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Contents JULY 2007 I VOLUME 40 NUMBER 7

F E AT U R E S
INNOVATION

18 The Innovation Process and Quality Tools

Innovation is the driving force behind creating a competitive advantage.
Consider the seven new quality tools to steer your firm in the right direction.
JUSTIN LEVESQUE, master’s in manufacturing systems and MBA programs student,
University of Southern Maine

H. FRED WALKER, professor, department chair and graduate coordinator in

department of technology, University of Southern Maine

23 Nanotechnology: A Big Little Frontier for Quality

The surge of nanotechnology applications will open more doors for members of
the quality community to contribute to this growing discipline.
HARRIET BLACK NEMBHARD, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering,
Pennsylvania State University

QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT

30 QFD’s Evolution in Japan and the West

Quality practitioners in Japan and the West have taken OFD in different directions—
but have always kept an eye on innovation and product quality improvements.
JUI-CHIN JIANG, associate professor, department of industrial engineering, Chung-Yuan Christian
University (CYCU), Taiwan

C H E C K O U T MING-LI SHIU, doctoral candidate and lecturer, department of industrial engineering, CYCU
The ASQ website! MAO-HSIUNG TU, president, D&N Business Consulting Co., Hsin-Chu City, Taiwan
VISIT

www.asq.org
• Web Watch.
• Author guidelines.
• Searchable database of ASQ
abstracts.
• Index of back issues.
For ASQ members only:
• Salary surveys from 1995 to 2005.
• Complete feature articles since 1995.
OPINION
39 Conformity or Sustainability? That Is the Question
A paradigm shift might be underway with the ISO 9004 draft, which envisions
integrated, aligned and process based management systems.
DAVID K. WATKINS, executive vice president and director of international operations, Omnex Inc.,
Ann Arbor, MI
SIX SIGMA

• QP Discussion Board.
45 Six Sigma, Value and Competitive Strategy
To stay ahead of competitors and create value, a company should listen to
its customers and use Six Sigma to achieve its competitive strategy.
R. ERIC REIDENBACH and REGINALD W. GOEKE, principals and founding partners of Market Value
Solutions, State College, PA

MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD

50 From One-Man Show to Baldrige Recipient

An ISO 9001 based quality management system using lean and Six Sigma
propelled this cathodic protection services provider to elite quality status.
SUSAN E. DANIELS, editor at large
D E PA R T M E N T S QualityProgress
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4 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org

UPFRONT
QualityProgress
Forward Thinking Publisher
WILLIAM A. TONY

A s quality professionals, you’re trained to place intense emphasis on

the voice of the customer, and certainly, there is great value in
being highly attuned to customers’ needs and wants. But there are certain
Editor
SEICHE SANDERS

Associate Editor
MARK EDMUND
things customers can’t tell you. The theme of this month’s issue is about an-
Assistant Editor
ticipating and catering to customer needs—before they even know what DAVE NELSEN
they want. It’s called innovation. Manuscript Coordinator
W. Edwards Deming believed in the power and VALERIE FUNK

necessity of innovation, and knew it didn’t originate Editor at Large

SUSAN E. DANIELS
with the customer: “Innovation comes from the pro-
Contributing Editor
ducer—not from the customer,” he said. NICOLE ADRIAN
The ability to extend beyond the tried-and-true is Copy Editors
essential in our rapidly changing world. Innovation SUSAN GRONEMUS
KELLY SULLIVAN
is the driving force behind the companies that will
survive today and thrive tomorrow. Staying one step Art Director
MARY UTTECH
ahead of your customer has never been more impor-
Graphic Designer
tant. The need to innovate is and will continue to be SANDY WYSS
a constant. Needless to say, many organizations find themselves to be inno- Production
vation challenged. CATHY SCHNACKENBERG

Futurist Jim Carroll, who spoke at ASQ’s World Conference on Quality Advertising Production
BARBARA MITROVIC
and Improvement this spring, says there are 10 signs that you’ve got inno-
Digital Production Specialists
vation dysfunction within your organization: ERIC BERNA, LAURA FRANCESCHI
• People laugh at new ideas.
• Someone who identifies a problem is shunned. Account Executives
ANGELA M. MITCHELL
• Innovation is the privileged practice of a special group. MITCHELL PEZANOSKI
• The phrase, “You can’t do that because we’ve always done it this way”
Classified/Recruitment Advertising
follows every new idea. RAMONA GARCIA

• No one can remember the last time anyone did anything really cool. Marketing Administrator
• People think innovation is about R&D. MATT MEINHOLZ

• People have convinced themselves that competing on price is normal. Editorial and Advertising Offices
414-272-8575 fax 414-272-1734
• The organization is focused more on process than success.
• There are lots of baby boomers about, and few people younger than 25. ASQ ADMINISTRATION
Executive Director
• After any type of surprise—product, market, industry or organizational PAUL E. BORAWSKI

change—everyone sits back and asks, “Wow, where did that come from?” Managing Directors
CHRISTOPHER D. BAUMAN
Look around you. Look at your company. If you read any one of the
BRIAN J. LEHOUILLIER
points above, and thought, “Boy, can I relate,” you must—really, for the sake MICHELLE MASON

of survival—ask yourself, “What are you going to do about it?”
To promote discussion of issues in the field of quality and ensure
coverage of all responsible points of view, Quality Progress pub-
lishes articles representing conflicting and minority views.
Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily
of ASQ or Quality Progress. Use of the ASQ logo in advertisements
does not necessarily constitute endorsement of that particular
product or service by ASQ.

Seiche Sanders
Editor

6 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org

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 QP
MAILBAG
Sarbanes Oxley—Don’t
Involve ISO Standards
am concerned about quality profes-
I sionals capitalizing on the flawed
solution that is the Sarbanes-Oxley
(SOX) law. Two May 2007 articles—
“ASQ Team Offers SOX Comments”
(p. 19) and “Financial Control and
Quality” (William Stimson and Tom
Dlugopolski, p. 26)—promote ISO
9000 and ISO 14000 as systems to sup-
port SOX audits.
While I agree that quality has a role
in helping organizations comply with
SOX, quality professionals must be
careful to avoid further increasing the
already exorbitant costs that companies
have incurred from SOX compliance.
The fundamental problem with
SOX is that it will not solve what it
was intended to. SOX was Congress’
response to the fraud and shareholder
losses of Enron, WorldCom and Tyco.
President Bush introduced the law by
saying SOX would “deter and punish
corporate and account fraud and cor-
ruption, ensure justice for wrongdo-
ers, and protect the interests of
workers and shareholders.”
Quality professionals often say you
cannot “inspect in quality”; quality must
be built into the process. Similarly, you
cannot “audit in honesty.” Further audits
will never prevent smart executives from
stealing from their shareholders if they
really want to.
At the ASQ Southeastern Quality
Conference in 2004, Michelle Samuels,
who is responsible for SOX imple-
Mr. Pareto Head
8 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
mentation at Turner Broadcasting,
said SOX would not reduce the likeli-
hood of CNN executives stealing from
the company. In fact, what executive
would not be willing to sign off on a
SOX audit, which essentially says
everything is fine? SOX actually pro-
vides cover for an executive who
wants to steal from shareholders.
I have worked with clients whose
annual audit costs have more than dou-
bled because of SOX. The law itself
states that SOX “should not result in an
additional audit,” but that is what has
often happened.
Quality professionals shouldn’t fur-
ther increase companies’ costs by
expanding their use of ISO 9000 and
ISO 14000 into the SOX realm. Sens.
Mel Martinez and Jim DeMint are co-
sponsoring a revision to SOX that
would reduce its impact on small busi-
nesses and the frequency with which
companies must affirm compliance. If
quality professionals want to be
involved with SOX, supporting this
revision would be a great place to start.
F RED P ATTON
Patton Performance Solutions
Lake Mary, FL
pattonfred@aol.com
Flow Process Chart
Remains Useful
agree with Tom Kubiak that short-
I cuts during a Six Sigma project can
damage the final result (“Reviving the
Process Map,” May 2007, p. 59), but I
disagree that the flow process chart is
no longer a critical tool.
A lot of confusion comes from
changing terminology, specialization
of improvement team concepts and
lack of clarity on what process charts,
process maps, flow process charts and
procedure charts can include and be
used for. Some distinctions are
whether the process crosses work cen-
ters (procedure chart), focuses on
internal movement through process
activities (flow process), is looking at
macro or microprocess steps, or is
based largely on the suppliers, inputs,
processing, outputs, customers model.
Times, input, output, operators and
results can be incorporated into any of
the charts. In an in-depth Six Sigma
study, I would think multiple charts
would be used, based on the scope of
the outcome expected, yet not every
chart will be presented in an out brief.
Also, a lot of charting is dictated by
who is going to use the chart. A
process owner or operator might use
the simplest flowchart to manage the
process within his or her span of con-
trol. A manager might use process or
procedure charts based on his or her
control span and the type and extent of
the process. A process improvement
team might use any of the charting
tools to improve the process based on
the team’s purpose or goal.
While Six Sigma process mapping
(using Y=f(x)) might be the most math-
ematical way to chart the process, the
same information can be obtained and
integrated into the process analysis by
by Mike Crossen
other means, keeping the charts simple
and clean so the uninitiated will easily
and quickly understand the method.
D OROTHY M. W INCHELL
Organizational performance consultant
Boston
totomo@comcast.net
Process Map, Flowchart:
Same Thing?
oint of terminology: “Reviving
P the Process Map” distinguishes
between “process map” and “flow-
chart,” but I believe they are syn-
onyms. Both are generic terms for
various ways to diagram a process.
According to one website, process
mapping “is also known as process
charting or flow charting” and “the
original system [was] invented by
Frank Gilbreth in the early 1900s”
(www.strategosinc.com/process_
map_example.htm). While that site is
not necessarily a definitive authority, I
agree with the statement. I think
someone coined the term process map
20 or 30 years ago because it sounded
fresher than flowchart.
I’m not criticizing the article, which
recommends a particular kind of
process map—one that gets more fac-
tors and more detail onto the page.
Because it is well suited for Six Sigma
studies, maybe it should be called a
Six Sigma process map.
R ICHARD J. S CHONBERGER
Schonberger & Associates
Bellevue, WA
sainc17@qwest.net
5S Might Not Be
Good for Children
hen I saw “5S for Families,”
W (Davorka Filipusic, May
2007, p. 66), I was sure it was a paro-
dy. However, after reading it, I see the
author actually didn’t intend it to be
humorous.
I can’t imagine what’s next for that
poor 4-year-old—maybe monthly CQR
(child quality rating) reports, with rat-
ings for areas such as academics, athlet-
ics, attractiveness and cost of
childhood. At best, the parents might
end up with a child who has little cre-
ativity and obsessive compulsive ten-
dencies. At worst, they’ll have to shell
out for a good psychologist when the
child rebels against their ridiculous
demands for conformity.
I hope when they are elderly, this
child gives them their own strict
guidelines to adhere to and a require-
ment that their PQRs (parent quality
ratings) not fall below an acceptable
limit. “Sorry, mom, but your PQR of
less than 99% requires that I put you
into a nursing home until you can
demonstrate capability.”
M IKE M ASON
Grayline Inc.
Waukesha, WI
mikem@graylineinc.com
Author’s Response
Thank you for sharing your view-
point. I didn’t mention it in the col-
umn, but my approach is based on
research and principles of behavior
management for children.
Age appropriate 5S can be intro-
duced gradually at home as a family
activity. The 5S game shows consis-
tent, positive examples of adult
behavior from which children can
learn by watching and doing activities
with their parents. 5S for families is
intended to be a form of play and a
program with a goal, structure and a
schedule that teaches by repetition
and helps improve behavior.
I am happy to say all other feed-
back I received was complimentary.
D AVORKA F ILIPUSIC
Correction
The statistics article in “10 Quality
Basics” (June 2007, pp. 28-29) con-
tained an incorrect formula. The cor-
rect formula,
Y = f(x) + ε,
is used to make decisions on the basis
of data and distinguish between the
two components. Y is what you get,
f(x) is the total effect of all controls
exerted on the process (intentionally
or unintentionally), and ε is random
variation.
CHAIR OF THE BOARD
Ronald D. Atkinson, General Motors
PRESIDENT
Michael D. Nichols, Nichols Quality Associates
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Roberto M. Saco, Aporia Advisors
TREASURER
E. David Spong, Boeing (retired)
PARLIAMENTARIAN
James J. Rooney Jr., ABS Consulting
DIRECTORS
Jochen Amelsberg, Juran Institute
Belinda Chavez, United Space Alliance
Brenda M. Fisk, Software Quality Solutions
Richard A. Gould, RG Management Solutions
Kamla P. Gupta, Continuous Improvement Technology
Stephen K. Hacker, Transformation Systems International
Gary L. Johnson, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Kay A. Kendall, Sun Microsystems
William H. LaFollette, Humana Inc.
Lou Ann Lathrop, General Motors
David B. Levy, Levy Quality Consulting
Richard A. Litts, Litts Quality Technologies
Richard F. McKeever, D2 Quality Associates
Aimee H. Siegler, Benchmark Electronics
Donald C. Singer, GlaxoSmithKline
Steven E. Wilson, U.S. Department of Commerce
Seafood Inspection Program
QP EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD
Randy Brull, chair
Administrative Committee
Roger Berger, Brady Boggs, Randy Brull, Jane
Camp-anizzi, Larry Haugh, Jim Jaquess, Gary MacLean,
Christine Robinson, Richard Stump
Reviewers
I. Elaine Allen, Andy Barnett, David Bonyuet, John
Brown, Bernie Carpenter, Ken Cogan, Linda Cubalchini-
Travis, Ahmad Elshennawy, Tim Folkerts, Eric Furness,
Mark Gavoor, Kunita Gear, Lynne Hare, Ron Kenett, Ray
Klotz, Tom Kubiak, William LaFollette, Shin Ta Liu,
Pradip Mehta, Gene Placzkowski, Paul Plsek, Tony
Polito, Peter Pylipow, Philip Ramsey, R. Dan Reid,
Wayne Reynolds, John Richards, James Rooney, Anil
Sengupta, Sunil Thawani, Joe Tunner, John Vaks, Manu
Vora, Jack Westfall, James Zurn
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 9
KEEPING
CURRENT
AUTOMOTIVE
Auto Quality and Auto Sales:
Quality Pros Speak Out
Toyota Motor Corp. surpassed General Motors (GM) in
sales during the first quarter of 2007, unseating the stalwart
that has held the title for 70 years and becoming the first
automaker outside the United States to hold the title. During
the three-month period, Toyota sold 2.35 million vehicles; GM
sold 2.26 million.
While the end-of-year numbers will be the true measure of
which company is on top, Toyota’s achievement might repre-
sent a changing tide.
Some ASQ members say they
weren’t surprised by the numbers.
“I was in senior management at GM
in Canada during the first days of the
Japanese entry into the North American
market,” says Maurice Lake, a member
of ASQ’s Automotive Division. “The
director of quality always said, ‘Look
over your shoulders, managers, the
Japanese are coming.’”
That’s not to say Toyota is making
better vehicles, Lake says.
“GM has a tremendous lineup of
vehicles and their quality has improved
immensely. Their fuel economy has
also improved. However, they have a
long way to go to get the message to
the consumer.”
Lake, who has consulted in ISO 9000
and TS 16949, says such standards
have “made a huge difference in the
quality of GM’s products.” But, he
adds that while the quality of GM’s products is better than
ever, the company’s service lags behind that of Toyota’s.
“I think the quality efforts have to be extended to every
part of the organization to truly make a difference in the long
term. If GM is to turn it around, they must provide an excel-
lent quality product that is fuel efficient and environmentally
friendly and [they must provide quality] service.”
Diane Kulisek, an independent quality consultant and ASQ
senior member, disagrees. She says Toyota is selling more cars
because it is building higher quality cars.
“I doubt the United States will ever catch up with Japan in
automotive quality,” Kulisek says.
According to J.D. Power and Associates, they’re both right.
12 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
The well-known information firm came out with its 2007
Initial Quality Study in June, and results were mixed. Toyota
took the top spots in four categories: midsize multi-activity
vehicle (Toyota 4Runner), large multi-activity vehicle (Toyota
Sequoia), midsize premium multi-activity vehicle (Lexus RX)
and midsize pickup (Toyota Tacoma). GM also took three
top spots: large vehicle (Pontiac Grand Prix), large pickup
(Chevrolet Silverado Classic HD) and van (Chevrolet Express).
Overall, Japanese automakers
took seven of the 19 top spots, U.S.
automakers also took seven,
European automakers took four,
and South Korea’s Kia took one.
J.D. Power also recognizes
assembly plants that produced the
fewest defects, and Japanese com-
panies dominated in 2007. Ford
Motor Co.’s Wixom assembly plant
in Michigan received the Platinum
award, averaging 35 defects per 100
units, but of the 10 awards given
out, U.S. automakers took only two.
Japanese automakers took five and
European companies took three.
Also, 21 of the 38 auto dealers
that J.D. Power deemed “Dealers
of Excellence” in 2007 sell Japanese
vehicles. Nine sell European vehi-
cles, six sell U.S. vehicles, and two
sell South Korean vehicles.
Overall quality ratings for 2007,
available at www.jdpower.com/autos/quality-ratings, are all
over the board, with no one country a clear leader.
Level Field
GM sees this mix of numbers as a leveling of the quality
playing field.
“Toyota is making excellent products, but so is GM,” says
Tom Wilkinson, director of news relations at GM. “There’s
going to be a parity” in quality among U.S. and Japanese
manufacturers, he says.
Wilkinson says other manufacturers are taking lessons
from Toyota’s playbook, citing GM’s global manufacturing
system, a newer method in which GM uses identical parts in
 Q
many automobiles. This, he says, allows more efficient assembly,
much like what Toyota has been doing for years. W h o ’s Who in
While GM says its quality is increasing, Toyota admits that its
rise to the top is affecting quality negatively. According to the
Wall Street Journal, Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe admitted
last year that to meet demand, the company might have skipped
Name: Afaq Fayzee Ahmed
some quality checks.
Residence: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; per-
Toyota says it is slowing production to try to correct that.
manent resident of the United States
So, with quality equal—or at least headed in that direction—
Education: Master’s degree in mechanical
what will determine which company sells the most cars for the
engineering, University of Southern
rest of 2007 and beyond? One factor to consider is which compa-
California, Los Angeles
ny can make the most cars.
First job in quality:
According to the Harbour Report, published annually by
Corporate quality engi-
Harbour Consulting in Troy, MI, Toyota can still produce a car
neer at General Auto-
in less time than GM, although GM is catching up. The report,
motive, helping auto
which examines labor productivity of six manufacturers, found
parts suppliers enhance
that it took Toyota 29.93 labor hours to build components and
quality systems
assemble each vehicle in 2006. It took GM 32.36 hours from start
Current job:
to finish.
Engineering specialist for
That’s an improvement of better than 2% over 2005 for GM.
Saudi Aramco; develops, maintains and
Toyota’s time was 1.8% longer than in 2005. This is mainly due to
improves systems and procedures to
a large number of new models launched at Toyota’s plants,
enhance supplier quality and conducts facil-
including the new Camry and Tundra pickup truck, says Ron
ity surveys of potential critical equipment
Harbour, author of the report.
suppliers. He also participates as a mentor
That narrowing gap reflects a trend. For 2006, the difference
in a program to develop young engineers.
between the fastest production (Toyota) and the slowest (Ford)
ASQ activities: Senior member; regional
was only 5.17 hours. It was 7.33 hours in 2005, and 9.1 hours in
councilor, Healthcare Division; certified
2004. In 1998, it was 16.6.
quality manager, engineer and auditor
GM is also closing the gap in assembly. After all the parts are
Other achievements: RABQSA certified
built, GM takes 22.15 hours to assemble a car, compared to
skill examiner and quality management sys-
Toyota’s 22.05 hours—that’s a difference of only six minutes.
tem lead auditor
GM is also making strides in supplier relations. A recent arti-
Personal: Married, one son, one daughter
cle in the Detroit News cites an annual survey in which parts sup-
Favorite ways to relax: Playing tennis,
pliers are asked to rank their overall relations with auto
exercising, reading, listening to music and
manufacturers on a scale of zero to 500. GM scored 174 for 2006,
traveling
up from 131 in 2005. Still, GM has along way to go to catch
Quality quote: Efforts must be made at the
Toyota, which took the top spot with an average score of 415.
corporate and national levels to overcome
The article goes on to quote analysts who say this gives Toyota
barriers in cultivating a quality culture in
an advantage, as suppliers tend to offer their best technology,
developing nations. There should be ongo-
highest quality parts and lower prices to their best customers.
ing seminars, conferences, training courses
The price breaks allow Toyota and Honda to invest more money
and workshops to increase quality aware-
in R&D.
ness. Graduate level courses should be
offered in quality management and reliabil-
What to Focus On
ity. Top management should lead by pro-
GM has closed in on Toyota in a number of areas, but what
moting quality awareness and employee
has to happen for the U.S. automaker to take back the lead in
empowerment, and implementing recogni-
sales?
tion systems.
John Poris, a consultant and ASQ member, says, “Toyota is a
learning organization, while the Big Three are not. Toyota is
much leaner as well. It is a cultural thing more than anything. ➤

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 13

KEEPING
CURRENT

For the Big Three to catch up, the culture has to change signif-
icantly.”
Whatever automaker you’re behind, quality will no doubt
contribute to its future success.
Poris says, “Quality professionals should be constantly
pushing quality issues upstream, being as noisy as possible
about it. This includes pushing sales and marketing to nail
down customer requirements, pushing engineering to be
more involved up front in development of specifications,
and ensuring advanced product quality planning is actually
used and reviewed by decision makers throughout the
design process.”
Wilkinson’s advice? “Think globally. Think like a customer.”
He says the key to taking back the lead in global sales will
depend on GM’s ability to fit in to an expanding global market.
Japan, the United States and Western Europe, are “mature
markets,” Wilkinson says. GM leads in the United States,
Toyota leads in Japan, and it’s unlikely any of that will change.
However, he points to China, India and Latin America as open
markets. It’s up to the automakers to appeal to car buyers in
those countries.
“It’s a wide open market,” Wilkinson says. “The next few
years will be very interesting.”
AWARDS
Juran Center Names 2007
Fellows, Award Winners
The Joseph M. Juran Center for Leadership in Quality at
the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management
recently named its 2007 Juran fellows. Six Juran fellows were
selected from 20 applicants and receive $10,000 to expand
their quality research and its applications after graduation.
The fellows and their proposed research projects are:
• Wenny Chandra, Pennsylvania State University,
“Improving Public Health System: Disease Surveillance
for Pandemic Preparedness and Response Planning.”
• Aravind Chandrasekaran, University of Minnesota,
“Balancing Between Innovation and Improvement
Projects in High Velocity Environments.”
• Carla L. Fisher, Pennsylvania State University,
“Competent Mother-Adult Daughter Communication:
Behavior Essential to the Quality of Life when Coping
With Breast Cancer Across the Life Span.”
• Betty Harper, Pennsylvania State University, “An
Investigation of the Role of Continuous Improvement in

It’s the question you’re always

dying to ask your colleagues:

“How much
do you make?”

We can help you avoid the awkward silence that most likely follows such a daring question—simply read
the 2007 Quality Progress Salary Survey. But first, we need your help.
Please spend 10 minutes taking our salary survey at www.asq.org/mr/qp-salary-survey-07.html.
Your participation will help ensure the best, most accurate results. Last year, we received a record number
of responses. This year, we’d like to break that record.
Results of the survey will appear in the December issue of Quality Progress. Expanded results will be posted
at www.asq.org/pub/qualityprogress.

