July 2004

QUALITY BASICS

Quality From Scratch: A Model for Small Business
(PDF, 132 KB)
A methodology based on the Baldrige criteria can help small-business leaders successfully segment their processes into measurable and stable components.
Grace Duffy, president, Management and Performance Systems, Tavares, FL
Stop Depending on Inspection
(PDF, 241 KB)
Transition from inspection based to prevention based quality makes all employees responsible for quality. It may even eliminate the need for inspection.
Darin J. Craig, quality supervisor, International Environmental Corp., Oklahoma City
Root Cause Analysis for Beginners
(PDF, 232 KB)
Root causes are underlying, reasonable, identifiable, controllable by management and allow for generation of recommendations. By learning what, how and why something happened, recurrence can be prevented.
James J. Rooney and Lee N. Vanden Heuvel, senior risk and reliability engineers, ABSG Consulting Inc., Knoxville, TN

MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD

The Image and Reality of Excellence
(PDF, 210 KB)
A 15-year Baldrige blueprint for exceeding customer, shareholder and employee expectations led Medrad Inc. to a Baldrige award while improving revenue growth and profitability levels.
Susan E. Daniels, associate editor