products grow in complexity, it becomes difficult to find people
suitably qualified to build them from the womb to the tomb. Consider
military weapons alone, such as the complicated ships, tanks, and
airplanes we now use, with thousands or millions of parts to
assemble. Such complexity makes it impossible for a single person
to have the expertise to build the whole product. The same is true
in the service sector where different types of expertise and
capabilities may be required. In other words, craftsmen have a
specific scope of work. The scope of work may relate to other
types of craftsmen through a chain of work dependencies, e.g.,
Craftsmen A, B and C concentrate on separate sub-assemblies which
are eventually joined into a single product.
There is one pitfall to all of this; today's "go-go" management
style fails to see how craftsmanship adds value to the company. In
fact, there were companies back in the 1980's that shut down such
programs simply to reduce costs. As a result, quality suffered,
repeat business was lost, products were more in need of repair,
absenteeism on the job escalated, etc. Want value? How does
a loyal customer base who has confidence in your products or
services sound? And what effect would employee harmony have,
particularly if they believed in the work they were producing? It
would be mind-boggling, all because we had faith in the human
spirit to produce superior results.
Just my opinion.
HCP
Hand
Crafted
Perfection
or
putus - pure