14 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org

 Promoting Student Learning.” • Bonnie Paris, University of Wisconsin.
• Ying Hong, Rutgers University, “One Size Does Not • Shrihari Sridhar, University of Missouri.
Fit All: Linking Customer Service Strategy With • Hua-Hung Weng, Clemson University.
Human Resource Management.”
• Leidy Klotz, Pennsylvania State University, “The
Relationships Between Transparency, Process
Mapping and Sustainable Building Delivery.”
The Juran Center also announced its doctoral award win-
ners. The doctoral awards are given to encourage doctoral
short
runs
THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY ACTION GROUP
students to consider quality principles early in their careers. (AIAG) and the Automatic Identification Manufacturer
Applicants submit essays based on their research interests Assn. of China (AIM of China) have agreed to cooperate
and how quality principles link to those topics. on automatic identification technologies. For more infor-
Winners receive a $2,500 cash award. The 12 award win- mation, go to www.aiag.org or www.aimchina.org.cn.
ners selected from 24 applicants are:
• Kate Alder, University of Wisconsin. THIS YEAR’S QUALITY COLLOQUIUM, a health-
care related event at Harvard University, will include a
• Shaunna Barnhart, Pennsylvania State University.
patient safety certificate program. This is the first time in
• BeiBei Dong, University of Missouri-Columbia.
the six-year history of the event that such a certification
• Richard Holden, University of Wisconsin.
has been offered. The Quality Colloquium is Aug. 19-22.
• Jain Kwan, University of Minnesota.
For more information, go to www.qualitycolloquium.com.
• Toni Liechty, Pennsylvania State University.
• Donald Lund, University of Missouri.
THE ACADEMIC QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PRO-
• Brent Moritz, University of Minnesota. GRAM (AQIP) is holding a workshop Sept. 13-14 in Lisle,
• Lela Olson, University of Minnesota. IL, called “Crafting Your Systems Portfolio.” The workshop

ASQ CERTIFICATION + Upper Iowa University MBA =

Access to the World of Opportunity
Combine your ASQ Certification with an accredited MBA in
Quality Management from Upper Iowa University and maximize
your opportunities for career advancement.
Whether you have a technical degree or one in business, the Upper Iowa
University MBA in Quality Management is designed to integrate contemporary
quality management concepts with the knowledge needed to manage people
and resources. Graduates of this program are expected to be able to assume
leadership roles advancing quality in their organizations.
• Online courses that fit your schedule.
• No residency requirement
• Start in any of 6 terms each year
• Highly qualified and supportive faculty
Contact us now for more information:
www.uiuonline.info | online@uiu.edu | 1-800-603-3756

Contact American Society for Quality: http://www.asq.org.

or telephone: 1-800-248-1946 for certification information.
Upper Iowa University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the
North Central Association. The MBA Program and business degrees offered are further accredited
by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education.
Accredited, Accessible, Affordable

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 15

KEEPING
CURRENT
will focus on the requirements and uses of AQIP’s sys-
tems portfolio and systems appraisal process, which use
quality tools to describe and assess education systems.
Enrollment is limited to 50 people, and registrations will
be accepted until the workshop is full, or until Aug. 17,
whichever comes first. For more information, go to
www.aqip.org.
THE NATIONAL BUSINESS COALITION ON
HEALTH, the Leapfrog Group and Bridges to Excellence
recently presented their Driving Value in Health Care
Awards. Michigan based insurer Priority Health won an
award for offering financial rewards to healthcare providers
for high quality and cost effective care through its physician
incentive program. The University of Michigan won an
award for its “focus on diabetes” initiative, a program that
Web Watch
AUTOMOTIVE
www.sae.org
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has
more than 90,000 members. On SAE’s website, mem-
bers and nonmembers can view the bookstore, job
board, papers and related links, plus information on
magazines, conferences and exhibitions, seminars,
training, collegiate chapters and volunteering opportu-
nities. Other features include free online specialized
newsletters and a search tool. SAE members can
access discussion forums and a news briefing service.
INTERNATIONAL
www.euskalit.net/new/indexenglish.php
The Basque Foundation for Quality, known as
EUSKALIT, is a not-for-profit organization that promotes
total quality management in the region of Spain known
as Basque Country. Its website has free articles and
information on EUSKALIT, its 5S club, European Quality
Week and the Basque Quality Award. While this is the
address of the English homepage, some of the links
send users to pages in Spanish.
MANUFACTURING
www.manufacturingiscool.com
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
16 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
helps consumers make better healthcare decisions. For more
information, go to www.nbch.org.
EFFECTIVE OUTSOURCING is based on partner-
ship rather than procurement, according to
PricewaterhouseCoopers’ new 2007 global outsourcing
survey. For more on the survey results, go to
www.pwc.com/extweb/ncpressrelease.nsf/docid/
FAB8BEF609FA5F48852572E30053BF92 (case sensitive).
APICS, THE ASSOCIATION FOR OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT says it will address supply chain sus-
tainability and “going green” at the 2007 APICS
International Conference and Exposition, which will be
Oct. 21-23 in Denver. For more information or to register
for the event, go to www.apicsconference.org.
Education Foundation created this site to inspire teens
and preteens to pursue careers in engineering and
manufacturing. It shows how engineers design and
produce things such as snacks, clothing, cars, cosmet-
ics and cell phones. It also features video clips of teens
and preteens creating radio controlled airplanes and
building computers at SME’s Science, Technology and
Engineering Preview summer programs.
QUALITY RESOURCES
www.fmeainfocentre.com
The FMEA Info Centre claims to have “everything
you want to know about failure mode and effect analy-
sis.” Features of the site include book lists, papers,
presentations, news alerts, downloadable software,
implementation guides and information on standards.
More websites. Links to and descriptions of these sites
and past Web Watch sites can be found in the cumula-
tive Web Watch listing online. Click on the
Quality Progress link at www.asq.org.
Found an interesting quality site? If you
come across a noncommercial site that
could be useful to other quality profession-
als, e-mail it to dnelsen@asq.org.
ASQ News
IDEAS TO ACTION FALL GATHERING COMING UP The Ideas
to Action fall gathering is scheduled for Sept. 23-25 in Milwaukee.
About 200 member leaders attended the Ideas to Action spring gather-
ing in April in Orlando, FL, to brainstorm how to strengthen ASQ’s vol-
unteer community. For more information about the spring gathering
and updates on the fall gathering, go to http://asqgroups.asq.org/itag.

DIVISION CONFERENCES MERGING The Energy and

Environmental and Design and Construction divisions are combining STANDARDS
efforts for the 34th National Energy and Environmental Conference,
Nov. 4-7 in Providence, RI. This year’s theme is preparing for the future, ISO 14065 Addresses
featuring the resurgence of commercial nuclear power and new trends in
environmental, safety, heath and quality. Attendees can earn continuing edu- Greenhouse Gas
cation and recertification units. For more information, go to www.asq.
org/ee.
Emissions
The International Organization for
E-MAIL ADDRESSES LOG MEMBERS IN Members can now Standardization (ISO) has launched
use their e-mail addresses as their log-in identifications on ASQ’s ISO 14065:2007, a new addition to its
member website. It will work for members who have provided their standards for addressing climate
e-mail addresses to ASQ. Passwords remain the same. E-mail help@ change and supporting emissions trad-
asq.org with questions regarding logging in. ing schemes.
In March 2006, ISO published its
AUDIT DIVISION OFFERING REFRESHER COURSE The Audit greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting
Division is presenting a certified quality auditor (CQA) exam refresher and verification standard, ISO 14064.
Oct. 9-10 in Atlanta. It coincides with the annual Audit Division confer- The complementary new standard,
ence, Oct. 11-12, and the certification exam, Oct. 14. The course costs ISO 14065:2007, Greenhouse Gases—
$595 and is worth 1.5 continuing education credits. Attendees will also Requirements for Greenhouse Gas
receive The ASQ Auditing Handbook, third edition. For more informa- Validation and Verification Bodies for
tion or to register, go to www.asq.org/courses/cqa-refresher.html. Use in Accreditation or Other Forms of
Recognition, details requirements for
ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBER HONORED FOR ETHICS Sun GHG validation or verification bodies
Microsystems, an ASQ organizational member, was named one of to use in accreditation or other forms
the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” by Ethisphere Magazine. The of recognition.
award is given to a company that demonstrates social responsibili- While ISO 14064 provides require-
ty. For more information about organizational membership, go to ments for organizations or persons to
www.asq.org/membership/organizations/overview.html. quantify and verify GHG emissions,
ISO 14065 specifies accreditation
QP OFFERING FULL ISSUE ONLINE Full issues of Quality requirements for organizations that
Progress are now available online as PDFs. Individual articles are validate or verify resulting GHG
available as PDFs going back to 1995, but since January, users can emission assertions or claims.
also download entire issues. Go to www.asq.org/pub/qualityprogress ISO 14065: is available from ISO at
for the current issue. www.iso.ch/iso/en/CatalogueDetail
Page.CatalogueDetail?CSNUMBER=
2008 QIHC SITE LIVE Planning is under way for next year’s Quality 40685&ICS1=13&ICS2=20&ICS3=40
Institute for Healthcare (QIHC), which will be May 5-7 in Houston. Like (case sensitive) or national member
the 2007 QIHC, it will coincide with the World Conference on Quality and institutes, including the American
Improvement. For more information, including how to submit propos- National Standards Institute at www.
als, go to http://qihc.asq.org. ansi.org. QP

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 17

INNOVATION
The Innovation
Process and
Quality Tools
by Justin Levesque and H. Fred Walker
A
s quality professionals, we work to
improve our organizations using special-
ized knowledge, tools and techniques.
We call our work continuous improvement, which,
historically, has primarily focused on reducing
costs and waste while minimizing process variabil-
ity to increase product or service quality. But are
cost reductions and quality improvements the
source of competitive advantage in a global mar-
ketplace?
The intent of this article is to make two points.
First, cost control and product quality only sustain
In 50 Words
Or Less
• While cost control and product quality can sustain a
competitive advantage, innovation creates it.
• The innovation process can be compared to a manufac-
turing process, as both require a series of steps to
arrive at a final product.
• The innovation process uses seven new quality tools.
18 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
a level of competitive advantage, while product or
service innovation is the actual source of competi-
tive advantage in a global market.
Second, innovation consists of a series of steps,
just like any other business or industrial process.
Since innovation in and of itself is a process, specif-
ic quality improvement tools can be used for its
improvement. Using quality improvement tools in
the innovation process will get higer quality prod-
ucts to market faster and at a lower cost.
Why Should Firms Focus
On Innovation?
Manufacturing and service industries are contin-
uing the global trend of outsourcing, and this pres-
sures new vendors and suppliers to innovate if
they want to meet market demand. It is widely
known that manufacturing work continues to
move to Asia. With global commerce, a new com-
pany with a great product can buy off-the-shelf
technology to become a first-rate manufacturer
quickly. Many Asian firms have done this. These
companies have become global competitors, with a
niche application in the use of automated manufac-
turing technology, on par with any U.S. or
European firm.
Education, when considered a service industry,
might also be experiencing a similar global shift—
although this trend could be overstated. Recent
articles in the popular press have stressed that
China is catching up to the United States in gradu-
ating college students in engineering related disci-
plines. Duke University researchers have framed
this debate in a study published in Issues in Science
and Technology.1
Figure 1 shows some of their preliminary find-
ings. While the United States is the world leader in
awarding engineering related bachelor’s degrees
per capita, China is gaining at an increasing rate. A
key question is whether this trend will continue.
As service based call centers and other high-tech
startups continue to flourish in India and China,
their need for well-educated technical employees
will increase.
These examples of globalization should concern
quality professionals in the United States and
Europe, as many of us are employed in the manu-
facturing, service and high-tech sectors. And, as
quality professionals, if we continue to compete
primarily by reducing product cost and making
incremental process improvements,
the outsourcing trend will likely FIGURE 1
continue and gain momentum.
Firms that make developing new 500
products and services a priority
450
enjoy a competitive advantage over
Degrees awarded per million citizens
developing new value added products and ser-
vices. New products or services give the innovative
firm a competitive advantage over its rivals.
Quality and cost control programs then sustain this
competitive advantage.
But how can we, as quality practitioners, con-
tribute to the innovation process? One solution is to
focus on conceptualizing and planning new prod-
ucts and services. This occurs in the earlier stages of
the innovation process, before the cost and quality
improvements typical during engineering and
manufacturing.
Innovation: A Process
That Can Be Mapped
The innovation process is an interrelated series
of steps needed to bring new product and service
ideas from conceptualization to market. The inno-
vation process can be compared to a manufactur-
ing process: Both require a series of steps to
assemble a final product. Mapping quality tools
to the earlier stages of the innovation process can
Engineering Bachelor’s Degrees Earned by Country1

firms that focus mainly on cutting 400

costs or improving product quality.
350
We illustrate this point in Figure 2
(p. 22), which outlines three innova- 300
tion strategies. In the cost conscious 250
firm, profit margins are low and
rival competition is fierce; these 200
firms are forced to cut costs to stay 150
competitive, and there is a minimal
100
focus on innovation.
A firm making product and ser- 50
vice quality a high priority, the
0
quality oriented firm, enjoys a com- 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
petitive advantage—until rivals Year
introduce a new product or service. India China MoE CERN China MoE Yearbook United States
Quality of the obsolete product or
service then becomes a moot point. 1. Data provided by the Chinese Ministry of Education (MoE) Yearbook might include additional engineer-
The innovative firm is focused on ing and technology degrees outside traditional engineering fields; the China MoE Center for Education
and Research Network (CERN) gives a more conservative estimate. Reprinted with permission.

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 19

 seem like an abstract exercise. If the innovation FIGURE 2 Three Firms, Three Approaches
process is compared to a manufacturing process, it
is easier to see where quality tools and techniques Cost Quality
Innovative
can contribute to delivering new products and ser- conscious oriented
firm
vices. firm firm
Innovations in the traditional research and devel- High Cost Quality Innovation
opment (R&D) laboratory commonly take years to
make it to market as commercially viable products
Level of
or services. When quality tools are mapped to the Quality Cost Quality
focus
innovation process there is potential to reduce inno-
vation cycle time—saving the firm time and money
while getting new products and services to market Low Innovation Innovation Cost
faster than competitors.
The innovation process has been mapped to
many different company strategies. Regardless of ing analyses are typically done first, while manu-
how many strategies exist, it is important to choose facturing is last. Interdepartmental meeting points,
one process to guide innovation. Without a specific or tollgate meetings, occur throughout the process
strategy in place, systematically using quality tools and are depicted as vertical lines. At tollgate meet-
in the innovation process would be difficult at best, ings, the progress of product or service develop-
and most likely ineffective. Figure 3 shows one of ment is reviewed. As the product or service
many strategies that can guide the innovation development cycle matures, tollgate meetings
process. Andrew Graves, of the University of Bath, become less frequent.
introduced this strategy.2
The innovation process in Figure 3 relies on mul- New vs. Old
tiple departments working simultaneously to As seen in Figure 3, we distinguish two quality
develop new products or services. The six horizon- toolsets: the old and the new. The quality community
tal bars represent each department’s major func- is well acquainted with the seven old tools: cause
tions. Each department becomes involved in the and effect diagrams, stratifications analyses, check-
innovation process at staggered intervals; market- sheets, histograms, scatter diagrams, Pareto analyses
and control charts. The old
tools have proven their worth
FIGURE 3 Cross Departmental Innovation Process when mapping existing
Time
processes to learn about per-
formance capability and char-
Marketing analysis
acterization. When used
Application alongside other traditional
areas of
the seven
Research and development statistical quality control tech-
new tools niques, such as process setup
and verification, acceptance
Product and process development
sampling and designed
experiments, the old tools are
Traditional
Product engineering an even more powerful way
focus areas to streamline production
of the quality
professional Parts manufacture and supplier relationships processes for improvement
emphasis on purposes.
seven old tools
and statistical
However, the set of seven
Manufacture
quality control. new tools has not widely
caught on in the quality
Interdepartmental meeting points Mature phase of innovation process
community because it is not

20 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org

as compatible with process improve- TABLE 1
ment work—the tools are much more
useful in conceptualization and Degree of complexity
ideation: a structured approach to think-
ing about solving problems. This concep-
tual work commonly occurs in the
beginning phases of the innovation cycle.
Because most quality practitioners typi-
cally work in the later phases of the inno-
vation cycle, where efforts are centered
on improving manufacturing processes
for the sake of cutting cost and improv-
ing quality, it is easy to see why the seven
new tools have not enjoyed such wide-
spread popularity as the seven old tools.
ASQ has recognized the value of the seven new
quality tools by including them in the higher level
bodies of knowledge for several certifications,
namely manager of quality/organizational excel-
lence.3 Knowledge of the new tools as a requirement
for such a high level ASQ certification illustrates the
value they bring to strategic planning and the inno-
vation process.
Seven New Quality Tools
Table 1 shows the seven new quality tools. Due
to space limitations, we cannot go into great detail
about the inner workings of each tool, but we can
provide an overview. We encourage readers to con-
sult ASQ’s website4 for more detailed information.
Also, Creating Quality by William Kolarik5 and The
Quality Toolbox by Nancy Tague6 offer excellent
overviews of the seven new tools.
1. Affinity diagram. This is one of the basic tools
used to stimulate creativity and bring structure to
the brainstorming process. The affinity diagram is
especially useful in any interdepartmental project—
it helps put team members at ease with one another
because the tool is designed to welcome a diverse
range of ideas. Because the innovation process relies
heavily on people from different departments work-
ing together, the affinity diagram would be power-
ful in the early stages of the innovation process.
2. Relations diagram. This tool discovers causes
and effects of problems. It identifies the cause of
problems that can occur in high-level strategic
planning by systematically linking the many fac-
tors that contribute to a problem, providing a big-
picture view of what’s at stake.
The Seven New Quality Tools
New tool Useful area
Low: 1 Affinity diagram Brainstorming, consensus
2 Relations diagram Cause and effect
3 Tree diagram Logic based problem solving
4 Process decision program chart Identifying best solution
5 Arrow diagram Resource planning
6 Matrix diagram Determining interrelated factors
High: 7 Matrix data analysis Quantitative analysis
3. Tree diagram. This logic based tool, which can
also be called a systematic diagram, is more focused
than the affinity or relations diagrams. It starts with
a broad category, theme or problem and attempts to
break the issue down into granular levels of detail
using a branch system. The logic behind the tree
diagram is that as a broad issue is broken down
into finer levels, a solution pathway emerges. The
tree diagram is effective after developing affinity
and relations diagrams because the ideas from
these broader tools can be applied to the tree dia-
gram to help find a clear solution.
4. Process decision program chart (PDPC). When
faced with multiple options to solve a problem, the
PDPC is useful in assessing all the alternative solu-
tions to find the one that fits best. A PDPC can also
be used in a what-if analysis. If a solution or process
is already agreed on, the tool can identify what
might go wrong if the solution were to be employed.
Because a tree diagram might give multiple solu-
tions to the issue at hand, the PDPC is the logical tool
to use after the tree diagram to determine which
solution has the most promise.
5. Arrow diagram. This tool addresses resource
problems and bottlenecks during the innovation
process. Similar in scope to a Gantt chart, the arrow
diagram allows the mapping and scheduling of
multiple tasks. The tool is valuable when resources
must be allocated across an interdepartmental pro-
ject. When significant penalties occur if a project
falls behind schedule, resource allocation becomes
an important focus.
6. Matrix diagram. This shows relationships
between groups of information. It draws out
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 21
 interrelated factors, illustrating how changing one
factor might affect others. The strength of the rela-
tionship can be characterized as varying degrees
of positive and negative. Many different shapes
for the matrix diagram are possible.
7. Matrix data analysis. This is a mathematical
technique that quantifies the interrelated factors
created in the matrix diagram. Weights are given
to the interrelated factors when hard data are
unavailable; software programs using statistical
correlation methods are used to quantify the rela-
tionship between factors when data are available.
Due to the mathematical rigor involved, matrix
data analysis is the most complex of the new tools.
Considerations for Quality
Professionals
Firms can structure the innovation process in
such a way that quality improvement methods
with the new tools are not aligned with the model
we have illustrated. For the new quality tools to be
of use, we recommend readers evaluate the current
state of the innovation process in their firms with
other department stakeholders. Other stakeholders
can include marketing managers, R&D scientists
and managers, technology transfer officers, prod-
uct engineers and manufacturing managers.
When the existing state of the innovation process
is known, a phased-in approach of the new quality
tools can then be completed over time. A good
place for introduction of the new tools might be at
the interdepartmental meetings that occur during
the innovation process.
R&D personnel and other departments involved
in the innovation process might be hesitant to
embrace quality tools, which is an issue of organi-
zational culture and communication. But as quality
professionals, we all know quality impacts the ulti-
mate profitability of our firms. Most of us can prob-
ably think of a time when we have had difficulty
explaining to senior management that quality is an
investment, not a cost. Communicating this concept
of quality to R&D managers, as well as to other
innovation stakeholders, will be no different. We
must embrace the concept of quality not just in
engineering and manufacturing, but also through-
out all stages of the innovation process.
As quality practitioners, we historically have
22 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
competed primarily by reducing costs, decreasing
waste and increasing product or service quality.
The innovation process is an area in which quality
practitioners can apply the seven new quality tools
to get new higher quality products and services to
market faster and at a lower cost to help our firms
stay competitive in a global marketplace.
REFERENCES
1. Vivek Wadhwa, “Where the Engineers Are,” Issues in
Science and Technology, Spring 2007, pp. 73-84.
2. Andrew Graves, “Comparative Trends in Automotive
Research and Development,” paper presented at the Science
Policy Research Unit, Sussex University, Brighton, Sussex,
1987.
3. ASQ, Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence
Certification, www.asq.org/certification/manager-of-quality/
bok.html.
4. ASQ, Seven New Management and Planning Tools,
www.asq.org/learn-about-quality/
new-management-planning-tools/overview/overview.html.
5. William Kolarik, Creating Quality: Concepts, Systems,
Strategies, and Tools, McGraw-Hill, 1995.
6. Nancy Tague, The Quality Toolbox, second edition, ASQ
Quality Press, 2005.
JUSTIN LEVESQUE is a graduate student in the master’s
in manufacturing systems and MBA programs at the
University of Southern Maine. He has established and
operated a quality testing laboratory in the brewing indus-
try. Levesque has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Bates
College in Lewiston, ME, and works in process improve-
ment for a biotechnology company.
H. FRED WALKER is a professor, department chair and
graduate coordinator in the department of technology at
the University of Southern Maine. He has a doctorate in
industrial education and technology from Iowa State
University. Walker recently co-authored two books pub-
lished by ASQ Quality Press, The Certified Quality
Engineer Handbook, second edition, and The Certified
Quality Technician Handbook. He is vice chair of print
initiatives for ASQ’s Quality Management Division and
editor of its newsletter, Quality Management Forum.
Walker is a senior member of ASQ and is a certified man-
ager of quality/organizational excellence, quality engineer,
reliability engineer and quality auditor.
INNOVATION
Nanotechnology:
A Big Little Frontier
For Quality
H
ave you seen the Apple iPod nano? While
it is very thin, it is not really on the nano
scale. The term nano denotes one-billionth
in the metric measuring system. A particle with a
nanometer diameter is therefore one-billionth of a
meter (10-9m) in size.
The thickness (or thinness, as Apple would have
it) of an iPod is approximately 7 million nanometers.
To reduce it to just one nanometer, you would have
In 50 Words
Or Less
• Nanotechnology deals with arranging particles on the
atomic scale.
• The scope of nanotechnology is vast, global and critical
to future production.
• Quality practitioners and researchers can use design
of experiments, statistical process control, Six Sigma
and ISO 9001 certification knowledge to make strong
contributions to nanotechnology.
by Harriet Black Nembhard
to make about the same reduction as you would to
fit the diameter of the earth into your arms.
Nanotechnology deals with arranging particles
on this extremely small scale, the atomic scale. It is a
field of applied science focused on the design, syn-
thesis, characterization and application of materials
and devices on the nanoscale. The basic goal is to
engineer functional systems at the molecular level.
The United States’ National Nanotechnology
Initiative (NNI) website defines nanotechnology as
“the understanding and control of matter at dimen-
sions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique
phenomena enable novel applications.”1
Some contend nanotechnology is more impor-
tant than all previous scientific advances. To quote
the authors of one book:
Nanotechnology is an anticipated manufactur-
ing technology that allows thorough, inexpen-
sive control of the structure of matter by working
with atoms. It will allow many things to be man-
ufactured at low cost and with no pollution. It
will lead to the production of nanomachines,
which are sometimes called nanodevices. It is
therefore an advancement as important as the
discovery of the first tool. However, rather than
shape what nature offers, we can do it ourselves.
Unlike metallurgy, natural substances are not
used as the starting materials, but atoms—the
ingredients of the universe.2
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 23
INNOVATION
NNI, established in 2001, and the 21st Century
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act
of 20033 have supported in the neighborhood of
$1 billion per year for nanotechnology research
and development in the United States. With this
investment, numerous centers and networks of
excellence have been established under the
National Science Foundation (NSF), National
Institutes of Health, Department of Defense and
NASA.
Most major universities now have laboratories
and centers dedicated to nanotechnology, with
much of the work focused on the fundamental sci-
ence needed to advance research and development.
Some elements that have been born out of this
research include nanoshells (5 to 20 nanometers in
diameter—about the width of a blood cell) that can
simultaneously detect and destroy cancer cells,4
and nanomotors (2 to 5 nanometers in diameter—
about the width of DNA) that can be used to rotate
microscale objects.5 However, even though proto-
types and samples of these devices have been cre-
ated, nanotechnology is still in the precompetitive
stage, meaning its applied use is limited.
How Will Nanotechnology Be Used?
Beyond the basic definitions and capabilities,
many people have grappled with the deeper ques-
tions of what nanotechnology means, what it has
the potential to offer society and how it will be
used to create wealth. Indeed, nanotechnology is
becoming an engine for making the food we eat,
clothes we wear and medicine we take. More than
1,700 companies in 47 nations are reportedly pur-
suing the promise of nanotechnology, according to
the May 2007 issue of the International Nanotech-
nology Companies Business Directory.6
Many of these companies specialize in business-
to-business products, such as specialized nanopar-
ticulates made of metals and ceramics, nanotubes,
nanowires and nanocages made of these materials,
and imaging and tooling equipment designed for
the nanoscale.
Some companies directly involved with busi-
ness-to-consumer products are using nanotechnol-
ogy to improve the rain repelling capability of
automotive glass, to enhance skin condition with
highly penetrating moisturizer, and to purify air
with supercharged oxidizing photons.
According to TinyTech IP, a blog devoted to
24 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
nanotechnology, a patent was recently filed for
the Nucleic Acid Nanorobot that could perhaps
be used someday to deliver molecular medicine
exactly where it is needed in the body.7
If this sounds almost like science fiction, the case
can easily be made that the future of nanotechnolo-
gy is here. One of the recurring problems, however,
is that this growing nanotech trade has been hit by
questions regarding quality. One of the reasons the
use of nanotech is limited is because process con-
trol, reliability and repeatability of the processes
and products have not been well established.
Fundamental Characterization
And Processing
Laboratory operations for nanotechnology are
often concerned with systematically arranging
nanoparticles into functional structures such as
films, lubricants and adhesives. At the nanoscale,
there are small-size dependent properties that do
not necessarily correspond to macroscale proper-
ties.
Therein lies the problem: In many cases, these
size dependent properties are only beginning to be
understood. It is critical, however, that this science is
more fully understood to manipulate the nanoscale
building blocks into engineered nanoscale systems.
Statistically based design of experiments (DOEs) can
be extremely helpful in comprehending the effects
of design factors on the particle or product charac-
terization and process.
As an example of this point, consider the step
and flash nanolithography (SFNL) process. This
SFNL process is used for nanoscale imprinting,
which can create features of an imprinted pattern
on the order of 50 to 100 nanometers. This capabili-
ty can be applied, for example, to write very small
letters for library archival purposes.
I was a part of a team that used DOE to improve
the operation of an SFNL process.8 The process own-
ers established that the radio frequency power,
chamber pressure, gas flow and the magnetic flux
were four important controllable process factors and
that the average amount and the uniformity of the
etching of the spin-on material were two important
responses. A replicated full 24 factor design with
three center point runs was carried out.
The results showed significant interaction between
pressure and gas flow that affected the preferred
operating settings of the process. Furthermore, a
residual analysis showed the gas flow

