COMM 225 — Production and Operations Management
CHAPTER 9: MANAGEMENT OF QUALITY
Comprehensive Exam Preparation Notes
1. Introduction and Evolution of Quality Management
Quality is broadly defined as the ability of a good or service to consistently meet or exceed customer
expectations. Prior to the 1980s, quality was not uppermost in the minds of most North American
managers, who focused instead on quantity, cost, and productivity. However, as foreign companies —
particularly Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Honda — captured significant North American
market share, businesses were forced to reassess their views on quality. Companies began embracing
quality improvement programs and recognized that quality is not a feature tacked on, but an integral
part of every product or service.
Evolution of Quality Management
The evolution of quality management can be traced through several distinct phases:
• Pre-Industrial Revolution: Skilled craftsmen performed all stages of production. Pride of
workmanship, peer assessment, and reputation drove quality. Guild apprenticeships reinforced
these values. One person or a small group was responsible for the entire product.
• Industrial Revolution (Factories): Division of labour meant each worker was responsible for only
a small portion of a product. This reduced pride of workmanship but increased the importance of
producing to standards (for interchangeable parts). Quality control (QC) — monitoring, testing,
and correcting quality problems after they occur — shifted to supervisors and full-time QC
inspectors. In many cases, 100% end-of-line inspection was used.
• 1930s: Dodge, Romig, and Shewhart developed statistical procedures for sampling and quality
control — the foundation for modern statistical process control (SPC).
• 1950s — Quality Assurance Era: Quality evolved into quality assurance, which means ensuring
quality by preventing defects before they occur (proactive rather than reactive). Operators
gained more responsibility for quality during production. Key gurus emerged: Deming, Juran,
Feigenbaum, and Crosby.
• 1960s–1970s: Kaoru Ishikawa developed cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagrams and
implemented Quality Control Circles (QCCs). Genichi Taguchi developed the Taguchi Loss
Function. Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo developed kaizen (continuous improvement) at
Toyota. NASA and Pillsbury created HACCP for food safety.
• 1980s — Total Quality Management (TQM): Quality management became strategic. TQM
placed greater emphasis on customer satisfaction and involved all levels of management and
workers in continuous improvement (kaizen). The ISO 9000 standards for quality management
systems were created.
• Present — Six Sigma: Organizations now pursue a rigorous problem-solving and process
improvement approach using sophisticated statistical tools. Six Sigma targets no more than 3.4
defects per million opportunities.
,Quality Gurus
The following table summarizes the key contributions of the most important quality gurus:
Contributor Key Contributions
W. Edwards Deming 14 Points for quality; distinguishing special vs. common causes of
variation; promoted PDSA cycle; believed management, not workers,
is responsible for quality problems
Joseph M. Juran Quality is 'fitness for use'; Quality Trilogy (planning, control,
improvement); first to measure cost of quality; ~80% of defects are
management-controllable
Armand Feigenbaum Quality is a 'total field' (Total Quality Control); concept of quality at the
source (jidoka); cross-functional teamwork; systems thinking applied to
quality
Philip B. Crosby 'Quality is free'; zero defects concept; 'Do it right the first time';
prevention over inspection; quality costs are greatly underestimated
Kaoru Ishikawa Cause-and-effect diagram (fishbone/Ishikawa diagram); Quality
Control Circles (QCCs)
Genichi Taguchi Taguchi Quality Loss Function — any deviation from target represents
cost; focus on reducing variation
Taiichi Ohno & Shigeo Continuous improvement (kaizen); developed at Toyota; improvement
Shingo of all aspects of production
Walter Shewhart Control charts; variance reduction; foundational work in statistical
quality control
W. Edwards Deming
A statistics professor at New York University in the 1940s, Deming went to Japan after WWII to help
improve quality and productivity. Japan revered him so highly that the Deming Prize was established in
his name in 1951. He worked with the Japanese for almost 30 years before North American companies
sought his assistance.
Core belief: The cause of inefficiency and poor quality is the system, not the employees. It is
management's responsibility to correct the system.
Key distinction: Deming stressed reducing variation by distinguishing between special causes of
variation (assignable/correctable — e.g., machine malfunction, untrained worker) and common
causes of variation (random/inherent to the process). This distinction is the foundation of Statistical
Process Control (SPC).
Deming's 14 Points (the prescription for quality in an organization):
1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service.
