Working in Quality my entire career, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand what the impact can be when successfully implemented. Not only within the companies I have worked at. This also includes companies I have worked with closely, such as suppliers, partners, customers, and even some competitors. Being successful with quality, and more importantly sustaining that level of quality, is easier said than done. It is my belief, that culture is the critical factor in whether quality efforts fizzle out or truly achieve continuous improvement. In fact, culture is a critical factor for any business success.
Much has been written about culture and how it can make or break a company. Yet so many companies today are either unaware or unwilling to create the type of culture that elevates their business. When your business is dealing with high absenteeism or, worse, high turnover, it should be no surprise that you are also dealing with a high cost of poor quality. You might not recognize it as a quality cost, but you are likely struggling with excessive waste, low productivity, and repeated mistakes.
The intent of this book is not to be a technical book on statistics and quality control. This is really a book about management for the future, with the sole purpose of raising your business to a whole new level. And by new level, I am specifically talking about being more profitable. It is my strong belief, and thus the reason for writing this book, that a better understanding and appreciation of quality and its direct correlation to culture will help you achieve that.
This book will not give you a step-by-step procedure on how to get there. The truth is nobody can provide that to you. Every company is different, each with its own set of issues and needs. This book is more about creating awareness of what real quality looks like. It is not a test team checking a product for defects, or inspector sorting good products from bad or a support team handling a customer complaint. It is about evolving beyond those types of activities. I am hopeful that you will get a better view, a more wholistic view, of how quality can influence your suppliers, thrill your customers, and save you time and money along the way.
We will touch on many areas within a typical business, with thoughts and suggestions about how each area can be improved. But make no mistake. The real value, the actual payoff, comes from putting all the pieces together and cashing in on the synergistic impact of quality that can only be realized collectively across the entire business, fueled by a culture that embraces continuous improvement.