What Is Quality
Most of us can relate to stories about our experiences with poor quality
in either the goods or services we have purchased. For instance, you may have
bought a pair of shoes only to have them fall apart. Or perhaps you went for a
haircut and, after looking in the mirror,
felt like you needed to go into
hiding. Why did you consider these
goods and services to be of poor quality? The
answer is
simple: you did not get what you wanted. Your
requirements for shoes
that would hold
up under normal conditions were not
met. You wanted only an inch
to
be cut off your hair, bit the
stylist took two inches.
In the later case, while you may
think you received a poor quality
haircut,
someone else may think
its a good one. When we use
subjective words, such as
"goodness" and "excellence" to
describe quality, we miss the
real reason why we
are satisfied
or dissatisfied with the product or
service. The key to defining
quality
lies in fulfulling expectaions or
requirements.
The first absolute of Quality Improvement tells us that we need to redefine
quality as:
"Conforming to customer requirements and giving customers what they need,
want, and request"
This concept is summed up in a phrase you'll be hearing often. Do It Right
the first time!
Quality Policy
In recent years much has been discussed nationally and internationally
concerning quality. Our success and even survival demands that we deliver error
- free services and products to our customers.
Quality is not always easy. It takes determination, education, and a clear
process of implementation. It also requires a change in the way we think. This
change starts with senior management, and permeates the organization through
education and a common language. Results may not happen immediately; rapid gains
can be achieved early, but the overall quality process never ends.r />
Our quality policy is:
We will deliver competitive, error - free services with safety and products to
our customers on time, every time.
We take this policy seriously. The company that delivers what it promises will
survive and prosper; those that don't will fail.
Quality improvement in the Company is built on getting everyone to "Do It Right
the first time." We have people, the facilities, and the knowledge to make it
happen. The last, but most essential, ingredient is commitment. By this
statement, both the ownership and the management of Benson Tank Lines are
committing to quality as a top priority. We expect no less from all employees.
What Measuerment Is Essential?
The conventional way of measuring quality is usually through indexes.
Unfortunately, this method does not provide us with clear information on the
significance of nonconformance in our work, or whether or not quality is
improving.
This tells us that quality must be measured by calculating the cost
of quality. This measurement consists of two parts - the price of nonconformance
and the price of conformance. The first is simply the cost of doing things
wrong. It includes all the activities involved in correcting errors, such as
credit memos, redelivery, purchasing the wrong inventory, and unplanned
equipment downtime. Clearly these all represent money being wasted by not doing
it right the first time. The price of conformance is the cost of doing things
right and includes any activities necessary to conform with the requirements.
The cost of quality measurement monitors areas of work that produce the most
costly nonconformance's. It is important to note that we will not be judging
people with the cost of quality measurement!
The Quality Improvement Process
examines and measures work processes, not the employees performing the work!
What System Must Be Used?
This deals with the kind of system needed to cause quality - one of
prevention, not appraisal. The conventional system used in the pursuit of
quality involve the latter. We are all familiar with the examples of these
appraisal systems - inspection, tests and audits. The problem with these is that
they all take an after-the-fact approach to problem solving, and, therefore, do
not eliminate the root causes of problems. We will learn to cause quality by
eliminating the potential for error in the first place.
The secret of prevention is to carefully look at our work processes and identify
opportunities for error. By preventing problems before they occur, you will find
that the need for checks and double checks will diminish. As we implement this
new system, each of us will learn to plan prevention by asking ourselves, "what
things could go wrong?" This system will pay off for us as it enables us to meet
our customer requirements and eliminate hassles.
Education
Since each of you eventually will be personally involved in the quality
Improvement Process, you will need to understand how to cause quality in your
own area of responsibility. Now that we have introduced the process, the next
step is employee education.
Quality Improvement requires a pervasive cultural change and, therefore, we must
invest the necessary time in training. It is critical that each of you
understands the Four Absolutes and how to effectively apply them to your work.
Quality Improvement must be achieved by and through individuals. Over the next
several months, each employee will receive training in the Quality Improvement
Process. The purpose of the training is to provide us with the understanding we
need to make the change to a Total Quality environment. We will emphasize our
role as individuals in the organization and the personal commitment we need to
make to improve quality in our own areas.
Commitment
The Quality Improvement Process is one of our key business strategies for
the 2000's. As you know, we intend to be a leader in our industry. The
fulfillment of that vision depends on our commitment to Quality Improvement. And
it depends on everyone's effort and participation.
This is not a program; rather it is a process - a journey that is never
finished. The Quality Improvement Process is going to be an integral part of
everything we do at Benson Tank Lines.
There is one thing we would like to make very clear. We are very good at what we
do, but we need to become even more effective to meet the challenge of growing
opportunities and competition. That's why we are embarking on the quality
journey.