#QualityMatters

The simple fact is, #QualityMatters. As the global economic systems advance, industries previously based low cost low and cheap materials are now leading the world design and manufacturing. Edward Deming proved this in the 1950's with Japan. A recovering Japan took full advantage of the teachings of a master. Seems it might have taken China, India, and many other developing economies across the globe. Look at Apple and what Tim Cook CEO had to say about the surprising reason Apple uses China for its manufacture process.

"The number one reason why we like to be in China is the people. China has extraordinary skills. And the part that's the most unknown is there's almost 2 million application developers in China that write apps for the iOS App Store. These are some of the most innovative mobile apps in the world, and the entrepreneurs that run them are some of the most inspiring and entrepreneurial in the world. Those are sold not only here but exported around the world."

Anyone in the Tech Industry knows as well that more and more expertise in Programming and Technical Support is being pushed into India and Pakistan. A project I'm working on currently for a large Oil & Gas client informed us in the discovery process that they would prefer us to utilize their programming team in India for the project where possible.

Do not mistake my tone in this article, I have NO objection to economic and technological development outside the US. But this bring us to the point of this article. Quality Matters folks. We cannot be lazy in our approach to product, service and support. Edwards Deming himself defined quality as follows "Good quality means a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability with a quality standard suited to the customer." Journey back a couple centuries earlier and we hear Benjamin Franklin say "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."

More people were lifted from abject poverty in the last century than in any other point in mankind's history. This means that more and more people are free to pursue interests, exercise their God given talents and abilities for more than day to day survival. The Internet now makes knowledge of such manners as Quality Management from Masts like Edward Deming and Joseph Juran as well as an infinite source of information such as this article available to billions of people. While yes, the Low Cost provider will always hold a place in all supply chains, the Low Cost provider himself is held to tighter tolerances and higher standards than he was 50 year ago, and will be held to ever tighter tolerances in the next 20 years.

We must make an effort to improve quality, to attain "a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability with a quality standard suited to the customer" to continue to be competitive in the future. This means looking to the past such as with Japan under the instructions of Deming, to the GE boom of the nineties with the development of six sigma under Bill Smith, and now today to the massive product knowledge of the PREVIOUS low cost providers in China.

Quality Management requires an often new or different approach than most modern American manufactures and service providers consider. It requires insight from the Top Management (a key reason for its addition in the Annex SL standards ISO 9001/45001/14001). Management must lead the company from the front, anticipating changes, and responding those they did not see coming. The customer is in fact not always right, but that need not detract from customer service. As Henry Ford put it, had he asked his customers for what they wanted, well straight from the horses mouth "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses".

But thankfully we live in an age where resources, advice, help, software systems, auditing, consultation and training are available. As we march forward in this century, it will not be known for mass production on a global scale, but for innovation and quality. #QualityMatters.