Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Multiple Choice
Whats the best quality system?
o ISO 9000.
o Quality Operating System.
ow would you answer this question?
change will be resilient. Planning and measure- DAVID SHIPLEY is a quality systems coordinator for
ment are integral to ISO 9000. Nucor: Vulcraft Group-Norfolk Division, Norfolk, NE. He
Improved customer focus. There is a tendency is a doctoral student in the community resource develop-
to confuse customer wants and needs with cus- ment program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
tomer expectations and specifications. Developing Shipley is an ASQ member and a Registrar Accreditation
a concise definition and statement of external and
Board quality and environmental management systems
internal customer expectations and specifications,
lead auditor.
as required by ISO 9000, contributes to clarifying
what the customer focus of a business consists of.
Processes or activities are consistently utilized to
assure external and internal customers receive the
product or service required.
Once the organization determines the internal
o
QOSA Simple
and external customer requirements and how spec-
ifications are to be met, fostering and maintaining
Method for Big
open communications are critical to continual
improvement of the management system.
Or Small
Improved process ownership, responsibility by Carl W. Keller
and accountability. Further improvements are
actualized when an ISO 9000 environment is creat- I have been involved in several types and
ed in which employees are aware they are respon- aspects of quality management over the last 15
sible and accountable for the various business years and have seen just about every kind of quali-
processes and activities. This approach encourages ty management system (QMS). There are many
ownership of the management system. quality initiatives floating around, and a lot of
The ACID test is a decisive tool to partially hype surrounds some of them. Some initiatives
assess development and improvement of a man- border on being fads and gimmicks, while some
agement system. Never heard of it? It is important have a bit more impact.
to do the following during integration and mainte- So, which one would I choose if I had free rein
nance of a management system: and wanted to get the most for my money? The
Avoid duplication of system documentation biggest bang for the buck I have had the pleasure
and efforts. of implementing is Ford Motor Co.s quality oper-
Have cohesive systems that are logical and ating system (QOS). QOS was developed by Ford
easily comprehended by system users. in 1986 and was added as a requirement of its Q1
Make sure integrated system differences are supplier registration in 1988.
transparent or seamless to the user. While Ford suppliers are subject to a QOS
Have dynamic systems characterized by activi- assessment, which involves several criteria includ-
ty, progress and transition. ing communication, teamwork, measurables and
continuous improvement, QOS is just as easily
Is ISO 9000 for WIMPS? adapted to an organization that is not an automo-
Fail? Maintain? Succeed? When given the tive supplier and not subject to QOS, Q1 or QS-
options, most businesses and industries strive for 9000 or TS 16949 (the automotive derivatives of the
success. The approach Ive described here, called ISO 9000 quality management standard). In fact,
worthwhile improvements made practical system- outside Ford, the QOS initiative is known as a busi-
atically (WIMPS), produces tangible and measur- ness operating system (BOS).
able management system results. Possibly ISO 9000 The QOS/BOS operating philosophy includes a
is for WIMPS after all. structured team approach, use of standard tools for
REFERENCE
data collection, a structured reporting format and a
closed loop continuous improvement cycle. Keen
1. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language,
observers will notice its striking similarity to the 14
third edition, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1992.
just not going to use them. As much as we want Sigma High or hang an ISO 9001 certificate in the
upper management to show enthusiasm for quality lobby, but only a few will ever use the initiatives
programs, executives often fall short of giving for anything more than marketing tools. All too
those programs full support. often, flowery mission statements and quality
Upper management may send employees to Six manuals continue to gather dust because initiatives
Demings 14 Principles
1. Create constancy of purpose tion and service to improve system and thus lie beyond
toward improvement of prod- quality and productivity and the power of the workforce.
uct and service, with the aim thus constantly decrease 11. Eliminate quotas on the fac-
of becoming competitive, costs. tory floor. Substitute leader-
staying in business and pro- 6. Institute training on the job. ship.
viding jobs. 7. Institute leadership that aims 12. Remove barriers that rob
2. Adopt a philosophy that does to help people and machines hourly workers, engineers
not tolerate lack of quality, do a better job. and people in management
defects, antiquated training 8. Drive out fear so everyone of their right to pride of work-
methods, and inadequate and can work effectively for the manship. This means abol-
ineffective supervision. company. ishment of annual merit
3. Cease dependence on inspec- 9. Break down barriers between ratings and management by
tion to achieve quality. departments. objective. The responsibility
4. End the practice of awarding 10. Eliminate slogans, exhorta- of supervisors must be
business on the basis of price tions and targets that ask the changed from sheer numbers
tag. Instead, minimize total workforce for zero defects to quality.
cost. Move toward a single and new levels of productivi- 13. Institute a vigorous program
supplier for any one item ty. Such exhortations only of education and self-
based on a long-term rela- create adversarial relation- improvement.
tionship of loyalty and trust. ships because the bulk of the 14. Put everyone in the company
5. Improve constantly and for- causes of low quality and low to work to accomplish the
ever the system of produc- productivity belong to the transformation.
