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M AY 2 0 1 8 | Q U A L I T Y P R O G R E S S .
C O M
3-D Printing’s Waste Practical vs.

New Frontiers Makes For Statistical
Opportunity Significance
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| M AY 2 0 1 8
The official publication of ASQ
Mind the
COST OF QUALITY
Arrival and departure curves

help demystify customer flow
VOLUME 51 | NUMBER 5
The Global Voice of Quality

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FEATURES
Line Work
18 38 What’s Your Strategy?
Using arrival and departure curves allows you The best-laid strategic plans can go to waste
to analyze a queuing system so you can make if they aren’t quality centered. Tactical plans,
the right adjustments to improve the flow of too, must be thorough and thoughtful to
customers you serve or products you make. ensure quality results and improvement.
by Ricardo G. Fierro by John R. Dew
28 Beds, Math and Beyond 46 Mapping the Way

By analyzing data and studying patient flow, a Better understand your customers and plan
Canadian hospital redesigned its bed assignment improvement projects, processes or products
approach, allowing it to increase patient capacity with customer journey maps.
and avoid canceling surgeries. by Lisa Custer
by Manoj Sharma
INSIDE
EXCLUSIVES
at qualityprogress.com
Pick and Choose

Review a selection of QP articles
recommended by editors.
May 2018
Daily Dose
Check Quality News Today for the
latest quality-related headlines.
VOLUME 51 ● NUMBER 5 Volviendo a los fundamentos

Back to Basics translated into Spanish.
qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 3

INSIDE
May 2018
8 10 52 56
6 Seen and Heard 16 My Quality Story 68 Footnotes

The three A’s of a quality professional.
8 Expert Answers 72 Back to Basics

What it means to be 'professional.' 52 Innovation Imperative Why measuring cost of quality
Using cost of quality to set innovation matters.
efforts in motion.
A
10 Progress Report
3-D printing adds up in various ways.
Statistics Spotlight
A
PLUS 56
Getting to Know … Placing greater emphasis on the
William Meyer practical significance.
A
12 Mr. Pareto Head
62 Standard Issues
A QMS is more than just paperwork.
14 Career Coach
Dealing with ‘dirty’ jobs.
66 Marketplace 16
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4 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

FOREWORD
The quality inside Quality Progress
Putting the ‘Q’ in Queue

A tool for reducing customer wait times
Nothing is more certain in life than death, taxes and a long why this is so important as a foundation with “What’s Your
line when you least want to stand in one. While lines may be Strategy?” p. 38.
part of life, quality approaches can be used to streamline lines— This month’s Innovation Imperative column, p. 52, looks at
or queuing systems—by using tools to improve efficiency in cost of quality with a positive spin. When it comes down to it,
serving customers, cutting down wait times and using available writes author Peter Merrill, the greater the waste, the greater
resources most effectively. In “Line Work,” p. 18, learn how to the opportunity to innovate. He goes on to provide the steps for
use arrival and departure (AD) curves to analyze customer flow conducting a cost of waste innovation activity. You’ll quickly see
leading to reduced wait times and improved service quality. The where all those dollars are adding up.
tool can be applied in manufacturing, too (read a case study in One of the most innovative technologies out there right
the sidebar, "That's Amore," p. 24). now is 3-D printing. In “Multi-Dimensional Future,” p. 10, get a
How often do you run into the “We’ve always done it that way” rundown of how this game-changing technology is being used
mentality? In “Beds, Math and Beyond,” p. 28, quality profession- across many industries.
als within a hospital took on an ingrained culture and practices to
examine bed assignment processes in its day-surgery unit. Their
new approach allowed the hospital to reduce the number of
surgeries that needed to be delayed or canceled and streamlined
bed assignments, saving the unit money and improving patient
satisfaction.
Any project or initiative is an uphill battle if you don’t have the
correct strategy in place. And failure is much more likely if that Seiche Sanders
strategy doesn’t have quality at its core. Show your executives Editor in Chief and Publisher
SAC Sylvester (Bud) Newton Jr., Alcoa Administrative Committee

TCC Daniella A. Picciotti, QMS Alliance Brady Boggs, Randy Brull, Larry Haugh,
Jim Jaquess, R. Dan Reid, Richard Stump
Secretary William J. Troy, ASQ
Directors Technical Reviewers
Donald Brecken Ferris State University Naveen Agarwal, Ashraf Ali, Suresh Anaganti,
Heather Crawford Apollo Endosurgery M. Onur Artan, Andy Barnett, Matthew
Jim Creiman Northrop Grumman Corp. Barsalou, David Bonyuet, David Burger,
ASQ’s Vision Brooks Carder, Bernie Carpenter, L.N. Prabhu
Ha C. Dao Emerson Climate Technologies
By making quality a global priority, an Chandrasekaran, Ken Cogan, Linda Cubalchini-
organizational imperative and a personal ethic, James Kittredge Adaptimmune US
Travis, Ahmad Elshennawy, Mark Gavoor,
the American Society for Quality becomes the Scott Moeller GI Supply Kunita Gear, Daniel Gold, T. Gourishankar,
community for everyone who seeks quality Raul Molteni Molteni Consulting Roberto Guzman, Ellen Hardy, Lynne Hare,
technology, concepts or tools to improve Luis G. Morales Verizon Telematics Inc. Victoria Jones, Trevor Jordan, Ray Klotz, T.M.
themselves and their world. Mark Moyer CAMLS Kubiak, William LaFollette, Scott Laman, Pradip
Barrie Simpson Genentech Access Solutions Mehta, N.S. Narahari, Arind Parthasarathy,
ASQ Administration JoAnn Sternke Pewaukee School District Larry Picciano, Gene Placzkowski, Tony Polito,
CEO William J. Troy Peter Pylipow, Imran Ahmad Rana, Narahari
John Vandenbemden Q-Met-Tech
Senior Leadership Allen Wong Abbott Vittal Rao, John Richards, James Rooney,
Andrew Baines Lindsey Linder Ayman Sakr, Manboubeh Samghabadi, Brian
Ann Jordan Brian Savoie Administration Scullin, Abhijit Sengupta, Amitava Sengupta,
Lynelle Korte Jim Templin William J. Troy, CEO Mohit Sharma, A.V. Srinivas, Adrian Tan, Joe
Seiche Sanders, Publisher Tunner, B. Vaithiyanathan, Manu Vora, Keith
Wagoner, Jack Westfall, Doron Zilbershtein
QP Editorial Review Board
Chair Elmer Corbin, IBM Randy Brull, Chair
Chair-Elect Benito Flores,
To promote discussion of issues in the field of quality and ensure coverage of all responsible points of view, Quality
Universidad De Monterrey Progress publishes articles representing conflicting and minority views. Opinions expressed are those of the
Past Chair Eric Hayler, BMW Manufacturing 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.
Treasurer Francisco “Paco” Lopez, Metalsa

SEEN&HEARD
Reader reactions from around the world
EXCELLENT BBQ
I must tell you how inspiring “A Different
Kind of BBQ” is (March 2018, pp. 24-30). Yes,
it’s all about behavior. But more importantly,
it should be about the motivation behind
the behavior. It must be genuinely from the
heart. One of the best quotes I’ve heard is: “If
you’re doing it for the show, you’re missing
the dough.” The behavior must not be moti-
vated by doing it for the show.
Alexander Lau, Whitby, Ontario
“A Different Kind of BBQ” is excellent. All organizations should

adopt these practices not only for quality improvements, but
very possibly to improve all areas of manufacturing businesses
and environments.
Rocky McLain, Spring, TX
FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

“Serious About Samples” (April 2018, pp. 18-23) has good
information and is well explained. I’m saving this article for future TRAILBLAZER
guidelining. In response to “Career Coach: The Long and Winding
Deanna Glover, Everett, MA Road” (March 2018, pp. 14-15): Thank you for such an
inspirational article. We must create and follow our
“Serious About Samples” offers a nice in-a-nutshell summary for own paths.
process monitoring. Shivon Scope, Philippine, Trinidad and Tobago
Osman Kursun, Gebze, Turkey
RELATABLE
In response to “Career Coach: Shades of Gray”
THE REACTION GAUGE

(January 2018, pp. 14-15): Good article! I like the real
life, relatable example and thoughts about what to
consider when operating in the gray area. It’s import-
this month's question ant to be seen in the organization as a partner, not
a cop—though it’s hard to avoid sometimes. These
ê
are situations in which we can explain processes and

In light of the highly publicized Facebook data
breaches, what steps should organizations be taking approaches, and how we think about managing risk to
to protect their customers’ data? What steps is your achieve objectives.
organization taking, and is it enough? What does the
Shelly Wearn, Midland, MI
future of data protection look like?
REREAD
“Six Sigma Solutions: Break From Routine” (February
Send us your take at editor@asq.org. Or join the 2018, pp. 50-52) is an excellent article worthy of many
discussion on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/ reads. Thanks!
groups/3633. Daijun Huang, Chongqing City, China

FLEXIBLE TRAINING THAT FITS
YOUR SCHEDULE AND BUDGET
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schedule, or the flexibility of attending an online course, ASQ provides
e-learning options designed for your unique needs.
Learn on your own with web-based instruction materials, or with virtual

training led by subject matter experts.
For more information, visit asq.org/training/catalog.

Subject matter experts take on your quality-related queries
THIS MONTH'S FIRST QUESTION ++ Show common courtesy

Common courtesies of professionalism include
I hear the term “quality professional” greeting others with a handshake, using
professional titles and formal writing styles
all the time. Is it a title that requires in correspondence, and using niceties such
education, training or certification? as “please” and “thank you” when making
Or is it just a self-appointed title that requests.
has no real requirements other than Refrain from foul or inappropriate language
as well as rude, off-color or insensitive jokes.
working in a quality function? Don’t interrupt others, take phone calls in
meetings or take your attention away from a
client or colleague to check text messages or
emails.
OUR RESPONSE
++ Employ honest and ethical behaviors
“Professional” is defined in using appropriate language and Professional behavior commands a sense
many ways by a multitude of not disparaging the opinions of of honesty and ethics. This includes always
self-proclaimed experts. others. Professionals respect representing yourself and your organization
But what determines a each other’s time, talents and accurately, and conducting fair business
person’s level of professional- abilities, and don’t overstep their
ism isn’t related to academic bounds.
degrees, number of certifica- This means being on time
tions held or a zillion years of for appointments, finding
experience—although those skill something of value in others’
sets obviously contribute to a work, and providing feedback
person’s individual status. and constructive criticism in a
Professionalism is the way in thoughtful manner. Respect for
which businesspeople interact shared space includes clean-
with their colleagues, clients and ing up after yourself, sharing
customers. While the degree resources and not polluting
and category of professionalism common areas with loud
varies from one line of work sounds, smells or clutter.
to another, many of the basic
tenets remain the same: Individ-
uals who exhibit high degrees
of professionalism typically are
viewed in higher regard by their
customers and those with whom
they work.
++ Have respect
Having respect for others in
a professional sense involves
understanding boundaries,

practices. Don’t lie or mislead
customers or prospects.
Strive to meet all contractual
obligations as agreed upon and
make good on any promises that
are delayed, or provide notice
of duties that you are unable to THIS MONTH'S SECOND QUESTION
fulfill. Avoid real and perceived
conflicts of interest to the best of
If a delivery is missed or late, is the
your ability.
price of the load reported in the cost of
++ Maintain a professional quality, or just the profit from the load?
appearance
The way you look at work says
a lot about the degree of pro-
fessionalism you have and how OUR RESPONSE
you view your role in the orga-
nization. Always be clean and The cost of a missed or late delivery should not be included in the cost
well-groomed, and follow attire of quality unless the delivery was missed because of a quality issue.
standards for your industry. Avoid If the missed or late delivery was caused by a quality issue, the price
wearing inappropriate clothing or you would have charged the customer for the shipment should be
items not seen in a typical office reported in the cost of quality. If you would have charged a customer
environment. Dressing in a con- $10,000 for a shipment that was missed or late, for example, the amount
servative manner conveys a sense reported in the cost of quality should be $10,000 because that is the
of professionalism and respect amount your organization is out (at least for now).
for your job, your colleagues and You will create confusion if the cost of quality includes the cost of a
your customers. missed or late delivery that isn’t related to a quality issue. It will incorrectly
raise the cost of quality, and the stage will be set for internal disagree-
++ Carry a positive attitude ment, blame finding and interdepartmental fighting.
A professional is positive and Instead, costs unrelated to quality issues should be reported under a
doesn’t disparage others, repeat separate heading or title, such as “Cost of missed or late delivery,” and the
gossip or illicit dissent among col- reason for each cost also should be noted.
leagues. Don’t complain publicly, For example, if you forget to ship a load and it results in the customer
talk badly about coworkers or cancelling its order—which has nothing to do with quality—the cost
customers, or malign the organi- should be reported under a separate heading or title, as mentioned ear-
zation in any way. Leave personal lier. Here again, the amount you would have charged the customer for the
issues at home and don’t waste shipment should be reported because that’s the amount the organization
your time or that of your fellow lost when the customer cancelled its order.
employees with idle chit chat. However you choose to capture and report cost of quality, it is import-
Always communicate in a profes- ant to do it consistently throughout the organization (for all product lines
sional manner. and plants).
This response was written by This response was written by Pradip V. Mehta, Mehta Consulting LLC,
Bernie Carpenter, lead auditor, Coppell, TX.
Carpenter Services Group Inc.,
Costa Mesa, CA.

