- Criteria for Performance Excellence
- Customer Satisfaction and Value
- Data Quality
- Engineering
- Global Quality
- Human Resources
- Baldrige National Quality Program
- ISO 14000
- ISO 9000
- Leadership
- Lean
- Metrics
- Metrology
- Problem Solving
- Process Management
- Product Development and Recall
- Project Management
- Quality Assurance
- Quality Control
- Quality Management
- Quality Tools
- Six Sigma
- Small Business
- Software Quality
- Standards
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Supplier Quality
- Teams
- Total Quality Management
- Compliance
- Risk Management
- Information Management
- Customer Requirements
- Continuous Improvement
Tune Up
Six Sigma has many meanings. In its simplest context, Six Sigma can be defined statistically as the attempt to achieve near-perfection by having no more than 3.4 errors per million opportunities, or being 99.997% correct (or defect-free)....
Progress Report
Six Sigma has been a hot topic discussed and implemented globally in the business world, nonprofit organizations and even governments. There is comparatively less research, however, into how to assess the maturity of Six Sigma implementation....
Narrow Healthcare's Quality Chasm
Today's healthcare leaders face the need to effectively manage not only the clinical but also the business side of their operations. This includes demonstrating cost reductions, overall organizational improvement and long-term sustainability....
FMEA Minus the Pain
Failure mode effects analysis has stood the test of time as a powerful risk assessment tool for products, processes and systems....
In the Know
More and more organizations are choosing outsourcing as a necessary means of remaining competitive in the global economy. Quality professionals must consider building a body of knowledge completely dedicated to the subject of quality in outsourcing....
Online Figure 1 Ramu
Outsourcing BoK Expected cognition Perceived weight CMQ/ OE CQE CQA CSQE ( New) CRE CSSBB CSSGB CCT CBA CHA CQT CQPA CQIA CQI Project management 10 Project charter Create Create Apply Project estimation and tracking Analyze Apply Apply Apply Understand C...
The Road to Improvement
Registration of public organizations to the ISO 9001 quality management standard can be difficult because of their complex operations and extensive documentation....
Eyes on the Dashboard at Mercy Health System
Patient satisfaction has been a component of Mercy Health System’s dashboard system for about six years, so when emergency department satisfaction into the red zone in late 2005, it immediately set off an alarm....
Sharp HealthCare Gets to the Point in Managing Diabetes
With literature from the last five years demonstrating that poor control of blood sugar in acute healthcare settings equates to negative outcomes in diabetics, Sharp HealthCare in San Diego decided to control it everywhere....
Launch to Quality
After using different quality methods with limited success, the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, implemented lean Six Sigma in 2004. Through all of this, leadership demonstrated a steadfast commitment to fully implementing lean Six Sigm...
Achieve Compliance Through CI
Using Six Sigma tools for continuous improvement (CI) is a proven method for meeting or exceeding FDA requirements for medical devices. Optical Integrity Inc., a manufacturer of medical devices, used the Six Sigma define, measure, analyze, improve...
Lean Lessons: Lean Kaizen in the 21st Century
Adapted from a chapter of Lean Kaizen, the author offers key takeaways from the Toyota Production System (TPS). He describes how the kaizen method is the foundation of the The Toyota Way and how it emphasizes efficiency, problem solving and...
From One-Man Show to Baldrige Recipient
Mesa Products Inc., which manufactures and installs cathodic protection systems for underground piping and other metal structures, was the recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award in the small business category in 2006. Mesa’s quality...
Standards Outlook: Why a New ISO 9004?
In the rush that is today's business environment, we often worry more about details than we do the big picture....
Standards Outlook: Developing the Voluntary Healthcare Standard
The new Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) voluntary standard for healthcare delivery is in its second review, with an anticipated launch no later than early 2008. AIAG also is pursuing partners for the publication from the healthcare sector....
Linking the Supply Chain to TQM
In today's environment of global outsourcing, supplier quality management must transform itself from simply measuring supplier compliance to gathering knowledge, managing risk, and executing project management. Total quality management (TQM) ensures...
Empowering Employees to Pull the Quality Trigger
The successful implementation of a quality management system calls for a shift in decision making from quality managers to shop floor operators empowered to initiate a corrective action in the event of a quality event. While the widespread use of data...
Emotional Intelligence and Six Sigma
Emotional intelligence (EI), the ability to perceive, assess, and manage one's own emotions and the emotions of others, is vital to a project team environment and fits well with Six Sigma methodology. When time is limited, Six Sigma Black Belts must...
Standards Outlook: Supply Chain Management Remains Aerospace Challenge
The aerospace industry is in the process of shedding new light on the customer-supplier relationship, especially in the never ending quest to deliver defect free, safe and reliable product....
A Community College's Long-Term Commitment
Committed leadership is essential to maintaining a focus on continual improvement in any organization. Dallas' Richland College proved this when, under the leadership of long-time president Steven Mittelstet, it became the first community college to...
Oklahoma School District Goes Over the Top
In 2005, the Jenks Public Schools in Oklahoma became one of only seven organizations to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for education since the category was instituted in 2001. Its data revealed that JPS was already ranked among the best...