Source: The preceding was adapted from W. Edwards Demings classic Out of the Crisis, originally published by Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in 1982. A new paperback edition was published by MIT Press in 2000.
many consulting firms. The ones who combine the statistical process control to maximize the benefits.
two tend to get more business. This has not always I have found this timetable particularly success-
been the case. ful in nonmanufacturing situationssurprising to
Some companies took narrower approaches, some because lean enterprise is traditionally seen
treating each methodology as different and unique. as manufacturing oriented. This latter perception is
This approach tended to create other problems, par- based on leans manufacturing roots.
ticularly related to the amount of time needed to But in reality, nonmanufacturing companies are
resolve problems. Process teams were pulled in dif- finding many manufacturing tools and techniques,
ferent directions, and those with limited resources including lean enterprise and Six Sigma, to be
were forced to choose one or the other approach. effective.3 The combination approach creates an
The end result was the business and customer overarching philosophy of improvement. It is how
suffered. The business did not obtain sustained a BB utilizes all the available tools that will dictate
gains in productivity. The customer, who really did success.
not care what methodology was being used, did
REFERENCES
not see improved product.
So, people began to dislike lean enterprise and 1. Late Bloomer, Forbes, April 14, 2003, p. 78.
Six Sigma, thinking both wasted time, took too 2. William J. Hill and Willie Kearney, The Honeywell
Experience, Six Sigma Forum Magazine, February 2003, p. 34.
long to implement and ultimately didnt result in
3. Bank of America, Final Thoughts, Six Sigma Forum
satisfied customers.
Magazine, May 2003, p. 52.
But they definitely can workand very effec-
tively. Honeywell, for example, combined lean and JAMES BOSSERT is senior vice president, quality and pro-
Six Sigma into something called Six Sigma Plus to ductivity, Six Sigma programs, Bank of America. He
drive productivity, growth and cash flow.2 In one earned a masters degree in mathematics and applied statis-
case, a Master Black Belt (a Six Sigma or quality tics from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York
expert responsible for strategic implementations) State. Bossert is an ASQ Fellow, an ASQ certified quality
and his team turned profit margin from -$0.9 mil-
manager, auditor and engineer, and a Six Sigma Master
lion a year to +$3.4 million a year by reducing vari-
Black Belt.
ation, cycle times and product travel distance.
Personal Preference
Some believe lean enterprise methodologies must
be completed before Six Sigma gains can be maxi-
mized. I, however, think it really does not matter
o
Systems Thinking
which approach is used firstrather the approach
should be based on the personal preference of the
An Uncommon
Six Sigma Black Belt (BB) who is leading the team.
BBs have full-time responsibility for individual Six
Answer
Sigma process improvement projects. by Steven S. Prevette
All Six Sigma projects include measurement
review by the team and its Champion. Next steps Enron. California energy crisis. SUV rollovers.
are usually discussed at this time. If it is deter- Tire failures. What do these have in common?
mined some quick hits can be obtained using lean Focus on the short term. Short-term gains.
enterprise techniques, then the techniques are Focus on the quarterly profit statement.
implemented. Because the team and process own- Long-term losses. Suboptimized, competing,
ers can focus on discovering the root causes of the stove-piped factions.
problem being addressed, there is usually some And an uncommon solution: systems thinking.
immediate buy-in by the team and process owners. Why do we lament that the whole is less than
Then when the root cause is eliminated, the lean the sum of the parts? It is because we tend not to
enterprise techniques are used in conjunction with work on the whole but only on the parts. Systems
Systems thinkers use many disciplines and tools, fear of absorbing blame from the next failure, fear of
from psychology and human behavior through the next layoff, fear of diminishing resources, fear of
flowcharts and statistics. Pushing the envelope and not making the next target number.
thinking outside the box come naturally as systems Systems thinkers instead work to achieve win-
thinkers focus on grander and continually improv- win results, to build the pie bigger rather than fight
ing interactions. over the pieces. Knowledge of psychology and
human behavior allow system thinkers to work to
Value of Control Charts develop intrinsic motivation. Employees develop
Statistical thinking and knowledge of variation pride and joy in their work instead of merely chas-
are integrated within systems thinking. Control ing the latest bonus or trying to avoid blame and
charts (statistical process control) separate out the latest retribution.