A digest of
trends, research
& late-breaking
news
M A N U FAC T U R I N G
Multi-
Dimensional
in 2019 and available to consumers
for $10,000. It weighs less than 1,000
pounds, has a top speed of 43 mph and
can go 93 miles on a single charge.6
Future
Aerospace: NASA is 3-D printing
engine parts to make its heavy-lift
3-D printing keeps rockets more affordable. According to
NASA, “The 3-D printed part tested,
growing by leaps called the pogo accumulator, is a beach-
and bounds in ball-sized piece of hardware that acts
as a shock absorber by regulating liquid
It’s like a science fiction novel come to life: just about every oxygen movement in the engine to pre-
Automakers are now 3-D printing entire vent the vibrations that can destabilize
vehicles. Scientists can 3-D print body
industry a rocket’s flight.
parts—and not just prosthetic limbs, but “By 3-D printing the pogo accu-
human organs, like livers. You can even buy a mulator, more than 100 welds were
desktop 3-D printer for your personal use for automotive to healthcare. Here are eliminated, reducing costs by nearly
as little as a few hundred dollars. some highlights: 35% and production time by more
Automotive: Several leading auto- than 80%. Initial reports show the
What exactly is 3-D makers and suppliers (Ford, Bugatti 3-D printed hardware performed as
printing, anyway? and BMW-owned Mini) have begun expected, opening the door for more
Also known as additive manufacturing, 3-D 3-D printing various parts in a vehicle, components scheduled for future
printing is the process of creating a solid such as brake calipers and spoilers. 3 tests.”7
object by printing it layer by layer. The object In addition, one automaker is 3-D NASA also is allowing Relativity
is first designed on a computer using 3-D printing entire vehicles. A Chinese Space, a small rocket startup, to use the
modeling software or from data gathered manufacturer, Polymaker, and Italian Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to
from a 3-D scanner.1 Instead of the digital vehicle manufacturer, X Electrical Vehi- develop 3-D printed parts that will “sim-
image being one solid piece, however, it’s cle, teamed up to create the LSEV—an plify and reduce the cost of building
comprised of thousands of very thin layers. electric vehicle that is the world’s first rockets.”8
The printer heats up filament, such as plastic, 3-D printed car. The only parts of the Relativity Space’s CEO, Tim Ellis, said
so it becomes pliable and can be extruded vehicle that aren’t 3-D printed are the his organization is using the innovative
through a nozzle. The printer then builds the windows, tires and chassis.4 manufacturing method to reduce the
image up from the bottom, printing each By 3-D printing the vehicle, the number of parts used to build a rocket,
layer of filament on top of the previous one. 2 manufacturer reduced the number of which in turn will create simpler, safer
plastic parts used in the LSEV to 57, and cheaper rockets.9
Myriad uses compared to the 2,000 used in con- Healthcare: Possibly one of the most
The uses for 3-D printing are countless and ventional manufacturing methods. 5 noteworthy uses of 3-D printing is in
growing, revolutionizing every industry from The LSEV will be mass produced the healthcare industry, where it’s being

used to create everything from artificial any shape. With further development, this
limbs to biomedicines. With a 3-D bio- technology could potentially be used to
printer, medical professionals can recreate print living tissue and organ structures for
small organs and even blood vessels.10 surgical implantation.” 14
San Diego-based Organovo, for exam- The Armed Forces Institute of Regen- BALDRIGE PROGRAM
ple, uses cells from donor organs to create erative Medicine hopes to use WFIRM and
“bio-ink” that can be used to print small
sections of organ tissue.11 Organovo sees
Atala’s regenerative medicine to heal inju-
ries sustained by soldiers in battle. WFIRM
Baldrige
using bioprinted tissue as an alternative to
animal testing and human clinical trials.12
graduate student Margaret vanSchaayk
also is working on the project.
Funding
National U.K. funding agency Medical
Research Council (MRC) also is exper-
“Eventually, the idea is that a bioprinted
muscle construct could work functionally
Restored
imenting with 3-D bioprinting organs. and structurally for someone who has Government funding for the Malcolm
David Hay, a scientist funded by the MRC suffered a large-scale muscle defect in Baldrige Performance Excellence
Center for Regenerative Medicine at the trauma,” vanSchaayk said. “This is often Program has been restored. Federal
University of Edinburgh, is focused on seen in combat injuries. There aren’t funding for the program was cut in
creating 3-D printed liver tissue to treat great options now for regaining use and 2012, but $2.2 million was earmarked
chronic liver disease. appearance of the muscle [soldiers] are in a spending bill signed in early April
Although Hay and his team have only missing. If there was a way to implant by President Donald Trump.
been able to keep their 3-D printed tissue bioengineered muscle that could integrate Since fiscal year 2012, salaries and
alive for a year, he remains optimistic. with their body, they could gain structure expenses for the program’s employees
“The short to midterm goal would be and function without amputation.” 15 and operations—more than $22 million
looking at a ‘bridge’ to transplant. The in private funds—had been covered
long-term objective would be to create Just another fad? by the Foundation for the Malcolm
a liver implant that would provide liver Traditional manufacturing has been Baldrige National Quality Award.
support for longer,” Hay said.13 around for decades. Could 3-D printing “Now, through our advocacy efforts
One of the major benefits of using 3-D truly revolutionize it? Is it a technology over the past three years, we have
printed tissue is the patient’s body doesn’t that will continue to advance, or is it just restored the federal government’s
identify the tissue as foreign, which is another fad? commitment to our public-private
what often happens during traditional The advantages of 3-D printing suggest partnership,” said Al Faber, president
organ transplants. That means patients it could have a long-lasting impact: and CEO of the foundation. “Work-
who receive 3-D printed organs that are Reduced waste. In 3-D printing, the ing with members of Congress on
printed from their own “bio-ink” don’t amount of waste material produced the Senate and House, Commerce,
have to take immunosuppression drugs. during production is greatly reduced. Tra- Justice, Science and Related Agen-
In the United States, the Wake For- ditional manufacturing methods, such as cies Subcommittees, we have built
est Institute for Regenerative Medicine injection molding, require extra material to relationships and support where
(WFIRM) in Winston-Salem, NC, has fill the molds, and perforated sheet metal none previously existed. Many in both
successfully printed ear, bone and muscle assembly produces scrap material. While chambers, and on both sides of the
structures. According to WFIRM director this material can be reused, it must first be aisle, have shown their willingness to
Anthony Atala: recycled, which is an added financial and help.”
“This novel tissue and organ printer time cost for the organization. For more information about the
is an important advance in our quest to According to PricewaterhouseCoopers foundation’s efforts to restore
make replacement tissue for patients. It (PwC), an average of 21% of materials funding, visit https://tinyurl.com/
can fabricate stable, human-scale tissue of globally is waste product. In contrast, the baldrige-funding.
continued on page 12 

some metals, for example, is too high to
Multi-Dimensional Future
work with a 3-D printer. 21
According to Gartner research direc-
tor Pete Basiliere, although 3-D printing
continued from page 11
improves some aspects of traditional
wasted material in 3-D printing is about are needed) and a significant decrease manufacturing, it won’t ever replace it.
10%. The process has virtually no waste or in storage costs. The savings could be “Complete replacement will never
scrap because it uses only enough mate- considerable. An analysis estimates that happen because there are too many
rial to create the product.16 suppliers could realize an average savings items that are made in such high volumes,
“Today, only 0.01% of all manufacturing of 20% in total cost of ownership.” 18 without any changes from item to item,
output of finished products is 3-D printed Increased innovation. 3-D printing is that traditional, highly efficient, long-run
(the majority being used for prototype much less restrictive than traditional manu- manufacturing technologies will always
production). If that adoption rate hits 20% facturing. If you can design it on a computer, be more efficient and cost-effective than
of all manufacturing in the next 25 years, you can 3-D print it. Because there are no 3-D printing,” said Basiliere. “On the other
the amount of manufacturing waste could machining or molding constraints—and hand, 3-D printing revolutionizes certain
drop to 18%. If 3-D printing adoption hits the cost of failure is only as expensive as industries, as well as short run and custom
50% of all manufacturing, waste could the material used—product designers and production in almost all industries.”22
drop to 13%—about 40% below today’s developers have freedom to try new things
numbers,” said PwC.17 without worrying about cost.19 Here to stay
Reduced cost. 3-D printing is increas- In the healthcare industry, 3-D printing The 3-D printing industry is rapidly
ing in popularity in the spare parts allows scientists to do something traditional expanding, and it’s expected to grow to
industry due to the ability to print parts manufacturing can’t—recreate organs with $12.8 billion in worldwide revenue this year
on demand. This means organizations no living tissue. It also allows certain medical and exceed $21 billion by 2020. 23
longer need physical space to store and devices to be customized to individual Sculpteo’s “State of 3-D Printing—2017”
maintain an inventory of parts, which is patients. For example, 98% of the world’s report, for example, showed that 49% of
especially useful for parts that aren’t often hearing aids are now 3-D printed to fit each organizations surveyed increased their
requested. patient’s unique ear shape.20 3-D printing expenses last year, and 72%
A survey by PwC’s global strategy Despite these benefits, 3-D printing is expect to spend more again this year. 24
consulting team of 38 German spare still a relatively new technology and has The survey also found that as 3-D printing
parts suppliers and buyers found that, its limitations and drawbacks. Because it gains in popularity, organizations are
“being able to transition from physically is an additive process, the surface of a 3-D expanding and developing new depart-
storing parts to making them on demand printed object isn’t as smooth as some- ments around the technology.
could result in shorter lead times, less thing that has been molded, for example. “3-D printing is getting more profes-
logistics planning, lower shipping costs 3-D printers also are limited in the mate- sional, [so it] needs specific departments,
(by producing parts closer to where they rials they can print. The melting point of and specific experts: designers who can
Mr. Pareto Head By Mike Crossen

consider the specific 3-D printing constraints, engineers who
study 3-D printing materials and how the printing process
impacts an object’s properties, and operators who under-
stand how to operate each 3-D printers,” the survey said. 25
Most organizations that have adopted 3-D printing currently GETTING TO KNOW…
William Meyer
use it for prototyping and proof of concept. But it’s clear that’s
just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what this technology can
do. As more organizations adopt and experiment with it, its
role in several industries will likely only increase. Who knows? current position education
Maybe in 30 years, we’ll all be driving 3-D printed cars. An MBA from University of
Quality assurance specialist for
—compiled by Lindsay Dal Porto, assistant editor the Defense Contract Manage- Phoenix, a master’s degree in
EDITOR’S NOTE ment Agency, specializing in quality systems management
supporting NASA programs. from the National Graduate
References listed in this article can be found on the Progress Report School of Quality Management
webpage at qualityprogress.com. and a master’s degree in project
management from Keller Grad-
uate School of Management.
ASQ What was your semester with Mr. all of the positions at
introduction to Bova and everything one time or another.
2 Honorary Members Named quality? just seemed to click

