- Customer Satisfaction and Value
- Engineering
- Global Quality
- Human Resources
- Baldrige National Quality Program
- ISO 14000
- ISO 9000
- Leadership
- Problem Solving
- Process Management
- Quality Management
- Quality Tools
- Six Sigma
- Social Responsibility
- Standards
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Supplier Quality
- Teams
- Total Quality Management
- Economic Case for Quality
A Frank Discussion
The Pittsburgh section has been an ASQ stalwart. It was one of a handful sections that co-founded ASQ in the 1940s. Because of the concentration of manufacturing in the area, Pittsburgh has always been home to many ASQ members—and a hotspot for quality....
Futures Study
Forces of Change From All ASQ Futures Studies Table 1 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 Changing values Partnering Quality must deliver bottom- line results Globalization Globalization Globalization Learning systems Management systems will increasingly absorb the...
Strength in Numbers
Finding resources to pursue quality improvement and organizational excellence is the greatest challenge confronting most organizations today, including universities and professional organizations....
No Longer Lost in Translation
Language barriers and communication delays can disrupt a company's plans to survive and thrive in a global economy. The pursuit of quality also depends on bridging the communication gap. Without communication there can be no bridge from quality theory...
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....
A Necessity To Compete Globally
One of the most important things about quality is to hold on to the quality philosophy. Having been trained at Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors I began to see the contrast between America’s luxury style and Japan’s no waste society....
Column: Standards Outlook: Technology and World Leadership
This month's column will be a bit unusual in that it does not look forward so much as look back. I am writing as the conflict in Iraq is winding down...
Column: Standards Outlook: Add Value to ISO 9001:2000 Audits
The standard's revision provides the opportunity to help organizations improve the way they do business
Quality auditors have been criticized for not adding value to what they do for clients. The ISO 9001:2000 revision provides an opportunity to change...
Russia's Journey Toward Performance Excellence
Industrial enterprises move from traditional quality control to a focus on organizational planning, process improvement and customer satisfaction
This move shifts the focus from quality control and inspection to organizationwide quality planning and improvement of all processes rather than only those that affect product quality. Planning for quality control of products and production processes, inc...
Column: World View: Russia's Journey Toward Performance Excellence
Russian industrial enterprises move from traditional quality control to a focus on organizational planning, process improvement and customer satisfaction....
Integrating ISO 9001:2000 and the Baldrige Criteria
No single quality system, criterion, or philosophy will provide the solution to an organization's quality problems. A sound quality program can be implemented by an organization using ISO 9001:2000, the Baldrige Award and its criteria, and total...
TQM's Human Resource Component
A survey of manufacturing firms in Georgia examined human resource (HR) factors and outcomes of implementing total quality management (TQM). Of about 350 firms receiving the survey, 91 produced usable results, 35 of these being from firms using TQM....
The Call of Quality: Doing Right Things Right
Models of excellence and doing the right thing are found in codes of ethics, certification programs, and award criteria. In this era of competitiveness and complexity, people and their organizations are challenged to understand the multiple aspects of...
Brazil and ISO 9000
Why a developing country is a world leader in certification
Most of the companies in Brazil were certified by ABS Quality Evaluations, BVQI, Lloyd's Register, DNV and SGS International Certification Services, all internationally known certification bodies. Lack of ISO 9000 certification seemed to be a barrier, but...
Getting Employee Buy-in to Quality Management
Realistic job previews (RJPs) can prevent the effects of unrealistic job expectations, such as poor job satisfaction, low employee productivity, and high turnover rates. RJPs are especially important in the quality management (QM) culture. Techniques...
Go with the Flow: Stress and the Quality Professional
He or she must train employees in quality skills, facilitate teams to improve processes, and convince line managers Go With the Flow: Stress and the Quality Professional Tips to decompress and improve your work life by John R. Dew D Figure 1. Mountain Cl...
Six Sigma and the Future of the Quality Profession
A lean quality organization that performs supporting roles is a trend in the quality profession. It already has appeared in businesses like General Electric and the now defunct Scott Paper Company. The supporting roles are management of the quality...
Benchmarking Your Plant Against TQM Best-Practices Plants: Part 2 of 4
The Rosemount Plant of the Emerson Electric Company is the second of four world-class operations described in a series of articles on quality practices. Rosemount has combined flexible manufacturing with total quality management (TQM) techniques and...
