It just doesn't add up I agree with John Guaspari about the trust we place in numbers; as a society we've
largely replaced religious faith with numerical faith.
--Robert Magnan John Guaspari's column really hit the mark: succinct examples and just the right
mix of humor. Truly a "quality" piece… One knows it when one sees it. Bravo! When is the next book scheduled out? --Gary Scalise
Quality Systems Consultant
John Guaspari's new book, The Value Effect: A Murder Mystery About the Compulsive Pursuit of "The Next Big Thing," will be published in June by
Berrett-Koehler.--Ed. Building quality into design engineering It's beyond me why, in
his February article "Building Quality into Design Engineering," Gavin Finn never mentioned the ASME Y14.5M-1994 geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) standard, use of which would
have solved many of the problems highlighted in his article, such as the use of inaccurate digital design data. However, I suspect that the reason Finn never mentioned the
GD&T standard is that his article is directed at coping with the fact that almost no available CAD/CAM/CAE software conforms to that standard. The reason? The software developers are not
trained in GD&T, only in how to develop software, leaving to design engineers the problem of how to integrate the two. The result of this failure on the part of CAD/CA/CAE software developers
is exactly the problem that Finn so capably outlined in his article. --Hampton Scott Tonk
General Manager
Affiliated Educational Consultants Ltd.
Measuring quality's return on investment The basic tenet of Stefan Heinloth's February 2000 article is summarized
in his statement, "Many quality managers lack the financial background that would enable them to communicate in financial terms." He then proceeded to confirm this observation (assuming the
author can be referred to as a quality manager) in his "simplified economic equation." As you will note in any basic financial accounting text, "Profit" and "Income" are used somewhat
synonymously. Therefore, the simplified formula stated another way says that income = income - expense, which is obviously erroneous. The basic business formula that any competent financial
manager knows is income = revenue - expense. My message is clear: If you want to enable the understanding of quality in financial terms then ensure that both the quality
manager and financial manager clearly understand each other's language. Unfortunately, your article did not further this understanding. It only raised my ire. But then again,
IRE is what it is all about: income = revenue - expense. --Jack McKinley Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, defines
profit as "the sum remaining after all costs, direct and indirect, are deducted from the income of a business." Income is usually defined as the money or other gain received by an organization
for services or from property, investments, operations, etc. Therefore, the terms are not really synonymous, and the formula is correct.--Ed. What is a black belt? I want to thank Thomas Pyzdek for answering a nagging question I'd had. My background isn't in statistical
analysis; I came from the world of NDE/NDI. I am now a manufacturer's representative for a company whose products I used to use. Not long after I began visiting customers, I met a gentleman who
proudly announced that his was a six sigma company and he was a black belt. Uh, gee whiz, that's terrific! I had absolutely no idea at all what he was talking about, but (so as not to embarrass
myself) I didn't ask. I thought it was some management technique that incorporated the martial arts or something. Off and on I'd hear people mention six sigma, and each time I had this nagging
desire to find out what they were talking about. Much to my surprise and pleasure, the February issue answered my questions! It's amazing how just the right little piece of
information can make the whole picture clearer. --(Name withheld) |