and fall into place. It
was a breakthrough
What notewor-
thy activities or
Two long-time ASQ members have been I originally worked moment for me and achievements
elected as ASQ honorary members: as a machinist and built the foundation
++ Ronald D. Snee, founder and president of moved into quality for my future learning. outside of ASQ do
Snee Associates LLC, Newark, DE. inspection in 1982,
where I focused on you participate in?
++ Geoff Vining, statistics professor at the geometric dimen- Any previous
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State sioning and tolerance. jobs you consider I’ve volunteered for
University, Blacksburg, VA. This built the founda- noteworthy? Habitat for Humanity
tion for my career in projects.
The two were honored earlier this month
quality. I’ve held many
at ASQ’s World Conference on Quality and Any recent honors
positions, including
Improvement in Seattle. Do you have a inspector, quality or awards?
mentor who has engineer, supervisor,
made a difference quality manager, Inspector of the Year
engineering manager by ASQ’s Inspection
in your career? and quality director. Division.
QUALIT Y HEADLINES The two jobs I’ve
I was working for an liked the best include What was the last
QUALITY-RELATED NEWS automotive casting
company in Cedar-
my current role in
which I’m supporting
movie you saw?
FROM AROUND THE WORLD burg, WI, as a senior
quality engineer.
amazing projects,
processes and inter- “Black Panther.”
-powered by Lexis Nexis The quality director,
Harvey Purchis, intro-
esting suppliers. I also
enjoyed my previous Personal:
ISO 45001 Published The world’s much-anticipated duced me to other role as an engineer-
standard for occupational health and safety— ISO aspects of quality, ing manager in which Married 32 years. We
including reliability. I helped define have two adult sons.
45001:2018—Occupational health and safety management processes and drive
systems—Requirements with guidance for use—was published What’s the best improvement. What are your
recently and is expected to reduce workplace injuries and career advice favorite ways to
Are you active in
illnesses. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/ycyfldcd. you’ve received? relax?
ASQ?
Reading and watching
Auto Recalls Hit 4-Year Low, But Still Exceed Units Sold Stay relevant and I’m very active on movies.
always continue to ASQ’s Certification
Auto recalls fell to 30.7 million units in 2017, the fewest since learn because if you Board and support What books are
2013. By comparison, 17.6 million new vehicles were sold are not, you’re falling it in various roles,
behind. including as a vol- you currently
during 2017, which means the industry still recalled about 74% unteer for most of reading?
more vehicles than it delivered to customers. Read the full What teacher the certifications as
well as the certified Arthur Conan Doyle’s
story: https://tinyurl.com/ycp2vafo. influenced you the quality improvement The Later Adventures
most? associate and certi- of Sherlock Holmes.
fied quality process
To get a roundup of the week’s most noteworthy stories When I attended analyst certification Quality quote:
delivered to your inbox every Friday, subscribe to the QNT community college, I chair. I was chair for
struggled with math the Ishikawa Award.
Weekly e-newsletter at asq.org/newsletters. Always do the right
and had a difficult At the section level, thing.
time with it. I had one I’ve supported nearly

Advice to advance your career
J O B S AT I S F A C T I O N
Is It
Do you have a dirty job?
Most people likely don't want to be an
internet janitor, but what about careers in
the quality assurance (QA) field? Do you
Worth It?
have what someone might consider a dirty
job? What is a dirty job, anyway?
Most people assume a dirty job is simply
one that involves unpleasant materials—
the QA technicians who handle bodily fluid
samples all day, the R&D scientists who
clean the cages during animal studies, or
What it means to have a ‘dirty’ job the QA associates who work for the city
and are required to spend hours upon
by Denise Wrestler hours inside sewer lines, for example.
But dirty jobs aren’t just those that deal
I am the lucky winner of a magazine lottery. I didn’t sign up for it or enter a with dirty materials. A dirty job causes you
drawing, but apparently I have been chosen to receive various issues of random to think about your job in a negative or
magazines. Every month like clockwork an issue (or two or three) of a popular unproductive way, even outside of work.
magazine appears in my mailbox. Other than my precious monthly issue of QP, A dirty job causes stress—it takes away
these magazines usually make their way to the recycle bin. from your home and family life. It doesn’t
But recently, as I scoffed at an erroneously received issue of GQ, some- just entail day-to-day unpleasantries in the
thing on the cover caught my eye—a small caption near the bottom that read lab or at the office, but also muddies other
“Internet Janitor.” Intrigued, I opened the magazine to read about what the areas of your life.
position of internet janitor entails. Tossing and turning in bed for hours
late at night, worrying about work-related
Opportunity of a lifetime issues that are out of your control. Waking
The article, written by Lucas Peterson, was about when the author was a up in the morning physically drained, drag-
young man straight out of grad school and was presented with a once-in-a- ging your feet from lack of sleep and lack of
lifetime opportunity to join Google as an intern.1 The internship was classified motivation to complete yet another eight-
as one of the “dirtiest” jobs out there—combing through everything bad on hour day at work. These are all side effects
the internet and reporting it to Google. of a job that might be considered dirty.
Peterson’s title was quality evaluator and his responsibilities included It’s important to evaluate how you feel
perusing hours of online material and scouring the shady corners of the about your job and how it affects you
internet in the name of improving search and ad quality for Google. He was physically and mentally, and determine
the quality department of the world wide web, mopping up the mud the whether you might be headed toward a
internet tracked in. dirty job. Although the position of internet
Peterson quickly learned the reality of what his job responsibilities fully janitor might horrify even the strongest of
entailed—watching videos and viewing images posted online that had been us, all kinds of dirty jobs exist—and they
flagged as inappropriate. What exactly gets flagged as inappropriate? How aren’t always obvious.
long did he have to watch a video before he could determine whether it
was actually inappropriate? What are the guidelines for determining what is Is it worth it?
“dirty” and should be removed, and what is “clean” and can stay? Most people would wonder why anyone
Although some people may see surfing the internet as a 20-some- would want to stay at a dirty job. Although
thing-year-old’s dream job, it quickly turned into a nightmare. Over time, Peterson’s low-paying, entry-level intern-
Peterson’s job duties morphed from watching mildly offensive material to ship was less than desirable, he hoped it
much darker content. would turn into a permanent position at

one of the most prestigious tech organi- and made me evaluate not just my own situ-
zations in the world. And for him, that was ation but my loved ones, friends and family I’d never considered
worth it—at least for a while. who also might be enduring a dirty job. the psychological toll a
Similarly, many quality professionals What do you do when you realize you dirty job could have on
stick with their dirty job because they have a dirty job? Do you have tools in someone’s wellbeing
hope it will eventually improve or lead to place to address it? Many people find that until I read about the
something better—a raise, a promotion or simply talking with their supervisors will internet janitor.
valuable experience. “clean” the issues they face with their job
Would Peterson have made it his career duties and workplace. Employers across the world are trending their work
if Google paid him handsomely for his cultures toward ensuring employee happiness because time and time again,
work or if he was offered a different, per- it has been proven that happy employees make for a more productive and
manent job after six months? profitable enterprise. Readjusting hours, job duties, projects and other
What would happen if you put a time stress-causing attributes not only benefits the employee, but the organiza-
limit on your dirty job? How about a cost? tion as well.
Would you continue to bear a dirty job if Not all organizations can be flexible and address every employee issue, so
you knew it had an expiration date? Would how do you know when it’s time to leave a dirty job? How can you gauge the
you overlook the unpleasantries of your point at which the psychological damage from your job is irreversible, despite
dirty job if the money was right? At some your efforts to correct or ease it? Not only must you perform a risk analysis
point in their careers, every individual and weigh the pros and cons of your career, but you also must consider the
must consider these same things. short and long-term psychological effects it will have on you. The road to the
Eventually, Peterson started to lose optimal work-life balance can be a rocky one. It is up to you to determine how
sleep and became depressed. The images long you’re willing to travel it before you must find a different route.
he saw day in and day out became too
REFERENCE
much, and one day he left work and 1. Lucas Peterson, “My Awful Life as the Internet’s Janitor,” GQ, May 21, 2017, www.gq.com/
never went back. For him, the cost and story/my-awful-life-as-the-internets-janitor.
time invested in hopes of gaining some-
thing bigger in his career weren’t worth it
anymore.
Denise Wrestler is an independent quality
Lasting effects assurance/regulatory assurance consultant
I’d never considered the psychological toll for CYA Medical Device Consulting in Dallas.
a dirty job could have on someone’s well- She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical and
biomedical engineering from the University of
being until I read about the internet janitor. California, Irvine. An ASQ member, Wrestler is an
Peterson’s story left an impression on me ASQ-certified quality auditor and engineer.

Personal stories from quality professionals
The A’s Have It

Three attributes to help you excel as a quality professional
by Lorri Williams
A
Much to the surprise of my colleagues today, I orig- required to excel in quality: attitude, aptitude and
inally began my college career pursuing a degree ability.
in home economics with the intention of becoming He was right. After I became a quality engi-
a teacher. After the first few classes, I realized that neer, I advanced to senior quality engineer
my passion lay in the engineering realm so I trans- and eventually moved to another organiza-
ferred to an industrial technology major. The major tion where I grew into the role of quality
offered a concentration in quality and production, assurance manager.
A
which piqued my interest. I’ve continued to grow in my
One of my fondest memories from college was a quality roles—in responsibility and
final exam that included the simple question, “Iden- level—by following some basic
tify five ways to inspect quality into your product.” principles over the years:
I watched my fellow students struggle—like ++ Focus on the system, process and tools.
me—until I realized it was a trick question. I ++ Hire people who have the first two A’s, if not all
simply wrote, “You can’t inspect quality into three.
the product. You must build it in.” ++ Help them grow as well.
I was one of only two students in the Did I make the right move when I changed my
class who received full credit for the degree in college? Absolutely. It took me several
question. years to realize that many of the principles that
Now, 30 years later, I reflect on make a great home economist are the same that
that principle as I drive quality make a great quality practitioner: experimentation,
into the systems, processes testing, quality control, analytical thinking, a focus
and tools that are used to manufacture on systems, processes
and service the products of the business I work and tools, and especially
for. listening to and acting on
Out of college, I started my career as a man- customer feedback.
ufacturing engineer, driving process control As a wife, mother,
and repeatability, and following the principle, leader and volunteer,
"Build the quality in." I use these principles
After two years, the local government daily, and I find that
defense contract administration service they pair nicely
representative strongly encouraged me for personal and Lorri Williams is an
to consider a quality engineer posi- professional engineering leader at
Bently Nevada LLC in
tion. As he put it, I had the three A’s success. Minden, NV, and is a
senior member of ASQ.

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F E AT U R E
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Line Work

Queues are all around us: Shoppers paying for groceries in super- Just the
markets, travelers at airport check-in counters and security Facts
checkpoints, requisitions ready to be processed in purchasing depart-
ments or passengers waiting at bus stops. Minimizing
customer wait
In general, a queuing system forms when customers (people and times can be
documents, for example) require a service, and there is an imbalance critical to ensuring
a service value
between the arrival rate of the customers and the rate at which they are that will meet
processed. Essentially, all queuing systems have three elements: your customers’
expectations.
1. Customers: People or things waiting for a service.
2. Servers: People and machines that perform the service for Arrival and
customers. departure (AD)
curves can be
3. Queue: Groups of customers that have requested the service and are used to study the
waiting to receive it.1 flow of custom-
ers through a
A queue is the consequence of queuing system to
an imbalance between the rates at understand why
extended wait
which customers arrive, have access times and delays
to servers and receive the service. may occur.
In a highway toll booth, for example, AD curves can
Using arrival and departure curves to the customers are motorists in cars help evaluate and
adjust service
waiting to pay their tolls, the servers
improve service quality | by Ricardo G. Fierro delivery systems
to improve your
are toll booths—including the people
service to
working in them, the equipment they customers.
use and the process they follow. The
queue is the backup of cars waiting to
pay the toll.
Queues and service quality

Queues are a critical part of service quality. Service quality can be
defined in terms of three elements:
1. Results: The deliverable the service client wants.
2. Key service attributes (KSA): Service characteristics desired or
valued by the client.
3. Cost: Price and any other negative service characteristics.2
Service value is the combination of these three items and can be
defined as:
Service value = results + KSAs – costs.
As quality professionals, the goal always should be to maximize
service value. For each element of the service value equation, ser-
vice customers have perceptions (observations on how the service is
rendered) and expectations. Customer service expectations depend
on factors such as customers’ past experiences with similar services,
service levels promised by the provider and the value equation offered
by other players in the same market.
Following one of quality’s classic definitions, a customer will be satis-
fied if his or her perceptions of service value (defined in terms of results,
costs and quality) exceed expectations. See Figure 1 (p. 20).
In the airline industry, for example, all passengers expect to
receive the same results (a safe, timely flight to their destinations).

