Which country can be really called a "Quality Leader" and why

The UK - it pioneered ISO9000.

The United States! We showed the Brits how do do it during WW11. :vfunny: :smokin:

Andrews said:

Which country can be really called a "Quality Leader" and why

That is a loaded question. What about Japan- umm was it not people from the US that introduced "Quality" to them, becuase the US factories felt they didn't need it??

The Brits- pioneered ISO 9000- no wonder it is such a mess!!
:biglaugh: Just kidding, actually they took a US milatry standard and rewrote it, so once again it leads back to the US.

The Germans pay lip service to the Quality Standards and the French take the opposite opinion of every other country.

The US has the FDA to police the Medical Community, QS was put in place by the Big-3 so they could try and control who could and could not supply them.

I am sure other countries have similar things in place and each does a failrly good job in doing what it was intended to do. But is anyone Country leader in Quality IMHO I would say no.

ISO GUY said:


The Brits- pioneered ISO 9000- no wonder it is such a mess!!
:biglaugh: Just kidding, actually they took a US milatry standard and rewrote it, so once again it leads back to the US.



I took the question to mean the trail blazer to Quality. The leader, if you will. We all know that the trails have been paved over and are now called roads.
As for who it is today? It all depends on the type of measuring instrument and who is doing the measuring.

:ko: :smokin:

Andrews,

Was it your intent to ask an unanswerable question? This one seems pretty close.

What is your definition of "quality leader"? I can't even begin to think of my answer without knowing that -- and even them my answer will probably be wrong. :bonk:

Off the wall, but how about the U.S. because of Henry Ford revolutioinizing the mass production process that included part and process interchangability??

Al...:bigwave:

The reason I asked this question is to
a) to identify the reasons why a particular country is a "Quality Leader" and
b) implement the same in my organisation so that we can become a "Quality Leader".


Andrews

The reason I asked this question is to
a) to identify the reasons why a particular country is a "Quality Leader" and
b) implement the same in my organisation so that we can become a "Quality Leader".
Did you follow through? How about a status report?

Andrews,

Why don't you try the 'Baldridge Awards' - If you can meet those demands then I am sure your compnay will have all of the credentials of a 'Quality Leader'.

I have been led to believe that Australia has the highest per capita business registrations to ISO.

Greg B

The Japanese live, breath and produce quality.
Ford started the ball rolling regarding lean and quality organisms yet, Mr Ford didn't realize (I believe) what he had at the rouge plant. Mr Toyoda and his team walked through the rouge plant and formed the Toyota Production Sytem when they returned to Japan. Thanks to Juran, Deming et al, Japan rose from being the laughing stock of mass produced quality to being the world leader in home produced and exported quality products, systems and theories.
Why have we in North America not fast tracked our benchmarks on the Japanese model? Pride maybe! No it's not perfect and may not work in some aspects of our culture.
North America is now using many of the japanese quality systems and production methods simply to stay in the business game.
I look at my employers production system FPS and realize that, TPS has even influenced Ford.
Wallace.

I would say USA played a significant part in the birth of modern QA, but have forgotten and re-learnt their lessons so many times they've rendered themselves inelligible.

Europe appears to be some miles ahead.
e.g. intro of TS16949 several years ahead of the rest of the world, & HQ for ISO is in France. :agree1:

As for who it is today? It all depends on the type of measuring instrument and who is doing the measuring.

Agree. :agree1: After all, we seem to have a debate on what the definition of Quality is...how can we state who the Leader is?

The reason I asked this question is to
a) to identify the reasons why a particular country is a "Quality Leader" and
b) implement the same in my organisation so that we can become a "Quality Leader".

A worthy endeavour, but what if this Quality Leader has a different understand of what Quality is compared to you? What does Quality mean to you, Andrews? What does it mean to your Organization?

One thing that my Organization did in our efforts to become World Class, was develop and sign a Technical Agreement with another Organization that we determined was the benchmark in our industry. Perhaps that is an option your Organization should consider.

We have also implemented (or started to implement) our Management Technology at all plants in the family. Our South American family has had these methodologies since the 1980's, when the initiator brought back the information from Japan. Canada incorporated it in our business in the 1990's. And the US mills implemented it now (granted, they only recently joined the family).