short-term fluctuations from important system
changes. An individual datum is not treated in a Cooperation and Interaction
vacuum (were we above goal or below last Cooperation is the goal for system thinking
months point?). interactions, be they between people and people or
Instead, this months number is evaluated on the equipment and people. Since you cannot separate
control chart with knowledge of past data and vari- an individual component from its performance
ation. Control charts are not simply used to main- appraisals, individual bonuses (pay for perfor-
tain the status quo but to spot where improvement mance) are minimized. Group effort is encouraged,
is needed. Then, goals for improvement are based with participation by the workforce and leadership
upon achieving statistically significant results, not by management.
lucky short-term results. Finally, the achievement of The key points of systems thinking are:
the significant improvement closes the loop and More attention to interactions than compo-
resets the system for the start of another cycle. nents.
Control charting is not just a tool, but a way of More knowledge of statistical variation than of
thinking, a framework for viewing the system. This discreet numbers.
use of statistics creates a positive feedback loop, More long-term than short-term focus.
allowing the organization to achieve massive More cooperation than fear, blame and internal
improvements. competition.
There are many other methods and techniques This integrated theory of managing for improve-
that are not systems thinking. I think they result in ment allows individuals working within a system
degradation of the system. These techniques to achieve far more than the individuals them-
include focus on specific numerical targets. Any selves could have achieved. Long-term success and
person, with sufficient pressure, can achieve any a winning environment for all will come with sys-
given number through distortion, shifting costs to tems thinking practice.
others or outright falsification.
REFERENCES
What is the cost to the overall system as individ-
uals each manipulate the system to achieve their 1. A Day with Dr. Russell Ackoff, March 3, 2003,
number? Short-term thinking prevails, and the Boeing Leadership and Learning Center, Canoga Park, CA.
2. W. Edwards Deming, Out of the Crisis, MIT Press, 2000.
organization bounces from crisis to crisis. Fire-
3. W. Edwards Deming, The New Economics, MIT Press,
fighting is rewarded, even as the next fire starts
2000.
burning. The usual focus on the quarterly profit
4. Rip Stauffer, in an e-mail to the author, March 10, 2003.
statement is an incentive to manipulate numbers to 5. Steven S. Prevette, Cleaning Up With SPC, Quality
make the current quarter look good at the expense Progress, September 2001, www.asqnet.org/members/
of the future. news/qualityprogress/2001/0901/104emerging_0901.htm.
Without systems thinking, fear often permeates an
organization. Fear cripples many of this nations INTERNET RESOURCES
organization actually consists of nested com- direction in which the organization wants to
plex systems and subsystems (for example, move will cause a tipping point to eventually be
business processes, departments and individ- reached. Beyond this point the organization will
uals), indicating these issues need to be have achieved a transformation in capabilities.4
addressed at each level of the system. And As these examples indicate, many existing quali-
rather than doing this through a one-way, top- ty management practices support the view of orga-
down approach to strategy, a process such as nizations as complex adaptive systems. When and
hoshin planning can be used. Hoshin planning how each should be applied depends on the type
uses an iterative process to develop and of organization and its current situation. An expert
deploy strategic direction and methods for is someone who has the ability to match the correct
achieving it, involving all levels of the organi- tool to the situation, and complexity theory pro-
zation to ensure alignment. vides a lens through which such decisions can
2. Provide only as much control as necessary for more easily be made.
each system. An assembly line or bank deposit
may need to be managed according to very Other Important Issues
specific guidelines, while considerable flexibil- Because the interaction between agents, systems
ity may need to be allowed for hotel desk or subsystems creates the power of complex sys-
clerks when they deal with customer com- tems, there are additional opportunities for helping
plaints. Unlike its predecessor, the 2000 edition such systems perform better. These include paying
of ISO 9001 recognizes this, noting the extent attention to the entities themselves (agents and
of process documentation will vary from subsystems, for example) and the interaction
organization to organization and process to among them.
process. The more a process relies on commu- Since what emerges from the system is largely a
nication and cognition, the more complex it is function of the synergy created by the differences
likely to be. between agents, systems and subsystems, one way
3. Ensure there is sufficient feedback from the to manage performance is to ensure there are suffi-
environment so the system can detect and act cient differences between them.