F E AT U R E
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Nevertheless, an economy-class passenger’s value equa- TA B L E 1
Check-in time—first
tion emphasizes some service aspects (mainly, lower
ticket cost) at the expense of others KSAs and costs
(seat size, longer check-in waiting time and on-board
catering). A first-class passenger, on the other hand,
expects his or her fare to provide top service in all KSA
20 passengers
categories and minimize all other service costs. Arrival Departure
Passenger Name time time
Nevertheless, for all passengers, there is a point at (minutes) (minutes)
which the KSAs and costs do not meet their expecta-
1 Juliet Trout 0 2.4
tions, and they will look for other options.
2 Amy McQueen 3.6 4.8
Time spent in a queue is clearly a service cost. The
more time a customer spends waiting in a queue, the 3 Steve Cruise 6 7.2
poorer his or her evaluation of the service, and the higher 4 Tom Newman 7.2 9.6
the chance that he or she will look for alternative service 5 Tom Falcon 7.2 12
suppliers. Without a doubt, failing to manage lengthy
6 Anne Smith 7.2 14.4
queues can contribute to the cost of poor quality.
7 Karen Jones 8.4 16.8
Consequently, understanding why queues form and
designing your service to minimize customer waiting 8 Bob Brown 10.8 19.2
times can be critical to ensuring a service value that 9 Sam Smith 13.2 21.6
meets your customers’ expectations. Providing this 10 Nicole Hansen 13.2 24
service value also makes your customers want to repeat
11 Jen Bower 13.2 26.4
their purchase and recommend your organization to
12 Carlos Martinez 14.4 28.8
other clients.
13 Jens Larsson 14.4 31.2
Arrival and departure curves 14 Michelle May 16.8 33.6
One of the best tools to study the flow of customers 15 Laura Hall 16.8 36
through a queuing system are arrival and departure (AD)
16 Jose Lopez 16.8 38.4
curves. The arrival curve shows how many customers
17 Vilma Stone 16.8 40.8
arrived in the queuing system up to a point in time, and
the departure curve shows how many of them received 18 Jack Ramsay 18 43.2
the service up to a point in time. 19 John Wilshere 18 45.6
Used together, AD curves help show key service 20 James Vardy 18 48
quality characteristics, such as waiting time and queue
length. They also can be used to simulate how a service
will behave in different scenarios. Using AD curve data
in a spreadsheet program, you also can calculate key and minimum queue lengths and customer waiting
service value parameters, such as average, maximum times.
Consider this example to understand AD curves:
Imagine an airline check-in for a regional flight.
FIGURE 1 There are 50 passengers booked for the flight, and
Service quality: customer they must be checked in 60 minutes before the

flight departs. The process includes identification
expectations and perceptions

check, baggage weight and check, seat selection
and boarding-pass printing. The check-in counter
opens three hours before the flight’s departure.
What service What service From experience, the airline can estimate the
value does the value does the passenger arrival curve—that is, how passenger
client expect? client receive?
arrivals are distributed during the two-hour period.
Expectation < Perception Good service The airline airport manager also knows two employ-
ees working at the check-in counter can process
Expectation > Perception Bad service
passengers through the check-in process at a

constant rate of 25 passengers per hour. Consequently, counter opened (green square).
the 50 passengers can be processed in two hours, and After this plotting is done for the 50 passengers, you see a
the flight will depart on time. blue line showing the arrival times of all passengers into the
How long, however, must customers wait in line to queue (the arrival curve) and a red line with the departure
check in? Will this delay be significant enough to affect times from the queue of each one of them (the departure
their perception of service quality? In this example, the curve). Figure 3 (p. 22) shows both curves for this example,
elements of the queuing system are: together with some key queueing system parameters.
++ Customers: Passengers.
++ Servers: Airline check-in agents with their equipment Useful properties of AD curves
(computer terminals, printers and scales) and the pro- AD curves have properties that make them a powerful
cesses they follow. tool for service quality analysis:
++ Queue: Passengers waiting for a check-in agent. 1. The vertical distance between the curves is the queue
For each new passenger who arrives to the queue, you length at a given point in time. In Figure 3, for example,
can record his or her arrival time to the check-in line, and you see that 60 minutes after the check-in counter
the time when the passenger finished her or his check-in. opened, 13 people were waiting in line.
Table 1 shows the data for the first 20 passengers who 2. The horizontal distance between the curves is the time a
arrived to the check-in queue. You can now plot a graph customer waited in line for service. This is true if arrivals
of the check-in arrival and departure time of each passen- are treated following a first-in/first-out rule. In Figure 3,
ger in Table 1. you see that passenger No. 20 (James Vardy) finished
In Figure 2, the vertical axis is passengers and the hor- his check-in 30 minutes after he arrived to the queue.
izontal axis is time in minutes. Now passenger arrival and 3. During a time interval that begins and ends without
departure times can be plotted. For passenger No. 20 customers in the queuing system, average arrival and
(James Vardy), his arrival to the queue is 18 minutes after departure rates of customers are the same because all
the check-in counter opened (green triangle). His depar- items that enter the queuing system leave (in this case,
ture from the queue is 48 minutes after the check-in 0.4 customers per minute).
Little’s Law defines the relationship during a time
FIGURE 2 interval between the average queue length and the
Building AD curves—
average waiting time in queue. The only restriction is that
the interval must begin and end without any customers
in the system:
flight check-in example Average queue length =

(average customer arrival rate) * (average
50 customer waiting time in queue).
Using these properties of the AD curves in the airplane
Passenger No. 20
James Vardy check-in example (Figure 3), you can see that:
Arrival: 18 minutes ++ The check-in will end in two hours (or the point where
40
the A and D curves intersect).
++ The maximum arrival speed is 3.3 passengers/minute,
Passenger
30 while the check-in counter works at a constant average

rate of 0.4 passengers/minute. This imbalance between
arrival and departure speeds will cause a queue to form.
20 ++ On average, nine passengers are waiting in line for
Passenger No. 20
James Vardy service. In the worst moment of the two-hour check-in
Departure: 48 minutes process, 18 people must wait in line.
10 ++ On average, a passenger must wait for 23 minutes to
Passenger arrivals
finish his or her check-in process.
Passenger departures ++ In the worst-case scenario, passengers 28, 29, 30 and
0 31 must wait 43 minutes to complete their check-in.
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
As you can see, AD curves can yield useful information
Time (minutes)
to evaluate service quality.
AD = arrival and departure

F E AT U R E
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
AD curves as of how long you would need to wait three-element system that delivers
simulation tools to check in. How would you react a service (see Figure 5).3 The service
The AD curves also can be helpful to if you now had to wait in line for 91 value equation ultimately depends
simulate the impact of changes in a minutes? Would you feel service on these three elements and how
queueing system. Suppose 30 of the quality is good? Would this make you they work together. The three ele-
50 passengers are traveling together think twice before booking a ticket ments of an SDS are:
on a tour and arrive to the check-in with this airline in the future? ++ People: Including how many ser-
counter exactly when it opens. vice agents are available, how they
Figure 4 shows the new AD curves. Improving service quality are organized, and their training
Notice the drastic change in the A Whenever waiting times in a queue- and skills.
curve shape. The D curve does not ing system don’t meet customer ++ Process: Including work steps that
change. The distance between the A expectations, you must determine must be followed to perform the
and D curves increases. the root causes and look for ways to service.
Though the average arrival and improve service quality. The output ++ Infrastructure: Including the
departure rates don’t change (0.4 and service level in queuing systems equipment, materials, IT systems
passengers per minute), the imbal- depend mostly on two factors: and facilities required to perform
ance between arrivals and departures 1. The service delivery system (SDS). the service and how they are
increases dramatically. Average time 2. The arrival patterns. organized.
in queue jumps to 54 minutes, with a Queues don’t happen by chance. Each element taken individually
maximum waiting time of 91 minutes They are the result of how you design won’t guarantee a given service
for passenger No. 48. your SDS and manage your customer performance level. Results depend
Suppose you are a passenger who arrival process. on how the three elements work
has taken this flight before. Your first Improving service quality by together.
experience surely set an expectation working on the SDS: The SDS is a There are no ideal SDSs for a
FIGURE 3
AD curves—flight check-in example

with relevant data
50
Average arrival speed
13 people in line 0.4
(customers/minute)
60 minutes after
40 check-in began. Maximum arrival speed
3.3
(customers/minute)
Average departure speed
Passenger
0.4
(customers/minute)
30
Maximum departure
speed (customers/ 0.8
minute)
20 Average queue
Passenger No. 20 9
(customers)
(James Vardy)
completed check-in Maximum queue
in 30 minutes. 18
10 (customers)
Average stay in queue—
Passenger arrivals 23
Little's Law (minutes)
Passenger departures
0 Maximum stay in queue 43
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 (minutes)
Time (minutes)
Total boarding time 120
(minutes)

FIGURE 4

30 passengers arrive together when check-in counter opens
50
Average arrival speed 0.4
(customers/minute)
Passenger No. 48 waits
91 minutes to Maximum arrival speed
40 30
finish check-in. (customers/minute)
Average departure speed 0.4
Passenger
(customers/minute)
30
Maximum departure speed 0.8
(customers/minute)
Average queue (customers) 22
20
30 tour passengers Maximum queue (customers) 38
arrive together
when the queue opens. Average stay in queue— 54
10
Maximum stay in queue 91
Passenger arrivals (minutes)
0 Total boarding time 120
(minutes)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time (minutes)
service. Each organization must can look at improvements that have arrivals, temporary personnel could
design its own SDS, factoring in the a cost (for example, new technol- be an option.
demands of the market segment it ogies). Finally, you can consider Returning to the flight check-in
serves or wants to capture, the value adding new servers. example, suppose the airline decides
equations its competitors offer, its When adjusting an SDS, don’t to open new check-in counters to
strengths and weaknesses relative forget that workload generally is receive the tour passengers. Figure
to other market players, and the not constant, and you should allow 6 shows the new AD curves. The A
context and constraints it faces. for flexibility to scale the service up curve doesn’t change from Figure 4,
Each organization must manage the or down as needed. For example, if but the D curve has a greater slope.
trade-offs between results, key ser- you are facing a temporary peak in With these changes, the check-in
vice attributes, price and other costs continued on page 26 
to offer an attractive service value
equation to its customers. FIGURE 5
Service delivery system

Table 2 (p. 26) shows some strat-
egies you can pursue to improve
the performance of your SDS. Each
strategy primarily targets one of People
the three elements of the SDS, but Input (workload)
the other two elements must be
addressed for the service to improve.
Different situations will make some Output/results
more applicable than others. Suppliers
In general, you first will proba- Customer perceptions
bly try to increase the efficiency of
your queuing system without new
investments (for example, optimizing
processes). If that isn’t enough, you Infrastructure Process