Limin Tong for the Mazur Group, Harvard University

should be run at a high level because it
reduces the mean etch rate variability.
These results were extremely helpful to
the process engineers as they refined
the operating procedures for the
nanoimprinter.
As further evidence of the use of
DOE in nanotechnology, some recent
work in nanotechnology literature
includes the following:
• Factorial design with center
points in a nanocomposites syn-
thesis.9
• Fractional factorial design in a
nanolubrication process.10
• Central composite design to opti-
mize dispersion properties of
polymer nanocomposites.11
• Split-plot design in a nanomilling
process.12
• Mixture design in a nanoparticu- NANOWIRE: A light conducting
late bonding process.13 silica nanowire wraps a beam of
• Multistage split lot design in a light around a strand of human hair.
self-assembled monolayering
process.14
• Taguchi design in a deposition
process of nanocrystalline dia-
mond coating.15
Although the above list is not exhaustive, the iments for technical details on this type of error17).
experimental research that does not use DOE far
outweighs the experimental research that does Scaling Up
use DOE. In fact, a cautionary word is that there Nanomanufacturing emphasizes the use of nan-
are numerous articles in the nanotechnology lit- otechnology for manufacturing the products and
erature in which a one-factor-at-a-time experi- services we use. One of the foremost challenges
mental approach has been applied. nanomanufacturing faces is that of scaling up.
This approach is so-named because the experi- An NSF report says, “To move scientific discov-
menter tries to change one factor while holding all eries from the laboratory to commercial products, a
of the others constant. Although it appears to be a completely different set of fundamental research
methodical approach on the surface, as explained in issues must be addressed—primarily those related
the classic Design and Analysis of Experiments,16 its to viable commercial scale-up of production vol-
use is unfortunate because it often misses important umes, process robustness and reliability, and inte-
interactions among the variables, yielding mislead- gration of nanoscale structures and devices into
ing conclusions. microscale, mesoscale and macroscale products.”18
There also have been several published cases Regarding the processing of nanoscale materials,
in which DOE was applied but was wrongly a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
analyzed due to a lack of randomization. For report says, “Our challenge is designing stable,
example, an experiment was carried out with the durable materials that can be scaled up and manu-
structure of a split-plot design but analyzed as a factured in the form of thin films, bulk powders or
full factorial one (see Design and Analysis of Exper- bulk solids. From an applications perspective, our

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 25

INNOVATION
ability to scale up reliable materials will determine
whether industry will support the development of
nanoscale materials for specific applications.”19
The same issue is echoed by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA): “The industrialization chal-
lenges posed by the demands of physical product
design, characterization, scale-up and manufactur-
ing are often little understood outside of FDA and
the pharmaceutical ... communities. It is crucial
that ... improved methods for design, characteriza-
tion and product manufacture are available to
improve predictability in this area.”20
The NSF, PNNL, FDA and other agencies and
private initiatives have helped support innovation
Certification has started
to become a priority with
several organizations.
and research to address the scale-up challenge. The
reports point out that key subproblems have been
low reliability and yield for nanoscale devices, lack
of repeatability and reproducibility in yielding a
particular product, and lack of inherent robustness
and control of the nanomanufacturing process.
These issues are intrinsically linked to quality
and statistics. More specifically, statistical process
control (SPC) is an area in the quality domain that
could help tremendously.
Consider, for example, the current research into
the development of nanowires. Nanowires are gen-
erally flexible and can be as slender as 50 nanome-
ters in width. The photo on p. 27 shows a nanowire
made of silicon that can guide a beam of light.
While it is not the intent of this article to exhaus-
tively examine the literature on nanowires, they
have been created from many materials, for many
purposes, using many types of processes.21-26 In
many of these cases, however, the literature is
reporting on the best one of just a few nanowires
that had the desired quality and specification. But
that one nanowire might have been produced in a
batch of thousands.
It has been reported that SPC has been used by
26 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
chip manufacturers to analyze the surface for
defects using atomic force microscopy (AFM).27
There seems to be an immediate opportunity to use
SPC and AFM or other imaging technology in the
production of nanowires, but in a current review of
the literature, this has not been addressed.
If true process control could be established for
nanowires, and indeed other nanodevices and nan-
otechnologies, it would lay the foundation for
process scale-up. An important consideration, how-
ever, should be that the complexity and intricacy of
nanotechnology processes might in fact call for
multivariate SPC (MSPC) methods such as multi-
variate exponentially weighted average principle
component analysis and profile monitoring.
With these methods, multivariate data is reduced
in dimension and correlated with final product
quality. This information can then be used for fault
detection and coupled with engineering process
control. A recent example illustrates the application
of MSPC to a reactive ion etching process.28 There is
certainly opportunity to explore the application of
other MSPC techniques to other nanotechnology
processes.
In fact, in the last several years, many traditional
companies have embraced the Six Sigma metric of
quality that aims for processes that produce prod-
ucts that are 99.99966% defect free. Think about it:
Out of 1,000 nanowires on a wafer, in many cases,
fewer than 10 will have the desired quality and
specification. Imagine now how the potential of the
field would change if nanotechnology production
processes met Six Sigma levels.
Product Certification and Standards
As interest in nanotechnology has surged, the
market has created buyers and sellers for special-
ized nanoparticulates and nanodevices. On the
commercial level, however, trade has been ham-
pered by concerns about the quality and safety of
the products. For example, a survey of nanotech-
nology companies revealed problems with contam-
inated batches of nanoparticulates. Some of the
problems might have occurred during production,
others during shipping.29
In response to these problems, certification has
started to become a priority with several organiza-
tions:
• In the textile industry, the Hohenstein Insti-
tute (Bönnigheim, Germany) has launched the
 Hohenstein Quality Label for Nanotechnology
for manufacturers of textiles with functions
based on nanotechnology.30
• Zyvex Corp. has installed a supply chain certi-
fication program for carbon nanotube suppli-
ers. It verifies quality and batch-to-batch
consistency using a scanning electron micro-
scope analytical testing.31
• The government of Taiwan recently initiated
the Nano Mark System to certify that products
claiming to have nanoparticles (specifically
titanium dioxide) do in fact have them.32
Standards will also play an important role in
supporting the evolution of nanotechnology. As
the premier measurement laboratory in the United
States, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) has made the development of
instrumentation and standards for nanotechnology
a top priority.33
Globally, a new International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) technical committee was
recently established to develop international nan-
otechnology standards. ISO/TC 229—Nanotechnolo-
gies will develop standards for terminology and
nomenclature, basic metrology, and test methodolo-
gies.34 Hundreds of other standards developing
organizations throughout United States and the
world are also working on nanotechnology.
Those who are actively working in nanotechnolo-
gy might find that an anticipatory standards strate-
gy can be used. This strategy depends on flexible
working groups of scientists and engineers who
understand nanotech trends and can anticipate the
need for standards in commercializing specific
areas. The need for standardization with respect to
quality control and metrology is listed explicitly for
activities related to nanoscale bulk materials,
devices and components, and final systems (see
Figure 1).35
We can also expect needs for quality control and
statistical analysis within other areas. For example,
standard methods for electrical transport proper-
ties for carbon nanotubes might need to rely on
empirical data. Experimental design might be
applied to developing standard interfacial architec-
tures. Standard test device structures might need
reliability methods.
While there has been a rapid pace of discovery
in nanotechnology, it might take more time for the
various constituencies across the public, private
FIGURE 1 Nanotech Career Opportunities
For Quality Practitioners
Quality
Environmental control Assembly
Health Metrology Scale-up
Nanoscale Devices/ Systems
bulk materials components
Chemical Hardware
architecture
Mechanical
Software
Electronic architecture
and research communities to reach a consensus on
nanotechnology certification and standardization
efforts. Technical committees and working groups
will need many dedicated people with diverse
backgrounds—including those with quality back-
grounds—to help advance nanotechnology stan-
dards at a pace with nanotechnology discovery.
Call to Action
The concept of nanotechnology is attributed to
Nobel laureate Richard Feynman. He gave a vision-
ary lecture titled “There is Plenty of Room at the
Bottom” at a meeting of the American Physical
Society on Dec. 29, 1959. He made bold and accu-
rate prognostications on building molecular scale
machines.36 The lecture was subtitled “An Invitation
to Enter a New Field of Physics.”
Quality engineers and practitioners should think
of this QP article as an invitation to enter the world
of nanotechnology. The discussion and examples in
my article demonstrate that the body of knowledge
in DOE, SPC, Six Sigma, and certification and stan-
dards can be used to make significant contribu-
tions to nanotechnology.
Learn more about nanotechnology using the
web. Many excellent websites provide help,
including Nanopedia,37 which is presented as an
encyclopedia of nanotechnology, and the Institute
of Nanotechnology,38 which has organized tabs for
nano reports, news, events, careers, books, images
and other links.
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 27
INNOVATION
Then read The Next Big Thing Is Really Small39 and
Understanding Nanotechnology.40 These two books
provide a good, basic introduction to the topic and
can be read in an afternoon. For a more in-depth
overview, books that are sometimes used in higher-
education courses are Nanotechnology: Basic Science
and Emerging Technologies,41 Nanoscale Science and
Technology42 and Nanoparticles: Building Blocks for
Nanotechnology.43 A somewhat prophetic treatment
is given in Engines of Creation, the Coming Age of
Nanotechnology.44
Researchers who are familiar with quality princi-
ples should collaborate with colleagues in chemical
engineering, mechanical engineering and material
Teachers should become
familiar with nanotechnology
courses being developed on
university campuses and help
shape the topic coverage to
include quality principles.
science. There are gaps in the quality components
of nanotechnology due in part to perennial prob-
lems, such as a lack of engineers who are cross
trained in statistical methods and the perceived
drudgery of statistical work. Those of us who are
familiar with the methods should insert ourselves
into the scientific teams. We can lead the efforts to
improve process and product quality and put the
nanotechnology on a faster, more efficient develop-
ment path.
Teachers should become familiar with nanotech-
nology courses being developed on university
campuses and help shape the topic coverage to
include quality principles. NSF has funded work to
integrate nanotechnology into the curriculum. One
model that can be used is the Interactive Nano-
Visualization for Science and Engineering Educa-
tion (INVSEE).45 The first goal of INVSEE is to
educate students about the principles, execution,
interpretation and rational design of experiments.46
This model could be used more broadly at both
28 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
high school and college levels.
Quality practitioners should track the nanotech-
nology food chain for their industry. Understand
how it will potentially impact your organization.
Then think strategically about how to position
your business and your career for success in nan-
otechnology using quality tools.
Even if you are not directly involved in nanotech-
nology, it already impacts you and your business in
some way—or soon will.
REFERENCES
1. National Nanotechnology Initiative, www.nano.gov.
2. Mick Wilson, Kannangara Kamali, Geoff Smith,
Michelle Simmons and Burkhard Ragues, Nanotechnology:
Basic Science and Emerging Technologies, Chapman &
Hall/CRC, 2002.
3. “President Bush Signs Nanotechnology Research and
Development Act,” www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/
2003/12/20031203-7.html.
4. Christopher Loo, Amanda Lowery, Naomi Halas,
Jennifer West and Rebekah Drezek, “Immunotargeted
Nanoshells for Integrated Cancer Imaging and Therapy,”
Nano Letters, Vol. 5, No. 4, 2005, pp. 709-711.
5. Rienk Eelkema, Michael M. Pollard, Javier Vicario,
Nathalie Katsonis, Blanca Serrano, Ramon Cees, W. M.
Bastiaansen, Dirk J. Broer and Ben L. Feringa, “Molecular
Machines: Nanomotor Rotates Microscale Objects,” Nature,
Vol. 440, Issue 7,081, 2006, pp. 163-173.
6. International Nanotechnology Business Directory,
www.nanovip.com.
7. TinyTechIP, http://tinytechip.blogspot.com/2007/01/
us-patent-7163794-nucleic-acid.html.
8. Hector Carrion, Michael Rogosky, Harriet Black Nemb-
hard, Sanjay Joshi and Jeffrey Catchmark, “Characterization of
the SilSpin Etch-Back (breakthrough) Process for Nanolithog-
raphy with CHF3 and O2 Gas Chemistry,” Proceedings of 2006
Industrial Engineering Research Conference, 2006.
9. Amitava Basumallick, G.C. Das and S. Mukherjee,
“Design of Experiments for Synthesizing in situ Ni-SiO2 and
Co-SiO2 Nanocomposites by Non-Isothermal Reduction
Treatment,” Nanotechnology, Vol. 14, 2003, pp. 903-906.
10. Harriet Black Nembhard, Navin N. Acharya, Mehmet
Aktan and Seong H. Kim, “Design Issues and Analysis of
Experiments in Nanomanufacturing,” Chapter 17, Handbook
of Industrial and Systems Engineering, A. Badiru, ed., CRC
Press, 2006.
11. Virginia Yong and H. Thomas Hahn, “Dispersant Op-
timization Using Design of Experiments for SiC/vinyl Ester
Nanocomposites,” Nanotechnology, Vol. 16, 2005, pp. 354-360.
12. Harriet Black Nembhard, “Design Issues and Analysis
of Experiments in Nanomanufacturing,” see reference 10.
13. Ibid.
14. Navin Acharya and Harriet Black Nembhard,
“Multistage Nanomanufacturing Experimentation,”
working paper, 2007.
15. W. Ahmed, E. Ahmed, C. Maryan, M. J. Jackson, A.A.
Ogwu, N. Ali, V.F. Neto and J. Gracio, “Time Modulated CVD
Process Optimized Using the Taguchi Method,” Journal of Ma-
terials Engineering and Performance, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 236-241.
16. D.C. Montgomery, Design and Analysis of Experiments,
fifth edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2005.
17. Ibid.
18. Ahmed Busnaina, Carol Barry and Glen Miller, orga-
nizers, NSF Workshop on Three Dimensional Nanomanufactur-
ing: Partnering with Industry; Conclusions and Report, 2003,
www.coe.neu.edu/Research/nano/nsf_workshop.htm, ac-
cessed January 2006.
19. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, www.pnl.gov/
breakthroughs/issues/2004-issues/spring-summer/special_
report.stm
20. “Innovation or Stagnation: Challenge and Opportu-
nity on the Critical Path to New Medical Products,” FDA
2004 report, http://nano.cancer.gov/news_center/monthly_
feature_2005_jun.asp.
21. Michael H. Huang, Yiying Wu, Henning Feick, Ngan
Tran, Eicke Weber and Peidong Yang, “Catalytic Growth of
Zinc Oxide Nanowires by Vapor Transport,” Science, Vol. 13,
No. 2, pp. 113-116.
22. A. M. Morales, “A Laser Ablation Method for the
Synthesis of Crystalline Semiconductor Nanowires,” Science,
Vol. 279, No. 5,348, pp. 208-211.
23. M.H. Huang, see Reference 18.
24. B. Li, D. Yu and S.L. Zhang, “Raman Spectral Study
of Silicon Nanowire,” Physical Review B, Vol. 59, 1999,
pp. 1,645–1,648.
25. Y. Duan, Y. Huang, Y. Cui, J. Wang and C.M. Lieber,
“Indium Phosphide Nanowires as Building Blocks for
Nanoscale Electronic and Optoelectronic Devices,” Nature,
Jan. 4, 2001, pp. 66-69.
26. Y.C. Kong, D.P. Yu, B. Zhang, W. Fang, and S.Q. Feng,
“Ultraviolet-emitting ZnO Nanowires Synthesized by a
Physical Vapor Deposition Approach,” Applied Physics
Letters, Vol. 78, No. 4, pp. 407-409.
27. Charalabos C. Doumanidis, “Nanomanufacturing
Research: Technical Advances, Research Challenges and Future
Directions,” 2003, unpublished report.
28. Harriet Black Nembhard and Shuohui Chen, “Multi-
variate Cuscore Control Charts for Monitoring the Mean
Vector in Autocorrelated Processes,” working paper, 2006.
29. Lux Research, Survey of Nanotech Problems, www.
luxresearchinc.com.
30. Hohenstein Quality Label for Nanotechnology, www.
hohenstein.de/en/content/content1.asp?hohenstein=
47-249-0-355-0-0.
31. Zyvex Announces Carbon Nanotube Supply Chain
Certification Program, www.zyvex.com/News/
CNTStandards.html (case sensitive).
32. Tsung-Tsan Su, “Commercialization of Nanotech-nolo-
gy-Taiwan Experiences” Emerging Technologies-Nanoelec-
tronics, IEEE Conference, 2006.
33. Nanotechnology is BIG at NIST, www.nist.gov/nanotech.
34. International Organization for Standardization—Tech-
nical Committee on Nanotechnology (TC 229), www.iso.
org/iso/en/stdsdevelopment/tc/tclist/Technical
CommitteeDetailPage.TechnicalCommitteeDetail?COMMID=
5932 (case sensitive).
35. Edward Rashba and Daniel Gamota, “Anticipatory
Standards and the Commercialization of Nanotechnology,”
Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Vol. 4, 2003, pp. 401-407.
36. Richard P. Feynman, “There is Plenty of Room at the
Bottom: An Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics,”
Engineering and Science, 1960, available on the web in several
locations including www.zyvex.com/nanotech/feynman.
html.
37. Nanopedia, nanopedia.case.edu.
38. Institute of Nanotechnology, www.nano.org.uk.
39. Jack Uldrich and Deb Newberry, The Next Big Thing is
Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of
Your Business, Crown Business, 2002.
40. Understanding Nanotechnology, from the editors of
Scientific American; compiled and with introductions by
Sandy Fritz; Warner Books Inc., 2002.
41. Mick Wilson, Nanotechnology: Basic Science and
Emerging Technologies, see reference 2.
42. R. Kelsall, I.W. Hamley and M. Geoghegan, eds.,
Nanoscale Science and Technology, John Wiley & Sons, 2005.
43. Vincent M. Rotello, ed., Nanoparticles: Building Blocks
for Nanotechnology, Springer, 2003.
44. Eric Drexler, Engines of Creation, the Coming Age of
Nanotechnology, Fourth Estate, 1990.
45. Interactive Nano-Visualization for Science and
Engineering Education, http://invsee.asu.edu.
46. B. L. Ramakrishna, Eddie W. Ong, Andrew
Chizmeshya and Jeremy Rowe, “Nanotechnology Education:
Exploring a Compact Disk Stamper,” National Educators’
Workshop: Update 2000. Standard Experiments in Engineering,
Materials Science and Technology, 2001, pp. 227-242.
HARRIET BLACK NEMBHARD is an
associate professor of industrial and
manufacturing engineering at the
Pennsylvania State University. She
earned a doctorate in industrial engi-
neering from the University of Mich-
igan. Nembhard is a senior member of
ASQ, an associate academician of the
International Academy of Quality and an ASQ certified
Six Sigma Black Belt. Nembhard received the ASQ Journal
of Quality Technology Lloyd S. Nelson Award in 2003
and the ASQ Armand V. Feigenbaum Medal in 2004.
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 29
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT
QFD’s Evolution in
Japan and the West
by Jui-Chin Jiang, Ming-Li Shiu and Mao-Hsiung Tu
E
ven though the initial theory of quality
originated in the United States, early indus-
trial applications predominantly took place
at Japanese companies.
At first, Japanese companies used quality control
in manufacturing and inspection areas. But, the
Japanese automobile industry recognized the im-
portance of designing quality into new products in
late 1960s, when it was in the midst of rapid growth
In 50 Words
Or Less
• The historical development of quality function
deployment (QFD) in Japan and the West evolved
through three generations.
• QFD will become an integral quality assurance
architecture that can be implemented concurrently
with product development processes, instead of
existing as a mere series of matrices.
30 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
as it developed many new products and changed
models.
Yoji Akao conceived quality function deploy-
ment (QFD), a concept and method that served as a
vital management tool for new product develop-
ment.1
The ultimate benefits of QFD are lower product
development costs, increased customer satisfaction
and increased market share. It has been well docu-
mented that using QFD can result in the follow-
ing:2, 3, 4
• Reduction of development time by 50%.
• Reduction of the number of engineering
changes by 50%.
• Reduction of start-up and engineering costs
by 30%.
• Reduction of warranty claims up to 50%.
• Increased customer satisfaction.
• Systematic retention of product development
knowledge so it can be easily applied to simi-
lar future designs.
Definition
QFD refers to the combination of quality deploy-
ment and narrowly defined QFD.5, 6 This definition
is depicted in Figure 1.
Quality deployment converts customer demands
into the design quality of the finished product. It
covers design targets and major quality assurance
points, which are the key points and control items
in achieving sales and preventing a recurrence of
past and potential new product design and devel-
opment problem areas.
Quality deployment is used at all levels of prod-
uct architecture and during process design. The
purpose of quality deployment, therefore, is to
establish a quality network that can ensure the
quality of a product itself.
This network includes both quality of physical
elements—subsystems, component units, parts and
materials—that constitute a product architecture,
and quality of production processes that manufac-
ture and assemble partly finished products into fin-
ished products. This is illustrated in the quality
deployment section of Figure 1.
Narrowly defined QFD is derived by extending
the concept of value engineering that is originally
applied to defining the functions of a product to
the deployment of business process functions.7
Therefore, the word “function” in QFD refers
to the job functions of a product development
process, rather than to the functions of the product
itself. Then, job functions that can create product

FIGURE 1 Quality Deployment and Narrowly Defined Quality Function Deployment

Quality deployment
(deployment of the quality of a product itself)

• Optimal product
Quality of:
specifications
• Subsystems
• Optimal process
• Component
Customer’s condition
units
expressed Quality of a specifications
• Parts
and latent finished product • Supplier process
• Materials
requirements performance
• Production
requirements
process
• Key quality
design
assurance points

Narrowly defined quality function deployment

(deployment of the product realization process)

Product planning

System level design

Related
Prototype design quality
assurance
Detail design job functions
or activities
Production preparation

Mass production

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 31

QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT

FIGURE 2 Original Quality Function Deployment Design

Finished product Function

quality characteristics deployment
1. Primary
2. Secondary
3. Tertiary
Demanded
quality items

1. Primary

2. Secondary

3. Tertiary

Specification xxx kg
values xxx° K

Unit parts
Quality
Subsystems characteristics of
component unit Quality data file

Processes
Process deployment system
Number Method A Method B Method C

Parts deployment
Component Final product Parts quality Precision
Number
parts characteristics characteristics
Cost

Review sheet for process contorl points

Process deployment
Process Higher Control QA
(quality assurance process planning sheet) Number
description level function points chart
Fabricating conditions Parts characteristics
Control
resistance
dimension
luminous

Vibration
Current

Number Process points of

flux
life

Equipment Index process

Information Review sheet for check items

on quality Process
QA process sheet Number
description
Person Object Material Method
Flow chart Control method
Part Operating Control
Process Control
name Raw instruction instruction Control
Process description items Sampling
(___) material sheet sheet charts

32 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org

quality are called quality functions.
The purpose of narrowly defined QFD is to
establish a procedure network that is formed by
various planning and operational quality assurance
activities and procedure flows to achieve product
quality.
This network includes activities at all stages of
the product realization process, from product and
technology development planning, system level
design, prototype design and detail design to pro-
duction preparation and mass production. This is
illustrated in the narrowly defined QFD section of
Figure 1.
QFD is the most complete, systematic and con-
vincing method for designing products with the
quality that fulfills expressed and latent require-
ments of customers.
The steps to a QFD system were defined as
including:
• The establishment of a quality chart to convert
customer demands into substitute quality char-
acteristics and determine their design targets.
• The deployments of subsystems, parts and
processes.
• The deployment of related job functions.
QFD is the most complete,
systematic and convincing
method for designing

QFD’s Evolution
products with the quality
When QFD was conceived in Japan in the late that fulfills customer
1960s, the Japanese recognized that it was impor-
tant to design quality into new products. But they requirements.
lacked guidance on how this could be achieved.
Akao was the first person in Japan to propose
QFD to address the design situation.8 Akao’s origi-
nal QFD design, shown in Figure 2, represents the The first article that introduced QFD to the
first generation of QFD in Japan. He and Shigeru West was published in Quality Progress in 1983.10
Mizuno published the first book on the topic in In the same year, a comprehensive system of QFD,
1978.9 including technology, cost and reliability—which
reflects quality, technology, cost and reliability
considerations necessarily involved in product
development—was presented in Japan.11
Apart from the quality deployment, the system
FIGURE 3 House of Quality also includes:
• Ensuring that any bottleneck technology that
hinders the realization of design quality is
Co- extracted and solved at the earliest possible
relationships time.
How: • Preventing potential failures and their effects
technical through early prediction.
requirements • Achieving target costs balanced with quality.
Relationship This comprehensive QFD system represents the
What: second generation of QFD in Japan.
between Customer
customer In the meantime, Western authors introduced
hows and perceptions
requirements
whats the quality chart, or house of quality (HOQ), as the
main tool of QFD.12, 13
How much:
objectives/
The HOQ in Figure 3 illustrates how to use a
targets quality chart to convert customer demands (whats)
into quality characteristics (hows) and determine

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 33

QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT
their design targets (how much) in TABLE 1
great detail.
But these Western writers used Evolution
only a simple conceptual model of
linked houses of quality, as shown First generation Original quality function Four linked houses of quality
in Figure 4 (p. 35), to show how a
quality chart can be combined Second genera- Comprehensive system of 30-matrix model of QFD
tion
with the other deployments, such
as subsystems, parts and process
deployments Third generation Real-time database QFD
Although the linked houses of Evolutionary
quality tool is the earliest QFD direction
model made by Western re-
searchers (the first generation of
QFD in the West) and the most
recognized QFD form today in the
West, the tool was oversimplified
and left out much important information from the
original QFD.
Despite the passage of time since the comprehen-
sive QFD system was introduced, few books and arti-
cles have been written on the topic in English. A
notable exception is Bob King’s 30-matrix model of
QFD.14 This model can be viewed as the most com-
plete (including technology, cost and reliability) QFD
model made by Western researchers, and as the sec-
ond generation of QFD in the West.
When QFD was spread internationally, some
misunderstandings about the original QFD were
gradually engendered and publicized. The com-
mon misunderstandings include the following:
Quality deployment is equivalent to a quality
chart. Although QFD has been simplified in the
form of linked houses of quality in the West, the
majority of QFD applications stop with the com-
pletion of the first matrix, the quality chart.15, 16, 17
C.A. Cox says no more than 5% of companies go
beyond the quality chart.18 However, most Japanese
companies not only go beyond the quality chart to
use the subsystems deployment chart, parts deploy-
ment chart and process deployment chart (all known
as quality deployment), but also implement technol-
ogy deployment, cost deployment and reliability
deployment.
QFD is equivalent to quality deployment. As
already noted, broadly defined QFD refers to the
combination of quality deployment and narrowly
defined QFD. Although narrowly defined QFD is
the essential part for QFD to gaining long-term
34 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
QFD Evolution in Japan and the West
Japan The West
deployment (QFD)
QFD—including technolo-
gy, cost and reliability
Critical parameter management
Toward adding value to Toward integrating various
every activity in the design tools and methods to
product development competitively improve product
process to competitively quality
improve product quality
buy-in, implementation and compliance, the term
QFD has been used to mean quality deployment in
itself, and narrowly defined QFD has been com-
pletely overlooked by most QFD practitioners out-
side Japan.19
Different Directions
In the past, although some misperceptions about
the essence of QFD did exist, Western QFD basical-
ly developed following the model of Japanese QFD.
However, the difference between the current devel-
opment of the so-called third generation of QFD in
Japan and the West can be considered a change in
which they have begun to develop QFD in different
directions.
The current Japanese QFD is based on narrowly
defined QFD. Also known as the deployment of a
new product development process for implemen-
tation, this version of QFD is known as real-time
database QFD (Rdb-QFD). Its original concept was
proposed by Tadashi Ohfuji, who says all quality
deployment charts should be retrievable in real
time from a computer database according to needs
during each stage of product development.
Western QFD has now combined with TRIZ, Kano
analysis and the Taguchi method and is used by Six
Sigma experts.
TRIZ is a Russian acronym for a theory of inven-
tive problem solving. Kano analysis stratifies the
importance of demanded qualities based on cus-
tomer perception. Genichi Taguchi’s method has
been further developed into a form of critical para-
 FIGURE 4 Linked Houses of Quality

Engineering Parts Key process Production

characteristics characteristics operations requirements
characteristics

characteristics

Key process
Engineering

operations
Customer
attributes

Parts
I. II. III. IV.