2. Reduce levels of delays, mistakes, defective materials, and defective workmanship.
3. Cease dependence on mass inspection. Prevent defects rather than detect them.
4. Eliminate suppliers that cannot qualify with statistical evidence of quality.
5. Find problems. Management must work continually on system improvement.
6. Institute modern methods of training on the job.
7. Emphasize quality instead of volume. Management must take immediate action on barriers to
quality.
8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.
, 9. Break down barriers between departments. Research, design, sales, and production must work
as a team.
10. Eliminate goals and slogans asking for new levels of productivity without providing methods.
11. Eliminate work standards that prescribe numerical quotas.
12. Remove barriers that stand between the hourly worker and their right to pride of workmanship.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and retraining.
14. Create a structure in top management that will push every day on the above 13 points.
Joseph M. Juran
Like Deming, Juran taught Japanese manufacturers to improve quality and is credited as a major force
in Japan's success. His Quality Control Handbook (1951) was foundational.
• Quality defined as: 'Fitness for use' — quality is whatever the customer requires in their
particular use of the product.
• ~80% of quality defects are controllable by management — management has the responsibility
to correct them.
Quality Trilogy:
• Quality Planning: Establish processes capable of meeting quality standards.
• Quality Control: Know when corrective action is needed.
• Quality Improvement: Find better ways of doing things.
• First guru to measure the cost of quality and demonstrate the profit potential from reducing poor
quality costs.
Armand Feigenbaum
Director of manufacturing at General Electric (1958–1968). Recognized that quality was not just tools
and techniques but a 'total field' — hence Total Quality Control.
• When improvements are made in one process, other areas of the company also benefit —
systems thinking.
• Introduced quality at the source (jidoka in Japanese): avoid passing defective products to the
next workstation; stop and fix the problem immediately.
• Created an environment for cross-functional teamwork and open communication.
Philip B. Crosby
• Developed the concept of zero defects while at Martin Marietta Company in the 1960s.
• Popularized the phrase: 'Do it right the first time.'
• Stressed prevention over inspection; argued against the idea that some level of defects is
acceptable.
• 'Quality is free': The costs of poor quality far exceed the costs of quality efforts. Quality
improvements more than pay for themselves.
• Top management must demonstrate commitment; management must be persistent;
management must clearly define quality expectations.
CHAPTER 9: MANAGEMENT OF QUALITY
Comprehensive Exam Preparation Notes
1. Introduction and Evolution of Quality Management
Quality is broadly defined as the ability of a good or service to consistently meet or exceed customer
expectations. Prior to the 1980s, quality was not uppermost in the minds of most North American
managers, who focused instead on quantity, cost, and productivity. However, as foreign companies —
particularly Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Honda — captured significant North American
market share, businesses were forced to reassess their views on quality. Companies began embracing
quality improvement programs and recognized that quality is not a feature tacked on, but an integral
part of every product or service.
Evolution of Quality Management
The evolution of quality management can be traced through several distinct phases:
• Pre-Industrial Revolution: Skilled craftsmen performed all stages of production. Pride of
workmanship, peer assessment, and reputation drove quality. Guild apprenticeships reinforced
these values. One person or a small group was responsible for the entire product.
• Industrial Revolution (Factories): Division of labour meant each worker was responsible for only
a small portion of a product. This reduced pride of workmanship but increased the importance of
producing to standards (for interchangeable parts). Quality control (QC) — monitoring, testing,
and correcting quality problems after they occur — shifted to supervisors and full-time QC
inspectors. In many cases, 100% end-of-line inspection was used.
• 1930s: Dodge, Romig, and Shewhart developed statistical procedures for sampling and quality
control — the foundation for modern statistical process control (SPC).
• 1950s — Quality Assurance Era: Quality evolved into quality assurance, which means ensuring
quality by preventing defects before they occur (proactive rather than reactive). Operators
gained more responsibility for quality during production. Key gurus emerged: Deming, Juran,
Feigenbaum, and Crosby.
• 1960s–1970s: Kaoru Ishikawa developed cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagrams and
implemented Quality Control Circles (QCCs). Genichi Taguchi developed the Taguchi Loss
Function. Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo developed kaizen (continuous improvement) at
Toyota. NASA and Pillsbury created HACCP for food safety.
• 1980s — Total Quality Management (TQM): Quality management became strategic. TQM
placed greater emphasis on customer satisfaction and involved all levels of management and
workers in continuous improvement (kaizen). The ISO 9000 standards for quality management
systems were created.