That’s Amore
USING ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE CURVES IN PIZZA MANUFACTURING
Often, manufacturing processes are divided into differ- three steps, which must be performed in the same order:
ent tasks, which are performed at different machines or ++ Prepare dough pies: A machine prepares the dough and
workstations. rolls it into dough pies that are 40 cm wide. This workstation
In these cases, the “customer” is a part or component wait- produces one dough pie per minute. In each production run,
ing to be processed, servers are the machines or workstations it produces 50 pies.
that will perform the work and queues are batches of work-in- ++ Add sauce and spices: An employee prepares and adds
process (WIP) inventory waiting to be processed at each step. sauce and spices to the dough pies. It takes two minutes to
Arrival and departure (AD) curves help ensure that different get each pie ready.
tasks in a production process are performed in a coordinated, ++ Bake the pizza: Dough pies are taken to an oven and baked
cost-effective way. They can be extremely helpful to: for 10 minutes. The oven can bake 10 pies at a time. The cook
++ Verify there is a smooth flow of materials and components waits until 10 pies are ready and cooks them. In other words,
through the different stages of a manufacturing process. pizza pies are baked in batches of 10 units.
++ Check whether capacity is balanced between the different Because dough cannot be put in a refrigerator, the pies must
workstations that make up a manufacturing process. be in the oven within 45 minutes after they leave step one. If
++ Eliminate unnecessary WIP inventory. this condition is not met, the dough pies will either dry up or
++ Detect bottlenecks. become moldy and must be thrown away.
All of these goals are compatible with a lean production What can AD curves reveal about this process?
system. First, focus on what happens to the dough pies from the
moment they are ready (end of step one) to the moment they
Pizza pie example enter the oven and begin cooking (the beginning of step
Let’s see an example of how AD curves can apply to manufac- three), and study what happens to one 50-pie production run.
turing. Imagine a pizza pie factory. Its production process has The AD curves for this case are in Sidebar Figure 1. The
blue curve is the D curve for step one. Because this is a serial
process (all steps must be performed in the same order for all
SIDEBAR FIGURE 1 items), the blue curve also is the A curve for step two. The red
AD curves for pizza pie factory

curve is the D curve for step two.
Because the oven used in step three bakes pizzas in 10-pie
batches, the A curve for step three (green curve) is a step
example—original production function, which jumps each time 10 pies are ready to go into
the oven.
The total time it takes for a dough pie to receive sauce and
process spices, then enter the oven, is the horizontal distance between
the blue and the green curves. For pie No. 21 of this batch, for
example, 40 minutes go by from the moment the dough pie is
50 ready (end of step one) to the moment it starts to cook in the
Pizza pie No. 41 “waits” oven.
60 minutes to get The vertical distance between the curves reveals the num-
40 to the oven. ber of pies that are waiting to be processed. In other words,
it represents the WIP inventory or, more plainly, a pizza pie
queue.
Pizza pie
For example, 40 minutes after the production run begins, 21

30 pies have left step one and are waiting to be processed in step
two (vertical distance between red and blue curves).
A careful study of these AD curves yields the following
20 conclusions:
Maximum queue at ++ It takes 101 minutes for the 50-unit production run to go
step 2 is 26 units through step two and enter the oven.
(minute 50).
++ Average queue length at step two is 13 pies, with a maximum
10 queue of 26 units at minute 50.
Arrival to step 2 ++ The queue at the oven never exceeds nine units (when unit
Departure from step 2 No. 10 gets to the oven, a new batch is processed), and the
Entry to oven
0 queue goes back to zero.
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 ++ On average, it takes 35 minutes for a pizza pie to go through
Time (minutes) step two and enter the oven.
++ Fifteen pies (30% of the production run) spend more than
AD = arrival and departure 45 minutes waiting to go through step two and enter the

oven. This means that 30% of each production run is lost the speed of step two before a final decision is made on
(wasted). implementing this solution or looking for another option.
++ Item No. 41 of the production run must wait 60 minutes Nonetheless, you can clearly see how AD curves helped
before it enters the oven. achieve significant potential process improvements.
Clearly, this factory could be doing much better. The root —R.G.F.
cause behind this dismal situation is that the processing speeds
of the production stages are not synchronized, and production
SIDEBAR FIGURE 2
does not flow smoothly.
A closer look reveals that step two is a bottleneck. Its slow
production rate relative to step one slows down the complete
line, creates an important queue and eventually leads to a huge
AD curves for pizza pie factory
amount of waste. On a smaller scale, the oven and its 10-pizza
batch operating mode also is a bottleneck. example—modified production
Pizza process improvement
With this information, let’s look to improve the process.
process
For example, you can increase the processing capacity of 50
step two to make it equal to step one (one pizza pie per minute).
The new AD curves are shown in Sidebar Figure 2. The blue and
red curves are now parallel because steps two and three now
have the same processing speeds. 40
Maximum time for a
The new process has many improvements with respect to the pizza to get to the
old configuration: oven is 10 minutes.
Pizza pie
++ The last unit of the 50-pizza pie production run can now 30
be in the oven in 51 minutes. This means that if there are no
constraints in other parts of the process, the plant can double
its daily production.
++ The maximum time it now takes for a pie to go from the end 20
Maximum queue
of step one to the oven is 10 minutes. Consequently, no units is 9 units (at oven).
are lost due to excessive processing time (the process has no
waste). 10
++ Because the processing speeds of steps one and two are
Arrival to step 2
the same, the queue at the entrance of the sauce and spice
Departure from step 2
station (step two) goes down to one unit. This significantly Entry to oven
decreases the need for space to store WIP inventory. 0
++ Now, the biggest queue of the process is at the entrance 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
of the oven (nine units) because the oven bakes pizzas in Time (minutes)
batches of 10 pies.
These benefits must be offset against the cost of increasing AD = arrival and departure

F E AT U R E
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
TA B L E 2
Strategies to improve performance of an

SDS in queuing systems
Strategy Example
Redesign a purchasing process to shorten lead time and make it
Redesign to optimize the process less variable (more predictable).
In amusement parks, perform maintenance work when park is
Eliminate idle server time closed and use preventive maintenance techniques to avoid
failure while park is in operation.
In supermarkets, have a single customer check-out line, and
Flexible server assignment direct customers to the first available check-out clerk.
Automate service processes Use bar codes and laser scanners at supermarket cash registers.
Move the queue to the internet Implement web check-in and online banking services.
Have immigration employees go through airport queue to
Ensure customer is prepared when ensure passengers have their passports ready before they get
he/she arrives to service point to the checkpoint.
Make customers do part of the Have customers fill their own drinks at fast food restaurant.
service
Hire temporary personnel Hiring temporary personnel for holiday season at retail stores.
SDS = service delivery system
Adapted from Randolph W. Hall, Queuing Methods for Services and Manufacturing, Prentice Hall, 1991.
continued from page 23
ends in 60 minutes. Average waiting time decreases average waiting time decreases to 12 minutes, and
to 24 minutes, and the maximum waiting time (pas- maximum waiting time decreases to 19 minutes.
sengers No. 41 and No. 43) is 37 minutes (similar to Check-in for all passengers is complete in an hour.
the first case).
To be able to compare graphically the AD curves Adjust as needed
in different scenarios, notice that you must plot them Queuing systems occur whenever customers want a
using the same scales on the x and y axes. service, and there is an imbalance between the rate
Of course, this service-level improvement has a customers arrive to the service points and the one at
cost. It is up to the airline to decide whether the cost which they are served. Because waiting time is clearly
is justified. a cost (a negative characteristic) in the service value
The arrival pattern: In some cases, you can influ- equation, it is important to shorten waiting times as
ence the way customers arrive to the queue (average much as possible.
arrival rate and arrivals in groups) to improve service AD curves can be a powerful tool to assess how a
level. queuing system works. They also can be used to sim-
Suppose that the airline negotiates with the tour ulate how different changes in a queuing system will
operator that the tour passengers will arrive to the affect customer waiting time.
airport in two 15-person groups, for example. The first The SDS and customer arrival patterns are two
group will arrive when the check-in counter opens, factors that influence how a queuing system works.
and the second group will arrive about 40 minutes Working to adjust them as needed will allow you to
later. The airline also will open additional check-in improve your service value equation, thus helping
counters. to meet customer expectations and increasing the
What will happen now? Figure 7 shows the results probability of new purchases and favorable referrals to
of this new arrangement. As seen in the AD curves, other clients.

FIGURE 6

30 passengers arrive together when check-in counter opens, and airline opens additional check-in counters
50
Average arrival speed 0.8
(customers/minute)
Check-in is
complete in Maximum arrival speed
40 30
60 minutes. (customers/minute)
Average departure speed 0.8
Passenger
(customers/minute)
30
Maximum departure speed 0.8
(customers/minute)
Average queue (customers) 20
20
Maximum waiting time Maximum queue (customers) 31
goes down to 37 minutes
(Passengers Nos. 41 and 43). Average stay in queue— 24
10
Maximum stay in queue 37
Passenger arrivals (minutes)
Total boarding time
0 60
(minutes)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time (minutes)
REFERENCES
1. Randolph W. Hall, Queuing FIGURE 7

Methods for Services and
Manufacturing, Prentice Hall,
1991.
2. Ricardo G. Fierro, “Improving
Services Using Three Tour passengers arrive in two 15-person groups, and airline opens
Definitions of Quality,” additional check-in counters
presentation, ASQ World
Conference on Quality and 50
Improvement, May 2016. Average arrival speed 0.8
3. Ibid. (customers/minute)
Second 15-passenger tour
40
group arrives to airport. Maximum arrival speed 15
(customers/minute)
Average departure
Passenger
Maximum waiting time

30 goes down to 19 minutes
minute)
(passenger No. 26, No. 28 and No. 50). Maximum departure
minute)
20
Average queue
First 15-passenger tour 10
Ricardo G. Fierro is a (customers)
group arrives to airport.
procurement manager at Maximum queue
A-Evangelista in Buenos Aires, 10 16
(customers)
Argentina. He holds a master’s
Passenger arrivals Average stay in queue—
degree in naval architecture and 12
Passenger departures Little's Law (minutes)
marine engineering from the
University of Michigan in Ann 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Maximum stay in queue 19
Arbor. He is a senior member (minutes)
of ASQ and has had several Time (minutes)
articles and presentations Total boarding time 60
published throughout the years. AD = arrival and departure (minutes)

F E AT U R E
CASE STUDY
Beds, Math
Just the
Facts
To reduce the number of
surgeries that needed to
be delayed or canceled,
a Canadian hospital
undertook a process
improvement project
focused on bed manage-
ment issues within its
day-surgery unit.
After analyzing data and

patient flow, an improve-
ment team designed a
new bed assignment
approach.
The team involved nurses,

managers, physicians and
other stakeholders who
were able to implement
changes to free up more
beds and better manage
patient flow.

and Beyond
Improving bed management in a hospital
day-surgery unit by analyzing data and
process flow | by Manoj Sharma
The day-surgery unit (DSU) at a hospital in St. Albert,

Alberta, has the capacity to hold 14 beds for patients.
Open 16 hours a day, five days a week, DSU is used for pre-
operative and postoperative care for patients undergoing
general, gynecological and orthopedic surgical procedures
in one of four operating rooms (OR).
Patients are either day surgery or same-day surgery
patients. Day-surgery patients are those who arrive at the
hospital from the outside—such as their homes or long-term
care facilities—for surgical procedures. Same-day surgery
patients are those who are already in the hospital but use the
DSU for preoperative care and, at times, postoperative care.