House of quality Parts deployment Process planning Production planning

meter management by Six Sigma experts and is (narrowly defined QFD) in new product develop-
used in implementing design for Six Sigma activi- ment processes, various quality deployment charts
ties as the basis for the define, measure, analyze, are made and linked at each process stage, as in the
design and verify model. various sections of Figure 5 (p. 36):
The biggest difference between the latest devel- • I-1 and II-1 can be used to identify customer
opments of QFD in Japan and the West is that the needs and formulate advance technology
former’s QFD, in concept and method, points
toward how to add value to every activity in the
product development process to competitively
improve product quality. On the other hand, the Although QFD has been
latter’s QFD points toward how to integrate vari-
ous design tools and methods to competitively simplified in the form of
improve product quality. Table 1 summarizes these
differences. linked houses of quality in
Future of QFD the West, the majority of
QFD must become an integral quality assurance
architecture that can be concurrently implemented QFD applications stop with
within the product development process, not as
merely a series of matrices. The word “integral,” in the completion of the first
this context, means integrating both Japanese and
Western approaches to QFD, as shown in Figure 4, matrix, the quality chart.
by combining various design tools and methods
with QFD to strengthen the quality deployment
process itself, as in the following examples: development plans during the product and
• In deploying demanded qualities, Kano analy- technology development planning stage.
sis can be introduced to get a better under- • II-2 and III-1 can provide information on tech-
standing of the customer’s perception. nical feasibility evaluation and target costs
• In deploying finished product quality charac- needed for the system level design stage of
teristics and subsystems, TRIZ can be used to product development.
enhance creativity in design concept genera- • I-2, II-3 and IV-1 help to develop optimal prod-
tion and design problem solving. uct specifications and select key components.
• In deploying processes, the Taguchi method • I-2’ and II-3 can be used to choose materials,
can be adopted to determine optimal process tooling and product specifications and con-
conditions more effectively. duct their verification during the prototype-
When deploying the quality assurance activities design and detail-design stages.

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 35

QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT

FIGURE 5 QFD: Integral Quality Assurance Architecture for New Product Development

Comprehensive quality function deployment (QFD) New product

combined with various design tools development system
I. Quality deployment II. Technology deployment
Finished
product quality Technology Product and technology
characteristics deployment development planning
• Market targeting

development
information
Demanded

Advance

roadmap

Product
product
Market
quality

• Customer needs

plan
I-1 II-1
identification
• Product portfolio
Finished Technology III. Cost deployment
product development
strategy formulation
Using Kano analysis to Own
specifications specify the demanded plan III-1 Competitors • Advance product/
company
qualities that are technology roadmapping
Market price
attractive for customers Sales volume
Market share
System level design
characteristics
specifications

• Product target cost

Key quality

Profit
Finished
product

II-2 Target cost identification

• Technical feasibility
evaluation for customer
specifications
• Optimal product
specifications
development
Using TRIZ to generate • Key components
design concept and
selection
solve problems related
to design vulnerability
IV. Reliability Prototype design
deployment • New materials
Product selection
Parts/ fault tree • Nominal and tolerance
materials analysis table design verifications
component units

Key components/

mode and effects

Component/part/
Component unit

analysis (FMEA)
Subsystems/

specifications

Product failure

• Tooling specifications
material cost
parts

I-2 I-2‘ II-3 IV-1 verification

Supplier Detail design

process • Product design
performance capability verification
studies
• New material
specifications and
Overhead cost

tooling specifications
Using Taguchi method qualification
to optimize process to
make product be minimally Production preparation
sensitive to
minimally factors to
sensitive Machine • Optimal process
Component unit causingcausing
factors variability fault tree conditions design
specifications variability analysis table • Manufacturability
Labor/equipment/
specifications

Key control

verification
Processes

Production

tooling cost

Process
FMEA
items

I-3 I-3‘ II-4 IV-2 • Reliability requirements

verification
• Process capability
Operating
instructions Shopfloor verification
and standard management Control plan • Shopfloor management
operating system system verification
procedures

36 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org

 • I-3, I-3’, II-4 and IV-2 can be used to evaluate
and verify optimal process conditions, product
manufacturability and process capability dur-
ing the production preparation stage.
QFD is generally implemented through a project
approach, but the trend toward a conceptual model,
shown in Figure 4, that is implemented through a
more process oriented approach, will add real value
to any new product development system and thus
result in more systematic innovation.
and Techniques to Help Quality Function Deployment,”
Benchmarking, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2000, pp. 8-19.
17. John J. Cristiano, Jeffrey K. Liker and C.C. White III,
“Key Factors in the Successful Application of Quality
Function Deployment (QFD),” IEEE Transactions on
Engineering Management, Vol. 48, No. 1, 2001, pp. 81-95.
18. C.A. Cox, “Keys to Success in Quality Function
Deployment,” APICS—The Performance Advantage, Vol. 2, No.
4, 1992, pp. 25-29.
19. Yoji Akao, “The Leading Edge in QFD: Past, Present
and Future,” see reference 1.

REFERENCES

1. Yoji Akao and Glenn H. Mazur, “The Leading Edge in JUI-CHIN JIANG is an associate professor
QFD: Past, Present and Future,” International Journal of Quality in the department of industrial engineer-
& Reliability Management, Vol. 20, No. 1, 2003, pp. 20-35. ing of Chung-Yuan Christian University
2. Don Clausing and Stuart Pugh, “Enhanced Quality
(CYCU), Taiwan, and a consultant to
Function Deployment,” Proceedings of the Design Productivity
International Conference, 1991, pp. 15-25.
Taiwanese industries. He received his doc-
3. Archie Lockamy III and Anil Khurana, “Quality torate in industrial engineering from
Function Deployment: Total Quality Management for New Cleveland State University in Ohio.
Product Design,” International Journal of Quality & Reliability
Management, Vol. 12, No. 6, 1995, pp. 73-84.
4. Mohamed Zairi and Mohamed A. Youssef, “Quality
Function Deployment,” International Journal of Quality & MING-LI SHUI is a doctoral candidate
Reliability Management, Vol. 12, No. 6, 1995, pp. 9-23. and lecturer in the department of indus-
5. Shigeru Mizuno and Yoji Akao, eds., Quality Function trial engineering of CYCU.
Deployment: A Companywide Quality Approach (in Japanese),
JUSE Press, 1978.
6. Akao, “The Leading Edge in QFD: Past, Present and
Future,” see reference 1.
7. Ibid.
8. Yoji Akao, “New Product Development and Quality MAO-HSIUNG TU is the president of
Assurance—Quality Deployment System” (in Japanese), D&N Business Consulting Co. in Hsin-
Standardization and Quality Control, Vol. 25, No. 4, 1972, pp. 7-14. Chu City, Taiwan. He received his MBA
9. Mizuno, Quality Function Deployment: A Companywide from City University, Seattle. He was
Quality Approach, see reference 5.
formerly the corporate chief consultant of
10. Masao Kogure and Yoji Akao, “Quality Function
Deployment and CWQC in Japan,” Quality Progress, Vol. 16,
the companywide quality improvement
No. 10, 1983, pp. 25-29. office of Philips Taiwan and won the
11. Yoji Akao, Tadatoshi Ono, Akira Harada, Hodecharu Deming Application Prize in 1991 and the Japan Quality
Tanaka and Kazuo Iwasawa, “Quality Deployment Medal (Nihon Quality Control Prize) in 1997.
Including Cost, Reliability and Technology (Part I)—Design
of Quality, Cost and Reliability” (in Japanese), Quality, Vol.
13, No. 1, 1983, pp. 61-70.
12. L.P. Sullivan, “Quality Function Deployment,” Quality
Progress, Vol. 19, No. 6, 1986, pp. 39-50.
Please
comment
13. John R. Hauser and Don Clausing, “The House of
Quality,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 66, No. 3, 1988, pp. 63-73. If you would like to comment on this article,
14. Bob King, Better Designs in Half the Time: Implementing please post your remarks on the Quality Progress
Quality Function Deployment in America, GOAL/QPC, 1989.
Discussion Board at www.asq.org, or e-mail
15. Lou Cohen, Quality Function Deployment: How to Make
them to editor@asq.org.
QFD Work for You, Addison-Wesley, 1995.
16. Vivianne Bouchereau and Hefin Rowlands, “Methods

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 37

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governing documents.
OPINION
Conformity or
Sustainability? That
Is the Question
by David K. Watkins
“I
’m sorry, but whoever purchased the tickets
online must have neglected to make a seat
selection,” offered the so-called elite cus-
tomer service representative I had contacted when I dis-
covered I had no seat assignments for my round trip to
Mumbai, India, departing the next day.
“Well, no,” I responded. “When my travel coordina-
In 50 Words
Or Less
• An enterprise’s ability to survive and prosper, not
conformance, is what matters in today’s economy.
• The ISO 9004 revision draft says sustainability
requires continual identification and understanding
of present and future expectations and needs of all
stakeholders.
• This approach envisions integrated, aligned and
process based management systems.
tor attempted to select seating at the time she pur-
chased the tickets, your website indicated no
assignments were available at that time. Not only
that,” I added, “but even today my repeated
attempts to select seats online have all been
blocked by the system.”
With some frustration, the agent told me that she
could not determine what had gone wrong with
the initial ticketing process, nor could she pinpoint
why the system was still blocking me. Nonetheless,
after a number of calls and by dogged, persistent
effort, she finally managed to get reasonable seat
assignments for me.
Realizing I was a bit put out, she politely asked if
I wished to file a formal complaint. I knew from
long experience with this airline that this would just
result in a politely apologetic form letter, explaining
how important I am to the airline and gifting me
with some air miles. Instead, I asked whether a for-
mal customer complaint would be necessary for the
problem to be addressed. Receiving a somewhat
guarded response, I pressed on.
“You know there has been a fundamental failure
in your ticketing process, right? You know it affect-
ed a customer who has flown over 2 million miles
on your airline and probably affected others in a
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 39
OPINION
similar way. And you yourself have had to work
hard and involve several other people to resolve
the immediate problem, right?”
She agreed, politely if not somewhat impatiently.
“Is there a way for you to pursue this problem or
elevate it to the attention of management so it is for-
mally investigated, understood and prevented from
ever recurring?” I asked. “Not really,” she replied,
“Not without a formal complaint, anyway.”
Rather a long tale to illustrate what is, in many
organizations, a typical response to a failure: First,
blame it on the customer (or, better yet, a vendor);
second, try to fix the immediate problem (rework);
third, offer an apology and, if absolutely necessary,
some sort of modest compensation. If possible, par-
ticularly in service industries, automate the latter
so it involves minimal effort and cost.
Fourth? Well, often, there is no fourth: Seek out, by
a disciplined process, the systemic cause and sure
prevention of a recurrence; learn from this investiga-
tive process; and use it to continually improve perfor-
mance to the competitive advantage of the enterprise.
Bankruptcy Result
Not surprisingly, this is one of the airlines cur-
rently in bankruptcy. They all cite high fuel costs,
wages and benefits as the primary causes—even
though they all use the same fuel from the same
sources and employ people from essentially the
same labor markets as do those airlines not in
bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy raises the issue of sustainability—an
enterprise’s ability to survive and prosper in a
rapidly evolving environment. Other airlines are
not only surviving but are prospering in the same
environment.
More on this later because, based on a number of
years of dealing with business operating systems
(called quality operating systems in the automotive
world), I have found myself constantly advising
clients that, in the end, sustainability of the enter-
prise must be both the subject and object of quality
management systems (QMSs).
In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance1
(subtitled, aptly, “An Inquiry Into Values”), Robert
Pirsig describes his discussion of quality and val-
ues as “a sort of Chautauqua …an old-time series
40 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
of popular talks intended to edify and entertain,
improve the mind and bring culture and enlighten-
ment” to its audience.
While this description somewhat overstates my
purposes and, definitely, my capabilities, it seems
this is what I am engaged in when writing this type
of article. While it might not serve to enlighten or
edify, it might further the discussion regarding
QMSs, the purpose of developing and implement-
ing them, and our understanding of their potential
for enhancing value, organizational effectiveness
and sustainability.
Are International Standards
The Answer?
There is good—if somewhat limited and inconsis-
tent—empirical evidence that for some organizations
the development of QMSs based on international
standards has provided at least part of the solution
to critical and chronic enterprise performance fail-
ures. Whether or not this success has been sustain-
able is less well documented.
With time and subsequent iterations, the initial
basic systems have been enhanced—becoming cus-
tomer oriented, process based, quantitatively mea-
sured (in some instances, at least) and designed to
drive continual improvement based on the plan-
do-check-act (PDCA) model.
Subsequent efforts have endeavored to make
QMSs more relevant and comprehensible by:
• Adopting and deploying sector specific ver-
sions (such as ISO/TS 16949 for the automo-
tive industry, TL 9000 for telecommunications
and ISO 13485 for medical devices).
• Disseminating industry specific guidelines—
for example, International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) guidelines for sectors
such as construction, healthcare providers and
educational institutions.
• Defining customer specific requirements.
• Morphing into replicate systems that address
other strategically critical areas of performance
such as environment, health and safety, and
social and fiduciary responsibility, complete
with systems standards or regulations for each
(ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, SA 8000 and Sar-
banes-Oxley, respectively).
 Unfortunately, this has misled organizations into
developing separately structured and documented
management systems, complete with distinct—and,
frequently, unaligned—policies, objectives, proce-
dures, redundant management review processes
and internal audits for each. Surely this is an unin-
tended consequence for all involved, with the pos-
sible exception of certification bodies.
Second generation efforts are now underway in
many organizations to try both to simplify and inte-
grate these systems, often involving substantial time
and expense. Logically, it would seem, an organiza-
tion can have only one functionally effective man-
agement system—the real one.
All this being said, based on my own experience,
I contend that quality and excellence are not a mat-
ter of QMS, per se, even when there is evidence an
effectively implemented, customer oriented QMS
might have materially contributed to reduced inci-
dences of failure and customer dissatisfaction or
disaffection—competitive failures.
Likewise, the risks associated with environmen-
tal incidents, health and safety accidents, financial
malpractices and even socially destructive prac-
tices might be somewhat ameliorated by disci-
plined management system approaches to these
features of enterprise performance. And, as
already noted, various international standards,
guidelines, laws and regulations exist to address
these features.
No argument, many organizations around the
world conform to these criteria and standards—
and have the certificates to prove it. But do confor-
mance and certification contribute to, let alone
ensure, the sustainability of the enterprise? Value
to the customer? Return to the investor? Benefit to
the employees and the community?
Beyond Conformance
To Improved Performance
This is not merely the old conformance-versus-
performance QMS issue. It would be somewhat
tedious to further belabor the obvious—that confor-
mance to requirements for the sake of conformance
is of minimal value as a customer or market require-
ment at best and has a net negative impact on the
organization more often than not in the long run.
A simple formula illustrates this point: Increased
expenditure of resources with minimal, if any,
improvement in performance results in less gener-
ated value—for customers, investors, employees
and society. In other words, any expenditure of
resources that does not generate value produces a
net loss and impaired sustainability.
The introductory comic opera of airline cus-
tomer service is a prime example: an entire infra-
structure of systems, procedures and resources,
created ostensibly to enhance customer satisfaction
and create competitive advantage among the orga-
nization’s most valued customers, does neither.
Nor does the system incorporate mechanisms to
capture, monitor and use the information gained
from primary customer interactions (both good
Any expenditure of
resources that does not
generate value produces
a net loss and impaired
sustainability.
and bad) to analyze, understand and improve sys-
temic performance capability. And, at this point,
we are considering only effects on commercial cus-
tomer satisfaction.
Management Systems and
Sustainability—the Relationship
Needless to say, the essence of sustainability is
performance results— in the form of value and sat-
isfaction provided to customers, return provided to
investors, and enhancement of the wealth, welfare
and well-being of employees and society. All of
these—when competitive—serve to ensure the sus-
tainability of the enterprise.
So how does all of this relate to management
systems? Actually, I think the proliferation of stan-
dards and methods for the various features of
enterprise performance (for example, product and
service quality, cost and efficiency, environment,
health and safety, social responsibility and fi-
nances) suggests the answer: that an enterprise is a
system, functioning and operating in an environ-
ment. This environment is, essentially, a large and
complex group of external systems, each with a
cohort of values, expectations and requirements:
1. Markets: customers and competitors in vari-
ous regions and cultures.
2. Investment: investors, markets, lenders and
channels.
3. HR: employees (who are investing their lives,
not just their treasure, in the enterprise), other
employers and the communities in which they live
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 41
OPINION
or operate in various regions, cultures and political
systems.
4. Vendors of goods and services, the supply
chains they comprise and their own competi-
tive environment.
5. Governmental, regulatory and political sys-
tems.
This brings us back to sustainability—which
turns out to be the focus of an ISO technical com-
mittee 176 committee draft (CD), ISO/CD 9004,
Managing for Sustainability—A Quality Management
Approach,2 currently in circulation for comment.
I am introducing the draft at this point not to
report on it but to explore the way it seems to
address the relationship between management
systems and enterprise sustainability.
In its introduction, the draft asserts—without
much argument, I think—that organizations are
increasingly accountable to:
• More environmentally and socially aware
shareholders.
• Civil society in general.
• Employees.
• Customers.
• A variety of other stakeholders.
In this specific context, the document defines
sustainability as the “ability of an organization or
activity to maintain or develop its performance in
the long term.”
Like ISO 9001, it describes a system based solu-
tion incorporating the dynamic of the PDCA cycle,
in which:
• Plan addresses intent (mission, vision, strate-
gies and objectives, and the processes, structure
and resources to ensure desired outcomes).
• Do involves the implementation of strategies,
processes and resources that are cohesively
linked and aligned with desired outcomes.
• Check envisions monitoring and measurement
that assesses outcomes and provides information
to enhance knowledge and decision making.
• Act involves corrections to achieve objectives;
improvements to processes, products, struc-
tures and systems; and (most particularly,
based on its emphasis throughout) innovation.
Unlike ISO 9001, the ISO 9004 draft does not
42 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
involve conformance, nor does it prescribe specific
processes, outcomes or evidence. Rather, it articu-
lates “shoulds” deemed essential to developing and
continually improving a sustainable enterprise in a
rapidly evolving environment by implementing
system based solutions, focusing on approaches to
continually assessing the organization’s maturity
on a scale of values associated with sustainability,
and continually assessing the organization’s envi-
ronment.
ISO 9004’s Organizational Vision
Where ISO 9001 requires determining and
meeting customer requirements and continually
improving customer satisfaction, the ISO 9004
draft envisions the enterprise employing mecha-
nisms that identify and understand “present and
future expectations and needs of defined stake-
holders (including shareholders, managers,
employees, customers, partners and society).”
In part, according to the draft, these mechanisms
should assess competitive threats; threats and
opportunities of emerging markets and products;
and trends in customer needs and expectations.
In addition, according to the draft, the focus on
the organization environment should extend to the
following:
• Current and changing legal and regulatory
requirements.
• Evolving labor market conditions and issues.
• Socio-economic and cultural trends that might
come to bear on the organization.
• Current and needed organizational capabilities.
• Practices to acquire learning and knowledge
from external organizations (for example, best
practices, products, technologies and system
solutions).
While ISO 9001 speaks to analysis of data, the
ISO 9004 draft places enormous emphasis and
focus on application of and the learning to be
achieved by sustained and disciplined analysis of
all recommended areas of monitoring and mea-
surement—internal and, in particular, external.
Taken in its entirety, 9004 CD seems to me to
aim for a systemic solution to the grail of the
knowledge organization, (more honored in the
A Parable for Our Times
Circuit City recently announced it was firing some 3,400 of its most experienced sales
clerks (their term) and replacing them with lower paid staff.1 Too many people? No—too
highly paid. Terminations were based on specific wage rates. For example, if you made
more than exactly $X per hour, you were terminated, effective that day.
Don’t forget, by the way, that whatever these folks were being paid, it was planned and
approved by management. For many of the affected employees, the same manager who
approved their wage rate was now firing them for being paid too much.
Mostly, Circuit City sells high-tech electronics, such as plasma TVs, games, global posi-
tioning system navigation and home entertainment systems—in general, fairly pricey
agglomerates of inconceivably small microcircuitry.
In fact, when I toured Circuit City’s local big box store the other day, I realized that
while I’m not quite ready for the boneyard (I’ve got a 60GB iPod with some very current
cuts on it, too!), I’m geezer enough that I couldn’t even tell you what some of the gizmos
on display were—even after I read the tags.
So, given this, do you think I want to have some kid who has been there three months;
is paid minimum wage; has never heard of Betamax, cassette tapes or radio car phones;
and who would have no idea what to do with my gorgeous Girard turntable? Do you
think I want him to help me pick out a digital SLR camera or a digital camcorder?
More to the point, does the CEO of Circuit City—who reportedly was paid $713,000 in
salary last year with a $700,000 bonus, has $3 million in stock and $340,000 in options,
and who decided to lay off these $30,000 per year folks—think I’m going to risk my
money and memories on his nifty cost-cutting plan?
While his compensation package is fairly modest (only 40 times that of the employees,
not 400 times like that of some megacorporate CEOs), I would suggest he not bet $1 of it
on my deciding to buy electronics from Circuit City.
Imagine if Circuit City had engaged the most knowledgeable of its employees in an
effectively led program to find ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their
processes—processes the employees likely understood better than most of their man-
agers do—with concomitant ownership of the results of their efforts.
That’s what happens every day at every Toyota facility in the world. Toyota doesn’t fire
knowledge; it grows knowledge as a strategic imperative. And it harvests the fruits, to the
benefit of its customers, stockholders and employees.

