We’ve recently completed a series of workshop outlines that can be used to introduce anyone interested in quality to the industry basics and know where to find the resources they need to take additional action when required. The workshops are designed as eight hour hands-on discussions of various topics covering statistics for quality, quality tools and quality basics. We find the material related to the quality basics course will effectively reach a broad base and lead to a better understanding of the industry in general. The primary focus of Quality 101 includes the foundations and principles of the gurus and the tools they have contributed to the industry and how they are applied today. The top four primary contributors to quality we identified include: W. Edwards Deming Deming changed our lives in many ways. “Dr. W. Edwards Deming taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations can increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs (by reducing waste, rework, staff attrition and litigation while increasing customer loyalty). The key is to practice continual improvement and think of manufacturing as a system, not as bits and pieces.” **This is a model for everyone, whether it’s used for business or personal planning and decision making . “Quality is everyone’s responsibility.” ~Deming Joseph M. Juran Juran wrote the Quality Control Handbook. He focused on top-down training and is thought to have brought the Pareto Principle over to quality. Must Know: Juran Trilogy “Juran was one of the first to think about the cost of poor quality. This was illustrated by his “Juran trilogy”, an approach to cross-functional management, which is composed of three managerial processes: quality planning, quality control and quality improvement. Without change, there will be a constant waste, during change there will be increased costs, but after the improvement, margins will be higher and the increased costs get recouped.” Philip B. Crosby Crosby believed and also published a book titled Quality is Free. He spoke often of “doing it right the first time” (DIRFT). Must Know: Four Principles The definition of quality is conformance to requirements (requirements meaning both the product and the customer’s requirements). The system of quality is prevention. The performance standard is zero defects (relative to requirements). The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance. “If anything is certain, it is that change is certain. The world we are planning for today will not exist in this form tomorrow.” ~Crosby Kaoru Ishikawa “Kaoru Ishikawa wanted to change the way people think about work. He urged managers to resist becoming content with merely improving a product’s quality, insisting that quality improvement can always go one step further. His notion of company-wide quality control called for continued customer service. According to Ishikawa, quality improvement is a continuous process, and it can always be taken one step further.” Must Know: Quality Circles & Ishikawa (Cause & Effect) Diagrams The big question within the industry is who has made the most significant contribution and why. Thoughts?