F E AT U R E
CASE STUDY
See Figures 1 and 2. FIGURE 1

Over the past several years, the
DSU faced significant pressures
from not having enough beds
Same-day surgery patient transfer process
available for patients who were
Patient arrives Patient from
scheduled to undergo elec- at hospital inpatient unit
tive surgeries. In 2013, elective from home or or emergency
long-term care department
procedures were canceled (that for surgery. needs surgery. Inpatient unit. Discharge.
is, postponed to a later date)
for 11 patients. In 2014, elective
procedures were canceled for 23 Patient Patient is Patient in Patient
patients. assigned transported to OR. OR recovery returns to DSU
With new advancements in DSU bed. OR holding area. area. for recovery.
minimally invasive technology,
DSU = day-surgery unit
greater demand pressures were OR = operating room
put on the DSU. Patients were
now able to have their proce-
dures performed and return the DSU, where they are taken to one of the preassigned stretchers for preop-
home the same day versus stay- erative care and, at the scheduled procedure time, transported to an OR. After
ing in the hospital for a couple their procedures are completed, patients are transported back to the DSU for
of days, increasing the potential recovery and discharged the same day. If longer postoperative care is needed,
number of day-surgery patients patients are transferred to inpatient units.
who formerly would have been As surgery volumes increased, DSU staff reported congestion. In the after-
same-day surgery patients. This noon, there were too many patients scheduled for procedures. OR surgery
increased demand on the DSU volume data compiled from Oct. 1, 2014, to Nov. 28, 2014, showed that 76% of
bed capacity. the time, 15 or more surgery patients used DSU beds, exceeding the installed
The project to enhance effi- capacity of 14 beds (see Figure 3, p. 32). The data in Figure 3 excluded patients
ciencies and increase patient who went to the OR directly from inpatient units and returned to inpatient units,
capacity in the DSU was spon- entirely skipping the DSU.
sored by a patient care manager Nurses were concerned about not having enough beds in case there were
who oversaw the surgical area patients who needed emergency procedures on short notice. Initially, the option
that included four ORs and the of installing fixed chairs inside the DSU was explored. Chairs use less space,
DSU. Because the project focused but they are only suitable for patients who can walk in and out after recovery.
primarily on bed management in The option of installing chairs was shelved due to a lack of suitable spaces and
the DSU, the DSU’s care manager funds. Instead, a process improvement project was initiated to find ways to
was involved at the beginning alleviate capacity constraints within existing resources.
of the project and included in
discussions on project scope, data Root cause analysis
collection, analysis and piloting To understand patient flow through the unit, baseline patient flow data were
of improved processes. The DSU collected during the first two weeks of December 2014 with the help of nursing
care manager was the process staff. Through on-site observations and discussions with nurses, the DSU
owner who would eventually own manager and physicians discovered issues that constrained capacity use. Three
and reinforce improvements. main issues were identified:
Bed assignments: It was common practice that each patient be assigned a
Defining opportunity dedicated bed—based on a patient list published a day before surgery. Such a
Usually, all patients arrive at the bed assignment approach had been used for more than 20 years. Beds were
hospital two hours ahead of their reserved for patients in the DSU to ensure adequate availability.
scheduled surgery time and According to the nurses, length of recovery is always uncertain for a given
report to the registration desk for patient, though recovery time could be estimated based on prior published
admissions. Patients are sent to studies at the surgery unit. Some patients had a short recovery and needed

a bed for a short duration, flow. Data included the time the patient arrived at the DSU, the time the patient
while other patients had longer left on a stretcher for preoperative care, the time the patient went into the OR
recovery times and needed a bed for the procedure, the time the patient returned to the DSU for recovery and the
for a longer duration. This ratio time of discharge.
of patients with short and long Patient flow data showed that about 65% of the time, actual postoperative
recovery times was difficult to recovery time was within or shorter than the estimated time. Nurses had indi-
predict. This is why nurses felt cated that dedicated beds were needed because recovery time tended to be
that beds needed to be assigned uncertain. Data showed, however, that most patients tended to recover faster
to and reserved for specific than anticipated recovery times. See Figure 4 (p. 34).
patients. Data also showed that there tended to be a near-equal mix of long and
Data were manually collected short recovery-time patients (Figure 5, p 34). Nurses had indicated that it was
in the DSU to understand patient difficult to predict the ratio of long and short recovery-time patients, so patients
FIGURE 2
Number of beds occupied by surgery patients in DSU

By time of day on Dec. 2, 2014 (total patients = 15)
20:30
20:00
19:30
19:00
18:30
18:00
17:30
17:00
16:30
16:00
Postoperative
15:30
beds
15:00
14:30 Preoperative
Time of day
14:00 beds
13:30
Patient in
13:00 operating room
12:30 (bed vacant)
12:00
Empty
11:30
11:00
10:30
10:00
9:30
9:00
8:30
8:00
7:30
7:00
6:30
6:00
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Number of beds occupied by patients at day-surgery unit (DSU)

F E AT U R E
CASE STUDY
FIGURE 3
Total number of day and same-day surgery patients

Oct. 1, 2014, to Nov. 28, 2014
9
8
6
Frequency
0
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Number of surgery patients per day
Note: Data exclude patients sent for procedures directly from inpatient units and back, entirely skipping DSU.
were assigned dedicated bed the gender of patients nearby.

spaces instead of turning over Time of day: Nurses cited a lack of availability—particularly in the afternoon—
bed spaces for multiple patients. when both preoperative and postoperative patients needed beds. To validate
Because data indicated that there this nursing feedback, patient flow data—including the number of beds occupied
tended to be a near-equal ratio by the time of day—could be estimated and graphed for every half-hour interval.
of short and long recovery-time This would assist in determining when peak demand occurred and the number
patients, however, perhaps nurses of beds needed during that time. Graphical analyses were completed for several
could use this information to days under several patient-volume scenarios.
improve bed management. These analyses showed that the maximum number of beds occupied during
Patient privacy: Female the day never exceeded 10. This was true in a variety of scenarios, including vary-
patients were assigned bed ing patient volumes and different ratios of long and short recovery times. For a
spaces on the right half of the graphical analysis of a regular volume day, see Figures 2 and 6 (p. 35). On both
unit, and male patients were days (Dec. 2, 2014, and Dec. 19, 2014), 15 patients were scheduled for procedures.
assigned bed spaces on the left Further, peak demand time shifted depending on the patient volumes and mix
half of the unit, meeting in the of patients on any given day. Peak demand for beds could occur in late morning,
middle. Some nurses felt the need afternoon or early evening. This implied that four beds could be freed up.
to provide additional privacy to
patients despite drawn curtains Improvements
around each bed space. After the team discussed and analyzed patient flow data, the following alterna-
However, stakeholder discus- tive bed assignment approach was developed:
sions indicated that several other Patients were no longer assigned dedicated bed spaces. Instead, upon their
hospitals were assigning male and arrival to the DSU, patients were assigned the first available empty bed from one
female patients in adjacent beds. end of the unit. A bed was considered empty if the patient previously occupying
Drawn curtains separated each that bed was in the OR, discharged or the bed was untouched.
bed to give privacy regardless of Empty beds could be reassigned after cleaning or changing. Graphical

simulation of different scenarios using ++ Same-day surgery patients
different mixes of volumes, long and short who need an overnight stay.
recovery, and day and same-day surgery Nurses indicated ++ Patients who need only preop-
patients showed that existing patient vol- the need for a erative work because they are
umes could be managed with acceptable better definition admitted for consult only.
risk of bed blocking using 10 beds. Four out of surgery-over- ++ Elective and emergent patients
of 14 beds could be freed for alternative use flow beds because for an orthopedic procedure.
by using the new approach, improving bed they weren’t clear ++ Surgery admissions from the
availability by 28%. on what type of emergency department.
In April and May of 2015, the new patients to admit to ++ Direct surgery admissions (a
approach was piloted. Preoperative and the overflow beds. transfer from a facility).
postoperative patients were separated out ++ Admissions from the medicine
at two ends of the units, filling patients department in case of a sudden
toward the center of the unit. This was surge of patients due to an
done because the nurses said that it might outbreak of flu or epidemics
simplify the logistics of managing patients. The evaluation process consisted (referred to as a site-surge
of using the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) process to test the effectiveness of the plan).
new approach. As part of the pilot planning phase, the team identified logistical Surgery-overflow beds were
needs, a start date, the time of the test, a staff rotation plan, a communication coded separately in the IT system
approach, the data collection tool and a feedback plan. so that bed use could be tracked
The pilot started on a day with low patient volumes, which gave staff time electronically, too. Due to staff
to become accustomed to the new approach. Patient flow data were collected preference for a simple-to-apply
during the pilot to monitor bed use and the effectiveness of the new approach. approach, bed assignments were
Upon staff suggestion, the original visual board layout was redesigned to make modified as follows:
it more user-friendly. The visual board made it easier to track patient flow Patients are now assigned
through the DSU. the first available bed from only
Several other suggestions to improve logistics were incorporated—such as one end of the DSU (see Figure
labeling lockers by each bed and putting locker labels on patient charts. The 7, p. 36), filling beds toward the
changes were made as rapid improvements to the ongoing pilot. other end of the unit. Genders,
The pilot program continued for two months, and feedback was incorporated preoperative patients, postop-
into a new bed management approach. After the pilot was completed, this erative patients, day surgery
bed management approach was officially adopted in the DSU. Ten beds were and same-day surgery patients
assigned to be used as regular DSU bed spaces. Four beds that were freed up are all mixed—not separated. A
were assigned as surgery-overflow beds to be used in a flexible capacity in case bed is considered empty if the
there was an unanticipated surge of patients needing surgery. patient occupying that bed is in
the OR, discharged or the bed is
Clarifying ‘surgery overflow’ untouched. An empty bed can be
Nurses indicated the need for a better definition of surgery-overflow beds reassigned to the next patient.
because they weren’t clear on what type of patients to admit to the overflow
beds. The team designed admissions criteria to prioritize admissions to over- Sustaining
flow beds, along with a transfer process. Management reviewed the criteria, and improvements
it was tested in the DSU for effectiveness. To improve the sustainability of
To track admission into these beds, an Excel data collection template was the changes made, several steps
designed so that the type of patients who were admitted into these beds could were taken at the beginning of
be analyzed. The sheet included space to enter the patient’s name, admission the project—not just at the end.
and discharge time information, and the reason for admission. Feedback was Nurses were engaged at the start
used to refine the criteria. of the project to understand
Now, surgery-overflow beds are prioritized for assignment to patients in the their concerns, bottlenecks and
following order: constraints to the patient flow.
++ Day-surgery patients who need an overnight stay. This feedback was considered in

F E AT U R E
CASE STUDY
FIGURE 4 designing the new bed assignment

approach.
Estimated vs. actual recovery time All changes were reviewed and
discussed at the staff meetings to
40%
generate buy-in. Because several
staff members rotated through
35% the shifts, communication of the
change was repeated several times
30% to improve acceptance and imple-
mentation. Continuous reinforcement
25%
was important because the previous
20% bed assignment approach had been
used for the last 20 years.
15% Finally, a simple-to-apply rule for
bed assignment (assign patients to
10%
the first available bed starting from
5% one end) was effective in sustain-
ing changes because it was easy to
0% apply under high-pressure situa-
Actual postoperative Actual postoperative Postoperative time
time shorter than time within estimated beyond estimated tions in day-to-day operations. Bed
estimated (with +/-5 recovery time (with +/-5 (with +/-5 management is difficult to visualize:
minutes margin) minutes margin) minutes margin) graphs and Excel analyses were used
to illustrate patient flow, and most
importantly, to convince experi-
FIGURE 5
enced managers of the feasibility
Percentage of surgery patients in DSU of the new bed assignment idea.