REFERENCE

1. Associated Press, March 28, 2007.

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 43

OPINION
breach than the observance, I’m afraid) in which
the planning and implementation of strategies,
processes and resources are the direct result of the
constant and disciplined gathering and analysis of
internal and external information regarding per-
formance, capability and improvement.
The planning and implementation occurs in the
context of external information regarding customer
and stakeholder values and strategically critical
issues presented by a constantly changing environ-
ment.
This approach envisions an integrated, aligned,
process based management system architecture
that comprehends the enterprise and its environ-
ment in its entirety; one in which policies, objec-
tives, performance monitoring, strategic planning
and resource allocation are predicated on knowl-
edge and innovation and consistently produce out-
comes that result in competitive advantage now
and sustainability in the future.
Continual Improvement
The approach also provides constant and struc-
tured self-assessment of and actions to improve
enterprise sustainability in terms of:
• Monitoring and analyzing the organization’s
environment.
• Strategies, objectives, planning and communi-
cations.
• Resources.
• Processes.
• Measurements and analysis.
• Learning, improvement and innovation.
Whether adopted as is or not, the draft points
clearly to a paradigm shift in the essential nature
and purposes of QMSs, with a resultant seismic
shift in the fundamentals of QMS architecture and
organizational ownership.
It’s arguable that with the comprehensive
nature—the maturity, if you will—of the assess-
ment envisioned in the ISO 9004 revision draft and
its focus on the culture and capability of the organi-
zation as a whole, ISO 9001 certification takes on a
very different cast, one more consistent with the
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award or
European Foundation for Quality Management
examination and award approach than with the
present conformance and effectiveness in practice
44 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
audit approach.
Finally, it seems to me, what matters is the suc-
cess of the enterprise in achieving its commercial
purpose and that such success is sustainable. Thus,
to be of real value—to actually produce an accept-
able return for the long-term investment in effort
and resources such a system requires—a QMS
must have this sustainability as both purpose and
effect, for the well-being of all of the stakehold-
ers—customers, investors and employees, society
and the environment.
Real wealth generation is a product of sustain-
able excellence. Accordingly, it is not produced
quarterly, for the benefit of stock analysts, but over
the long haul, for all of the stakeholders. That’s
hard-nosed capitalism, but of the enlightened sort.
So, an organization’s customer service activity
can tell you a lot about the long-term sustainability
of an enterprise. Frequent flyer miles anyone? I
have a ton lying around.
REFERENCES
1. Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,
William Morrow and Co., 1974.
2. ISO/CD 9004; ISO/TC 176/SC 2 N 787-1, International
Organization for Standardization, 2007.
DAVID K. WATKINS is executive vice
president and director of international
operations for Omnex Inc., Ann Arbor,
MI. He earned a bachelor’s degree in
liberal arts from Widener University,
Chester, PA. His previous experience
includes general management, manu-
facturing, production, HR and distribution management in
a variety of industries.
Please
comment
If you would like to comment on this article,
please post your remarks on the Quality Progress
Discussion Board at www.asq.org, or e-mail
them to editor@asq.org.
SIX SIGMA
Six Sigma, Value
And Competitive
Strategy
by R. Eric Reidenbach and Reginald W. Goeke
O
rganizations usually tell their Six Sigma advo-
cates to make sure their Six Sigma deployment
is congruent with the organization’s strategy.
On the surface, this makes a lot of sense. However,
achieving congruency is often more complicated than it
initially seems.
The key problem is that in many organizations there
are three levels of strategy: corporate, strategic business
unit (SBU) and competitive. The competitive strategy
level is where organizational strategy and Six Sigma
In 50 Words
Or Less
• Most organizations have three levels of strategy:
corporate, strategic business unit and competitive.
• Six Sigma initiatives are the most useful at the
competitive level.
• Listening to customers to determine what attributes
contribute to value, then directing projects toward
improving those attributes will set an organization
ahead of its competitors.
must align, because it is at this level that the tools of Six
Sigma can be most effectively applied.
This article outlines a framework and approach for
aligning an organization’s Six Sigma initiatives with the
organization’s competitive strategy. First, however, we’ll
review the three levels of strategy development in most
multilevel organizations to clarify why Six Sigma align-
ment at the competitive level is most important.
Corporate Strategy Level
At the corporate strategy level, the key question fac-
ing planners is, “How do we, as an organization, grow?”
There are four basic options:
1. Market penetration: selling current products to
current markets.
2. Market development: selling current products to
new markets.
3. Product development: selling new products to cur-
rent markets.
4. Diversification: selling new products to new mar-
kets.
Six Sigma applied at this level lacks focus. Two things
are missing: the ability to clearly understand the voice of
the market and the ability to identify what products or ser-
vices the customers are reacting to.
SBU Strategy Level
At the SBU or divisional level, the strategic question
is, “Where does the organization focus its resources?”
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 45
SIX SIGMA
But when organizations understand they are com-
peting for a value advantage, the real question
becomes, “Where does the organization focus its
resources to enhance its value offering?”
Each SBU will have one or more product lines
and serve one or more market segments. A good
way to look at this is to develop a product/market
(P/M) matrix, such as Figure 1.
The vertical axis shows the SBU’s different prod-
uct lines—three in this case. Across the top of the
matrix are the market segments that buy the prod-
uct lines—four in this example. This means there
are 12 potential P/M combinations the SBU can
serve. If the organization is unable to serve all 12
with equal effectiveness, the strategic challenge at
the SBU level is deciding which of these P/Ms to
focus resources on.
To answer this question, the SBU must identify
strategic criteria to evaluate and prioritize the dif-
ferent business opportunities each P/M offers.
These criteria might include:
• Market share.
• Margins.
• Competitive intensity.
• Market growth rate.
• Size of market.
Ideally, the organization would focus on a P/M
with high margins, a mid to high range market
share, a high market growth rate and low competi-
tive intensity. Each P/M represents a different
opportunity for the organization, and some will be
better than others. Many organizations that begin
using P/M matrices discover they have been invest-
ing in P/Ms that will actually lose money for them.
The investment decision about which P/Ms get
which resources—a Six Sigma initiative being one
of those resources—depends on the quality of the
opportunity as determined by the strategic crite-
ria. There’s no point in using Six Sigma resources
in P/Ms that offer little, if any, economic value to
the organization. However, many organizations
waste valuable resources simply because they fail
to understand that the organization’s Six Sigma
initiatives should be congruent with its strategy
and that this is the level and point in the planning
process in which the competitive strategy begins
to take shape. If the strategy is flawed, so too will
be the Six Sigma initiatives.
This is the essence of expanded targeted market-
ing. Traditionally, targeted marketing has focused
on price, promotion, product and distribution. An
46 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
expanded view of targeted marketing must also
include processes such as those addressed by Six
Sigma initiatives. When focused on an organiza-
tion’s value creation and delivery processes, Six
Sigma has the power to increase an organization’s
market share and profitability.1
Organizations have a choice as to where and
how they bring products or services to the market.
Each P/M has different competitors and success
criteria. It is incumbent on the organization to
understand these competitors and success criteria
better than any of its competitors do. These success
criteria, generated from the voice of the market,
become the critical to quality (CTQ) factors that
will direct the organization’s Six Sigma initiatives
to achieve the desired strategic outcomes.
Competitive Strategy Level
The value an organization brings to the market-
place is the best leading indicator of market share
and profitability.2 An organization’s competitive
strategy is its plan for enhancing its capacity to deliv-
er value, thus increasing market share. Competitive
strategy that focuses on value enhancement address-
es key questions such as:
• Where are the organization’s best opportuni-
ties for widening a value advantage or closing
a disadvantage?
• On what basis does the organization widen or
close the value gap?
• How does the organization get its best return
on investment for these efforts?
Within this strategic realm, Six Sigma also is all
about value—either widening a value advantage
over a competitor or closing a value disadvantage
to increase market share. Competitive strategy can
detail a plan of where and how to deploy Six Sigma
in its value enhancing role. This cannot be articulat-
ed clearly at the corporate or SBU strategy level—
only at the P/M, or competitive, level.
Value is also a strong predictor of loyalty,3 the dri-
ver of repeat purchasing, recommendation and
lower cost revenues. And, if strategy and Six Sigma
are to be responsive to the competitive nature of the
market, it is important to understand how the mar-
ket defines value and to use this information to
drive both competitive strategy and Six Sigma ini-
tiatives.
Strategy concocted within the confines of the
boardroom is not strategic planning, but strategic
guessing. Competitive strategy, like Six Sigma, must
also respond to the marketplace and reflect its realities. FIGURE 1 A Generalize Product/Market Matrix
After specific P/Ms have been prioritized, the
strategic question becomes, “How does the organi-
Segment A Segment B Segment C Segment D Total
zation enhance the value it is providing the mar-
ket?” Answering this question requires a couple of
powerful tools. Product A
Competitive
Consider the value model shown in Figure 2. It is
value
a market based model that focuses on tractors sold Product B proposition
to farmers. This is the P/M that was identified as
strategically important to a large heavy equipment
manufacturer through an analysis of its P/M matrix. Product C
Farmers who use different brands of tractors
were surveyed by phone. They responded to ques- Total
tions designed to evaluate the performance of dif-
ferent competitors on numerous attributes related to
not only the products but also to issues of product
support, parts availability, service and sales. improving quality than it will by lowering price.
The questions were first asked during a series of The managerial side of the model provides direc-
three focus groups with farmers that were designed tion for improving the organization’s quality offer-
and conducted to identify how farmers talk about ing. Note that quality, as defined by the market,
quality and value in deciding to purchase tractors. transcends mere product quality and includes
Farmers were subsequently asked to rate the perfor- aspects of product support and distribution. The
mance of several tractor suppliers on each of the most important quality driver is dealer service
questions, and these ratings were used to generate (0.229), followed by two product related drivers,
the competitive value model. Such models, therefore, machine operation (0.189) and machine productivity
are empirically derived from end users’ ratings of (0.149), with the others identified in descending
performance. order of importance.
There are two parts to the value model: a predic- Because this is a market based model, the question
tive component and a managerial component. The arises of how the organization’s competitive value
predictive component conveys two pieces
of important information. First, the R2 tells
us how reflective the model is of the mar-
ketplace’s definition of value. R2 can range FIGURE 2 Competitive Value Model: Tractors/Agriculture
from 0 (no fit) to 1.00 (perfect fit). An R2 of
Dealer 0.229
0.863, as shown in Figure 2, means the
service
questions used in the telephone survey
were sufficient enough to account for Machine 0.189
operation
about 86% of how farmers define the value
of tractors. Machine 0.149 0.518
CQI
productivity
Second, the predictive component
Acquisition
addresses the interaction among the main Trial and 0.147 0.842 Value
0.824
Loyalty
training
drivers of value: customer quality index Retention
(CQI), image and price. Dealer 0.139
Image
0.101
Managers who do not systematically sales
listen to the voice of the market often rely Order and 0.074 0.634 Model fit: R2 = 0.863
on price reductions to increase value. delivery
Figure 2 indicates the most important dri- Machine 0.073 0.381
Price
ver of value is CQI (0.518), followed by reliability
price (0.381) and image (0.101). The orga- Managerial component Predictive component
nization, therefore, will get greater
returns from its value proposition by CQI = customer quality index

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 47

SIX SIGMA
proposition stacks up against its competitors’. This
is yet another aspect of the strategy question.
Figure 3 shows the competitive value matrix for
this P/M. The competitive value matrix identifies
the value propositions for each of the major com-
petitors within the P/M and the value gaps among
them. The two main drivers of value—CQI and
price—form the two axes of the matrix. The four
quadrants of the matrix are formed by the inter-
section of the market means on these two drivers.
This information is taken directly from ratings on
the drivers identified in Figure 1 (p. 47).
Competitors in the outstanding value quadrant,
in this case XYZ, are those the market has identified
as providing superior quality at a highly satisfactory
price—the definition of value. Their scores on CQI
and price are both above the market means. Out-
standing value competitors will have the greatest
market share, customers who are more likely to pur-
chase tractors from the same manufacturer and
dealer, and customers who are most likely to recom-
mend both the dealer and manufacturer to other
farmers. These customers are the least likely to
switch to another brand when offered a lower price.4
Competitors in the poor value quadrant—in this
case competitors one, two and three—are those the
market has identified as providing inferior quality
in tractors and related services at highly unsatisfac-
tory prices. Their CQI scores and prices are below
the market averages. These competitors are market
share laggards and cannot sustain their poor value
positions without further loss of market share and
declining profitability. Customers of these compa-
nies are significantly less likely to recommend the
dealer or manufacturer and less likely to buy again
from either.5
Companies in the discount relationship quad-
rant (none in this example) are judged by the mar-
ket to be inferior in quality but with satisfactory
prices. The expensive relationship quadrant is
home to competitors (again, none in this example)
offering higher quality tractors at unsatisfactory
prices. The image scores for each competitor are
listed just outside the matrix, accounting for the
third dimension of value.
Six Sigma and Value Gaps
From a competitive strategy standpoint, organi-
zations can do one of four things: lead, challenge,
follow or target a niche.
48 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
XYZ is the clear leader in value, making it also
the market share leader, and will want to maintain
this overall leadership. Many managers would
simply congratulate themselves on this value
advantage and continue to monitor XYZ’s position.
While keeping an eye on competitors is always
advised, XYZ should leverage its strengths to actu-
ally widen the value and market share gaps
between itself and its competitors.
The quality drivers at the left of the value model
in Figure 2 (p. 47), such as dealer service and
machine operation, represent the CTQs that drive
Six Sigma initiatives. These CTQs come from cus-
tomers (focus groups) and are empirically derived
from ratings of competitors by end users in the
marketplace (surveys). Six Sigma initiatives should
identify and target links between the CTQs and
organizational processes for the explicit purpose of
enhancing their effectiveness and efficiency.6 These
links are required for aligning Six Sigma with com-
petitive strategy.
In this case, XYZ identified an opportunity for
enhancing value by improving its repair and ser-
vice processes for tractors. The strategy articulated
an action program for mapping three processes:
the repair scheduling process, the process of parts
delivery to the service bays in the workshop and
the repair process itself. After mapping those
processes within the overall repair value stream,
the team identified a number of ways to speed up
one type of major tractor repair from an average of
seven days to three days. Costs per repair were
also reduced by 30%, and the savings were driven
to the organization’s bottom line. Market share for
XYZ has also improved by 4% over two years.
If your organization is either competitor one or
two, you would more than likely choose challeng-
ing XYZ as your strategy. Challengers are typically
closer to the leader and in a position to draw even
with it or take the lead. In this case, the question
facing a Six Sigma Black Belt is, “How does the
organization address its weaknesses on the key
quality drivers?”
Competitor three is most likely in a position to
follow XYZ. Followers realize that, because the
value gap is too large, they cannot challenge. They
will instead choose to emulate XYZ and follow its
lead, making sure the value gap does not widen in
the short term. Here again, Six Sigma will focus on
the question, “How does the organization address
its weaknesses on the key quality drivers?”
Those who tagerts niches realize they
might not have the resources to compete
across the board from a product or service
level or might not have the capability to com-
pete in all markets. In this example, they
Customer quality index
might have a more limited line of tractors or a
limited geographical presence. To prosper,
nichers must focus their Six Sigma efforts on
processes that relate to their specific niche
opportunities and achieve a market position
that is unassailable.
Six Sigma and Competitive
Strategy
No matter what an organization’s chosen
strategy is, Six Sigma can be instrumental in
achieving that strategy. In fact, it is hard to
divorce Six Sigma from the implementation and
deployment of a competitive strategy. Effective com-
petitive strategies are necessarily focused on value
gaps and are either designed to extend value leader-
ship or to close the gap with a value leader.
In either case, the deployment of that strategy
will require a focus on the organization’s business
processes. The tools of Six Sigma are particularly
effective for improving business processes. The
challenge lies in directing those tools toward
improvements that will have a direct impact on
value gaps. That requires aligning Six Sigma with
the organization’s competitive strategy.
When applied in this manner, Six Sigma is not
just about cost reduction, although cost savings
might accrue as new processes become more effi-
cient. Rather, it is a tool or method directed by the
voice of the market and designed to enhance the
creation and delivery of value to that market for a
sustainable competitive advantage.
Specific Six Sigma tools should be driven by the
customer value model to enhance value creation and
delivery and market performance. Competitive strat-
egy organizes the Six Sigma focus and creates a series
of actions, the successful completion of which guar-
antees the efficacy of the overall strategy. These
actions typically call for the Black Belt and quality
team to identify specific processes and focus attention
on how to improve those processes. Targeted process-
es can then be mapped, analyzed and improved to
not only reduce costs, but also to en-hance the organi-
zation’s position in the targeted P/M.
FIGURE 3 Competitive Value Matrix: Tractors/Agriculture
High Expensive relationship Outstanding value Image
XYZ: 7.96
Competitor 1: 7.63
Competitor 2: 8.03
XYZ
Competitor 3: 7.24
Competitor 2
Competitor 1
Competitor 3
Low Poor value Discount relationship
Low High
Price
When an organization addresses the question “How do
we compete?” and focuses that question on its targeted
P/Ms, Six Sigma will be congruent with the organiza-
tion’s strategy. That kind of focus guarantees Six Sigma
will help achieve the organization’s strategy and not be
squandered in areas that offer no real strategic advantage.
REFERENCES
1. Donald W. Benbow and Tom M. Kubiak, The Certified Six
Sigma Black Belt Handbook, ASQ Quality Press, 2005.
2. Bradley Gale, Managing Customer Value, Free Press, 1994.
3. Frederick F. Reichheld, “The One Number You Need to
Grow,” Harvard Business Review, December 2003.
4. R. Eric Reidenbach, Reginald W. Goeke and Gordon McClung,
Dominating Markets With Value, Rhumbline Publishing, 2001.
5. Ibid.
6. R. Eric Reidenbach and Reginald W. Goeke, Value-Driven
Channel Strategy, ASQ Quality Press, 2005.
R. ERIC REIDENBACH is principal and founding partner of Market
Value Solutions in State College, PA. He has a doctorate in market-
ing from Michigan State University and is co-author of Competing
for Customers and Winning with Value: Breakthrough
Strategies for Market Dominance (ASQ Quality Press, 2005).
REGINALD W. GOEKE is principal and founding partner of Market
Value Solutions. He received his doctorate from the University of
Illinois and is co-author of Competing for Customers and
Winning With Value: Breakthrough Strategies for Market
Dominance (ASQ Quality Press, 2005). Goeke is a senior member
of ASQ.
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 49
MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD
From One-Man
Show to Baldrige
Recipient
by Susan E. Daniels, editor at large
eceiving the Malcolm Baldrige National
R Quality Award is always a big deal—it’s
the highest U.S. presidential honor for
organizational performance excellence.
The Baldrige criteria for performance excellence
are extremely rigorous, and evaluations by a team
of examiners are followed by on-site visits to clari-
fy and verify information.
In 50 Words
Or Less
• Mesa Products Inc. received a 2006 Baldrige award in
the small business category.
• The ISO 9001 based quality management system at Mesa
uses lean and Six Sigma.
• Mesa’s customer satisfaction performance tops that of
its competitors and greatly exceeds American Customer
Satisfaction Index levels for energy utilities.
50 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
When the recipient starts out as a one-man service
company 25-plus years ago and today has a work-
force of just 70, the award takes on even greater sig-
nificance. Such is the case with Mesa Products Inc.,
which received the Baldrige award in the small busi-
ness category in 2006, a year that brought a record
number of award applicants—76—but produced
only three recipients.
Back in 1979, Terry F. May, founder and current
president, was the “one” in one-man show. Today,
Mesa remains privately held, designing, manufac-
turing and installing cathodic protection systems
for underground piping, tanks and other metallic
structures.
Cathodic protection is an electrochemical
method of controlling corrosion on underground
and submerged steel structures. The 60-year-old
technology remains the primary control for pro-
tecting the existing U.S. underground pipeline
infrastructure. Pipeline operators, oil and gas pro-
ducers, gas and electric utilities and underground
tank owners are among Mesa’s customers.
Mesa’s corporate office and production facility
are located in Tulsa, OK, with branch offices in
Houston, Los Angeles and Tallahassee, FL.
 TRAINING: Mesa’s
Tulsa training field
is used to simulate
field conditions.

Based on ISO 9000 were lacking. The marketing value was relatively
Mesa’s performance improvement system is insignificant,” May says. “We upgraded to ISO
embedded and managed through its quality man- 9001 in 2003.”
agement system (QMS), primarily through ISO The ISO 9001 based QMS combines with the
9001 certification. The company uses several Baldrige criteria at Mesa to bind business processes
improvement processes built around methods in an integrated, aligned direction, resulting in
such as the plan-do-check-act
(PDCA) cycle, lean and Six Sigma’s
define, measure, analyze, improve FIGURE 1 Mesa’s Quality Management System
and control strategy.
Initially, Mesa registered to ISO Lean
ISO 9001 Baldrige
9002, the former version of ISO 9000 ACT
for service organizations, to show cus-
PDCA
tomers its quality focus. May says Manufacturing
Value creation

that back then Mesa was more inter-

processes

Marketing Sales Delivery Customer

ested in the standard’s external mar- Cathode
keting value than on internal protection
improvement. “At that time, none of services
our competitors were registered,” he
explains.
processes
Support

But Mesa was learning. “After Accounting, HR, supply chain management,
becoming registered, we quickly real- management information services
ized that the real value from ISO 9002
certification was internal, specifically
ACT = accurate, continuous improvement and timely
in developing the discipline that we
PDCA = plan-do-check-act

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 51

MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD

performance excellence (see Figure 1, p. 51). The
quality policy called ACT, for accurate, continuous
improvement and timely, describes Mesa’s approach
to customer satisfaction.
Dealing With a Threat
Mesa’s quality processes came into play in a big
way in December 2000 when a management review
revealed a key quality problem related to magne-
sium anode production. Magnesium anode accounts
for 30% of Mesa’s material revenues.
Quality problems with international raw materi-
al sources were recognized. This culminated in the
development of a comprehensive quality assurance
specification used as the basis for product acceptance.
The program includes quarantine of truckload
purchases for about four weeks while lab tests are
performed on randomly selected anodes. If a test
anode fails, the entire truckload is rejected.
Over a 12-month period, more than 10,000 anode
deliveries were rejected and returned to suppliers.
Mesa worked successfully with its key supplier
during this time to improve performance.
Unfortunately, the net result was an increasingly
noncompetitive position, primarily because Mesa
was incurring significant additional costs to ensure
quality, while its end users were unaware of the
quality problem and its significance.
To turn the threat into an opportunity, Mesa man-
agement embarked on an industry awareness cam-
paign. An article titled “Magnesium Anode Quality
Crisis” was published in Materials Performance, a
major publication of the corrosion control industry,
in January 2004, and was presented at four major
industry conferences and meetings.
The awareness campaign resulted in competitor
benchmarking, through which Mesa demonstrated
significant quality variations among its five com-
petitors. After user awareness had increased a year
later, the benchmarking was repeated and demon-
strated overall quality improvement (see Table 1).
Mesa’s actions were a key driver in improving
quality—not only its own quality but also that of
the entire industry, a factor that undoubtedly
played a role when Baldrige examiners studied the
firm’s award application.
Baldrige Criteria
Baldrige applicants are judged on seven business
criteria:
1. Leadership.
2. Strategic planning.
3. Customer and market focus.
4. Measurement, analysis and knowledge man-
agement.
5. HR management.
6. Process management.
7. Business results.
1. Leadership: Because the cathodic protection
industry is a relatively small, mature market, May
says retention and growth of existing customer and

TABLE 1 Magnesium Anode Quality FIGURE 2 Customer Satisfaction Index Results

Improvement
100
2003 current 2005 current
Competitor
efficiency efficiency
90
Good

Mesa minimum
50.0% 50.0%
requirement
80
A 49.3% 55.6%
B 41.6% 29.1%*
70
C 12.1%* 57.1%
D 11.0%* 16.2%* 60
E 4.8%* 55.4% 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Mesa Best competitor ACSI energy utilities
F NA 55.1%
* denotes poor quality ACSI = American Customer Satisfaction Index

52 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org

vendor relationships are critical to long-term suc-
cess. This means Mesa business practices must be
based on a foundation of trust, honesty and ethics.
Mesa demonstrates this philosophy to employ-
ees, customers, suppliers and the public through a
values statement in its strategic plan: “We conduct
our business with the highest integrity at all times.”
Standards of conduct are documented, reinforced,
monitored and measured.
Mesa’s Baldrige application notes that the result
of its operations, services and products is a positive
impact on the environment and increased public
safety. Compliance with all regulatory requirements
is ensured by a full time employee who is dedicated
to maintaining program documentation and ensur-
ing all training and safety requirements are met.
May has taken his leadership beyond Mesa. In
2002, he was elected the first president of the
NACE Foundation, an educational outreach orga-
nization of NACE International, previously known
as the National Assn. of Corrosion Engineers.
May then implemented Mesa’s process to devel-
op a strategic plan for the foundation. His leader-
ship abilities have led to his re-election to three
more terms as president. May also is certified as an
instructor of NACE cathodic protection courses.
2. Strategic planning: “Mesa’s strategic plan is a
key tool because it has helped us focus on those areas
that have the most importance to future success,”
May says. “It forces you to identify the important
things and then assists in providing the resources
required to achieve targets. It helps prioritize. It pro-
vides a long-term roadmap to communicate through-
out the organization. I could go on and on.”
May provided a long list of improvement deci-
sions that occurred as direct results of strategic
planning. A few of the many were:
• Becoming ISO 9002 and later ISO 9001 certified.
• Opening a Houston office.
• Expanding service operations.
• Pursuing the magnesium anode quality issue,
described earlier.
• Adopting lean and the Baldrige criteria.
• Expanding magnesium production capacity
• Pursuing the exploration and production mar-
ket, specifically for the Texas natural gas field
known as the Barnett Shale.
3. Customer and market focus: Mesa’s customer
satisfaction index results from 1999 to 2005 are
INSTALLATION: At left, a magnesium anode, the white object at
the bottom, is being connected by a wire to a pipe to prevent
external corrosion. At right, a cathodic protection system is being
installed prior to construction of an above-ground tank.
shown in Figure 2. In 2006, Mesa led its top com-
petitor in all 17 of the customer satisfaction attrib-
utes measured by a third party through a quarterly
customized survey.
In addition, from 2002 to 2005, its overall level of
customer satisfaction increased from 80% to 88%,
greatly surpassing its top competitor and the
American Customer Satisfaction Index of energy
utilities, which had levels of approximately 73%.1
Perhaps more significant is Mesa’s focus on the
development of ongoing, profitable relationships.
From 2002 to 2005, key customer retention in-
creased from 93% to 100%.
Mesa systematically evaluates its customer satis-
faction survey annually. A major initiative was
deployment of a customer relationship manage-
ment program for sales personnel to facilitate cus-
tomer information gathering and sharing.
The Mesa complaint system is incorporated into
the corrective and preventive action parts of its ISO
9001 based QMS. Any external nonconformance
(NCR) closure requires May’s approval, and May
usually calls the affected customer personally to
apologize.
4. Measurement, analysis and knowledge man-
agement: Four levels of performance measurement
systems are in place at Mesa: corporate, depart-
ment, process and individual. These measurements
are key drivers of decision making and innovation.
Corporate performance is primarily monitored
through performance projection to annual and
long-term goals, monthly report cards, monthly
financial results, annual management reviews
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 53
MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD

Tulsa undergo at least eight hours of classroom

training in lean.
When asked how Mesa has managed to never
have a planned workforce reduction, May re-
sponded, “Probably more luck than anything.
Although we’ve had situations in our 28-year his-
tory where conditions haven’t been great, we’ve
been able to make the necessary adjustments by
other means, including attrition. I wouldn’t go so
far to say we’ll never have a planned workforce
reduction, but it will be a last resort.”
May says this is important because of the mes-
sage sent to employees. “If workforce reduction is
PRODUCT ASSEMBLY: Mesa employees assemble impressed a regular management tool,” he explains, “it will
current anodes. be extremely difficult to develop loyalty, empower-
ment and all the other traits of a positive culture.”
6. Process management: Mesa employees view
and annual financial results. quality and process improvement (see Figure 1,
An improvement identified from a previous p. 51) as an integral part of their jobs. The PDCA
Baldrige site visit was the development of long-term cycle is Mesa’s basic improvement process, and
performance projections, which identify 33 metrics lean is its primary improvement method.
balanced across Mesa’s key strategic objectives. Lean concepts incorporate cross departmental
Each operating group has customized perfor- teams in organizing processes in cooperative, inno-
mance metrics that drive group performance and vative ways. Mesa uses lean as a multistep process
are aligned with Mesa’s strategic plan and bal- that involves mentoring, facilitation, knowledge
anced across key strategic goals. transfer and joint implementation. May says lean
Process performance is measured using the met- concepts provide the flexibility to keep processes
rics listed on the monthly report card and include: current with business needs.
three-day shipments, on-time shipments, customer As Mesa’s major strategic goals were developed,
affected NCRs and total NCRs. the logical fallout was the determination of key
Quarterly documented individual performance
assessments consist of questions
aligned and balanced across Mesa’s
five key strategic objectives. TABLE 2 Lean Event Results—Sales Order Entry
5. HR management: While lean
methods play a major role at Mesa, Percentage
Parameter Before After
lean does not mean that Mesa con- improved
stantly adjusts the size of its work- Total lead time, hours 5.6 3.9 30%
force based on seasonal demand for Total cycle time, minutes 24 24 0%
its products and services. May Value added ratio 7% 10% 43%
believes the firm’s employee assets Error rate, inquiries per day 12 6 50%
are too valuable to reduce in slow Orders in process 30 20 33%
periods then not be available in
busy periods. Project goals: to improve consistency, quality and speed of the sales order
processing sequence from customer contact to start of production.
In fact, lean has become Mesa’s
Waste eliminated: walking, multiple handling, redundant copies, checking
approach to involving employees in orders, unclear work instructions, amendments and reprinting, and errors.
improving the work environment Major outcomes of this event included the development of two uniform
while also improving organizational product identification codes.
performance. Mesa employees in

54 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org

business processes: marketing, sales, manufactur-
ing, cathodic protection services and delivery.
The area in which Mesa has seen the most dra-
matic improvements is its magnesium anode
assembly area, according to May. “Due to continu-
ing growth, we are now in the midst of a major
expansion project in this area,” he says. “We are
using lean principles, resulting in a complete
redesign and layout.”
May says this expansion will double capacity
without adding space or people. “Key points of the
design include an almost complete shift from batch
production to continuous flow, even though our
orders are heavily skewed to small quantity, high
mix,” he says. “Our production people are heavily
involved in the project, resulting in ownership of FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT: Terry F. May
the results.”
7. Business results: One area in which Mesa has
achieved world-class levels of performance is that
of one-time shipments. Since 1997, results in this owned, making it difficult for Mesa to measure its
area have gone from 94% to 97.5%, reaching levels market performance, Mesa has had to come up
that compare to those of previous Baldrige award with unique research methods to compare its sales
recipients (see Figure 3). growth to the growth of its market. This research
Mesa’s Baldrige application also reveals return reveals Mesa’s sales growth has resulted largely
on equity that outperforms industry norms and its from taking market share from its competitors—
competitors’ results. Its financial health is suffi- primarily because of poor performance by a key
ciently stable that it can maintain consistent opera- competitor.
tions even during years that are less profitable than Lean kaizen events have led to major waste reduc-
anticipated. tion and productivity improvement. One such event
Because most of its competitors are privately improved the sales order entry process. The impres-
sive results of this effort are shown in Table 2.
Mesa employees have been well rewarded
for these successes. They receive 35% of
FIGURE 3 On-time Shipments annual net pretax profits through a profit-
sharing program. Since 2000, this payment
100% has ranged between 5 and 15% of their
annual salaries.
98% No wonder 69% of Mesa’s employees say
they’re highly satisfied with their jobs, com-
96%
pared to an industry norm of 44%. The result
Good

94% has been creation of a stable work environ-

ment and the team based culture May con-
92% siders vital to Mesa’s business success.
90% NOTE
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
1. American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI),
Mesa MBNQA #1 MBNQA #2 MBNQA #3 MBNQA #4 www.theacsi.org. The ACSI is produced by a part-
nership of ASQ, the University of Michigan and CFI
MBNQA = Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
Group.