Considerations for Global Supplier Quality
Assessment of international suppliers occurs in two steps: initial investigation and supplier visit. In the initial investigation, data are gathered about the company and the country. This includes background information on the company as well as...
Improving Business-Education Relationships
Educators and businesspersons should become more involved in partnerships between their organizations. Business-education relationships already are popular, with 74% of the K-12 schools in the most recent Quality Progress list having established such...
Always Ready to Serve
Reengineering of a scout organization has improved its community commitment, spirit, and personal development. The Iguanas clan group IV in Nuevo Leon, Mexico is a group of young men called Rovers. They perform service and personal-development...
Continuous Improvement: The Key to Future Success
Business excellence is built on focused strategies and aligned initiatives. For Texas Instruments Defense Systems & Electronics (DS&E), the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria provide the foundation. After winning the Award in 1992, DS&E...
TQM Within FORTUNE 500 Corporations
96.7% Yes 3.3% No ( n = 92) 10. If such quality teams exist, are they put together by: 17.0% Management 4.6% Employees with an interest in the area or problem 78.4% Both ( n = 88) 11. When quality teams are formed to address issues of concern within the ...
Is This What's Really Going On?
Quality Progress readers respond to the Editorial Comment on "What's Going on at U.S. Universities" in the September 1996 issue. These 22 letters fall into three groups. Seven of the letters suggest that higher education responds to its markets by:...
More Voices Speak Out on the Future of the Quality Profession
Readers have reacted to the Quality Progress July 1996 special issue on the future of quality. Direct responses from about 24 readers to questions raised in the issue suggest that quality activities will become more integrated within organizations,...
The Realistic Model of Higher Education
The primary customers of higher education are employers, while students are products. Accepting this model is a step toward implementation of total quality management in higher education. The model is appropriate for many technical, undergraduate...
The Next Generation of School Reform
School restructuring in Georgia is founded on total quality management (TQM). The Next Generation School Project (NGSP) reforms schools from within. W. Edwards Deming's 14 points are the basis for NGSP's ten-point template, which includes: community...
Creativity and Improvement: A Vital Link
These might include the assumptions that a PC requires a power Figure 2. Some Tools and Methods of Improvement Based on Critical Thinking Tools to visualize systems/ processes Flow diagram Process model ( input/ outcome) Linkage of processes Systems map ...
TQM, Reengineering, and the Edge of Chaos
Complex-adaptive systems survive through evolutionary forces and self-organization (or positive feedback). This allows them to live on the edge of chaos, successfully balanced between the stagnation of stability and the self destruction of chaos....
9000 Standards?
Both suppliers and customers can benefit from standards. Registration to ISO 9000 helps a supplier: establish the foundations of a quality system; stand out from non-registered competitors; and gain entry to markets otherwise closed. The European...
Teams in the Age of Systems
The notion of customer- in, which is adapted from the ideas Figure 2. The Paradigm Shift in Management Philosophy Hierarchical approach to management Origin: The Prussian army; first used in business in the railroad industry in 1840 Focus on management Q...
What Do Managers Really Think of the ISO 9000 Registration Process?
Forty Colorado companies were surveyed about the ISO 9000 registration process. Each company was ISO-9000 registered, and the key ISO 9000 person at each firm answered the 22 open-ended survey questions. Results indicate that 85% of the firms sought...
Quality Quest: One Company's Successful Attempt at Implementing TQM
The facilitator training was an intense four- day program focusing on the following: � Quality, including Crosby's four absolutes and 14 steps ( day 1) � The customer- supplier process and the facilitator's role in it ( day 1) � Problem- solving methodol...
Naval Station Mayport Jump-Starts Quality
TQL is defined as: " The application of quantitative methods and the knowledge of people to assess and improve ( a) materials and services supplied to the organization, ( b) all significant processes within the organization, and ( c) meeting the needs of...
How to Construct a Basic Quality Manual
by William R. Hamilton W Figure 1. Flowchart for Constructing a Basic Quality Manual Review quality manuals Construct a draft Edit and modify Document why not Make quality manual a controlled document Print copies for distribution Present a construction ...
Building a Leadership Foundation Through Improvement
The executive learning process can be facilitated by the leadership of quality professionals. However, barriers include executives' resistance to their own education and to being taught by their employees. Executives also can be too impatient, too...
Quality and the Theory of Constraints
To achieve quality, companies must understand the impact of local actions on the whole system. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) fosters this understanding by focusing on the elements of a system that limit the system's improvement. TOC was introduced...