on signals indicating a need for change. Of course, too much difference may be as bad as
Examples of feedback are customer satisfaction too little, but differences in thinking processes (for
data, competitive analysis and benchmarking. example, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type
Also keep in mind that since there are levels of Indicator), learning styles, the focus of educational
systems within an organization, mechanisms pursuits and organizational experiences mean a
to provide internal feedback between subsys- wider variety of ideas can be synthesized. This indi-
tems should also be provided. cates personnel selection and development, as well
4. Monitor a wide range of system performance as organizational design, are important for helping a
metrics to understand more fully how well the complex adaptive system perform better.
organization is performing. A balanced score- A focus on the interaction between agents, sys-
card better enables consideration of trade-offs tems and subsystems means paying attention to
relative to business decisions and can also be communications. The amount, direction, type and
applied at the departmental and process levels. quality of the information flow are indications of
5. Make many small changes rather than major how much leverage is currently being gained from
disruptions to improve system performance. that interaction.
Of course, what is considered small will be dif- Improvement might include adding to the com-
ferent depending on the size of the system or munication when it is insufficient, creating better
subsystem. But changes that can be managed by channels through which the communication can
the system do not create problems for cus- occur (such as through movement of personnel or
tomers and ensure continuous incremental by providing electronic tools) or reducing commu-
learning will be more successful over the long nication when it is creating overload.
term. Many small changes made in the general And finally, given that organizations are soci-
25 Simple Questions
For Comparing Tools
Choosing a management tool to take your company to another level is kind of like getting married.
You know what datings like and youve had your fill. Now its time to talk commitmentlifelongif
you want.
Heres a list of 25 questions to help you evaluate each of the tools featured in this Quality Progress
issue. References in parentheses are to sections of the Baldrige criteria (BC). The underlying ques-
tion is, does the tool you are considering help you plan-do-check-act (PDCA)? If not, why would you
use it?
Plan
1. Does the tool encourage you to plan what you customer loyalty and determine customer
want your company to do to take it to the next satisfaction? (BC 3.2)
level? Does it encourage you to: 8. Identify and manage significant processes
2. Write down what your companys business that create customer value and achieve
environment is and what your significant business success and growth? (BC 6.1)
relationships with customers, suppliers and 9. Manage support processes? (BC 6.2)
other partners are? (BC Preface 1) 10. Work in a way that enables your company
3. Write down your companys competitive and employees to achieve high perfor-
environment, your key strategic challenges mance? (BC 5.1)
and what your system for performance 11. Build employee knowledge, skills and capa-
improvement is? (BC Preface 2) bilities? (BC 5.2)
4. Write down how your company establishes 12. Maintain a work environment and employee
its strategic objectives to enhance its com- support climate that contribute to the well-
petitive position, overall performance and being, satisfaction and motivation of all
future success? (BC 2.1) employees? (BC 5.3)
13. Establish links between your plans and what
Do you do so you can measure, analyze, align
5. Does the tool encourage you to do what you and improve your performance data and
want to do to take your company to the next information at all levels and in all areas of
level? Does it encourage you to: your organization? (BC 4.1)
6. Find out what your customers want so your 14. Ensure the quality and availability of linked
products and services stay current? (BC 3.1) data and information so you can mine data-
7. Build relationships with customers, increase bases with timely reports? (BC 4.2)
3. You can start at the state level (baby Baldrige operations better than any of your own people do.
some people call it) and work your way up if Maybe these other programs wont even be around
you prefer not to start at the national level. years from now.
4. The criteria are continually being updated. But if you dont have a lot of money, make things
5. The criteria are free. simple. Baldrige allows you to get as involved as
Today: Compare the other quality methodolo- you want. If you dont want to learn about the crite-
gies with what the Baldrige program offers in ria on your own, become a Baldrige examiner and
depth, breadth and opportunities. learn from the experts very affordably.
Today: Compare the commonsense Baldrige cri-
WednesdayBaldrige teria approach to learning to those of the other pro-
Measurement, Analysis and grams.
Knowledge Management Category
Most organizations already have what the
FridayBaldrige Process
Baldrige criteria ask for but do not have a systems Management Category
perspective for their approaches or deployment. Baldrige doesnt process people better than other
With the right software, currently being developed tools do. Instead, people process better with
by software engineers for Texas Nameplate, many Baldrige.
While many organizations have some quality
tools (ISO 9000 and total quality management, for
example), these tools seemed to us at Texas Name-
By asking and answering the plate like having other people telling us how they
could help us run our business. Baldrige doesnt
Baldrige questions, you can do that. It doesnt process you. You do your pro-
cesses, and then link them from a Baldrige, systems
better judge your past actions, perspective.
