Is On-Time Delivery a Quality Objective?

[matthewjd24]

Our Quality Policy includes a quality objective regarding on-time delivery. I asked the Quality Manager whether our delivery performance is a Quality-related metric, and he said it's a customer requirement that needs to be adhered to. I feel this doesn't make much sense. Is this right? Thank you.

 

[Sidney Vianna]

Monitoring OTD is mandated by AS9100D. Obviously delivery performance is a critical aspect of customer satisfaction, so I am not sure why you feel it does not make sense. Are you still under the understanding that quality refers strictly only to product conformity to specs?

 

[matthewjd24]

Are you still under the understanding that quality refers strictly only to product conformity to specs?

Yes I suppose I was interpreting quality to mean product quality.

 

[Sidney Vianna]

You are not alone. That is an archaic paradigm, which, apparently is hard to evolve in the business world.

 

[matthewjd24]

So I was thinking the Quality Manager is responsible for product quality. If it's not just that is it supposed to mean the quality of the organization?

 

[Sidney Vianna]

You posted this question under the AS9100 Forum, so I assume you are familiar with it. Does AS9100 delve only with product inspection and testing? A quality system is so much more....

 

[Michael_M]

So I was thinking the Quality Manager is responsible for product quality. If it's not just that is it supposed to mean the quality of the organization?

When people ask me what I do, after telling them I am a Quality Manager, I tell them I have many functions but the top 3 are:
1. Push for/cheerlead for continuous improvement
2. Take responsibility to monitor and direct the quality management system (which I remove the word "quality" from and just call it 'the management system")
3. Take responsibility for the quality of the company systems. Note: This does include product quality but is all the systems that surrounds and encompasses the product. Additional note: I am not responsible directly for the systems (system owner is), I am more responsible for how the systems interact.

Obviously there is a lot more that a quality manager does, but I use those 3 things when a layman asks what I actually do for a living (or more appropriately, when they ask what a quality manager does).

 

[Funboi]

If doing “quality” is meeting customer (agreed) requirements, and a delivery time is agreed, isn‘t that a quality objective?

 

[Ed Panek]

For Management Review I present a slide on payment terms being met. It is a financial metric but customers paying on time is related to product acceptance. That is then a quality objective; meeting customer expectations.

 

[Randy]

Not that anything I say would count but OTD is BS objective at best, especially when the "organization" has very little or absolutely no control or even influence beyond their shipping dock.....0, NONE, NADA, ZILCH, NICHTS!

The absolute, possible best could be "Ready for OTD shipment at loading/shipping dock" but that's it because the organization can't control or even realistically influence when a truck will be at a shipping dock beyond a hope, wish or prayer.

As a well used Meme says...."Change my mind"