This improved adoption of the new
by length of recovery time approach.
Impact
50% The project initially started by
considering installing fixed chairs for
45%
ambulatory patients to accommodate
40% higher patient volumes, but more
35%
bed availability was needed. After
the project was completed, the DSU
30% could operate with 10 out of 14 bed
25% spaces, saving four beds that were
designated as surgery-overflow
20% beds. This was significant because no
15% additional investment was needed
to create bed availability. These four
10%
beds are now staffed 23 hours per
5% day, seven days a week. The beds are
also called 23-hour beds.
0%
Patients with Patients with Patients with The availability of these beds has
short recovery time medium recovery time long recovery time resulted in several benefits to the
(less than three hours) (three to four hours) (five hours or more) hospital:
In 2013, 11 surgical patients were
canceled (postponed to a future

FIGURE 6
Number of beds occupied by patients in DSU

By time of day on Dec. 19, 2014 (total patients = 15)
22:30
22:00
21:30
21:00
20:30
20:00
19:30
19:00
18:30
18:00
17:30
17:00
16:30
16:00
Postoperative
15:30
beds
15:00
14:30 Preoperative
Time of day
14:00 beds
13:30
Patient in
13:00 operating room
12:30 (bed vacant)
12:00
Empty
11:30
11:00
10:30
10:00
9:30
9:00
8:30
8:00
7:30
7:00
6:30
6:00
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Number of beds occupied by patients at day-surgery unit (DSU)
date) due to lack of beds. In 2014, Additional orthopedic procedures can now be completed over weekends due
about 23 elective surgery patients to the availability of the surgery-overflow beds (the 23-hour beds) in the DSU.
were canceled. In 2015, only one It is easier to keep four beds staffed to accommodate patients over weekends
surgery was canceled. In 2016, instead of the entire DSU. Surgery-overflow beds also are being used to allevi-
only two surgeries were canceled ate crowding in the emergency department at night as needed.
due to the lack of beds.
Furthermore, changes also Alignment with values
were made on the surgical side Several aspects of this initiative align with values of the public-sector healthcare
to use this newfound capacity. system, such as an inclusive approach, accountability, fairness and equity. By

F E AT U R E
CASE STUDY
FIGURE 7
OR and DSU floor layouts

Operating room (OR)
theater area Bed management
is difficult to visu-
1
alize: graphs and
2 Excel analyses were
3 used to illustrate
patient flow, and
4
OR most importantly,
holding area bed
to convince experi-
enced managers of
OR recovery
area bed the feasibility of the
new bed assignment
idea.
OR entrance
Hallway
Bathroom 15
14
listening to the needs of the front- staff to identify and address con-
line nurses and understanding their cerns. By listening to the feedback N 13
u
constraints upfront at the start of the from all and addressing concerns r 12
improvement project, the team not in a fair way, the team demon- s
11
only could develop better solutions strated accountability and equity. i
but also be inclusive in the approach. After the initial pilot pro- n 10
All changes were discussed and gram, several other changes g
9
communicated openly to all, includ- were made. A simple-to-apply S 8
ing staff, management, physicians approach was implemented. t
and other departments affected by The patient transfer process a 7
the change. and admissions criteria were t 6
Before the launch, managers developed, documented and i
o 5
met with staff to explain the new communicated to staff, which n
approach and answered questions. demonstrated the effort to con- 4
During the pilot program, the team tinuously improve the system and 3
frequently communicated with the aid organizational learning.
1/2
Day-surgery unit Bathroom

(DSU) entrance
Manoj Sharma is a senior process improvement

consultant with Alberta Health Services in
Edmonton, Alberta. He has an MBA from the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a
master’s degree in industrial engineering from
the University of Arizona in Tucson. Sharma is an
ASQ-certified Black Belt.

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F E AT U R E
QUALITY PLANNING
What’s
Strategy?
To achieve quality, Quality never just happens by itself. It’s always the result of systematic,
thoughtful and careful planning. To successfully enable their clients and
organizations must plan
organizations to produce sustainable quality results and remain nimble when
for it | by John R. Dew responding to customer needs, it is vital for quality professionals to under-
stand quality-centered strategic planning and be thoroughly knowledgeable of
tactical planning for quality results and improvement.
Strategic planning for quality

Philip B. Crosby provided many insights into quality management, but his most
powerful contribution was his ability to effectively communicate with business
leaders. He taught that emphasizing quality is a key strategic decision.1
Crosby showed that building a business strategy that emphasizes schedules
and costs ahead of quality was fraught with peril because, without first achiev-
ing a firm foundation in quality, it’s usually impossible to meet schedules or
reduce costs. The cost of poor quality idea put forward by Crosby is a founda-
tional strategic concept.
Emphasizing quality as a strategic imperative rests on the understanding
that all organizations are systems and operate with interconnected subsystems
that covary.
As theorist and author R. Buckminster Fuller noted, all systems are subject
to entropy and are in a natural state of falling apart. They require constant
attention to keep things organized by collecting and organizing knowledge.2
An organizational strategy that emphasizes quality is antientropic and brings
order to systems that are naturally prone to becoming disorderly.
The quality practitioners who developed the criteria for the Malcolm

Your
Just the
Facts
To produce
sustainable
quality results,
professionals
must understand
quality and strate-
gic planning.
Philip B. Crosby
emphasized
the importance
of building a
business strategy
on a solid quality
foundation to
reduce the cost of
poor quality.
Senior
leadership’s con-
tinuous emphasis
on quality is a
key component
to creating the
culture of quality
necessary to suc-
ceed in a global
marketplace.

F E AT U R E
QUALITY PLANNING
Baldrige National Quality Award saw that emphasizing quality was a stra- A hoshin planning process requires
tegic issue for many organizations.3 Strategic quality planning was included leadership to establish a vision,
in the Baldrige criteria as a cornerstone of an effective approach to perfor- develop broad objectives, estab-
mance excellence to be embraced by senior leadership who understand the lish annual objectives, deploy the
importance of quality as a key ingredient in an organization’s success. objectives and frequently review the
Including leadership and strategic quality planning among the first three progress.7
criteria in the Baldrige program reflects the observations of not only Crosby, This information should serve as
but also of W. Edwards Deming and Joseph M. Juran. encouragement to quality practi-
Deming saw understanding quality and committing to it as a fundamen- tioners to exert their influence to
tal business strategy and one of the most important things a leader could ensure that quality is a core value
do for an organization. Specifically, he insisted that leaders understand the embraced by leadership and that
importance of asking the right questions to determine what customers need, organizations’ strategic plans are
as well as understand the effect of variation in the repeatable processes on quality centered.
which manufacturing is based. On the strategic level, a commit-
“It is not enough that top management commit themselves for life to qual- ment to quality must be embraced
ity and productivity. They must know what it is they are committed to—that by an organization’s senior leader-
is, what they must do,” Deming wrote.4 ship. That, of course, may be a tall
Likewise, Juran perceived quality as an essential driving force in the order for quality professionals who
strategy of any successful organization. In his book, Juran on Leadership for either don’t have access to their
Quality, he noted, “Merely adding new methods or tools to the traditional senior leadership or whose voices are
approach is not enough. The new basic approach is centered around the drowned out by others advocating
concept of enlarging the strategic business plan to include quality goals.”5 cost or schedule as a more crucial
Like Crosby, Juran was highly effective at communicating with chief exec- strategic commitment.
utives about quality as a strategic sine qua non—or essential condition—in Over time, however, quality practi-
his role as an expert on the theory and practical methods of quality. tioners usually have opportunities to
These perceptions of the major contributors to the quality field are have their voices heard and opinions
reinforced by contemporary research by Ashwin Srinivasan and Bryan embraced, but this typically happens
Kurey. They interviewed 60 multinational organizations, which reported that when things go wrong.
maintaining senior leadership’s strategic emphasis on quality remains a key Failed missile launches at aero-
component essential to creating a culture of quality necessary to succeed in space organization Martin Marietta,
a global marketplace.6 for example, propelled an emphasis
There are many approaches to developing strategic plans depending on on quality when Crosby worked
the mission, size, scope and power relationships of an organization. Because there. When the U.S. automotive
of its connection to Deming’s plan-do-check-act cycle, some quality practi- industry almost went out of busi-
tioners embrace the “shining needle” (hoshin) approach developed in Japan. ness due to the superior quality
of Japanese automobiles, it was a
wakeup call for U.S. organizations to
adopt quality principles. When major
FIGURE 1
national studies revealed myriad
Elements of a quality-centered strategic plan problems with adverse and sentinel

events in the healthcare sector, a
new emphasis on quality was stimu-
Understand Determine how
Understand how Include quality in lated. Massive fraud among for-profit
customers’ quality is vital to
the organization vision and values
strategic needs the organization’s educational institutions resulted in
views quality. statements.
and desires. mission.
improved quality assurance require-
Embrace a
ments for institutional accreditation
Recognize how quality Commit to using internal and access to student financial aid in
framework or
methods can help the assessment methods management the education sector.
organization close the gap to understand the system regarding
between its current state and effectiveness of actions And who knows? Video of paying
tactical planning
its ideal future state. taken to improve quality. for quality. customers being violently dragged

Quality practitioners must be
able to advise their leadership
on how to think about their
organization’s strategy if it
were to embrace quality as a
driving force.
FIGURE 2
Juran’s planning roadmap

Identify Discover customers’ Translate customers’ needs Establish units of Develop products and
customers. specific needs. into your internal language. measurement. services.
Optimize product Develop work Prove process Transfer knowledge

design. processes. capability. to operations.
off airplanes or being threatened by 3. Continue networking and conferring so you don’t lose your own commit-
airline staff may even influence airline ment. Embracing quality is a process of discovery that creates a significant
CEOs to embrace quality as a key change in how someone understands systems. Practitioners can get
organizational strategy. worn down over time if they don’t create the opportunity for renewal and
Quality professionals who are growth—hence the need to be engaged in a professional society, and
laboring in organizations that haven’t locally with an ASQ section or internationally with a division.
fully (or even remotely) embraced Quality practitioners must be able to advise their leadership on how to
quality as a key strategy and area for think about their organization’s strategy if it were to embrace quality as a
strategic planning can follow one of driving force. From the perspective of the Baldrige criteria, strategic quality
the following paths to jumpstart the planning focuses on how an organization considers customer requirements,
initiative: the competitive environment, risks and the organization’s capabilities. An
1. Do the best job possible planning effective quality-centered strategic plan, for instance, embraces all the crite-
and implementing quality methods ria of the Baldrige framework.
so there is evidence of excellence Figure 1 provides one taxonomy for the elements of a quality-centered
in the organization, even if it’s only strategic plan.8 While all of the elements in this taxonomy are important,
in pockets. At the right moment, encouraging reflective thinking is imperative to achieving a quality-centered
evidence of success based on a strategic plan.
quality focus can become quite Only through systematic reflection can an organization determine whether
compelling—the needed answer its mission, vision and values are being achieved. And only through system-
when emphasizing cost and atic reflection can an organization determine the effectiveness of its tactics
schedule fails. for achieving quality and for continuous quality improvement.
2. Continue advocating. Advocacy While there are many approaches to promoting reflective thinking, the
starts with listening and under- method most readily at hand for quality practitioners is the rigorous reflec-
standing whose opinion leadership tion stimulated through using the Baldrige criteria.
values. For many years, ASQ has
worked to develop case stud- Tactical planning for quality
ies and evidence of the efficacy As Juran noted, organizations that embrace quality as a strategy go on to
of quality-centered strategies develop organizationwide plans for the control and systematic improvement
in organizations. Practitioners of quality.9 Juran advocated a quality planning roadmap that identifies spe-
would do well to become famil- cific tactical actions, as shown in Figure 2.
iar with these and use them to In Juran’s approach, this overall planning roadmap is then made granular
build the case for quality in their by developing process-specific plans to control quality, which involves:
organizations. ++ Selecting units of measurement.

F E AT U R E
QUALITY PLANNING
TA B L E 1 FIGURE 3
Masaaki Imai’s cross- Nuclear Quality Assurance-1

functional planning model elements of planning for quality
Product planning Sales and engineering ++ Design products and parts.
Product design Product planning and engineering ++ Procure control parts.

Product Product engineering, quality ++ Control materials brought into the workflow.
preparation assurance, inspection and production
++ Measure work processes.
Purchasing, inspection, quality
Purchasing assurance and plant manager
++ Calibrate measurement and test equipment.
Production management and plant
Production ++ Develop, use and control procedures for work and maintenance.
manager
Inspection Quality assurance and inspection ++ Train the workforce and manage knowledge for work and
maintenance.
Sales and service Sales management and service
++ Maintain all records related to quality.
++ Develop and implement an audit process.
++ Developing means to evaluate Facility Applications (NQA-1), upon which most modern approaches to
actual performance. quality auditing are based.
++ Evaluating the performance. ASME’s look at areas requiring quality management builds on a century
++ Interpreting the differences of experience creating pressurized steam vessels, which was one of the first
between actual performance and major challenges the United States faced when developing methods to avoid
goals. catastrophic failures because steamship boilers were prone to exploding.
++ Taking actions on these As Figure 3 illustrates, the ASME NQA-1 standard helps us realize that
differences. quality is achieved through a great deal of planning for how the work will be
Juran described this series of steps performed.12
as “the regulatory process by which Other frameworks have been used to provide structure to planning for
we control anything.” 10 detailed quality at the tactical level. The Japanese 5S system, for example,
Organizational theorist Masaaki focuses on planning how to arrange and control work areas in the best
Imai outlined another quality plan- manner to optimize performance by examining workplace organization,
ning model developed at Toyota, process simplification, cleanliness, standardization of work processes and
shown in Table 1. Imai emphasized self-discipline.13
the cross-functional nature of Shigeo Shingo’s poka-yoke (error-proofing) system likewise focuses on
planning for quality by identifying planning for quality by achieving quality control that seeks zero defects.
the organizational units that must be Shingo emphasized planning systems for source inspection, automated
included in each planning step.11 approaches to inspection, using sensing devices to detect errors, and
There are many additional sources designing work processes with built-in steps that make it impossible to make
to consider when developing tac- an error.14
tical plans for quality. For another More recently, John J. Casey advocated an approach that focuses first
perspective on the breadth of issues and foremost on identifying what must be done right in a workflow and not
that may need to be addressed seeking to identify and control everything that might go wrong.15
in tactical planning, examine the Yoji Akao provided the concept of the house of quality—a matrix for trans-
American Society for Mechanical lating customer requirements into tactical quality requirements.16 Known
Engineers’ (ASME) standard Nuclear widely as quality function deployment, this method provides a concrete way
Quality Assurance-1 Quality Assur- to link customer requirements to engineering characteristics that must be
ance Requirements for Nuclear addressed when creating a tactical plan for achieving a quality product.