• Present — Six Sigma: Organizations now pursue a rigorous problem-solving and process
improvement approach using sophisticated statistical tools. Six Sigma targets no more than 3.4
defects per million opportunities.
,Quality Gurus
The following table summarizes the key contributions of the most important quality gurus:
Contributor Key Contributions
W. Edwards Deming 14 Points for quality; distinguishing special vs. common causes of
variation; promoted PDSA cycle; believed management, not workers,
is responsible for quality problems
Joseph M. Juran Quality is 'fitness for use'; Quality Trilogy (planning, control,
improvement); first to measure cost of quality; ~80% of defects are
management-controllable
Armand Feigenbaum Quality is a 'total field' (Total Quality Control); concept of quality at the
source (jidoka); cross-functional teamwork; systems thinking applied to
quality
Philip B. Crosby 'Quality is free'; zero defects concept; 'Do it right the first time';
prevention over inspection; quality costs are greatly underestimated
Kaoru Ishikawa Cause-and-effect diagram (fishbone/Ishikawa diagram); Quality
Control Circles (QCCs)
Genichi Taguchi Taguchi Quality Loss Function — any deviation from target represents
cost; focus on reducing variation
Taiichi Ohno & Shigeo Continuous improvement (kaizen); developed at Toyota; improvement
Shingo of all aspects of production
Walter Shewhart Control charts; variance reduction; foundational work in statistical
quality control
W. Edwards Deming
A statistics professor at New York University in the 1940s, Deming went to Japan after WWII to help
improve quality and productivity. Japan revered him so highly that the Deming Prize was established in
his name in 1951. He worked with the Japanese for almost 30 years before North American companies
sought his assistance.
Core belief: The cause of inefficiency and poor quality is the system, not the employees. It is
management's responsibility to correct the system.
Key distinction: Deming stressed reducing variation by distinguishing between special causes of
variation (assignable/correctable — e.g., machine malfunction, untrained worker) and common
causes of variation (random/inherent to the process). This distinction is the foundation of Statistical
Process Control (SPC).
Deming's 14 Points (the prescription for quality in an organization):
1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service.
2. Reduce levels of delays, mistakes, defective materials, and defective workmanship.
3. Cease dependence on mass inspection. Prevent defects rather than detect them.
4. Eliminate suppliers that cannot qualify with statistical evidence of quality.
5. Find problems. Management must work continually on system improvement.
6. Institute modern methods of training on the job.
7. Emphasize quality instead of volume. Management must take immediate action on barriers to
quality.
8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.
, 9. Break down barriers between departments. Research, design, sales, and production must work
as a team.
10. Eliminate goals and slogans asking for new levels of productivity without providing methods.
11. Eliminate work standards that prescribe numerical quotas.
12. Remove barriers that stand between the hourly worker and their right to pride of workmanship.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and retraining.
14. Create a structure in top management that will push every day on the above 13 points.
Joseph M. Juran
Like Deming, Juran taught Japanese manufacturers to improve quality and is credited as a major force
in Japan's success. His Quality Control Handbook (1951) was foundational.
• Quality defined as: 'Fitness for use' — quality is whatever the customer requires in their
particular use of the product.
• ~80% of quality defects are controllable by management — management has the responsibility
to correct them.
Quality Trilogy:
• Quality Planning: Establish processes capable of meeting quality standards.
• Quality Control: Know when corrective action is needed.
• Quality Improvement: Find better ways of doing things.
• First guru to measure the cost of quality and demonstrate the profit potential from reducing poor
quality costs.
Armand Feigenbaum
Director of manufacturing at General Electric (1958–1968). Recognized that quality was not just tools
and techniques but a 'total field' — hence Total Quality Control.
• When improvements are made in one process, other areas of the company also benefit —
systems thinking.
• Introduced quality at the source (jidoka in Japanese): avoid passing defective products to the
next workstation; stop and fix the problem immediately.
• Created an environment for cross-functional teamwork and open communication.
Philip B. Crosby
• Developed the concept of zero defects while at Martin Marietta Company in the 1960s.
• Popularized the phrase: 'Do it right the first time.'
• Stressed prevention over inspection; argued against the idea that some level of defects is
acceptable.
• 'Quality is free': The costs of poor quality far exceed the costs of quality efforts. Quality
improvements more than pay for themselves.
• Top management must demonstrate commitment; management must be persistent;
management must clearly define quality expectations.
