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Page 6
February 1996
Quality: Everybody Counts
This is the second in a series of pro
files on Adams-Millis employees and
their perspectives on quality. It’s obvious
from their comments that everybody —
and everything we do— counts towards
the quality of our work.
Mike Mabe, senior manager, Qual
ity Control and Product Development,
says that quality is a process, not just
a result. The way we work with other
people, the way we handle on-the-job
responsibilities and our attitudes to
ward what we do all affect the quality
of work at Adams-Millis.
Linda Cagle, Shipping Clerk
Mt. Airy
Knitters can knit the best
sock in the world; the dye-
house can produce the most
consistent shades; the
seamers can make the best
seams; and all other Adams-
Millis production employ
ees can continue their high
level of excellence.
However, if the shipping
department doesn’t put
the Wal-Mart socks on a
Wal-Mart truck, Adams-
Millis hasn’t met its high
quality standards.
Linda Cagle, who has
fest and the paperwork
is correct and that the seal
on the bill of lading match
es the manifest^ and truck
number.
“If I don’t do my job
right, we could have to un
load the truck and start
over. I don’t want that to
happen.”
* * *
Juanita Gurley, Inspector
High Point
Juanita Gurley has been
inspecting socks for Adams-
Millis in High Point for 10
years. “When I look at a
ii
Linda Cagle
worked for Adams-Millis
for 17 years, shares that re
sponsibility in Mount Airy.
As a shipping clerk, she
prepares manifests that are
sent with shipments to the
distribution centers.
“When our workers scan
the barcodes on the case
labels, they are capturing
the information that creates
the manifest,” Linda says.
“If they mis-scan a case,
they write down the infor
mation and give it to me so
I can correct it on the com
puter before I print out the
manifest.”
“My goal is to make sure
everything about the mani
sock, I ask myself: If I were
going to buy a sock, would
I buy that one? That’s a
question boarders and
pairers ask to decide if they
will approve a sock,” she
says. “When you pay $6 or
$7 for a pair of socks, you
want them to be right.”
Juanita says experience
helps an inspector because
you learn what to look for
overtime. Her focus is on
the consistency of the dye
job, the pattern of the sock
on the boarding, the qual
ity of the sock top and the
appropriateness of the
length.
“Sometimes you can
spot a defect by looking, at
other times you spot it by
feeling,” she says. “Certain
styles tend to have the same
defect repeated, so you
watch for that,” she says.
New styles provide a dif
ferent challenge. “When a
new style is introduced, you
don’t have a pattern of de
fects to go by,” she says.
“You have to learn what to
look for.”
* * *
Greg Carter, Fixer
Mt. Airy
Good training goes a
long way in helping to
ensure that a job is done
properly.
Greg Carter, a fixer on
seaming machines in
Mount Airy, says he at
tended a four-week train
ing school in Charlotte
that helped prepare him
for his work.
“When I started my job
about four years ago, the
head fixer showed me
something new about the
machines every day, so I
was able to learn a little
bit at a time,” he recalls.
“Then after four months
on the job I went to the
Greg Carter
training school in Charlotte
to learn how to fix the
sewing head. We tore it
apart and put it back to
gether again until we knew
every part.”
Greg said that the train
ing on the sewing head was
important because it’s the
part of the seaming ma
chine that needs attention
Juanita Gurley
most frequently. Quite of
ten, it’s just a matter of
making slight adjustments
to get the seam just right,
he says.
“I want to make sure the
sock has a good toe with
out cleats and that it isn’t
being cut too short,” he
says. “I can help do that by
making sure the machine
is set up right. Most of the
time I can look at a sock
and know what the problem
is on the seaming machine.
“I have set some person
al goals. I want to be the
best fixer in the plant, and I
want to be fair to all of the
people I work with. All
of the seamers want their
machines to be running as
much as they can, so I try
to be fair to all of them. I
don’t dodge any problems.
“If a problem takes too
long to fix, I tag the ma
chine and move on to a
problem that can be fixed
quickly. It’s usually better
to fix several small prob
lems in a short time rather
than let them go while
you’re working on a big
problem on one machine.”
(Continued on Page 7)