Re: What's in it for me.
That may work lego55.. we are not automotive.. so all of the ISO/AS9100 benefits don't have the same framework.. but yes.. that might work..
My original powerpoint started with "True or False: Quality is an important factor for the survival of any business."
.. and then I started talking about several of the quality definitions used over the years -- "Quality directly supports other factors; e.g., cost, on-time delivery, and overall market share, but just what is “Quality?” The word “quality” has taken on a variety of different definitions over the years:"
but it wasn't what she was looking for.. -- "find examples that they can identify with.. all this academic stuff is good, but remember your audience.. get it down to their level."
Coury -- My original title was "Quality 101" and the raw content read as follows:
Joseph Juran & Frank Gryna
"Quality is fitness for use."
Is "Quality" just "Fitness for Use"? A while back I went to Lowe's to get a small toolbox to keep in the kitchen--something to hold a few basic tools like a hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. that would keep me from having to go to the outbuilding every time I needed something. The one I bought is pictured below, and the logo plate being skewed raised some interesting questions:
1. Is the logo being off-center evidence of something that one should be concerned about? Does it mean that there's something deficient in the manufacturer's processes? The toolbox is perfectly functional, and does what I wanted it to do. Juran defined quality as "fitness for use"--is that a good general definition?
2. If you were looking at toolboxes in the store and notices this "defect," would it cause you to buy a different product, all else being equal? If so, why?
3. Assuming that you bought this toolbox would the "defect" have any influence on future purchases?
4. Bonus question: Can you guess where the toolbox was manufactured?
Robert Peach, The ISO 9000 Handbook
"...the totality of characteristics of an entity that bears on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs."
Peach, Crosby and others define quality as “meeting customer expectations, both stated and unstated.” This definition goes beyond just fitness for use. Using that broader definition, I would say that that toolbox would not meet my "quality", because the reality is that quality is judged by customers, and not by organizations.
This distinction is critical because it forces us to examine quality from the customers’ viewpoint. For example, a bank may view quality as “having friendly and knowledgeable employees.” However, the customers of this bank may be more concerned with waiting time, ATM access and security, as well as statement accuracy. Thus it is important for us to determine what customers expect and then develop products that meet or exceed those expectations.
Armand Feigenbaum
"Quality is a customer determination based upon a customer's actual experience with a product or service, measured against his or her requirements -stated or unstated, conscious or merely sensed, technically operational or entirely subjective -and always representing a moving target in a competitive market."
Customers usually have two levels of expectations, which could be said to be: 1) desired and 2) acceptable.
1. The desired level of expectations is what the customer really wants. If this level of expectations is provided, the customer would be very satisfied.
2. The acceptable level is viewed as a reasonable level of performance that the customer considers as being adequate.
The difference between these two levels of expectations is called the customer’s zone of tolerance. The problem for a lot of companies is a failure to recognize that quality is a moving target, and an unswerving commitment to innovation is the only way to move with it. To help illustrate this point, I'd like to tell a short story.
It's about some large animals that were playing football against the small animals and insects. Not surprisingly, the score at the end of the first half was 120 to 0. The small animals and insects hadn't made a single tackle.
When the second half started, a bear took the kickoff on the 45-yard line and was stopped with no gain. On the next play, a giraffe tried an end run, but was tackled for a one-yard loss. The giraffe looked down at the bottom of the pile and saw a centipede. He looked at the centipede and said: "Did you tackle me? This is the first time I've been tackled all day."
The hundred-legger replied, "Yep, I tackled you and the bear." The giraffe looked down at the centipede and said: "Where were you in the first half? Your team didn't make a single tackle." The centipede replied, "I was getting my ankles taped."
There are a lot of companies out there in the global marketplace getting their ankles taped, and our playing field is the fiercely competitive world of today's international markets. The barriers that once protected inefficient firms, and sheltered them within national boundaries are falling. This trend is accelerating, and the marketplace and the competition have become global.
American Society for Quality (ASQ)
"Quality denotes an excellence in goods and services, especially to the degree they conform to requirements and satisfy customers."
I think by now you are starting to realize that quality means a lot of things to different people, but one of the common threads is that quality is defined by our customer -- not by you, your boss, or even the president of the company. In the words of Peter Drucker: "Quality in a product or service is not what the supplier puts in. It is what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for."
If you think about it, a company's primary responsibility is to serve its customers. Serving our customers is how we generate sales, and through word-of-mouth create our future sales, and increase our market-share. Profit is not the primary goal, but rather an essential condition for the company's continued existence. The old mindset when it came to profit was to charge less in order to bring in more sales because people want a discount. That's true, but people want a lot of other things as well, e.g., high quality, and good service.
Drucker believed that employees are assets and not liabilities, and central to this philosophy is the view that people are an organization's most valuable resource and that a manager's job is to prepare and free people to perform. It's up to us to mold customer perception about what kind of manufacturer we are. Keep our customers coming back by treating them right.
There's no question that customer service pays off in higher profits. Our current and future income is dependent on how well we treat our customers, which keeps them loyal to us and our business. Customer satisfaction. Strive to be a quality dealer, not a discount manufacturer.
Peter Senge et al, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook
"Quality is a transformation in the way we think and work together, in what we value and reward, and in the way we measure success. All of us collaborate to design and operate a seamless value-adding system that incorporates quality control, customer service, process improvement, supplier relationships, and good relations with the communities we serve and in which we operate - all optimizing for a common purpose."
Even though there is a quality organization in the company, the responsibility for quality is everyone’s. So, if we don’t sense the urgency of such a strategy, what caused this to happen? Are there those among us who sleep? And if so, how was this allowed to happen? I offer you the "parable of the boiled frog" which has been circulated for some years, but it does a wonderful job of describing the phenomenon. Here it is:
They say that if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out right away to escape the danger.
But, if you put a frog in a kettle that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant, and then you gradually heat the kettle until it starts boiling, the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late. The frog's survival instincts are geared towards detecting sudden changes, and will boil to death or can only be saved if only someone pulls him out.
Dave's Definition of Quality
"Quality is a really, really boring definition that has no real meaning to most humans on this planet unless you are a millionaire consultant writing a new book or a quality coordinator applying for some quality award or certification so you can quit and become a millionaire consultant who writes books and produces infomercials from his private island in the Caribbean."
With that said, quality is not necessarily a tight tolerance, a shiny surface, or a perfect fit. Quite simply, “quality is what the customer wants, needs, and is willing to pay for.”
In the broad sense, the following are steps to achieve quality:
1. Determine the customer’s wants and needs.
2. Communicate those needs effectively to all concerned.
3. Assess our ability to meet those needs.
4. Have an attitude that reflects your desire.