Don’t Compromise on Quality

As a Quality consultant, I see companies spending a great deal of time and effort building their Quality Management Systems. Many people get involved in the beginning; all try their best to achieve their certification. However what happens after certification, and the level of long term Executive, involvement are what makes the real difference in the success of the Quality Management System in propelling satisfaction and improvement.

We Executives already have round-the-clock jobs that can make it hard to consciously and consistently do everything defined by ISO or API. But from one Executive to another, I have to say, we cannot compromise! We must not merely provide lip service that Quality is important and demand that other employees use the tools that we may have underutilized. We must sincerely follow our own processes and use the Quality Management System that we have helped establish to guide the success of our organization.

Here are some ways to ensure that we all show our commitment to Quality:

1. Align Objectives. To ensure we are customer-focused and quality-driven, our Company and Department Quality Objectives should be the same as, or in line with, our overall Company Objectives. Is this true for your organization?Ask yourself:

• Are my Company and Departmental Objectives aligned with the Quality Objectives established in our Quality Management System? NO? Chances are, we are compromising on quality.
• Do our bonuses relate to our Quality objectives? NO? Then Quality may be taking a back seat.
• Do we review the Quality Objectives only once a year, during the prescribed Management Review meeting? Yes? Our attention to quality is probably lower than the last pass under the limbo stick.

If these answers ring true, it is time to act this New Year! We must either change our Quality Objectives to those that are crucial to company success or refocus our current company objectives to align with our Quality Objectives.

2. Use the CIP or Corrective Action Program. Use issues and problems within the Quality Management System to drive improvement.
Ask yourself:

• When was the last time I asked for a CIP or corrective action to be opened when we had an issue?
• When was the last time I reviewed how many CIPs or corrective actions are open in our company?

If the answer is “last management review”, then we are not using the best improvement tool in our company. This New Year we must become familiar with our CIP or corrective action process and demand that CIPs be created for those issues. We must also follow up! This proves our Executive commitment to the Quality Management System and that we value it as a tool for company success.

3. Follow our own established procedures.
Ask yourself:

• Do we ensure Sales and Executives have procedures in place like we demand the Production department to have procedures? NO? Then we have excluded ourselves from the opportunities afforded by Quality.
• During initial certification, did we exclude some processes (i.e. Accounting and Outside Sales) because they were “not required” by ISO or API? YES? Then it may be time now to bring these processes to the same standards of consistency and repeatability that we demand from the Production, Procurements or other departments.

This year we must promote the use of standard procedures throughout our organizations. The steps of identifying consistent methods, reviewing, and improving on those methods, should lead to consistent, professional interactions with prospects and customers alike in any department or division within our companies.

Commit to Quality

I know we are busy. I know we have various important tasks to accomplish as we lead our organizations. But if we truly believe in our Quality Management Systems, if we truly believe in Quality, then we must stop compromising, stop making excuses and start leading the implementation of our Quality Management Systems ourselves.

And last but not least, where I mentioned Quality, you can substitute information security, environmental, or safety. The same premises apply to any kind of management system (e.g., information security management system, environmental management system, safety management system, etc.)