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tors, even if those persons had been operators prior to becoming
inspectors.
B&L Ireland's experiences in establishing its sunglass
assembly operations illustrate the need for trained and exper-
ienced personnel (including operators, inspectors, and manage-
ment) to assemble quality sunglasses. When it first began assem-
bling sunglasses during 1982 and 1983, B&L Ireland experienced a
rejection rate of approximately 80 percent of the sunglasses
assembled by its operators. To improve the quality of its prod-
uct, B&L Ireland's sunglass operations (1) instituted its own
training program, including hiring full-time instructors begin-
ning in May 1983; (2) underwent a quality audit performed during
1984 by the quality manager of B&L Ireland's contact lens opera-
tions in order to develop standard operating procedures; (3) re-
placed its quality assurance manager shortly after concluding the
quality audit; (4) reduced its expected output in its production
budget for its second year of operation (viz., 1984); and
(5) hired outside consultants during 1983 and 1984 to develop a
job evaluation system and improve the efficiencies of its opera-
tions. Most quality problems at the B&L Ireland sunglass assemb-
ly facility with respect to the basic SKUs tended to disappear
over time as the operators and management became more skillful in
their respective functions and responsibilities in the sunglass
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