Creating a shared definition of 'quality' an important first step

We can't improve quality until we identify it.

In most organizations, quality is defined by some unwritten tribal knowledge handed down by example or implied by history.

In manufacturing environments, specifications and drawings often establish a basic blueprint for quality, but the degree the product operates beyond basic functionality is often left to the judgment of those who assemble and test the product.

For service organizations, quality may be left to an intangible level of performance established by the principal managers or owners, who, erroneously, assume that everyone else understands the models they have established for customer service.

Finally, changes in staff members in any organization in which quality processes are not documented create confusion, and usually leads to a break-down in quality.

The first step in creating quality as a profit center is to create a definition of quality that is shared by all who can affect it.

The definition process is best accomplished in a retreat environment where the decision makers are interviewed and their desired levels of quality are brainstormed, agreed upon, and documented.

From the output of that exercise, the definitions are ratified by all key players and are documented as vision, values,"always and nevers," or some combination of these outputs.

The definitions of quality are then shared with everyone in the organization, along with consequences for not following the shared vision of quality.

Can you define the shared vision for quality in your organization?

Tom Taormina is a local subject matter expert in quality and business processes with over 35 years experience and 10 books written on the subjects.

He was one of the first Quality Engineers at NASA's Mission Control Center and currently helps organizations reach their desired levels of excellence.

www.TaorminaGroup.com.