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 55

QUALITY IN THE
FIRST PERSON
Continual Innovation and Reinvention
by Russ Westcott
here is often a pattern to one’s
T work life, a pattern that might
not have been immediately evi-
dent or intended. Call it an inclination
that ultimately morphs into a strategic
plan.
My business adventures began as a
9-year-old door-to-door candy sales-
man for two summers. Newspaper
deliverer, dishwasher, short order
cook, window dresser, and file and
mailroom clerk followed. I thanked
these after-school jobs for exposing me
to the kind of work I didn’t want to do.
In the mid-1940s, I worked for a
small insurance company, where I
rotated from job to job, making process
improvements along the way. My
assignment in the machine accounting
unit was especially significant. Thus
began my inclination to spot areas for
improvement and initiate change.
In a U.S. Navy boot camp, ignoring
advice to never volunteer for any-
thing, I became the clerk of our 120-
man company. This experience
afforded me perks and an opportunity
to improve the record keeping.
Reporting to my first ship just after
the end of World War II, I was
assigned to chipping paint. Feeling
this was a waste of my capabilities, I
requested an office job.
After a brief demonstration of my
typing skills, I was allowed to “strike”
(apprentice) for a yeoman (secretary)
position in the captain’s office. After
16 months I had progressed from sea-
man to yeoman third class and served
aboard three ships in both the Pacific
and Atlantic oceans, before an honor-
able discharge. I made several innova-
tive changes during this brief period.
Punch Card Pursuits
Pursuing my interest in the growing
field of punch card data processing, I
became an IBM machine operator in a
large insurance company. A year later
I began designing punch card sys-
tems. During this time, I married and
earned a business degree at night
from Boston University.
I enrolled in General Electric’s (GE)
56 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
three-year financial training program
(FTP), did three job rotations and
affirmed I didn’t want a career in
finance. I transferred to the machine
accounting unit of the manufacturing
plant, where I soon became the super-
visor. Working closely with manage-
ment, I reorganized the unit and
streamlined its procedures.
Sometimes, it’s best
not to start with a plan.
Following FTP graduation, I joined
a 50-person plant relocation task
force. I participated in the selection of
a Virginia site and designed the new
data processing center. I moved to
Virginia, established a training facility,
and became the manager of data pro-
cessing, reporting to the finance vice
president.
To develop job candidates for the
Virginia operation, I sold the local
business college president on offering
a data processing curriculum for
which I would serve as instructor.
Meanwhile, I was elected president of
the local chapter of the National
Machine Accountants Assn.
Within two years I transferred to
GE’s Defense Systems Division
(Syracuse, NY) to manage the conver-
sion of accounting systems to a main-
frame computer. Following this, I
transferred to GE Credit Corp.’s
northeast operations center as manag-
er of data processing. My task was to
stabilize an out-of-control punch card
operation and manage the transition
to a mainframe computer. In reorga-
nizing the operation, I instituted sev-
eral approaches now under the lean
umbrella, such as spaghetti charting,
process mapping and 5S practices.
Following that, I moved on to man-
age the systems development and
programming unit. During this time, I
became president of the Data
Processing Management Association’s
Stamford, CT, chapter.
After a brief entrepreneurial venture
(data processing services for small
businesses), I returned to the corpo-
rate world as assistant manager of
CIT Financial’s 600-person data pro-
cessing center. In this role, I estab-
lished a management development
program and aided the transition to a
mainframe computer.
Next, I moved to TRW Systems
Group (Los Angeles), a matrix type
organization, as a functional manager
responsible for training, development
and deployment of 150 systems and
programming professionals for com-
puter based projects. In this role I re-
engineered the hiring process for
high-demand systems professionals,
shortening the cycle time from three
months to less than two weeks.
A year later, I became an internal
management systems consultant with
10 employee relations offices as my
clients.
I moved back East to become an
internal consultant with Consolidated
Edison (ConEd) of New York, where I
facilitated numerous process improve-
ments for the employee relations and
information services departments.
Most notably, I established the long-
running Mini-Scule, a lunchtime
school to train and educate in-house
staff. I also conducted organizational
assessments and led a project team in
developing a corporate business
model.
A Move to HR
As a result of my improvements to
the personnel function of ConEd’s
2,000-person Westchester Division, I
became the division’s director of HR.
In this role, I rebuilt the HR func-
tion with more effective processes
and more focus on training and con-
sulting to operating units. I became
active in the American Society for
Training and Development, ultimate-
ly forming and leading a Westchester
chapter. I also served as vice chair of
Junior Achievement for Westchester
County and taught management
courses at Fairfield (CT) and Pace manager of quality/organizational excellence Please
(NY) universities. (CMQ/OE). Westcott is on the executive board comment
ConEd’s Westchester Division sore- of the Thames Valley Section, CT. He is editor of
ly needed a major culture change and the CMQ/OE Handbook and the author of If you would like to comment on
Simplified Project Management for the this article, please post your remarks
quality improvement. I initiated and
Quality Professional and Stepping Up To
managed a divisionwide performance on the Quality Progress Discussion
ISO 9004:2000. Westcott recently received the
improvement project (PIP). Over a ASQ Testimonial Award for “leadership and Board at www.asq.org, or e-mail
three-year period, the PIP enabled the distinguished service” to Section 308. them to editor@asq.org.
division to move from last place on
the division scorecard to far ahead of
all divisions.
In addition to achieving a positive
organizational culture, quality of ser-
vices and customer satisfaction
improved dramatically. The PIP gen-
erated a documented return on invest-
ment of more than $1 million (1976
dollars).
With this accomplishment, I chose
to again become an independent
entrepreneur. From 1979 to the pre-
sent my roles have continued to
evolve. I’ve been an ISO 9000 quality
management systems consultant, a
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award trained examiner for a state
award program, an organizational
performance improvement consul-
tant, a project management consul-
tant, a career change coach and writer.
I’ve also been active in ASQ as a sec-
tion volunteer and a certified manager
of quality/organizational excellence
refresher course instructor.
I’ve enjoyed multiple careers, indus-
tries and positions. Even though rela-
tively new to ASQ (1991) I’ve long
used many of the now popular quali-
ty methods and tools, under different
names or no names. At the time I
joined TRW, my inclination became
my strategic plan—to turn every posi-
tion, regardless of the title, into a con-
sulting role.
After 60-plus years of multifaceted
experience, I achieved ASQ fellow sta-
tus. My modus operandi is to continu-
ally innovate and reinvent myself to
embrace new opportunities and
increase enjoyment in what I do. For
me, it’s never too late.

RUSSELL T. WEST-
COTT is president of
R.T. Westcott and Asso-
ciates and the Offerjost-
Westcott Group in Old
Saybrook, CT. He is an
ASQ fellow and a certi-
fied quality auditor and

QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 57

3.4 PER
MILLION
How to Identify and Select
Lean Six Sigma Projects
L
ean Six Sigma is a powerful
method for improving existing
products, processes and services.
Six Sigma was developed by Motorola
in 1987. Motorola’s Six Sigma yielded
significant financial results and
became popular with many other
companies, even though Six Sigma
was practiced without the benefit of
the define, measure, analyze, improve
and control (DMAIC) strategy, Black
Belts (BBs), or a defined project selec-
tion process.
In the mid-1990s, consultants intro-
duced the method to Allied Signal
and General Electric (GE), tying
improvement to bottom-line financial
performance. GE and other organiza-
tions refined the Six Sigma method
and focused on identifying and select-
ing key projects, as well as adapting
operations-based Six Sigma to service
and transactional processes.
One way to improve the deployment
of lean Six Sigma is to improve how
lean Six Sigma projects are identified
and selected. The typical approach to
lean Six Sigma project identification
and selection is heavy on selection tech-
niques but light on identification tech-
niques. There are four prerequisites to a
well executed lean Six Sigma project
identification and selection process.
Prerequisite One: Understand
The Strategic Plan
The first step in understanding how
to identify and select lean Six Sigma
projects is to ensure you are complete-
ly familiar with your organization’s
strategic plan. A typical strategic
planning process will involve the fol-
lowing steps:
• Planning to plan: Create a
roadmap to accomplish the strate-
gic plan.
• Values scan: Assess the interests
of the stakeholders.
• Mission formulation: Use the
stakeholders’ input to formulate a
mission statement.
• Business modeling: Create a
viable business model, including
cultural considerations and fund-
58 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
by Douglas P. Mader
ing related to the restructuring or
divestiture of existing business
lines, as well as the addition of
new business lines.
• Performance audit: Perform an
assessment of the organization in
terms of capabilities and financial
strength.
Success is often based
on completing four
prerequisites.
• Gap analysis: Compare the cur-
rent performance with the desired
state to create a list of gaps.
• Integrating action plans: Create
and implement a detailed plan to
accomplish the strategies of the
organization and close any gaps.
• Contingency planning: Develop
contingency plans to account for
potential market changes, compet-
itive pressures and other scenarios
that might affect the strategic plan
and the organization’s ability to
execute it.
• Implementation: Deploy the plan
throughout the organization via
cascaded goals, quantifiable per-
formance measures and clearly
identified owners and timeframes.
As part of action planning, organiza-
tions should launch strategic thrusts to
close perceived gaps. Typically, strate-
gic thrusts are initiatives with clear
charters and budgets, led by senior
executives and involve clear account-
ability. Strategic thrusts might be broad
or specific, depending on the perceived
gaps. Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma,
design for Six Sigma and their various
permutations are all strategic thrusts.
Prerequisite Two: Align,
Improve Efforts With Strategy
The second step is to understand
how improvement activities should be
aligned with the action plans found in
the strategic plan. As part of business
modeling in the strategic planning
step, an analysis likely will have
identified where the line of business
(LOB) falls with respect to market
growth and competitive position. The
intent is to determine an effective
strategy for a particular LOB based on
the rate of market growth and the
competitive position for the LOB.
For example, if a particular LOB has
a strong competitive position in a fast
growing market, the management
team for the LOB might emphasize
product development over operations
improvement. On the other hand, a
particular LOB with a weak competi-
tive position in a slow market might
require extensive focus on improving
the cost structure through lean Six
Sigma. For other scenarios, the im-
provement strategy should be suited
to the optimization of each specific
LOB relative to its strategic goals.
Prerequisite Three: Understand
The Policy Deployment System
The third step is to integrate the
action plans into the policy deploy-
ment system. Policy deployment is a
general reference to goal based plans
cascaded throughout the various lev-
els of the organization. Hoshin plan-
ning, management by objective and
other terms are varied implementa-
tions of policy deployment.
Successful implementation of policy
deployment involves:
• Setting high-level goals, targets,
timeframes and owners based on
the action plans from the strategic
plan.
• Setting functional and departmen-
tal goals, targets, timeframes and
owners based on cascading the
high-level goals to the local level.
• Integrating the local goals into
performance plans for individuals
and teams.
• Doing regular performance re-
views for high-level and local goal
achievement.
• Integrating performance to goals
in the bonus structure for man-
agement.
Prerequisite Four: Understand
Core Business Processes
Every organization operates in
some form as a system that converts
inputs (transactions, information or
raw materials) into outputs desired by
customers (a product or service). The
organization will attempt to define
processes to create the desired out-
come for customers and ostensibly
document those processes.
To clarify how to look at process
performance for opportunities for
improvement, the following terms
apply:
• Level one (L1) process: A core
business process that corresponds
to a business function and has
accounting traceability.
• Level two (L2) process: A sub-
process of an L1 process that
involves a distinctly related
sequence of process steps.
• Work steps: A logical work unit of
an L2 process that involves a
sequence of work tasks and is per-
formed by a person or a small
team.
Figure 1 shows an example of the
use of the terms.
The typical approach to identifying
opportunities for improvement is to
first understand what the key L1
processes are within the organization.
FIGURE 1 Process Performance Decomposition Example
Widget line of business (Level one: core business processes)
Market Concept Widget
research generation development
Order fulfillment (Level two: subprocess)
Receive Schedule Make
order production widget
Work steps
Ensure Ensure
Retrieve
invoice is supplier in
invoice
complete database
Then the key L1 processes will be bro-
ken down so key L2 processes can be
identified. A typical lean Six Sigma
project then will address a sequence
of work steps within one or more L2
processes.
Project Identification and
Selection Process
Champions, Master Black Belts
(MBBs) and BBs can and should fol-
low a structured method for identify-
ing, prioritizing and selecting lean Six
Sigma projects. Initially, the responsi-
bility of a Champion in the project
identification and selection process is
to assist a trained MBB to execute the
following steps:
• Review the strategic plan.
• Understand the high-level goals
and targets for the organization.
• Compare desired performance
with actual performance for the
organization.
• Understand the local or depart-
mental goals and targets for all
business functions.
• Compare the desired performance
with the actual performance for
each business function.
• Identify key L1 processes based on
risk/return/goal analysis.
• Understand key L2 processes based
on risk/return/goal analysis.
Process Order End of
development fulfillment life
Prepare Ship Pay
shipment widget suppliers
Check tax ID
Validate Enter auto-
and mailing
signatures payment
address
• Brainstorm all potential improve-
ment opportunities.
• Rank and prioritize all potential
improvement opportunities based
on risk/return/goals.
• Communicate the results of the
ranking activity and seek consensus.
• Launch lean Six Sigma projects
based on the priorities.
After becoming familiar with the
process, the Champion is expected to
lead these steps for the organization
on a regular basis.
Champion’s Role Is Integral
The role of a lean Six Sigma Cham-
pion is varied and diverse depending
on the size of the organization and the
scope of the lean Six Sigma deploy-
ment. The DMAIC method does not
come without the risk of failure, but it
is a very successful and proven
approach to solving problems and opti-
mizing process performance. The suc-
cess of lean Six Sigma projects often
hinges on the Champion’s ability to
resolve organizational issues and man-
age risks to the project, including:
• Funding.
• Time.
• Staffing.
• Customer relations.
• Project size and complexity.
• Overall structure.
Enter
Mail
payment
payment
in logbook
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 59
3.4 PER
MILLION

• External factors.
• Dependencies among projects.
Most of these risks can be addressed—
and possibly alleviated—by having a
well-run project identification process,
communicating the priorities of the
organization, communicating the
potential lean Six Sigma projects, and
building consensus among the key
stakeholders.
Champion responsibilities do not
end after projects have been selected.
The Champion is also responsible for
ensuring that each lean Six Sigma pro-
ject has a solid plan, buy-in for the
required resources, and effective man-
agement. The Champion is also re-
sponsible for running effective project
reviews at the end of each phase of the
DMAIC process. Project reviews
should not only look back at preceding
activities, but also look ahead for the
successful execution of upcoming
phases.
A well-trained MBB should assist the
Champion before and during the pro-
ject reviews. The BB will be well
versed in the technical tools, but it is
the responsibility of the Champion to
enable sufficient resources and remove
organizational roadblocks that might
stall the project.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Askin, R.G., and J.B. Goldberg, Design and

Analysis of Lean Production Systems,
Wiley, 2002.
Dennis, Pascal, Lean Production Simplified:
A Plain Language Guide to the World’s
Most Powerful Production System, Pro-
ductivity Press, 2002.
Keyte, Beau, and Drew Locher, The
Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream
Mapping for Administrative and Office
Processes, Productivity Press, 2004.
Liker, J. K., The Toyota Way: 14 Management
Principles From the World’s Greatest
Manufacturer, McGraw-Hill, 2004.
Ruffa, S.A., and M.J. Perozziello, Breaking
the Cost Barrier: A Proven Approach to
Managing and Implementing Lean Man-
ufacturing, Wiley, 2000.
Womack, James P., and Daniel T. Jones,

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comment
If you would like to comment on
this article, please post your remarks
on the Quality Progress Discussion
www.infinityqs.com 1.800.772.7978
Board at www.asq.org, or e-mail
them to editor@asq.org.

