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David C. Crosby
Published: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - 15:17
Y
ears ago, when I was a field quality rep (source inspector), part of my job was to audit prospective suppliers. The basis of the audits was MIL-Q-9858A, the military quality system. Most audits were simply me sitting across the desk from the head guy or gal asking questions. Do you do this? Do you do that? Of course the answers were always correct.
After the audit, I would tour the facility to get an idea if the person was telling the truth. The tour was actually more effective than the sit-down question and answer period. I became very good at judging the quality of the work we could expect just by looking around. I called it Audit by Looking Around (ABLA). You can actually say ABLA. It has kind of a Latin ring to it. I became very skilled at ABLA and to this day I can spot an outdated calibration sticker at 20 yards. I also discovered that you can learn a lot about a supplier by peeking into the dumpster. One other trick: When visiting a supplier, watch what people are carrying around. It’s probably the problem of the day.
The only problem with ABLA is that it doesn’t produce a report. So, I created a 20-statement audit system. I couldn’t come up with a nifty acronym like ABLA, but it works just the same. It’s a method to get some ideas about the quality system a company is using. I called it the Quality Index Rater. You’re free to use it, but don’t forget that I invented it.
As I mentioned, there are 20 statements. You answer each statement with a word that has a numeric value: Never = 1, Rarely = 2, Occasionally = 3, Usually = 4, Always = 5.
You score each statement and add up the scores. The total is your score expressed as a percentage. (Naturally, 100 percent is the best possible score.) To make certain that you understand the statements, I’ve include remarks here and there.
1. We use inspection and test to measure the process, not sort good from bad.
2. We have clear, written quality standards and work instructions for each product.
3. The instruments we use to measure the product are calibrated.
4. Our drawings, procedures, and work instructions show the proper level of engineering.
5. Customer complaints are resolved quickly and placed into the corrective action system.
6. Our corrective action system assigns problems to an individual and tracks progress.
7. We review new designs to anticipate problems and special requirements.
8. We can identify the status of all work at any point in the process.
9. If the product doesn’t meet its requirement, we get it out of the system.
10. New products are tested to every requirement before release.
11. Every employee knows exactly what our quality and performance standards are.
12. We know how much money we spend to prevent and to discover defects; we also know how much we spend because we didn’t prevent defects.
13. We recognize (award) employees who do outstanding work.
14. We audit our quality program against written procedures.
15. Our quality reports highlight recurring, related, and serious problems.
16. We pay attention to quality in our warehouse and shipping operations.
17. We track the performance of our suppliers and hold them responsible for their work.
18. We survey our potential suppliers to make certain they can do the job.
19. Our employees receive training for their job and can demonstrate their skill.
20. We use statistical methods to control our process.
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Dave Crosby is president of The Crosby Company, a firm he created to develop and deliver software and training in the field of quality management. His SPC software was the first on the market for the personal computer. His books include, How To Get Your People to Do Things Right, Quality is Easy, How To Run a Zero Defects Program, and The Zero Defects Option.
Crosby served as corporate director of quality for RCA Corp., General Instruments Corp., and Portec Inc. He was awarded the “Outstanding Civilian Service Medal” by the U.S. Army for his work with the Army Zero Defects Program. His web site is www.zdoption.com.
Mini Quality System Audit
There are audits and there are audits.
How the Quality Index Rater works
Audit statements
Remark: If you’re running control charts, or collecting and analyzing inspection data to take corrective action, that’s process stuff. If you're sorting a box of bad parts your customer returned, it’s not. If you’re not recording, reporting, and taking corrective action based on inspection results, you’re just sorting.
Score: _____
Score: _____
Remark: That means at this moment.
Score: _____
Score: _____
Score: _____
Remark: Problems assigned to a group—engineering, purchasing, or some other department—will go unsolved while the blame is passed around. A problem must be assigned to the person who owns it.
Score: _____
Score: _____
Score: _____
Remark: Rejected products—left sitting around—will get better and better as time goes by. Soon, it won’t be defective any more.
Score: _____
Score: _____
Remark: The quality standard is what the product should look like. The performance standard is how often it should look that way. (I prefer zero defects.)
Score: _____
Score: _____
Score: _____
Score: _____
Score: _____
Score: _____
Score: _____
Score: _____
Remark: The key word is demonstrate.
Score: _____
Remark: SPC, gauge R&R, p-paper, etc.
Score: _____
Add up the scores
80% = You need to improve, but you can do it.
70% = You’re bleeding and need serious help.
60% = Shut down and go home.
50% and lower = Lie and cheat. It’s your only hope.
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David C. Crosby
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