Steady Does It For DynMcDermott
DynMcDermott Petroleum Operations (DM) holds the maintenance and operations contract for the Department of Energy's strategic petroleum reserve. High DOE expectations prompted DM's Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award journey ten years ago when DM...
Project Teams: How Good Are They?
Project teams have become the basic work units for most enterprises, but there are tough challenges, as illustrated by notable project failures featured in the media in recent years. A recent Quality Progress survey revealed a conflicting picture of...
Rapid Knowledge Transfer: The Key to Success
Rapid knowledge transfer (RKT) involves the discovery, learning, creation, and reuse of knowledge that becomes intellectual capital that can be converted into value and profits. The concepts of RKT are applicable to quality management because its four...
Reflections on the Future of Quality
Over the years, the intent of quality systems has evolved from enhancing customer satisfaction by meeting their needs to improving overall organizational performance and capabilities. But quality management systems have always lagged behind evolving...
Career Corner: Are You Middle-Aged and Counting?
When were you born? For some of you, the answer makes you middle-aged, but that’s OK. Think of the experiences under your belt. Experience is an asset, you know....
Corral Your Organization's Knowledge
One useful method of determining organizational performance is to assess how well it manages critical knowledge. Definitions of knowledge management may vary, but they generally fit into one of four categories: Information technology, organizational...
Baldrige - Just What the Doctor Ordered
The Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) University Hospital Hamilton's commitment to quality has won it the 2004 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the healthcare category. Part of the hospital's existing quality program is its five pillars of excellence...
Quality Management's Role in Global Sourcing
Globalization and the evolution of quality management systems from a focus on controlling product conformity to a much broader focus on overall enterprise capability have resulted in the need to redefine the role of quality management in dealing with...
A Class Act
Responding to Motorola's challenge to the American education system to produce student capable of competing in the global marketplace, Community Consolidated School District 15 in Palatine, IL began a journey resulting in its winning the 2003 Malcolm...
Simplify Baldrige for Healthcare
The growing number of applicants for the Baldrige award in healthcare points to the need for a set of tools to help organizations assess themselves. A healthcare self-assessment matrix and opportunity for improvement worksheets are provided to help...
Two Hospitals Prescribe Performance Excellence
Florida's Baptist Hospital Inc. (BHI) and Saint Luke's Hospital (SLH) in Kansas City, Missouri were recipients of the 2003 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the healthcare category. In addition to its new mission to provide world-class patient...
Stoner: Built on a Strong Foundation
Stoner Inc., a manufacturer of cleaning, lubrication, and coating products, was the 2003 winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the small business category. The company is run with only two operational levels: the leadership team that...
The Image and Reality of Excellence
Medical device manufacturer Medrad Inc. was the only company in the manufacturing sector to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for 2003. The company has been involved with Baldrige since the award’s inception fifteen years ago....
Quality in the Fast Lane
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has developed a streamlined approach to assessing its field offices using Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria as a guide. In the past, field office assessments used either self-assessment or outside...
At Your Service
"Boeing Aerospace Support (AS) and Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. (CFSC), 2003 winners of Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards in the service industry, have proven once again that quality pays rather than costs. As Baldrige award applicants,...
Your Gateway to Quality Knowledge
For the past decade, the Quality Information Center (QIC) at ASQ’s Milwaukee headquarters has collected and compiled material from quality professionals in academics, manufacturing and service to create a definitive quality body of knowledge....
Does Baldrige Make a Business Case for Quality
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) is a widely accepted model promoting quality management as a means to business success. However, because business results are themselves part of the model, the contribution of the approach-deployment...
Learning From Columbia
In the year since the space shuttle Columbia accident that took the lives of its seven crew members a number of reports say NASA’s management and culture should share the blame. Findings from the accident have significance in all operations...
Quality's Six Life Cycle Stages
A tool referred to as “quality life cycle” provides a strategic mechanism to chart and sustain quality while proactively countering shortcomings of its implementation, such as stagnation and limited application, which can ultimately result in failure....
Gain a Competitive Edge By Preventing Recalls
Product recalls are a serious problem for consumer products companies. Each year, thousands of products representing hundreds of millions of product units are recalled in the United States for safety reasons....
Best Practices in Process Management
Process improvement tools have been used to evaluate business processes ranging from employee satisfaction to customer help desk support....
ISO 9000 Makes Integrated Systems User Friendly
Organizations need management systems that are based on processes or activities that help personnel understand what is essential to achieving continual improvement on a consistent basis....
Lean and Six Sigma – Synergy Made in Heaven
The combination of Six Sigma and lean enterprise work can enhance the production experience. Workers have the empowerment and skill to recognize a problem and, if it cannot be resolved, shut down the line to eliminate the root cause. Six Sigma and lean...
An Integrated Approach System
What’s the best quality system? How would you answer this question? How would your colleagues?...
Baldrige: It’s Easy, Free and It Works
While many people consider the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria to be difficult, a harder task is learning how to manage opportunities for improvements instead of managing known strengths. While Baldrige may not have the answers, it...
