Quoted from sulli10:

I have had to improve both Quality and Safety in several organizations in my past. Both issues are tied to corporate culture which can always be improved
What needs to happen is Senior Management needs to recognize there is a problem and decide to take action to improve the situation.
If the Senior leaders are not experts in the safety and quality areas, hiring an outside expert is not a bad start. The expert can help develop philosophy and simple to the point processes.
My approach always was to identify the key work force individuals who are the recognized craftsman/women and recruit them to the cause. This usually means several face to face meeting with the work force leaders getting their input and making changes process wise with that input.
Once the senior leaders have a handle on what they want to do, they need a roll out plan that means communicating the new expectations and processes. The leaders need to stay actively involved in the new processes to make sure they are followed and lessons learned are implemented. The process is never right at first and input from the work force needs to constantly be listened to for opportunities.
In my experience it can take 18 months to two years to start seeing culture change that can stick. Once the quality process has “legs” , Sr management can back out to allow the work force to drive quality as they are the ones Who have their hands in the “gear”
Stern hiring a Quality Director sounds like they want to improve ,but that person is only a resource to Sr management to help drive change.