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Bill Kalmar
Published: Monday, November 6, 2006 - 22:00 As the cool, crisp air of autumn begins to make its annual appearance here in the Midwest, and the trees on country roads are aflame with color, it’s time to make some wardrobe decisions. Should I select the fur-lined parka over the Gore-Tex windbreaker? Are the Eddie Bauer boots warmer than the L.L. Bean mukluks? And which hat provides the best cover for my receding hairline? Although the goal is to keep warm, how will I look to my friends?Similar questions and choices surface when organizations begin their journey to quality and performance excellence. Which process will insulate us from error? Which process will reduce red tape? Which process will have a good effect on the bottom line? Which process will help us exceed the expectations of our customers? Depending on the industry and organizational intent, quality practitioners must choose from myriad processes such as, AS9100, BS7799, EN46000, EN9100, FS9100, ISO 14000, ISO 9001, ISO/TS16949, JIS Q 9100, Baldrige criteria, Six Sigma, the joint commission on accreditation of health care organizations (JCAHO), Q9000, QS-9000, kaizen, lean manufacturing, Q9858A, MIL STD 45662A, the U.S.A. Quality Cup, MIL STD 105E, TL9000, Juran’s, Deming’s, and the various state quality awards. At a buffet people instinctively choose items they’re familiar with. Even then they may choose something that’s wrong for them (e.g., too many calories or trans fats). It’s the same with quality. Organizations at times choose a process whose name is familiar or one that a successful competing organization has used. Frankly, the best choice could be a process that has had little notoriety, but one that after some time you determine fits your company best. Is there a regulatory agency that insists on a certain certification for your company? If you’re a supplier to the auto industry, chances are you will need to be ISO standards-certified. Health care facilities must comply with JCAHO, while the aerospace industry is under the umbrella of AS9100. Processes such as these define the entry level for a quality journey. To remain at that level may ensure some success, but most companies want to distance themselves from their competition and, in so doing, provide customer service that is unparalleled in their particular industry. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award process provides an extra level of performance excellence and can boost a good company into becoming an extraordinary company. Let me explain. The Baldrige Award was created by an Act of Congress in 1987 and named after former Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige. The goal is to provide a systematic process—a logical management system, if you will—to help organizations raise their level of service. Baldrige was designed to be a stretch over existing programs. The Baldrige program: Since its introduction, companies have discovered that even if they don’t apply for the award, using the criteria in their strategic planning can be rewarding. If you’re having doubts about implementing the Baldrige criteria in your organization, consider: In a recent speech before the Philippine Society for Quality, David Spong, a retired president of Integrated Defense Systems unit of the Boeing Co., a two-time Baldrige winner, stated it best: "The Baldrige framework will work in any business situation, whether you are in manufacturing or in services. It can turn a crisis into a noncrisis, a losing company into a profitable one, a noncrisis situation into a successful one, and a successful company into an even more improved one." I recently interviewed Harry Hertz, director of the Baldrige Award, regarding the Baldrige process. His comments are worth noting: Each year the current winners convene in Washington, D.C., to discuss their journeys. At the "Quest for Excellence Conference" they discuss the application process, disclosing everything but the most confidential proprietary information. This past year, 30 percent of the 1,100 attendees were from the health care industry, illustrating the importance that industry has placed on moving beyond the normal boundaries of JCAHO. To sum up, I recall an old management axiom: "If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there." Don’t go down a road because it looks easy or it’s the new buzzword. Confer with your customers and any regulatory agencies that oversee your company and then choose the process that best fits your needs. If your initial choice wasn’t the Baldrige process, I strongly recommend that you travel down that road again, and this time exit at the sign marked Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program. In my estimation, it will be the best off-ramp that you could have taken. Back to my cold weather choices. I think I’m going with the mukluks and the wool hat. I won’t win any awards for looks, but as with quality and performance excellence, I’m in it for the long haul. Quality Digest does not charge readers for its content. We believe that industry news is important for you to do your job, and Quality Digest supports businesses of all types. However, someone has to pay for this content. And that’s where advertising comes in. Most people consider ads a nuisance, but they do serve a useful function besides allowing media companies to stay afloat. They keep you aware of new products and services relevant to your industry. All ads in Quality Digest apply directly to products and services that most of our readers need. You won’t see automobile or health supplement ads. So please consider turning off your ad blocker for our site. Thanks, William J. Kalmar has extensive business experience, including service with a Fortune 500 bank and the Michigan Quality Council, of which he served as director from 1993 through 2003. He served on the Board of Overseers of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and has been a Baldrige examiner. He was also named quality professional of the year by the ASQ Detroit chapter. Now semiretired, Kalmar does freelance writing for several publications. He is a member of the USA Today Vacation Panel, a mystery shopper for several companies, and a frequent presenter and lecturer. ISO? Baldrige? Mukluks?
A smorgasbord of quality
As a former Baldrige examiner myself (1996–1997) and a former member of the Baldrige board of overseers (2000–2003), I have an affinity for the Baldrige, whose winners have enjoyed a level of quality that has surpassed their competition. Until recently, a survey of S&P 500 companies was compared against publicly-traded Baldrige winners and the result was staggering. Baldrige Award winners outperformed the S&P by 5 to 1.
A colleague who was involved in Baldrige criteria training asked the participants for their reasons for attending the workshop. One gentleman said that his boss had read that someone in their state had won the Baldrige Award. His boss said, "Have we won one of these? If not, go get us one." You can bet that quality journey was sidetracked long ago.
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Bill Kalmar
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