Quality Cop to Executive Advisor
The quality professional's role
is evolutionary.
H. James Harrington
jharrington@qualitydigest.com
When I look back on my decades
as a quality professional, I can see that most of my efforts
were divided into four "-tions": inspection, correction,
prevention and selection.
During the 1970s, my role as a quality assurance professional
was one of inspection. At that time, we were dedicated to
eliminating any shipment of products that didn't meet specifications.
We viewed ourselves as the customers' protectors. We were
ready to run out and lay down in front of delivery trucks
to keep them from leaving with defective products. We were
the cops of the manufacturing world, and approximately 10
percent of manufacturing's direct effort concentrated on
quality assurance inspection.
During the 1980s, our role changed to one of correction.
Quality became helpmate to manufacturing. We worked with
manufacturers to solve problems so that they could produce
acceptable products for customers. A close alliance existed
between manufacturing and quality as we shared team experiences
and became partners. We were teachers, helping manufacturers
to learn team techniques and problem-solving methods. We
provided additional resources to help identify problems
and correct them. Quality assurance organizations then focused
less on customers and more on business, and quality costs
became very important. We ensured that products were shipped
on time while minimizing the level of errors in the product.
In this environment, quality control gave way to total quality
management. Dictatorial management gave way to participative
management. Individualism gave way to a team that ruled
by consensus.
During the 1990s, quality organizations focused on prevention,
particularly with the professional staff and their work.
We reverted to some fundamental concepts, including statistical
process control, qualification of processes and supplier
qualification. Concurrent engineering meant that quality
professionals became deeply involved in product development
and release procedures. Our role changed from teacher to
manufacturers' protector. We became checkers and approvers
of product and process design. We focused on redesigning
and reengineering processes to ensure they were capable
of producing quality output. TQM gave way to Six Sigma.
It wasn't so much a change in approach as a change in name,
but it excited management.
During the '90s, we got back to basics. ISO 9000 registration
became a requirement by many customers. Old, ignored quality
manuals were dug out of storage, dusted off and put back
on the shelf.
Documentation became more important than ever as specially
trained, outside auditors spent days evaluating how organizations'
quality systems worked. This allowed customers to rely on
third-party certification instead of organizations' own
supplier audits. With the release of ISO 14000, environmental
control moved into the spotlight. Quality organizations
became process assurance organizations with the objective
of preventing error and reducing product cost.
During this first decade of the 21st century, quality's
role is changing again. Instead of monitoring the professional
staff and with an eye toward prevention, quality professionals
now take an active role in selection. Quality assurance
has become a systems assurance operation, helping management
make correct decisions. Instead of preventing or detecting
errors, quality professionals focus on doing the right thing
vs. doing things right. Now, basic quality assurance tools
include organizational change management, knowledge management,
portfolio management, management of behavioral patterns
and strategic planning. At last we're focusing on developing
firm foundations rather than propping up activities that
result from poor executive decisions. Businesses worldwide
have begun to realize that their most valuable asset isn't
their workforce but their knowledge. They can't afford to
be learning organizations; they must be knowing ones. Management
decisions shouldn't merely be good; they must be the very
best.
No longer are quality assurance efforts directed at preventing
errors but ensuring that maximum value is provided to every
customer and stakeholder. To fulfill this role, we not only
need statisticians in the quality organizations, we need
experienced managers and project managers. Quality professionals
have evolved from being checkers and approvers to advisors
of executive, middle and first-level managers. We must be
experts in finance, superb in market analysis and have a
detailed understanding of competition and customer-needs
evolution.
ISO 9000's shortcomings have been defined, and quality
professionals are now working in sales and marketing departments
to ensure the quality of these critical interfaces with
customers.
We now know that in many industries the sales team has
a bigger impact on an organization's reputation than its
product.
During the 21st century, quality departments' scope has
changed. Sure, the customer is still important, but so are
the rest of the stakeholders. Quality cost has given way
to poor-quality cost. The quality scorecard is more balanced
and reflects organizations' quality as viewed by their suppliers,
customers, management, investors, employees and their families,
and the community. Today, a quality organization should
have a quality impact on everything with which it comes
into contact.
H. James Harrington has more than 45 years of experience
as a quality professional and is the author of 20 books.
Visit his Web site at www.hjharrington.com.
Letters to the editor regarding this column can be e-mailed
to letters@quality
digest.com.
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