The short answer
Record what went wrong, where it was found, where it started, which family it belongs to and what it cost, using a short list of set options rather than free text. Log office catches and site fixes too, or the log will only ever show the visible part of the cost.
By Euan Pallister, Operations & Quality Improvement Consultant. Published on .
Why most rework logs don’t help
A log that records “remake, kitchen, plot 14” tells you something went wrong. It doesn’t tell you where it started, what it cost, or whether the same thing happened last month under a different description. After a year it holds hundreds of lines that nobody can add up.
Two things fix that: a short list of set options, so the same problem is always described the same way, and a cost on every line.
The ten fields
| Field | What to record | Keep it to |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Date found | The day the problem was found | A date |
| 2. Job or order | The job, order or plot number | The reference you already use |
| 3. What went wrong | One line in plain words | One sentence |
| 4. Family | The kind of problem | Survey or measure; specification or order; supplier; warehouse or dispatch; install; client change; other |
| 5. Where found | Where it came to light | Office; workshop; goods-in; dispatch; site; customer |
| 6. Where it started | The stage where it was made | Same options as family, or “not known yet” |
| 7. Reached the customer? | Whether the customer saw it | Yes or no |
| 8. Cost | Labour, materials, travel and any credit, at agreed rates | A pound figure |
| 9. Recovered | Anything charged back to a supplier | A pound figure, or zero |
| 10. Action and owner | What was done, and who owns stopping it happening again | One line and a name |
Fields 5 and 6 matter most. A problem is usually made in one place and found in another, and the fix belongs where it was made.
Count the ones customers never see
Quality costs are usually split into internal failures, found before the customer receives the work, and external failures, found after. Both belong in the log. A remake caught in the workshop costs less than one found on site, but it points to the same cause, and a log that only records what the customer saw will always understate the problem.
That means logging office catches (an order corrected before it went to the supplier), workshop catches and anything fixed on site without a return visit. Fitters fixing things quietly on site is one of the most common reasons a rework log looks smaller than it is.
Putting a cost on each line
Agree a few standard rates once, with whoever runs the numbers, and use them every time:
- an internal hourly rate for workshop and office time;
- a cost for a return visit, covering two people’s time, the van and travel;
- materials at cost;
- any credit note raised, at face value.
Keep the rates conservative. A figure the board believes is worth more than a bigger one it argues with. Our guide to what a return visit really costs shows how to build that rate.
Reading it each month
Once a month, sort the log by family and add up the cost. Look at the two or three families that cost most, and at field 6 for each: where they start. That is where the cheapest fixes go.
Expect the number of lines to rise in the first few months. Problems that used to be fixed without a record start being logged. Tell the board before it happens, so a better log isn’t mistaken for a worse business.
If you would like a second pair of eyes on a year of records, the free Margin Leak Review takes about an hour with a sample of yours.
Quick answers
Should we log problems caught before they reach the customer?
Yes. Problems caught in the office, the workshop or at goods-in are still rework, and they point to the same causes as the ones customers see. Leave them out and the log understates the cost.
How much detail is too much?
If a line takes more than a minute, people stop filling it in on busy days. Use set options for family, stage and where found, and keep free text to one line.
Spreadsheet or software?
A shared spreadsheet is fine to start. What matters is that everyone logs into the same place, with the same options, every time.
Who should fill it in?
Whoever finds the problem, at the time, including fitters on site. One channel for site issues matters more than the tool.