By: David C. Crosby
07/08/2009
Long before Six Sigma; long before SPC; long before ISO, TQM, TQC, ZD, and Mil-Q-9858A there were quality products. Quality meaning both goodness and defect-free. Look at furniture made around the time of the America Revolution. It was excellent. Fine inlay, precision joints, superior finishing. The same with fine jewelry, tools, and buildings. Why was that? I’ll tell you, it was what the leader of the work being done wanted.
In every organization, the leader creates the quality standards (what the product should look like), and the performance standard, (how many defects are okay.). It’s the same today; regardless of the complexity of the product, the leaders get what they ask for whether they want it or not.
This is true with sports teams, schools, government agencies, banks, hospitals, fast food joints, classy restaurants, philharmonic orchestras, and so on. More about orchestras later.
Many years ago I was asked to make a presentation about zero defects (ZD) at the Army Commander’s Conference, an audience made up of about 500 colonels and generals. I had four weeks to get ready and I spent every second of my life working on that presentation. My boss, a colonel, told me to forget the romance and techniques and get the message down to one sentence. "Why does ZD work?”