60 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org

CAREER
CORNER
Full-Time Quality Manager
Or Part-Time Quality Consultant?
by Diane G. Kulisek
A
s companies become leaner
and the workforce becomes
older, it seems the use of high-
ly qualified quality assurance consul-
tants would be an attractive
alternative to hiring full-time regular
quality managers.
In fact, in 2005 surveys of business
leaders, more than 50% of respondents
reported using consultants as perfor-
mance management resources.1
But, according to the participation
in Quality Progress’ annual salary sur-
vey from 2001 through 2006, the per-
centage of consultants that makes up
the quality workforce appears essen-
tially unchanged at about 3% while
the percentage of participants who are
quality managers is also unchanged at
about 25%.2
This lack of increased quality con-
sultant representation does not seem
to make much sense, so I am inclined
to let my personal experience trump
the statistics a bit.
Two years ago, I decided it might be
a good time to build a private quality
consulting practice. It was not a light-
ly made decision, but the outcome has
been disappointing.
I could take it personally, but I have
enough evidence to believe the issue
is not personal. It would be reason-
able to assume a technical profession-
al’s marketing skills might be lacking,
but I have checked off everything on
my carefully prepared list of “guerril-
la” marketing tactics,3 participated in
Institute of Management Consultants4
meetings and effectively completed
the SCORE5 course on starting one’s
own business. I also assertively
tapped SCORE mentors and fellow
owners of quality consulting firms for
guidance.
Most recently, I asked for help in
understanding what might be going
on from those in my online profes-
sional network. 6 I’ve combined and
summarized my own thoughts along
with extractions from insights shared
by others, and now I seem to have
arrived at a better understanding of
the considerations.
Full-Time Quality Managers
There are several reasons an organi-
zation might favor hiring a full-time
quality manager:
Unquestioned obedience. Hiring
Which is best for
your organization
and why?
managers could believe they have
more leverage over a full-time quality
manager because of perceived exclu-
sive control over the regular employ-
ee’s livelihood. This can be especially
important when unquestioned obedi-
ence is an essential factor for a hiring
manager’s success.
Acceptance of nonquality related
tasks. Full-time employees can be
asked to perform tasks outside of
their basic job descriptions, while con-
sultants are limited to tasks described
within their contracts.
Youthful enthusiasm. Entry-level,
full-time quality managers tend to
bring youthful enthusiasm to the table
and can be a great match for a start-up
operation’s culture.
Tribal knowledge. Entry-level, full-
time employees can grow with a com-
pany and its products, providing
continuity. They can also serve as a
repository for undocumented archival
company and product history.
Insider intelligence. Full-time
employees tend to learn, become a
part of and understand an organiza-
tion’s culture. This connects them
with other employees in ways that
can make their ability to complete
necessary tasks more effective and
efficient as well as less invasive than
that of a temporary or part-time con-
sultant.
Internal accountability. Full-time
employees must live with the long-
term, in-house consequences of their
actions and generally cannot behave
in ways that would be considered
inappropriate by their co-workers
without jeopardizing their liveli-
hoods.
On-site presence. If the need to
quickly perform a task (such as pro-
vide support for an unannounced on-
site audit by a customer or regulatory
representative) arises unexpectedly, the
immediate on-site presence of a full-
time employee could be a significant
advantage over an off-site, part-time
consultant, who might take additional
time to respond or arrive on site.
Shared liability. Organizational
insurance will typically cover liability
expenses incurred by employee deci-
sions but not those incurred as a result
of decisions made by consultants or
contractors. Consultants or contractors
might not have adequate insurance to
cover their own decisions. This could
require a leap of faith in a hiring man-
ager’s signing off on documented out-
puts from a consultant on behalf of the
organization (consultants typically
will not sign internal documentation).
Part-Time Quality Consultants
There are also many good reasons
to hire a part-time quality consultant:
Independent objectivity. Hiring
managers usually do not have ex-
clusive control over a consultant’s
livelihood. This can be especially
helpful when the consultant’s objec-
tivity and independence from poten-
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 61
CAREER
CORNER
tial manipulation by a senior manager
is perceived as essential to satisfying a
business need.
Focused effort. Part-time consul-
tants are much less susceptible to
becoming distracted by tasks other
than those described in their contracts
and are better able to stay focused on
completing critical objectives. If there
are effective incentives for providing
agreed on deliverables ahead of
schedule and under budget, a consul-
tant could be the key to more timely
and cost-effective completion of criti-
cal projects.
Entrepreneurialism. Seasoned qual-
ity consultants are entrepreneurs who
have had to learn to effectively man-
age risk to survive. They can be a great
match for a bureaucratic organization
striving to reconnect with entrepre-
neurialism by better managing risk
within its own culture.
Change agent. The value of a con-
sultant’s ability to be objective and
free of inappropriate influence by a
senior executive has already been
noted. Add to this the natural detach-
ment of a consultant from the influ-
ence of informal or pre-existing
cultural biases. Consultants can work
to overcome complacency and resis-
tance to change without the burden of
having to maintain pre-existing rela-
tionships with employees who might
otherwise be obstacles.
Troubleshooter. Unlike regular
employees, consultants cannot rely on
tribal or archival knowledge for their
success. So, consultants are generally
quick to identify and recommend
solutions for situations in which an
organization has become vulnerable
due to missing or inadequate proce-
dures, ineffective training, or business
requirements that have changed but
have not yet been properly assimilat-
ed into the organization’s way of
doing business.
External accountability. Consul-
tants rely on endorsements from pre-
vious and existing clients to attract
new ones. Consequences for inappro-
priate behavior by a consultant almost
immediately extend beyond the orga-
nization for which the consultant is
working and can significantly impact
62 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
the ability of the consultant to secure
new clients.
External credibility. The mutual
respect established through a consul-
tant’s long-term working relation-
ships with major customers or
regulators can be advantageous when
the consultant is brought in to sup-
port tasks involving those customers
or regulators.
Proven decision maker. Consul-
tants must be highly vigilant about the
risks associated with decisions they
are recommending. Consultants rely
and build on a track record of effective
past decisions to gain and maintain
the confidence of those acting on their
recommendations.
Cost management. When budget
constraints prevent the addition of reg-
ular employees, consultants can be
brought in under a separate profes-
sional services budget. Consultants can
be contracted with on a project basis or
on the basis of specific deliverables.
Stress relief. The documentation
required to establish an effective qual-
ity management system (QMS) or to
periodically audit it comprehensively
can be far beyond that required to
support a QMS on a day-to-day basis.
A quality consultant can be the best
short-term solution.
Body of knowledge expertise.
Adding or bringing new bodies of
knowledge or skill sets into an organi-
zation can require comprehensive
expertise or training tailored for many
levels. Expert quality consultants in
areas such as auditing, process
improvement, problem solving, regu-
latory affairs or risk management are
typically the best resources for achiev-
ing effective initial training and
implementation. Expert consultants
can also ensure continuity of new con-
cepts by training future in-house
trainers and performing periodic
retraining to keep the knowledge base
state-of-the-art.
Blame bearer. If a project has a low
probability of success, you can better
ensure potential project success and
have somebody else to blame if the
project fails by hiring a qualified con-
sultant. Out of fairness to the consul-
tant, when one is hired for this
specific reason, the low probability of
success should be clearly acknowl-
edged in the contract and a provision
made for the consultant to be paid
regardless of outcome.
Trial by fire. This is the “try before
you buy” concept of hiring a quality
consultant. Short-term use of quality
consultants willing to consider
becoming regular employees could be
a method of screening candidates for
that elusive right fit. This beats the
potential expense of recruiter commis-
sions, competitive salaries, relocation
costs and separation expenses when
untried quality managers don’t work
out after being hired.
What’s Really Happening
Because there are advantages both
to hiring a full-time quality manager
and hiring a part-time quality consul-
tant, I would have to conclude that,
all things being equal, there should be
equal demand for both types of pro-
fessionals. But, this is not the case, so
all things are not equal.
From my experience, I suspect reg-
ular full-time senior quality managers
with recent work histories indicating
organizational changes every year or
two are actually performing as quali-
ty consultants without being recog-
nized as such—by either themselves
or others.
It would certainly be difficult for a
small or even medium-size organiza-
tion to justify the ongoing expense of
a high performing quality practition-
er after all its QMSs are humming
along on near autopilot, the work-
force is trained and competent, con-
tinual improvement has become a
self-maintaining way of doing busi-
ness, and the customers are pretty
much delighted.
What used to be termed quality
management “job hoppers” might
actually be members of a new breed
of transient, quasi-consultant, quality
practitioner “special forces” who go
where they are most needed, do what
most needs doing and then move on
to the next organization in crisis.
The cause of hiring decisions over-
whelmingly in favor of full-time qual-
ity managers might be as simple as a
general lack of understanding about
the benefits of hiring part-time quali-
ty consultants in some situations or
the failure to properly identify this
possible new breed of quasi-consul-
tants.
My recommendation is that organi-
zations consider all their quality lead-
ership options in relation to their
overall strategic quality objectives.
These options should include regular
full-time quality managers, part-time
or temporary quality consultants and
some solutions in between, such as
the quasi-consultant quality practi-
tioner special forces.
REFERENCES AND NOTES
1. Steve Wnuk and Rochelle Dickinson, 2005
ASQ market research results presented at the
ASQ Board of Directors meeting, February 2006.
2. Annual salary surveys published in
December issues of Quality Progress from 2001
through 2006 can be found at www.asq.org/
Contribute to
“Quality IN THE
First Person”
Is there a writer lurking inside your
technician/engineer exterior? Send us
your first-person account related to
quality—how or why you got into the
field, how it helped your organization
or your career or how it’s enhanced
your personal life. Limit your contribu-
tion to about 800 words and send it to
editor@asq.org. Only selected submis-
sions will be published, and published
contributions will be edited.
pub/qualityprogress/salary_survey/index.html. Cosmetic Division, ASQ Region Seven (the
3. Jay Conrad Levinson and Michael W.
Southwest), and ASQ San Fernando Valley
McLaughlin, Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants,
John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Section 706. She holds ASQ certifications as a
4. Institute of Management Consultants, manager of quality/organizational excellence and
www.imcusa.org.
quality engineer.
5. SCORE: Counselors to America’s Small
Business (SCORE previously stood for “Senior
Corps of Retired Executives”). SCORE works
closely with the Small Business Administration
(www.sba.gov). SCORE’s website is www.
score.org.
6. LinkedIn is an invitation only professional
network at www.linkedin.com.
DIANE G. KULISEK of
Simi Valley, CA, is presi- Please
dent of CAPAtrak LLC comment
and an independent quality
If you would like to comment on
management consultant,
writer and motivational this article, please post your remarks
speaker. She holds a mas- on the Quality Progress Discussion
ter’s degree in engineer- Board at www.asq.org, or e-mail
ing management from California State University, them to editor@asq.org.
Northridge. Kulisek is a senior member of ASQ
and active with the ASQ Food, Drug and
MIT Lincoln Laboratory is a premier employer applying
science and advanced technology to critical, real-world
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QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 63
STATISTICS
ROUNDTABLE
Likert Scales and Data Analyses
by I. Elaine Allen and Christopher A. Seaman
urveys are consistently used to
S
measure quality. For example,
surveys might be used to gauge
customer perception of product quali-
ty or quality performance in service
delivery.
Likert scales are a common ratings
format for surveys. Respondents rank
quality from high to low or best to
worst using five or seven levels.
Statisticians have generally grouped
data collected from these surveys into
a hierarchy of four levels of measure-
ment:
1. Nominal data: The weakest level
of measurement representing
categories without numerical
representation.
2. Ordinal data: Data in which an
ordering or ranking of responses
is possible but no measure of
distance is possible.
3. Interval data: Generally integer
data in which ordering and dis-
tance measurement are possible.
4. Ratio data: Data in which mean-
ingful ordering, distance, deci-
mals and fractions between
variables are possible.
Data analyses using nominal, inter-
val and ratio data are generally
straightforward and transparent.
Analyses of ordinal data, particularly
as it relates to Likert or other scales in
surveys, are not. This is not a new
issue. The adequacy of treating ordi-
nal data as interval data continues to
be controversial in survey analyses in
a variety of applied fields.1, 2
An underlying reason for analyzing
ordinal data as interval data might be
TABLE 1 Likert Scale Response Categories
Scale 1 2
Never Seldom
Strongly Agree Agree
Most Important Important
64 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
the contention that parametric statisti-
cal tests (based on the central limit
theorem) are more powerful than
nonparametric alternatives. Also, con-
clusions and interpretations of para-
metric tests might be considered
Can this method
be used as interval
measures?
easier to interpret and provide more
information than nonparametric alter-
natives.
However, treating ordinal data as
interval (or even ratio) data without
examining the values of the dataset
and the objectives of the analysis can
both mislead and misrepresent the
findings of a survey. To examine the
appropriate analyses of scalar data
and when its preferable to treat ordi-
nal data as interval data, we will con-
centrate on Likert scales.
Basics of Likert Scales
Likert scales were developed in
1932 as the familiar five-point bipolar
response that most people are familiar
with today.3 These scales range from a
group of categories—least to most—
asking people to indicate how much
they agree or disagree, approve or
disapprove, or believe to be true or
false. There’s really no wrong way to
build a Likert scale. The most impor-
3 4 5
Sometimes Often Always
Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
Neutral Unimportant Not important at all
TABLE 2 Likert Scale
Example
Compared to face-to-face learning, outcomes
from online learning are currently:
2003 2004 2006
Superior 0.6% 1% 1.8%
Somewhat superior 11.5% 10% 15.1%
Same 50.6% 50.6% 45%
Somewhat inferior 28.4% 28.4% 30.3%
Inferior 10.1% 10.1% 7.8%
Source: I. Elaine Allen and J.R. Seaman, “Making
the Grade: Online Education in the United States,”
www.sloan-c.org, 2006.
tant consideration is to include at least
five response categories. Some exam-
ples of category groups appear in
Table 1.
The ends of the scale often are
increased to create a seven-point scale
by adding “very” to the respective top
and bottom of the five-point scales.
The seven-point scale has been shown
to reach the upper limits of the scale’s
reliability.4 As a general rule, Likert
and others recommend that it is best
to use as wide a scale as possible. You
can always collapse the responses into
condensed categories, if appropriate,
for analysis.
With that in mind, scales are some-
times truncated to an even number of
categories (typically four) to eliminate
the “neutral” option in a “forced
choice” survey scale. Rensis Likert’s
original paper clearly identifies there
might be an underlying continuous
variable whose value characterizes
the respondents’ opinions or attitudes
and this underlying variable is inter-
val level, at best.5
Analysis, Generalization
To Continuous Indexes
As a general rule, mean and stan-
dard deviation are invalid parameters
for descriptive statistics whenever
data are on ordinal scales, as are any
parametric analyses based on the nor-
mal distribution. Nonparametric pro-
cedures—based on the rank, median
or range—are appropriate for analyz-
ing these data, as are distribution free
methods such as tabulations, frequen-
cies, contingency tables and chi-
squared statistics.
Kruskall-Wallis models can provide
the same type of results as an analysis
of variance, but based on the ranks
and not the means of the responses.
Given these scales are representative
of an underlying continuous measure,
one recommendation is to analyze
them as interval data as a pilot prior
to gathering the continuous measure.
Table 2 includes an example of mis-
leading conclusions, showing the
results from the annual Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation survey of the quality and
extent of online learning in the United
States. Respondents used a Likert scale
to evaluate the quality of online learn-
ing compared to face-to-face learning.
While 60%-plus of the respondents
perceived online learning as equal to
or better than face-to-face, there is a
persistent minority that perceived
online learning as at least somewhat
inferior. If these data were analyzed
using means, with a scale from 1 to 5
from inferior to superior, this separa-
tion would be lost, giving means of
2.7, 2.6 and 2.7 for these three years,
respectively. This would indicate a
slightly lower than average agreement
rather than the actual distribution of
the responses.
A more extreme example would be
to place all the respondents at the
extremes of the scale, yielding a
mean of “same” but a completely
different interpretation from the ac-
tual responses.
Under what circumstances might
Likert scales be used with interval pro-
cedures? Suppose the rank data
included a survey of income measur-
ing $0, $25,000, $50,000, $75,000 or
$100,000 exactly, and these were mea-
sured as “low,” “medium” and “high.”
The “intervalness” here is an
attribute of the data, not of the labels.
Also, the scale item should be at least
five and preferably seven categories.
Another example of analyzing
Likert scales as interval values is
when the sets of Likert items can be
FIGURE 1 Track Bar
Examples
Sources:
MSDN, http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.
asp?url=/library/en-us/shellcc/platform/commctls/
trackbar/trackbar.asp
DevX, http://archive.devx.com/dhtml/articles/
nm061102/Hand.html
combined to form indexes. However,
there is a strong caveat to this
approach: Most researchers insist such
combinations of scales pass the
Cronbach’s alpha or the Kappa test of
intercorrelation and validity.
Also, the combination of scales to
form an interval level index assumes
this combination forms an underlying
characteristic or variable.
Alternative Continuous
Measures for Scales
Alternatives to using a formal
Likert scale can be the use of a contin-
uous line or track bar. For pain mea-
surement, a 100 mm line can be used
on a paper survey to measure from
worst ever to best ever, yielding a con-
tinuous interval measure.
In the advent of many online sur-
veys, this can be done with track bars
similar to those illustrated in Figure 1.
The respondents here can calibrate
their responses to continuous inter-
vals that can be captured by survey
software as continuous values.
Conclusion
Your initial analysis of Likert scalar
data should not involve parametric
statistics but should rely on the ordi-
nal nature of the data. While Likert
scale variables usually represent an
underlying continuous measure,
analysis of individual items should
use parametric procedures only as a
pilot analysis.
Combining Likert scales into index-
es adds values and variability to the
data. If the assumptions of normality
are met, analysis with parametric pro-
cedure can be followed. Finally, con-
verting a five or seven category
instrument to a continuous variable is
possible with a calibrated line or track
bar.
REFERENCES
1. Gideon Vigderhous, “The Level of
Measurement and ‘Permissible’ Statistical
Analysis in Social Research,” Pacific Sociological
Review, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1977, pp. 61-72.
2. Ulf Jakobsson, “Statistical Presentation and
Analysis of Ordinal Data in Nursing Research,”
Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, Vol. 18,
2004, pp. 437-440.
3. Rensis Likert, “A Technique for the
Measurement of Attitudes,” Archives of
Psychology, 1932, Vol. 140, No. 55.
4. Jum C. Nunnally, Psychometric Theory,
McGraw Hill, 1978.
5. Dennis L. Clasen and Thomas J. Dormody,
“Analyzing Data Measured by Individual Likert-
Type Items,” Journal of Agricultural Education,
Vol. 35, No. 4, 1994.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jacoby, Jacob, and Michael S. Matell,
“Three-Point Likert Scales Are Good
Enough,” Journal of Marketing Research,
Vol. 8, No. 4, 1971, pp. 495-500.
Jamieson, Susan, “Likert Scales: How to
(Ab)use Them,” Medical Education, Vol.
38, No. 12), 2004, pp. 1,217-1,218.
I. ELAINE ALLEN is an associate professor of
statistics and entrepreneurship at Babson
College in Babson Park, MA. She has a doctor-
ate in statistics from Cornell University in
Ithaca, NY. Allen is a senior member of ASQ.
CHRISTOPHER A. SEAMAN is a doctoral
student in mathematics at the Graduate Center
of City University of New York.
Please
comment
If you would like to comment on this
article, please post your remarks on
the Quality Progress Discussion
Board at www.asq.org, or e-mail
them to editor@asq.org.
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 65
STANDARDS
OUTLOOK

AS&D Standards’ Revisions

To Improve Supplier Performance
by L.L. “Buddy” Cressionnie

he International Aerospace version of ISO 9001 as its foundation, dard is published as AS9100 in the

T Quality Group (IAQG) is revis-

ing the IAQG 9100 family of
standards 1 to stay aligned with
changes to ISO 9001, drive supplier
improvements and broaden the scope
of the internationally harmonized
standards from “aerospace” to “avia-
tion, space and defense” (AS&D).
The main purposes of the AS&D
scope change were to add space
industry emphasis and to facilitate the
use and flowdown of the IAQG stan-
dards to stakeholders beyond aero-
space, to include land and sea based
systems for defense applications.
Also, there was realization that many
complex weapons systems require
integration across all three industry
sectors. This new AS&D focus will
likely continue to fuel the explosive
growth of the current aerospace stan-
dards.
with additional requirements based
on expectations of aerospace cus-
tomers set off in bold, italic type. The
IAQG 9100 family of standards is rec-
ognized as an effective QMS by
Goals include raising
satisfaction, meeting
new stakeholder
requirements and
aligning interpretations.
authorities and regulatory agencies,
including the Federal Aviation
Administration, NASA and the De-
partment of Defense.
The international IAQG 9100 stan-
United States, EN9100 in Europe, JIS-
Q-9100 in Japan, and in other versions
around the world. In addition to
English and Japanese, the current ver-
sion of the standard is available in
French, Portuguese, German, Hebrew,
Russian, Chinese and Korean.
Figure 1 shows the rapid interna-
tional growth of IAQG 9100. Table 1
shows that of the nearly 7,000 certi-
fied suppliers (including almost every
major aerospace company in the
world), about 4,000 are in the
Americas (North, Central and South
America).
Upcoming Revision
International Organization for
Standardization technical committee
176 is currently amending ISO 9001,
with publication expected in May
2009. The ISO 9001 amendment is dri-

Background
Prior to the adoption of the interna- FIGURE 1 Number of Certified Suppliers in OASIS by Region
tionally harmonized aerospace stan-
dards, the industry was not efficient 8,000
in the flowdown of quality require-
ments to suppliers. Each aerospace Total
manufacturer levied company specific 7,000 Europe
requirements, processes and forms on Americas
its supplier base. 6,000
Number of certified suppliers

This meant the aerospace supplier Asia-Pacific

base was forced to follow different 5,000
requirements, complete a variety of
customer specific forms and endure
systems and product audits from their 4,000
aerospace customers. To help the sup-
ply base operate more efficiently 3,000
under a single set of requirements, the
aerospace prime manufacturers came 2,000
together to develop harmonized qual-
ity standards and requirements.
This was a win-win for the industry, 1,000
permitting suppliers to standardize
processes, and aerospace customers to 0
reduce supplier quality management
Oc 03
De ’03
Feb 03
Ap ’04
Jun 04
Au ’04
Oc 04
De ’04
Feb 04
Ap . ’05
Jun ’05
Au ’05
Oc 05

Feb 05
Ap . ’06
Jun ’06
Au ’06
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Feb 06
7
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c. ’

ril ’

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g. ’

c. ’

g. ’

c. ’
t.

t.

t.
t.

system (QMS) audits and generate

ril

ril
Au

savings for the customers.

IAQG 9101 uses the entire current
OASIS = Online Aerospace Supplier Information System, www.iaqg.org/oasis.