Systems Thinking – An Uncommon Answer
Some of the common problems to be found in many business failures include too much focus on short-term gains, too much focus on quarterly profit statements, and a prevalence of long-term losses. One possible solution to these problems is systems...
Complexity Theory Simplifies Choices
Many business management and improvement methodologies provide finite structures for achieving success. Examples include the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award; the ISO 9001 standard; W. Edward Deming, who provided 14 points; and Six Sigma....
Quality Management Multiple Choice: What’s the best quality system?
Monitoring and recording the extent of transition experienced within a designated area assure Procedure ( general) Priority Reviewed Completed Record control Document control Internal audits Management review Corrective action Preventive action Monitorin...
QOS – A Simple Method for Big or Small
Although there are many quality initiatives in the marketplace, many of them involve a degree of hype. Ford Motor Company’s quality operating system (QOS) is recommended as one offering the most value for the money. A QOS assessment looks at...
Saving the Internet Survivors
In the relentless battle for market share, profitability, and survival in today's fiercely competitive e-business environment, the winners will be those with a deep understanding of customer relationship management (CRM) and those with a commitment to...
Implementation Can Benefit from Quality Experience
Knowledge management is beginning to be recognized as a quality tool that will change the standards of competition. Knowledge management decreases waste and rework by focusing on shared solutions, ideas, and best practices. The concept of knowledge...
Quality by Knowledge
The other "60%" was devoted to knowledge management projects, such as mapping internal experts, sharing knowledge within virtual teams and supporting reuse of knowledge. Our first hint came in January 1999 when we read an excellent article on quality and ...
Six Sigma, E-Commerce Pose New Challenges
Companies feel a need to become more flexible and ready to respond to rapid changes due to the growth of e-commerce. Corporate systems for responding to such changes have the same role as that of the central nervous system in the human body. The...
Planning Data Configuration for Statistical Analysis
A greater availability of electronically collected data has allowed problems to be solved on the basis of data rather than intuition. The combination of quality initiatives with computerized data analysis packages means increased utilization of...
Planning for Knowledge Management
Knowledge management (KM) can improve access to and use of information for decision making and fulfilling organization goals. Development and implementation of KM includes the following steps. First, create a culture that has long-term commitment to:...
Back to the Future
The ASQ Foresight 2020 project has generated scenarios on the future of quality and the role of the quality professional. Facilitated by the Institute for Alternative Futures, the project is a successor to ASQ's first futures study, which had 2010 as...
EFQM's New Excellence Model
Places more emphasis on performance and organizational excellence
The EFQM Excellence Model (see Figure 1) consists of enablers and results. In the new model, the switch from total quality management to organizational excellence is a fact. GIOVANNI QUAGLIA is the model manager of EFQM and conducted and directed the proj...
Measurements and the Knowledge Revolution
Real-time delivery of valued knowledge provides strong support for enterprise operations. In the knowledge revolution, organizations can improve knowledge delivery with the right measurement and information systems. Successful organizations must use...
ISO 9000 Revisions Are Key to Knowledge Age Excellence
36 I Q U A L I T Y P R O G R E S S I J U L Y 1 9 9 9 I S O 9 0 0 0 R E V I S I O N S A R E K E Y T O K N O W L E D G E A G E E X C E L L E N C E Steps to Gain Added Value From ISO 9000 Because many companies would flunk ISO 9000 basics, let alone know ho...
Putting Quality in Knowledge Management
Rapid access to expertise within an organization is a purpose of knowledge management. Quality professionals have critical leadership and educational roles in the harvesting of that knowledge and in the management of corporate memory. Knowledge is...
Motivating Knowledge Workers: The Role of the Workplace
Five categories of needs established by Abraham Maslow provide insight into the needs of knowledge workers. Though there is disagreement on whether Maslow's levels of needs form a hierarchy, the categories do suggest how workplace and organizational...
At the Crossroads of Computing and Quality
Information technology has and will continue to influence quality management. The early days of quality management, in the 1930s to early 1960s, focused on statistical process control. During that time, the computer eventually became one of several...
Is the World Ready for Knowledge Management?
promises, companies must: 1. Understand the impact that technology makes in their corporate culture and in work flow 2. Create an information flow and work flow system based on human style that acts as a support ( or infrastructure) to technology 3. Trai...
Bringing Quality to the Masses: The Miracle of Loaves and Fishes
As Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, observed: " All the technology that surrounds us, all the management theories, the economic models that predict and guide our behavior, the science that helps us live to 80. it's all created by a tiny percentage of...
Intelligence Everywhere: How Technology Can Enlighten and Empower
Automation linked with human insight enhances quality deployment. Information technology and quality are means to pursuing organizational goals. They support evolution of the workplace toward the ideal of a paperless environment in which wisdom and...
Reengineering and Dumbsizing: Mismanagement of the Knowledge Resource
The information economy is based on intellectual capital, but radical redesigns of organizations can harm the people who supply this capital. Harm is most dramatic in reengineering, a term sometimes used synonymously with "downsizing." When positions...