But at the end of the day, for an Organization to try and improve itself by mimicing the Quality Leader, first we need to know what Quality means to you...what your standards are for Quality.

I would say USA played a significant part in the birth of modern QA, but have forgotten and re-learnt their lessons so many times they've rendered themselves inelligible.

Has the USA really forgotten and re-learnt everything? If Quality means "meeting requirements", I would have thought the USA had a pretty good handle on this. North American society was (and probably still is for the majority) fixated on cheap commodities. That's what we are given. Who needs a tv to last more than 5 years? Afterall, tv technology is changing so rapidly, that we need new tvs to keep up (e.g., high-definition tvs...fine and dandy that signal is for hd, but if the tv ain't, nothing special will happen).

We got things cheap...both cost-wise and durability-wise.

I think now, North American society is moving away from that. In Canada, alone, I seem to recall hearing that we have new member in our Big 3...Toyota. One of the traditional members has been knocked out. Why? Because, despite the 0% financing and the "Buy North American!" bombardment, we are know leaning towards cars that do not guzzle fuel, are more environmentally friendly, and will last. Our "requirements for Qualiy" are changing.

Europe appears to be some miles ahead.
e.g. intro of TS16949 several years ahead of the rest of the world, & HQ for ISO is in France.

Introducing a Standard is one thing...successfully implementing and maintaining it is another. :D

Probably started with the Egyptians with the construction industry.

Nowadays...the Japanese. They used the search for quality to bring them from the near Stone Age in 1945 to where they are now in the world marketplace. Everyone looks as to how the Japanese are doing "it".

"Made in Japan" is no longer a joke and pretty soon neither will be "Made in China"

Take a que from JM Juran's A History of Managing for Quality, the ancient China history can be traced back to 16th. century BC in the period of Shang Dynasty where quality handicrafts were made. Standard measurements are found during the Warring State period (403 - 221 BC) and with the invention and discoveries of gunpowder, paper, silk, printing, compass and Marco Polo's ice cream & noodles.

China is now going to take over the world with cheap labour and cheap products!!

Given Firestone's latest safety campaign due to Canadian manufacturing, I'd say they're both out of the running.
Maybe disposable lifestyles doesn't extend to everything.

Your right, just like the Japanese generate cheap products with cheap labor.

My opinion is that no country is at the 'top'. For any product there are different companies in 'top' position. In addition, most are larger companies which are multi-nationals.

I might mention, as noted above by SilverHawk, that as we consider countries such as China, "Made in Japan" was once a symbol of cheap and poor quality. But then came the 'bloom'. As technology continues to advance and more companies become multi-nationals, indeed the price of labour will be the essential factor. A company can put the factory anywhere. Even training / education, except for the few, will become less of a factor as more and more automation is introduced.

There is a lot of interesting nationalistic rhetoric in many posts in this thread. I suggest it's mostly hot air. No one country and no one company is 'The leader in Quality'.

I would say USA played a significant part in the birth of modern QA, but have forgotten and re-learnt their lessons so many times they've rendered themselves inelligible.

Europe appears to be some miles ahead.
e.g. intro of TS16949 several years ahead of the rest of the world, & HQ for ISO is in France. :agree1:

Sorry to correct you but it is in Switzerland.
Who remembers Swiss clocks and watches.

The list will go on and on and on. How about Germany with its snow-cap pens; France with its LV fashion; Scotland and its whiskey; Malaysia and its pewterware; etc. etc.

Sorry to correct you but it is in Switzerland.


Hey, it's all Europe to me, but yes, an oversight. I had France on the brain!

No matter where it started or who taught who, I think it's a mindset that determines who wins the best in class rating. For their mindset, I have to make my vote for the Japanese.

They've made it work by continuous commitment. America is subject to fadism. We love something today and abandon it tomorrow. We may have taught the principles to the Japaese, but they made it a long term strategy.

The downside of the Japanese thinking is that they can be rigid to deal with and not as open to new ideas. Anyone who has had to navigate the process of getting a medical device approved in Japan can attest to that.

I have to agree with the tendency for rigidity. They will steadfastly cling to what they know best. . .and seem to have diffculty treading new waters. .

I have great respect for what they have accomplished in the past 55 years.