Darrouzet says, By faithfully asking and
choose your present courses of answering the Baldrige questions, you can better
judge your past actions, choose your present cours-
action and decide your future. es of action and decide your future.
Today: Compare what processes it takes to suc-
ceed with each quality management tool.
more organizations will be able to operate the
Baldrige way, whether or not they apply for the SaturdayBaldrige Results Category
award. In some ways, the worst thing you can do is win
Today: Compare all the different management the Baldrige Award because then you no longer get
tools to see if they require you to change the way examiner feedback.
you operate instead of simply reviewing and When I was a kid working at my dads company,
improving it, as is the case with Baldrige. businesses raised their prices to make more money
or to provide raises for employees. But many com-
ThursdayBaldrige Human panies rather quickly learned they could not raise
Resources Focus Category prices of their products or services unless they
Certification is not the objective with Baldrige. raised their standards.
Learning is. Winning the award is not the objective. Unfortunately, some businesses still havent fig-
Winning employee and customer loyalty is. ured that out. Thats why organizations such as
If you have a lot of money, maybe you can afford ASQ will always be needed. Baldrige, too, provides
management by flavor-of-the-month training. organizations the opportunity to figure out these
Maybe you can afford to go out and hire somebody little things we all think we know but dont do. As
to implement the tool youve chosen. Maybe that a result, Baldrige recipientswhether business is
someone else will understand the tool and your good or badalways know where they stand and
subcomponents: predictive and operational. customer satisfaction measures. This can lead
The predictive subcomponent includes mea- to a false sense of security and inaction.
sures of processes in the customers line of FinancialThis perspective includes the typ-
sight (if these metrics are moving in the ical financial measures or ratios often report-
desired direction, the organization should be ed on a balance sheet, profit and loss state-
able to predict customer satisfaction). For ment or annual report. Senior management
example, if on-time delivery and the quality of can easily become obsessed with this perspec-
the products and services (both the results of tive, almost to the exclusion of the others that
internal processes) are high when measured truly drive cost.
from the organizational point of view, it is rea- In simplest terms, manage and improve
sonable to predict or correlate this with a high processes associated with the customer,
level of customer satisfaction. employee, supplier and organizational per-
Conversely, the operational subcomponent spectives, and the financial perspective will
includes measures of processes invisible to the improve accordingly. Conceptually, this is
customer, such as productivity, inventory analogous to the Six Sigma y = f (x) equation
turnover, shrinkage and machine downtime. that relates process inputs to process outputs.
The customer neither sees nor cares how well Managing solely by the financial perspective
an organization performs in these areas. Often can easily break the other measurement per-
organizations will confuse predictive and spectives. For example, applying pressure to
operational metrics or confuse predictive and an organization to reduce costs will often lead
to process shortcuts, wider process variation It is not necessary or productive to leap from fad
and longer cycle times. This cost reduction to fad as so many organizations have done. Take
pressure is likely to be accompanied by the the time to gain a deeper understanding of each
removal of peopleusually the only element approach. When thoroughly understood and
holding broken processes together. Subse- implemented properly, each approach brings a
quently, process performance is compromised unique set of perspectives and insights for driving
and moves in an undesirable direction. organizational excellence.
Organizations that utilize a balanced metrics
scorecard concept usually distinguish themselves
from those who dont. Walk into any organization, TOM KUBIAK has been corporate director, Sears Sigma, for
ask for its metrics scorecard and you will see one of Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago, since May 2002. He pre-
the three scenarios shown in Table 2. viously served in a variety of roles, including quality and
I hope it is clear implementation of a balanced Six Sigma, over a 23-year career with Honeywell. Kubiak is
scorecard can be a powerful approach for aligning a Senior Member of ASQ and chair of ASQs Publication
and focusing an organization on its objectives. Management Board. He is certified as an ASQ Six Sigma
Black Belt, quality manager, quality engineer and reliabili-
Fitting It All Together
ty engineer and participated in the launch of the ASQ Six
The various quality approaches are not indepen- Sigma Forum, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt examination
dent of one another but can work in a mutually
and Six Sigma Forum Magazine.
supporting and integrated manner. It is not neces-
sary to abandon one for another. Table 3 allows us
to step back and view the key linkages among bal-
anced scorecard, Baldrige criteria, Six Sigma and Please
lean, and ISO 9000. comment
It can be said that: If you would like to comment on this article, please
Baldrige provides integration.
post your remarks on the Quality Progress
Balanced scorecard gauges progress.
Discussion Board at www.asqnet.org, or e-mail
Six Sigma and lean drive improvement.
them to editor@asq.org.
ISO 9000 focuses on basics.