66 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org


ving an update of IAQG 9100. This
update started in 2005 at an interna-
tional planning meeting where a mile-
stone plan and schedule were created,
stakeholders identified and design
specification drafted.
The objectives for the 2009 revision
of IAQG 9100 include improving sup-
plier performance and customer satis-
faction by focusing on product quality
and on-time delivery, allowing its
common interpretation for auditors
and organizations and taking into
account newly identified stakeholder
requirements.
The IAQG 9100 team provided a
mechanism to receive feedback and
performed data mining from the fol-
lowing stakeholder segments:
• Certification/registration bodies.
• Civil aviation authorities.
• Defense organizations, including
the U.S. Department of Defense
and NATO.
• IAQG member companies.
• Space sector organizations, includ-
ing NASA.
• IAQG 9100 certified suppliers.
The IAQG 9100 team used a disci-
plined process to consider proposed
changes or additions to the standard.
Changes/additions being considered
are those that:
• Constitute QMS requirements that
are not contractual or do not con-
tain product specific requirements.
• Enhance clarity of requirements or
address stakeholder needs.
• Satisfy the needs of the broad
IAQG 9100 user community
through requirements that are
suitable for use by all sizes and
types of organizations in the avia-
tion, space and defense sectors.
• Provide benefits that outweigh the
impact of implementation.
• Are not prescriptive (establish
“what” but not “how”) and can be
audited.
The data mining activities, which
ended in March 2007, and the subse-
TABLE 1 IAGQ 91000 Certifications by Region
Standard Americas
IAQG 9100: QMS—
3,947
Aerospace Requirements
IAQG 9110: QMS—
Aerospace—Requirements for 7 86
Maintenance Organizations
IAQG 9120: QMS—
Aerospace—Requirements 103
for Stockist Distributors
Total (4/19/07) 4,057
quent review process resolved nearly
400 comments received from the
stakeholders. Some of the significant
topics addressed included: risk man-
agement, key/critical characteristics,
configuration management, project
management, positive recall, test
report validation, statistical sampling,
first article inspection and key perfor-
mance indicators.
The next steps will include comple-
tion of subteam activities and prepa-
ration of a first draft later this year.
The IAQG 9100 revision will be offi-
cially balloted to voting members in
2008 and 2009 and is expected to be
released in mid-2009, depending on
the ISO 9001 revision publication
schedule.
Upcoming IAQG 9110
And IAQG 9120 Revision
The IAQG 9110 2 and IAQG 9120 3
QMS standards are undergoing a revi-
sion process similar to that of IAQG
9100. Each has a team that has identi-
fied its stakeholders and is perform-
ing data mining. The next step will be
to process comments received from
data mining.
The IAQG 9110 and IAQG 9120
revisions are dependent on IAQG
9100 in that they use IAQG 9100 as a
baseline. Their revisions are trailing
the IAQG 9100 revision process by
about six months and are expected to
be released by the end of 2009.
Upcoming IAQG 9101
Checklist Revision
The IAQG 9100 series includes
IAQG 9101,4 a checklist that must be
Asia- Total
Europe
Pacific (4/19/07)
2,700 312 6,959
4 97
211 4 318
2,997 320 7,374
completed for other-party audits. The
checklist has come under some criti-
cism because it does not easily lend
itself to a process based system.
An international IAQG 9101 team
was formed to develop a robust assess-
ment process that will reinforce the on-
quality and on-schedule goals of IAQG.
The team’s membership includes repre-
sentatives from both the IAQG member
companies and from certification bodies
that use the checklist.
The IAQG 9101 team was chal-
lenged to ensure the new version has
three features:
1. Performance to certification link-
age.
2. Process orientation rather than
clauses.
3. Efficiency and effectiveness.
At a kickoff meeting this January,
the team benchmarked certification/
registration processes used by other
industries and assigned research and
review tasks to subteams: design spec-
ification, ISO 9001 audit practice
group5 materials, process audit meth-
ods, report content and format, and
information sharing and customer
performance.
The IAQG 9101 team envisions an
end state in which there will be one
IAQG audit process standard used for
IAQG 9100, 9110 and 9120; a more
process oriented assessment tool
based on the plan-do-check-act model;
and a complete description of the
audit process.
The first draft of IAQG 9101 is
expected in late 2007. The revision
will be introduced into the other-
party audit process as organizations
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 67
STANDARDS
OUTLOOK
transition to the 2009 versions of
IAQG 9100, 9110 and 9120.
Updates on AS9003
There is another standard for
inspection and testing that gets little
publicity. AS90036 is a U.S. standard
that is not harmonized internationally
or endorsed by IAQG. AS9003 is cur-
rently being rewritten by the space
industry and its customers, including
NASA, to be more consistent with
IAQG 9100 and ISO 9001.
AS9003 is targeted to organizations
that process aerospace products (for
example, heat treat, plating, coatings
or other special processes) or for very
small organizations that make prod-
uct following customer design and
have simple processes.
AS9003 is not intended for use in
organizations that design or manufac-
ture complex aerospace components
or critical items or for medium-size or
larger organizations.
There is currently no assessment
checklist for AS9003, although a third-
party AS9003 certification scheme is
offered by some certification bodies.
The revised AS9003 will be published
in late 2007 by SAE International.
Other-Party Management Team
IAQG has strengthened the existing
third-party certification scheme by
developing an industry controlled
other-party process for certification of
organizations to the IAQG 9100
series. The IAQG other-party man-
agement team (OPMT) facilitates the
industry management of other-party
certifications.
OPMT is an IAQG oversight com-
mittee chartered to manage the other-
party quality management schemes
and assessment results performed by
each of the global sector management
schemes. OPMT provides oversight of
the accreditation bodies, certification
bodies and auditor authentication. In
the Americas Aerospace Quality
Group (AAQG), the sector manage-
ment scheme is the registration man-
agement committee.
The other-party certification scheme
and OPMT adhere to a trio of IAQG
9104 standards, often called the trilo-
gy of standards:
1. 9104—Requirements for Aerospace
QMS Certification/Registration
68 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
?
Questions About Standards
Send your general questions about quality and environmental
management system standards and their derivatives to
standardsquestions@asq.org. Include your daytime phone
number and e-mail address. The questions will be submitted
to one of QP’s regular “Standards Outlook” columnists.
Look for answers to appear in future issues of QP.
Systems—Aerospace—Requirements for Stockist
Programs (this standard will be re-
Distributors, IAQG, 2002.
numbered as 9104-1 in the next 4. IAQG (AS/EN/JIS-Q) 9101—Quality Manage-
revision). ment System Assessment, IAQG, 2006.
5. ISO 9001 Audit Practice Group, http://
2. 9104/2—Requirements for Oversight
www.tc176.org.
of Aerospace QMS Registration/ 6. SAE AS9003—Inspection and Test Quality
Certifications Programs. System, SAQ International, 2001.
7. Online Aerospace Supplier Information
3. 9104/3—Requirements for Aerospace System, www.iaqg.org/oasis.
Auditor Competency and Training
Courses.
To manage the other-party certifica- L.L. “BUDDY” CRESSIONNIE is the
tion scheme for the IAQG 9100 series, Americas’ lead for the IAQG 9100 team and
IAQG developed the Online Aero- participates on the U.S. technical advisory
space Supplier Information System group to ISO/TC 176. He
(OASIS) in 2003.7 This system includes represents Lockheed Mar-
tin Aeronautics as the
information about IAQG member
company management
companies, national aerospace indus-
system integration man-
try associations, national accreditation
ager. Cressionnie is an
bodies, approved certification/regis-
ASQ senior member with
tration bodies, aerospace experienced
quality manager and
auditors and certified suppliers. quality auditor certifica-
The certified supplier information tions. He is also a certi-
includes certificate status (including fied RABQSA aerospace experienced auditor
scope of certification and copy of cer- and International Register of Certified
tificate) and assessment results. OASIS Auditors lead auditor for ISO 9001 and ISO
14001. Cressionnie has a bachelor’s degree in
is useful for managing suppliers and
industrial and systems engineering from the
finding trend information for manag-
University of Florida and an MBA from Texas
ing the IAQG 9100 scheme.
Christian University.
If you have questions about the
standards, e-mail them to the appro-
priate leader through the IAQG
website at www.iaqg.sae.org/iaqg/ Please
publications/SDRs_listing.pdf. comment
If you would like to comment on this
REFERENCES AND NOTES
article, please post your remarks on
1. IAQG (AS/EN/JIS-Q) 9100—Quality Manage-
ment Systems—Aerospace—Requirements, IAQG, the Quality Progress Discussion
2004. Board at www.asq.org, or e-mail
2. IAQG (AS/EN) 9110—Quality Management
Systems—Aerospace—Requirements for Mainte- them to editor@asq.org.
nance Organizations, IAQG, 2003.
3. IAQG (AS/EN) 9120—Quality Management
 MEASURE
FOR MEASURE
Challenges of Instrument Innovations
by Graeme C. Payne
H
umans are innovators. We are
always inventing new materi-
als, methods, devices or ideas.
From time to time, certain innovations
cause major, unforeseen shifts in theo-
ry and practice.
A few examples in my own lifetime
and professional specialty include the
inventions of the integrated circuit and
general purpose microprocessor, and
the discoveries of the Josephson effect
and the quantum Hall effect.
A more recent innovation is the
development of synthetic instruments.
While this is certainly not as funda-
mental as the other examples, it does
have important implications for quali-
ty management and measurement sci-
ence.
Instruments Until Now
Until recently, measuring instru-
ments—however complex they might
appear—have been essentially single
purpose tools. Such an instrument is
relatively easy to understand, use and
calibrate. Measuring instruments
might be built to perform multiple
functions, as with a digital multimeter
that can measure voltage, current,
resistance and maybe a few other
parameters. But that digital multime-
ter cannot be used as, for example, a
spectrum analyzer.
FIGURE 1 A Conventional Measuring Instrument
Is Self-Contained
Signal Analog to digital
Input
conditioning conversion
External control
(IEE-488, RS-232, Fieldbus, USB, LAN, etc.)
Conventional measuring instrument
Multifunction instruments are only a
little more complex to use and have a
larger set of parameters to be calibrat-
ed but still are relatively simple. Many
measuring instruments now have
microprocessors and are controlled by
permanent software. That software
does not add much to the calibration
Synthetic instruments
are the latest innova-
tion in measurement
science.
effort, as it is tested by implication dur-
ing the performance verification; if the
instrument responds properly to the
input, the software has to be correct.
Even in large automated test equip-
ment (ATE) systems, in which a num-
ber of different instruments might be
combined to perform a complex suite
of tests under external computer con-
trol, each instrument is individually
understandable and calibratable.
An ATE system as a whole is more
complex because the operation of the
system must be validated somehow
after the individual instruments are
calibrated.
Measurement
User interface
system
Control
system
To visualize the basic concepts, a
measuring instrument can be viewed
as a series of interconnected blocks.
There is a signal conditioner that
receives, scales and standardizes the
input; an analog-to-digital converter;
a user interface system and an opera-
tion control system.
Traditionally, all of these are physi-
cally in one unit, as shown in Figure 1.
An instrument that produces an out-
put is similar in concept, except that
the signal flow is in the opposite
direction. In both cases, the instru-
ment manufacturer defines the hard-
ware and software features and
functions.
For the past 20 years or so, many
ATE systems have used special instru-
ments that plug into a system rack
and are only controlled through a
computer program. The principal dif-
ference between these and conven-
tional instruments is that there are no
controls on the instrument itself—
only inputs or outputs. Because they
are software controlled, they have
often been called virtual instruments,
even though there is a real device at
the other end of the computer inter-
face.
The Rise of Synthetic
In the last several years, the innova-
tive idea of a synthetic instru-
ment has risen. This came out
of a Department of Defense
initiative started in the mid-
1990s to improve performance
and reduce costs of ATE sys-
tems.
Synthetic instruments go
beyond conventional instru-
ments in an innovative way.
Each component of a synthetic
instrument—each functional
block—is a separate device. A
synthetic instrument is defined
as a reconfigurable system of
hardware and software ele-
ments, linked by standardized
interfaces, to make measure-
ments or generate signals.
Figure 2 (p. 70) shows the
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 69
 MEASURE
FOR MEASURE
same measuring function as Figure 1,
but redrawn as a reconfigurable syn-
thetic instrument.
What does this imply for quality
management and measurement sci-
ence? Several things must be consid-
ered with synthetic instruments that
would not be of concern in a more tra-
ditional hardware and software envi-
ronment:
• In a system using synthetic instru-
ments, an instrument is no longer
a single, fixed assembly of hard-
ware and (usually) software.
Because modules and software are
easily reconfigured, the “instru-
ment” can actually become an
abstraction.
It is possible—even probable—
that modules being connected to
form a synthetic instrument, as
well as the software used to oper-
ate them, are made by different
companies.
• Hardware configuration control of
a synthetic instrument system is
critical. Any change to the hard-
ware has the potential to affect
every measurement the system
makes.
In an older system, changes in
one instrument—a voltmeter, for
example—would affect only the
measurements made by that
instrument. In a system with syn-
thetic instruments, changing a
module (an analog-to-digital con-
verter, for example) could affect
every type of measurement that
uses that module.
• Software configuration control is
even more critical. Any change to
the software has the potential to
affect every measurement the sys-
tem makes.
In a traditional system, one soft-
ware module typically controls the
instruments required for one test.
In a system with synthetic instru-
ments, the software will configure
and interconnect the hardware
modules needed for each synthetic
instrument, control the operation
of each instrument, possibly con-
trol the unit under test and pro-
vide all of the user interfaces.
Some of the numeric processing
for measurement functions might
be performed by software. Any
one software module has the
70 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
FIGURE 2 A Synthetic Instrument:
A Temporary, Reconfigurable System
Of Hardware and Software
Signal conditioning
Analog to digital conversion
Measurement processing
potential to affect all uses of the
test system.
• Each hardware module will need
to be calibrated in terms of its own
inputs, outputs and functionality.
But, calibration of each module
does not ensure each synthetic
instrument is calibrated.
Each synthetic instrument creat-
ed by the changing configurations
or hardware and software will
also have to be calibrated. That is
the only way to ensure the mod-
ules and software all work togeth-
er as intended to produce a
reliable and traceable measure-
ment or signal.
• Parts of the software that are not
fully exercised by calibration of
each synthetic instrument calibra-
tion in the system will also have to
be validated. For example, a digi-
tal multimeter might have internal
statistical functions, such as the
ability to report the mean and
standard deviation of a user
defined number of measurements.
In a traditional instrument, those
functions are in the permanent
memory, so they only have to be
validated once. In an ATE com-
posed of synthetic instruments,
those functions are in the control
software and will have to be reval-
idated whenever any of the hard-
ware or software is changed.
Synthetic instruments are just the
Interconnection system
Inputs
Control system
and user interface
most recent in a long line of innova-
tions that affect the way we design
measuring instruments, make mea-
surements and control measuring
devices. As an innovation like this is
introduced, we need to make certain
the whole measurement system is
maintained in a state that ensures the
correct things are being measured—
with the correct instruments—and
that all measurements are traceable to
the International System of Units.
GRAEME C. PAYNE is
president of GK Systems,
a consulting firm special-
izing in measurement
science. He is a contribu-
tor to The Metrology
Handbook (ASQ Qual-
ity Press, 2004) and is
past chair of the ASQ
Measurement Quality Division. Payne is a
senior member of ASQ, a certified quality tech-
nician, calibration technician and quality engi-
neer.
Please
comment
If you would like to comment on this
article, please post your remarks on
the Quality Progress Discussion
Board at www.asq.org, or e-mail
them to editor@asq.org.
 QP
TOOLBOX
Sherwin-Williams Produces
Coating for Inspection
Sherwin-Williams Industrial and Marine
Coatings has introduced Duraplate ultra
high solids epoxy with fluorescing optical-
ly active pigments (OAP). Duraplate allows
tank lining applicators to check the coating
instantly for pinholes, holidays and other
discontinuities. It also helps to verify uni-
form coverage and proper film thickness.
Duraplate is available as a single or multi
coat application. With the single coat appli-
cation, pinholes, holidays and improper
film thickness will appear black in contrast
to the fluoresce coating when viewed
under ultraviolet light. The opposite is true
for multi coat systems. When the primer
with OAP is used and the topcoat does not
have OAP, pinholes with fluoresce are visi-
ble under inspection of the topcoat.
Call: 216-781-2400; e-mail: wschweiger@
edwardhoward.com.
GMP Visually Reports
Real-Time Trouble
Lyons Information Systems has added
the Global Performance Monitor (GPM) to
its Lyons quality audit tracking system
(LQATS). GPM allows apparel manufactur-
ers to view worldwide quality performance
on one screen in real-time using any web
browser.
LQATS manages garment and fabric
quality audit and inspection information
across apparel manufacturers’ mills and
manufacturing and distribution centers
located worldwide. Manufacturers can
view this information prior to suppliers’
shipments. GPM can help companies
identify real-time trouble spots visually as
they develop to prevent manufacturing
losses.
Call: 866-351-4287; visit: www.
lyonsinfo.com.
Membrane Enhances
Pressure Compensation Seals
Schreiner ProTech’s polytetrafluoroethyl-
ene (PTFE) membrane is an air permeable
and waterproof material designed for
ventilation of equipment housings.
Schreiner developed the PTFE membrane to
enhance the effectiveness of its self-adhe-
sive and nonadhesive pressure compensa-
tion seals (PCS), allowing air molecules to
pass through the PCS while restricting pas-
sage of water, oil and dirt particles.
The enhanced seals protect sensitive
electronic components by providing chem-
ical and thermal resistance to extreme ele-
ments. This ensures reliable functionality
of electronic systems in products like pres-
sure sensors or small electric motors.
Call: 248-355-3006; visit: www.
schreiner-usa.com.
Kinetic Systems Introduces
Low Vibration Workstation
▼
Kinetic Systems has introduced the
MK26, an ultra low natural frequency vibra-
tion isolation workstation. The MK26 uses
the Minus K stiff spring and negative stiff-
ness mechanism to achieve a low net verti-
cal stiffness without affecting the static load
supporting capability. Horizontal isolation is
provided by beam columns connected in
series with the vertical motion isolator.
The MK26 can be configured for a wide
variety of locations where disturbances
due to external vibrations can adversely
affect the operation of sensitive equip-
ment. The MK26 is suitable for applications
such as analytical balances, cell injection,
confocal microscopes, patch clamping,
optical microscopes, wafer probing, sensor
calibration and atomic force microscopes.
Call: 617-522-8700; e-mail: sales@
kineticsystems.com.
Penetrating Solvent Aids
In Routine Maintenance
CRC Industries has introduced Knock’er
Loose Plus penetrating solvent, an indus-
trial strength penetrant that drops the tem-
perature of the area in contact with the
spray. Knock’er Loose Plus permeates rust,
scale, gum, grease and corrosion with a
low surface tension formula that gets into
cracks, seams, threads and joints. It aids in
the disassembly of plant machinery, tools
and equipment for routine maintenance
and emergency repairs.
Knock’er Loose Plus loosens rusted and
corroded nuts, bolts, couplings, fittings,
hinges and frozen components. It is also
NSF H2 registered for use in meat and
poultry plants.
E-mail: cbrown@crcindustries.com;
visit: www.crcindustries.com.
Shrinkwrap Available
For Three Climates
Dr. Shrink provides shrinkwrap as a way
to protect equipment from dirt and the
damage that can happen on a factory floor
or job site. It covers a range of materials
from backhoes and machinery to spare
parts and lumber piles. Shrinkwrap can be
ventilated with accessories to prevent mold
The MK26 is suitable for locations where
external vibrations disturb sensitive
equipment.
and mildew and an optional zipper door
allows access to equipment in storage.
Shrinkwrap is available in three colors
to suit the climate. Blue absorbs heat,
which allows ice and snow to slide off.
White is best for warmer temperatures as
it reflects heat. Clear shrinkwrap allows
users to see the covered object and should
be used for indoor applications with prop-
er ventilation in cooler temperatures.
Call: 800-968-5147; e-mail: drshrink@
dr-shrink.com.
Stainless Steel Replaces
Glass in Line of Syringes
KD Scientific’s line of stainless steel
syringes is designed to be used instead of
glass syringes when pressures and forces
are high, eliminating syringe breakage. The
syringes offer good resistance to most
aggressive liquids. Wetted parts are #316
stainless steel and Viton featuring electron
beam welding.
The syringes are available in 2.5, 8, 20,
50, 100 and 200 ml sizes and have remov-
able replacement tips. They are also com-
patible with KD Scientific’s line of
automated syringe pumps.
Call: 508-429-6809; e-mail: info@
kdscientific.com.
Borescopes Check
For Defects in Deep Bores
The Hawkeye Pro and Classic Slim
borescopes from Gradient Lens check for
defects in parts and products with very
deep bores. The scopes are appropriate for
inspecting metal machined parts, firearms,
tubing and other products. The scopes’ lens
systems allow for relaying images at a long
distance while maintaining the quality of
the image. Users can see defects and sur-
face finish in deep bores and crossholes.
Available in 22 in. lengths, the scopes
feature a 0° direction-of-view and 42° field-
of-view and offer a rotating 90° direction-
of-view with a mirror tube attachment.
Call: 585-235-2620; e-mail: kindred@
gradientlens.com. QP
QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 71
 QP
REVIEWS
CMMI
Mary Beth Chrissis, Mike Konrad and Sandy
Shrum, Addison Wesley, 2007, 676 pp.,
$69.99 (book).
The second edition of CMMI:
Guidelines for Process Integration and
Product Improvement is the official
version of the Capability Maturity
Model Integration (CMMI) version 1.2.
It is well organized and clearly written.
In particular, it presents the continu-
ous and staged representations of the
model and makes the point that both
representations are synergistic and
can be considered simultaneously.
The book serves as a guide for
improvement of organizational pro-
cesses. It consists of three parts. Part
one is about CMMI for development,
part two lists generic goals, generic
practices and process areas, and part
three contains appendixes and a
detailed glossary.
Of particular interest to the QP read-
ership is the section linking CMMI to
Six Sigma. Unfortunately, this section
seems to imply that Six Sigma is
focused only on the manufacturing
world when this is not the case. Six
Sigma is widely applied in services
such as banking and healthcare, and
design for Six Sigma is clearly han-
dling issues in development process-
es. A more strategic oriented
presentation of Six Sigma would have
made the comparison more pertinent.
However, the fact that Six Sigma and
CMMI are fully compatible is made
clear.
The section on empirical software
engineering as a basis for process
improvement is another interesting
aspect for quality experts. Overall, at
CMMI Level 5 maturity, process
improvement is an empirically based
activity, turning software and system
engineering into a true engineering
discipline.
The book contains many case stud-
ies covering large and small organiza-
tions. Despite its size, it is easy to
navigate, providing both interesting
reading and an excellent reference.
Overall, the book is the most up-to-
date and comprehensive volume on
the market. I highly recommend it to
experts and practitioners alike.
Ron S. Kenett
KPA
Raanana, Israel
72 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
Getting the
Right Things Done
Pascal Dennis, Lean Enterprise Institute,
2006, 232 pp., $40 (book).
Getting the Right Things Done pro-
vides an excellent presentation of strat-
egy deployment with an emphasis on
practicality and lean. Dennis showcas-
es the elements used to change a facili-
ty from a traditional command and
control mode to one in which employ-
ees at all levels are aligned, focused
and engaged in their business.
The author gives a comprehensive
view of the process needed to success-
fully make such a conversion. Tools and
methods are not overly emphasized.
Moreover, emphasis is placed on imple-
mentation and executions in achieving
a system cycle of stabilize, flow, pull and
improve within the typical concerns of
managing a major change.
There are plenty of notes and exam-
ples provided to make comprehension
easier and to facilitate use. There are
numerous side discussions concerning
the history, motivation and experience
driving strategy deployment.
I found two minor weaknesses with
this book. There are numerous double-
wide fold-out pages included. This is
necessary to adequately show the
examples used in the story. However,
it is a distraction. The second was con-
tinual reference to Toyota, although
that might have been unavoidable
given that Toyota is the basis of
Dennis’ experience as well as one of
the largest, most successful users of
the technique.
Although I am tiring of the use of
parables, fables and stories to impart
information and teach, Dennis uses
the method well. All leaders, from the
first line supervisor to the CEO, will
benefit from this material. It does not
limit itself to manufacturing. Any
industry, including service, can easily
take the information presented and
develop a fitting, workable course of
action following the suggestions and
model presented. I am looking for
opportunities to use what I have
learned from this book and apply that
knowledge to more than just strategy
deployment.
Marc A. Feldman
Solvay Chemicals
Houston
Kanban for the
Supply Chain
Stephen Cimorelli, Productivity Press, 2006,
129 pp., $45 (book and CD-ROM).
Kanban for the Supply Chain: Fun-
damental Practices for Manufacturing
Management is designed to serve as a
primer for supply chain management
teams that want to implement kanban
pull techniques in their organizations.
This workbook gives readers an
overview of kanban and logically takes
them through the steps of setting up a
kanban system.
The workbook begins by setting up
an ABC classification system for inven-
tory and analyzing inventory behavior
using sawtooth diagrams. After that, it
explains the concepts of lead time and
lot size using the estimated order
quantity formula and statistical ana-
lyzation demand variability. The latter
half of the workbook is devoted to cov-
ering the physical implementation and
maintenance of a kanban pull system.
The major strength of this workbook
is it covers enough theory so that the
“whys” behind implementing a kan-
ban system can be explained to man-
agement and operations personnel
without confusing anyone. It also has
sufficient examples of the calculations
necessary to implement a kanban sys-
tem in enough detail that someone
with no experience in this area can
proceed with little difficulty. All of the
calculations can be performed in MS
Excel or any other spreadsheet pro-
gram with relative ease.
If there is a weakness to this work-
book, it is the accompanying CD.
Cimorelli could have included supple-
mental material, adding to the text
examples of the relevant calculations
instead of rehashing the examples
already found in the workbook.
Overall, this is a great workbook,
and one I am using in my own work. I
would recommend it to anyone who
needs to learn how to implement a
kanban inventory system.
Brian Cocolicchio
Quest Diagnostics
Teterboro, NJ
Doing More With Less
Helen Zak, The Joint Commission
Resources, 2006, 131 pp., $75 (book).
This short book serves as a leader-
ship introduction primer for healthcare
executives and quickly gets them up to
speed on lean thinking as it applies to
the healthcare industry. Doing More
With Less: Lean Thinking and Patient
Safety in Health Care makes the case
that there is a burning platform in
healthcare and the current state of
affairs cannot continue.
The Joint Commission Resources
takes all the lean gurus’ basic princi-
ples and breaks them down into five
steps: value, value stream, flow, pull
and perfection. Using these five steps,
it applies them to real life healthcare
examples. Next, the book addresses
specific challenges to lean in health-
care, so professionals cannot say
“That’s OK for manufacturing, but it
doesn’t apply to us.”
To drive the applicability even fur-
ther, three case studies are explored in
detail: Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare,
the Cancer Treatment Centers of
America at Midwestern Regional
Medical Center and ThedaCare.
This book is a good introduction to
lean and should help convince health-
care administrators and professionals
that there is a light at the end of the
tunnel and a way out of the current
morass.
award education criteria for the design R E C E N T R E L E A S E S
and operation of education systems.
This reference book offers reports
Lean for Dummies: A Guide to
on how to use the Baldrige award’s
education criteria to transform educa- Improving Performance and
tion and school systems. Examples of
topics include: getting started, getting Profits for Any Business, Natalie
buy-in, involving teachers and princi- J. Sayer and Bruce Williams, For
pals, dealing with resistance, financial
Dummies, 2007, 362 pp., $21.99 (book).
impacts, challenges, assessment, and
who to get on board as key players in
facilitating transformation. It is impor-
tant to note the programs explored The Executive Guide to
include higher education as well as Understanding and Implement-
rural and urban K-12 school systems.
Though the book focuses on the ing Lean Six Sigma: The Finan-
Baldrige award, its value comes from cial Impact, Robert M. Meisel, Steven
insights about building and delivering
J. Babb, Steven F. Marsh and James P.
successes in transformational pro-
grams. It can be read cover-to-cover or Schlichting, ASQ Quality Press, 2007, 104
by targeting specific questions. The pp., $16 member, $28 list (book).
Baldrige applications with documenta-
tion and details from specific identified
programs are presented on the CD-
ROM accompanying the book. Quality Management Essen-
I recommend this book for leaders tials, David Hoyle, Butterworth-
influencing quality transformation in
Heinemann, 2007, 216 pp., $29.95 (book).
educational programs. It should be
passed on to others considering
change, improvement and ensuring
quality-as-process and quality-as-
result in an education program.
Jerry Brong
Ellensburg, WA

Bill Baker
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Sandra Cokeley, Margaret A. Byrnes, Geri
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Press, 2007, 168 pp., $22 member, $36 list
(book and CD-ROM). Membership, ASQ 38 414-272-8575 www.asq.org

PQ Systems, Inc. 57 800-777-3020 www.pqsystems.com

Transformation to Performance
Excellence: Baldrige Education Quality Council of Indiana 10, 11 812-533-4215 www.qualitycouncil.com
Leaders Speak Out is a collection of
questions and answers and success SAI Global 2 800-374-3818 www.xlp.com
stories based on ideas specific to the
use of the Malcolm Baldrige National Statistical Process Controls 7 865-584-5005 www.spcpress.com
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with direct answers to specific ques-
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QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 73

 QP
CALENDAR
To receive information or to register for ASQ
Education Courses and Conferences, contact
Learning Offerings, ASQ, 600 N. Plankinton
Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53203, 800-248-1946,
414-272-8575, fax 414-272-1734, website
www.asq.org.
A U G U S T
8-10 Process Management: Applying
Process Mapping to Analyze and Improve
Your Operation. San Francisco. Call the
American Management Assn. at 800-262-
9699 or visit www.amaseminars.org.
14 Lean Implementation Through Value
Stream Mapping. Deerfield, WI. Call the
Assn. for Manufacturing Excellence at 224-
232-5980 or visit www.ame.org.
14-15 Practical Reliability Engineer-
ing. Portland, OR. Call Hobbs Engineering
at 303-465-5988 or visit www.hobbsengr.
com.
15-17 Statistical Analysis for Process
Improvement Using Minitab. San Fran-
cisco. Call Exsilon Data and Statistical
Solutions at 800-930-8528 or visit www.
exsilondata.com.
20-22 Managing Process Data for
Continual Improvement. Atlanta. Call Stat-
A-Matrix at 800-472-6477 or visit www.
statamatrix.com.
22 US Food Labeling Under the Food
and Drug Administration. Guelph, Ontario.
Call Guelph Food Technology Center at
519-821-1246 or visit www.gftc.ca.
28-30 Software Testing Certification:
Foundation Level Training. Columbus, OH.
Call Software Quality Engineering at 888-
268-8770 or visit www.sqe.com/register.
74 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
30-31 Advanced Quality Management 24-26 8th Annual Quest Forum Best
System Auditing for the Aviation, Space Practices Conference. Dallas. Call Quest
and Defense Industry. Hartford, CT. Call Forum at 972-661-6420 or e-mail
the Integrated Performance Leadership information@questforum.org.
Group at 239-283-2839 or e-mail training@
theiplgroup.com. 24-26 ASQ Education Course. Certified
Manager of Quality/Organization Refresher.
Toronto.
S E P T E M B E R
24-29 Achieving Business Results
5-6 Internal Consulting: Managing Through Performance Improvement.
When You Don’t Have Control. Chicago. Phoenix. Call the International Society for
Call Numerof & Associates at 314-997-1587 Performance Improvement at 301-587-8570
or visit www.nai-consulting.com. or visit www.ispi.org.
5-6 Public Green Belt Certificate
Course. Williamsburg, VA. Call the Quality
O C T O B E R
Function Deployment Institute at 734-995-
0847 or visit www.qfdi.org.
1-2 ASQ Conference. 16th Annual
11-13 7th Annual Automotive Com- Service Quality Conference. San Diego.
posites Conference and Exhibition. Troy,
11-12 ASQ Conference. 16th Annual
MI. Call the Society of Plastics Engineers
Audit Conference. Atlanta.
Automotive Division at 248-244-8993 or
visit www.4spe.org.
16-17 ASQ Conference. International
Conference on Software Quality.
16-18 37th S-Business World Confer-
Lakewood, CO.
ence and Expo. Orlando, FL. Call the Assn.
for Services Management International at
239-275-7887 x18 or e-mail csheppard@
afsmi.org.
18-19 Great Lakes 2007 Exposition
and Conference. Grand Rapids, MI. Call the
Society of Manufacturing Engineers at 800-
733-4763 or visit www.sme.org/greatlakes. Have an event you’d like
included in “QP Calendar”?
19-20 Six Sigma in Healthcare
Conference. Boston. Call the World Con- Submit information at least
ventions and Business Forums at
three months in advance to
800-959-6549 or visit www.wcbf.com/
quality. vfunk@asq.org. Non-ASQ
organizations may list one
24-25 How to Create Well Defined
Processes. Los Angeles. Call Jan Fitzgerald event per issue.
at 800-466-9953 or e-mail jan@bizmanualz.
com.
 For information on placing an ad,

Professional Services contact Ramona Garcia at 800-248-1946,

or 414-272-8575, or e-mail rgarcia@asq.org

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Career advancement? Greater opportunities? Personal development?
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California National University for Advanced Studies (CNU) is an accredited distance-learning university designed for technical and business
professionals. The CNU College of Quality and Engineering Management includes a Bachelor of Quality Assurance Science and a Master of
Engineering Management. Combining distance learning with one-on-one instruction, CNU degree programs provide maximum flexibility for maximum
growth. The Bachelor of Quality Assurance Science prepares the individual to be able to manage, plan, procure, design, and maintain an effective
Quality Assurance Program within a company. The Master of Engineering Management provides the individual with the breadth of knowledge required
for succesful project management, and with the ability to integrate knowledge from diverse disciplines.
CNU also offers seven other degree programs and courses by extension for those who prefer to begin their continued education gradually.

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Professional Services contact Ramona Garcia at 800-248-1946,

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TraKDocument
from VSV
TraKDocument is a document control management
Read Quality Progress Online Resources for Quality system software. It emphasizes workflow and audit
The full text of each issue of QP is available & Productivity Improvement management. It compares two revisions of text
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78 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org

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The Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering (EMSE) at the University
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QUALITY PROGRESS I JULY 2007 I 79

ONE GOOD
IDEA
Under One Roof
uality function deployment
Q (QFD) is a great tool for design-
ing a business based on the voice
of the customer. Many quality tools are
multifaceted. Here is how QFD and its
house of quality can be used to better
schedule and scope audits.
One of the guiding principles of
quality is cross functionality. This
principle is embedded in many cur-
rent quality management standards.
For instance, ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q9001-
2000 says the following:
“The application of a system of
processes within an organization,
together with the identification and
interactions of these processes, and
their management, can be referred to
as the ‘process approach.’
“An advantage of the process
approach is the ongoing control that it
provides over the linkage between the
individual processes within the sys-
tem of processes, as well as over their
combination and interaction.”
How do you audit interaction? In
Figure 1’s example, the columns are the
general departments at most companies
(or they could be specific processes).
The roof becomes all the interactions
between any two departments.
There are eight departments in this
example, making the number of two-
way interactions 28 (8C2). With eight
FIGURE 1 Example of
Interactions
Under One Roof
+ illustrated in Figure 2.
+
– ANSI/ASQ, 2001.
+ the interaction between the HR and
– – + –
Engineering
Purchasing
Production
Sales
HR
(+) = positive interaction between departments
(–) = negative interaction between departments to observe the actual work environ-
FIGURE 2 Supplier Output, Customer Input
Supplier Output = Input
80 I JULY 2007 I www.asq.org
by Ronald L. Sedlock
departments, the roof would be made Auditing interactions would require
up of 28 interactions. Is it necessary to
audit all 28 interactions? Probably not.
You can always do a Pareto chart and
audit the six vital few interactions.
you to expand the scope of audits to
include more than one department or
process. Auditing several departments
or processes might sound impossible
Which six? Probably by consensus we with time and budget constraints. But
can agree on four or five interactions remember, scope down audits of suppli-
ers to a specific commodity in the main
It makes sense to use process you are auditing. If nothing else,
make sure all your audits cover at least
the house of quality two departments or two processes. You
must begin auditing the way the busi-
for cross functionality ness actually operates—a system of
and interactions. processes, including interactions.
Another use of the roof is to deter-
mine how to build cross functional
of the six vital few. teams, perhaps to tackle a Six Sigma
Not only do we have four bad (–) project. If you know there is a weak
interactions, we also have four good relationship between two functions,
(+) ones. You can audit for objective why not put representatives from
evidence of the bad interactions to these areas on the same team with a
begin a process of determining root single purpose? I have seen a weak
cause and implementing effective cor- relationship become strong through a
rective action. We can audit the posi- team building process. Moreover, this
tive interactions to collect “what we strong team relationship might have a
do well” information (the appreciative spillover effect on day-to-day busi-
inquiry method). ness operations.
For example, you can audit the bad Whether forming cross functional
interaction between the engineering teams or auditing process interac-
and production departments to objec- tions, you will provide value added
tively shed light on the problem. You information for management review
can audit how the engineering depart- of the effectiveness of the quality sys-
ment produces and delivers standards tem. Using the house of quality for
to the production department. You cross functionality and interactions
can audit the production department makes sense.
on how useful it finds the engineering After all, aren’t your departments
department’s standards. A revealing and processes under one roof?
exercise is to see if the supplier output
is equal to the customer input, as BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q9001-2000 Quality
As a positive example, you can audit Management Systems—Requirements,
Juran, J.M., and Frank M. Gryna (ed.),
production departments to identify
Accounting
Juran’s Quality Control Handbook, fourth
something you want to continue and
Shipping
edition, McGraw-Hill, 1988.
Service
perhaps replicate. You can audit HR on Cooperrider, David, and Suresh Srivastva,
how it hires production workers. Research in Organizational Change and
Perhaps you would find that HR goes Development, Vol. 1, 1987, pp. 129-169.
ment. You can audit RONALD L. SEDLOCK is
the principal consultant
how the production
and trainer at the quality
department’s new
Catalyst in Melrose, FL. He
hires perform. Per- earned a bachelor’s degree
haps you would in science from Cleveland
discover that HR State University. Sedlock is
Customer receives feedback a senior member of ASQ
one month later on and past chair of ASQ sec-
how a new hire is tions 1313 in Boulder, CO and of 1506
working out. Jacksonville-Northeastern Florida.
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