What is Quality?

 There are many companies who have claim to have quality because they have implemented programs like ISO 9000, six sigma or they have won awards for quality.

But the reality is that the only person who can assess the quality is your customer.

They have their own perceptions of quality,  they make an assessment of the whole company based on their own experiences. Quality is like respect, it can never be imposed, it must come from within. Henry Ford said there should be no need for final inspectors at the Mint. Every silver dollar produced should be perfect the first time. Final inspection cannot improve product quality, it can only prevent the shipping of defective product. Products that fail in final inspection create additional rework, this delays shipment and adds unnecessary cost to the product.

 A great example of superb product quality is a Lego block, every one is perfect, they all fit together exactly and they fit so well they create a vacuum seal! They are manufactured to an extremely high level of tolerance, in fact they change the die every 20 minutes to resharpen it so that it can hold the very tight tolerances they insist on! They make and sell billions of Lego blocks every year and they never make a defect. Their have a defect level of 0 parts per billion! Not bad for a child’s toy.

 Total Quality is more than just producing a good product. Total Quality is an obsession with quality that permeates every aspect of the companies operation. It is an attitude of zero tolerance for defects, rework, rejects, scrap or mistakes. A Total Quality program starts with Top Management who live by a simple code, they walk the talk of Total Quality and are a living example to everyone in the organization. Quality is everyone’s responsibility, and the impression we make in the first few minutes of any transaction creates a lasting impression in the eye of a customer. We must all strive to ensure that we live, breathe and exude quality in everything we do.