Remembering Philip B. Crosby… “Quality is free”

Contact Us

June 18th would have been Philip B. Crosby’s birthday. He lived through 2001 and is internationally recognized for his ideas on quality management practices.

Crosby was an engineer at heart. As a quality engineer developing the Pershing Missile, he conceptualized the idea of Zero Defects.

Quality is Free likely sits on the bookshelves of many across the world.  Although it was originally published in 1979, it remains relevant and inspiring in today’s global marketplace as well.

Crosby’s response to the quality crisis was the principle of “doing it right the first time” (DIRFT). He also included four major principles:

  1. The definition of quality is conformance to requirements (requirements meaning both the product and the customer’s requirements).
  2. The system of quality is prevention.
  3. The performance standard is zero defects (relative to requirements).
  4. The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance. 

His belief was that an organization that established a quality program will see savings returns that more than pay off the cost of the quality program: “quality is free“.

Our favorite quotes from Crosby include:

  • “Slowness to change usually means fear of the new.”
  • “Selecting the right person for the right job is the largest part of coaching.”
  • “You don’t have to be noisy to be effective.”
  • “Being convinced no one knows the whole story is the surest way to fail.”
  • “It is always cheaper to do the job right the first time.”
  • “Good things happen when planned. Bad things happen on their own.”

philipscrosby1



You May Also Like

Learn more about our services

Categories

Back to top

Want to Get in Touch with Pro QC ?

Contact us

Pro QC

Contact Your Local Office

North America

+1 813 252 4770

Latin America

+52 81 2721 0928

India & South Asia

+91 120 4291971

Europe, Middle East & Africa

+33 9 7303 6784

Germany, Eastern Europe

+49 172 38 759 50

Asia & Asia Pacific

+886 2 2832 2990

Follow Us

 

Newsletter

Global Coverage experiencia local Local Expertise

© 2023 Pro QC International | Privacy | Terms of use | Terms of service