Liem Ferryanto has offered advice meet these requirements is discussed.
for capturing voice of the customer ASQ essentially is an invisible army of passionate experts working behind
and translating it into critical-to-qual- the scenes to establish standards, debate emerging issues and educate
ity characteristics by developing organizations on how to embrace quality at the strategic and tactical levels.
clear operational definitions and An untold number of people work in quality carrying out the wide range of
accurate descriptions of customer functions that keep quality in control in every organization. Most don’t iden-
needs that affect physical variables.17 tify themselfes as working in quality and may simply execute tasks without
Over the years, many other stan- understanding the underlying importance of their work in controlling quality.
dards and management systems Many are like the young Crosby when he was working as a junior techni-
for controlling quality have been cian testing fire control systems for Boeing’s B-47 aircrafts, wondering why
developed by quality professionals the work was being done in the first place.18 These people don’t develop the
for their specific areas of manufac- plans for how to control quality but follow the procedures that have been
turing, such as the AS9000 series developed by quality professionals.
of standards for aerospace, just as Helping the workforce understand the importance and nobility of these
they are being developed now in the actions was an area of vital interest to Crosby, Deming and Juran, and it
healthcare sector. should be important to all quality practitioners.
Quality professionals working in
these settings develop tactical plans Planning for quality improvement
to meet all the requirements set forth Just as quality outcomes don’t occur without careful and thorough planning
in these standards. ASQ is organized, of work processes, processes and outcomes don’t improve without planning
in part, around technical divisions for improvement.
whose members engage in shaping Organized efforts to improve quality go back at least as far as the National
these standards and in which guid- War Labor Board and the Whitley Councils initiated during World War I.19
ance for developing tactical plans to After World War II, ASQ (then the American Society for Quality Control) was
FIGURE 4
Philip B. Crosby’s steps to planning for improvement

13. Repeat.
12. Establish local quality councils.
11. Provide a recognition program for
employees who improve quality.
10. Enable employees to communicate to management

about the causes of poor quality
9. Establish goals for improvement.
8. Organize specific campaigns to achieve zero defects.
7. Establish a systematic method for taking
corrective actions.
6. Develop methods to share information about quality with

the workforce.
5. Determine the price of nonconformance to specifications.
4. Establish measures for processes.
3. Train employees on quality methods.
2. Organize a cross-functional quality steering team.
1. Establish clear policies about quality.

F E AT U R E
QUALITY PLANNING
established to ensure that advances What’s important isn’t

in quality methods in the United one specific method or
States weren’t lost. combination of tools over
Similarly, the Japanese Union another, it’s developing a
of Scientists and Engineers began plan for embracing and
working with Deming to introduce systematically using a
methods of understanding and method to drive quality
to control variation in repeatable improvement because
What’s important isn’t one
processes. It also worked with Juran it will not happen on its
specific method or combina-
to significantly advance the idea of own.
tion of tools over another, it’s
establishing a systematic approach Quality improvement is
developing a plan for embrac-
to creating teams that would like tube socks: One size
ing and systematically using
methodically examine processes doesn’t really fit all. Every
a method to drive quality
to make breakthroughs in quality organization must find
improvement because it will
improvement, which the Japanese and fully implement the
not happen on its own.
embraced as quality circles. 20 method that works best
The key was to move beyond the for it.
random discovery of opportunities
for quality improvement and into a Why planning fails
planned and systematic approach. It’s inevitable that our best efforts to develop quality-centered strategic
The concept of planning for quality plans and tactical plans to achieve quality goals will sometimes fail. After
improvement is now embedded in all, this article starts by recognizing the entropic nature of all systems to
international quality standards and eventually fail.
the Baldrige criteria. In his massive 12-volume work A Study of History, however, Arnold Toyn-
When it comes to how to plan bee made the case that the challenge for each age is to see how individuals
for quality improvement, however, answer the entropic challenges of their time and stave off collapse. 23
different practitioners have shared The quality professional is indeed the antientropic actor at work in each
various approaches and competing organization, called upon to take actions to sustain the life of the organiza-
methods and frameworks. tion. However, there are some common factors in organizations’ failure to
Juran framed an approach that effectively plan for quality at the strategic and tactical levels.
calls for a diagnostic journey and a At the strategic level, senior leadership sometimes is unable to overcome
remedial journey to achieve system- the relentless and ever-present demands of the quarterly bottom line.
atic breakthroughs in performance. 21 Short-term management and meeting shipping dates can overrule long-term
Crosby taught the multistep method quality considerations until poor quality brings down the entire organization.
outlined in Figure 4 (p. 43), which At times, hubris overwhelms the organization by lulling leadership into
provides guidance for organization- the belief that it knows what is best for the customer, so the customer’s
wide quality improvement at the input is neither sought nor considered until the organization begins to suffer
Quality College in Winter Park, FL. 22 because of it.
This approach requires a great deal And if leadership doesn’t embrace methods that promote critical
of planning. reflection, such as the Baldrige criteria, the very need for planning can be
Many corporations subsequently dismissed. After all, why plan if everything is already great?
developed their own in-house mod- On the tactical level, planning fails when the organization lacks the tech-
els for systematic improvement as nical knowledge to design work processes because the underlying science,
part of the total quality management engineering, principles of measurement and variation, or quality manage-
movement of the 1980s, and some ment aren’t well understood.
have become semi-institutionalized, Tactical planning fails when customer needs aren’t fully understood or
such as Six Sigma, with its steps of translated into design criteria and concrete actions. Likewise, even when
define, measure, analyze, improve effective tactical planning leads to a process that should provide excel-
and control. lent results, things fail if the plan isn’t implemented. Great quality plans go

unimplemented when people 14. Shigeo Shingo, Zero Quality Control, 19. Jett Lauck, Political and Industrial
Productivity Press, 1986. Democracy, 1776-1926, Funk &
don’t understand the reason for 15. John J. Casey, “A New Way of Wagnalls, 1926.
the actions built into the system Thinking,” Quality Progress, April 20. Kaoru Ishikawa, Guide to Quality
or simply decide not to follow 2017, pp. 32-35. Control, Asian Productivity
16. Yoji Akao, QFD: Quality Function Association, 1974.
through to save time or money, Deployment: Integrating Customer 21. Joseph M. Juran, Managerial
for example. Requirements Into Product Design, Breakthrough, McGraw-Hill, 1964.
The irony of the quality profes- Productivity Press, 2004. 22.Crosby and Associates, Quality
17. Liem Ferryanto, “Brewing Up Improvement Process Management
sion is that we want to plan to do Quality,” Quality Progress, December College Manual, 1987.
it right the first time, as Crosby 2015, pp. 52-56. 23.Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History,
advocated, but we also realize 18. Crosby, Quality Is Free, see reference 1. Oxford University Press, 1934-1961.
that failure can happen, so we
go to great lengths to anticipate,
understand and prevent errors,
defects and failures. To do this, John R. Dew is a faculty member of the graduate school
we must ensure that our orga- at the University of Alabama and is senior vice chancellor
nizations’ strategic plans are at Troy University in Alabama. He earned his EdD in
education from the University of Tennessee. Dew is an
quality centered and that our ASQ fellow, member of the International Academy for
tactical plans are thorough and Quality, past chair of ASQ’s Energy and Environmental
thoughtful. Division and current chair of ASQ’s Education Division.
REFERENCES
1. Philip B. Crosby, Quality Is Free, New
American Library, 1979.
2. R. Buckminster Fuller, Operating
Manual for Spaceship Earth, Pocket
Books, 1970.
Create the customer-centered culture of excellence.
3. Mark Graham Brown, Baldrige Award Win leadership challenges ignored by LSS, ISO and others.
Winning Quality, Quality Resources Make visible the possible you cannot see.
Press, 1996.
4. W. Edwards Deming, Out of the
Inspire, engage, delight and triumph with C3.
Crisis, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Press, 1986.
5. Joseph M. Juran, Juran on Leadership
for Quality, Free Press, 1989.
6. Ashwin Srinivasan and Bryan Kurey,
NEW!
“Creating a Culture of Quality,”
Harvard Business Review, August
ü 4th book by best-selling author
2014. and top speaker
7. T.M. Kubiak, The Certified Six Sigma
Black Belt Handbook, ASQ Quality ü 5-star ranked at Amazon in
Press, 2012. paperback and Kindle
8. John R. Dew, Quality Centered
Strategic Planning, Quality Resources ü Chapters by experts on Baldrige,
Press, 1997. ISO, LSS, COQ
9. Joseph M. Juran, “Company Wide
Planning for Quality” in Juran’s
ü 20 exercises for leaders and teams
Quality Control Handbook, McGraw-
Hill, 1988.
10. Ibid.
ü Many examples of results
11. Masaaki Imai, Kaizen, Random House,
1986. ü Depth with humor
12. American Society for Mechanical
Engineers, Nuclear Quality
Assurance-1 Quality Assurance
Requirements for Nuclear Facility Workshops, Keynotes, Books, Tools, Mentoring:
Applications. Creating the Customer-Centered Culture
13. Jim Peterson and Roland Smith, The Uncovering and Satisfying the Voice of the Customer
5S Pocket Guide, Quality Resources Project Management When the Solution Is Unknown
Press, 1998. Knowledge Product Design and Innovation
Process Speed and Simplicity
www.C3Excellence.com 941-704-9888
F E AT U R E
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Mapping
the Way
Improve the customer experience with customer journey maps
by Lisa Custer
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a document that showed your process
or product from the customer’s point of view? A single page on
which the customer journey is recorded alongside the customer’s
underlying thoughts and feelings at critical touchpoints? A document
that’s easy to understand and explain to stakeholders? One page that
Just the can drive the customer axis of the strategic plan?
Facts There is such a document—it’s called a customer journey map.
The customer journey map is a graphical representation of the
A customer jour- interactions between a customer and a process or product over its lifespan.
ney map is a visual It’s an aspirational guide that, when well thought out, depicts where an organiza-
representation of
how a customer tion wants to be in one, three or five years.
interacts with
an organiza-
tion’s product or Customers’ thoughts and feelings
process. Simply put, a customer’s thoughts and feelings are how he or she experiences products
Customer journey and services. An establishment may have the best price and location, but if its offerings
maps can be used aren’t presented in a way the customer understands, the customer could become frus-
to find and elimi-
nate frustrations, trated and go somewhere else.
which improves If you can identify where in the journey that frustration begins and eliminate it, you can
customer satisfac-
tion and overall maximize customer satisfaction and grow the business simultaneously.
business. Additionally, articulating what the customer wants and needs will increase employee
Use the customer satisfaction. Employees who have a clear understanding of customer goals feel a sense of
journey map to personal satisfaction that corresponds directly to their own contributions. Knowing how
plan improvement
projects, and new the work they’re doing fulfills the mission of customer contentment creates a focal point
processes and for solidarity while eliminating the things that don’t support customer goals.
products.

F E AT U R E
Rallying the team people use your process or product.

To prepare for a customer journey mapping workshop, some homework is The data used to build personas
necessary. First, the boundaries of the process or product being explored must also are the data used to build the
be understood. This can be done on an existing process or product, or a new customer journey map. Use the ver-
one. For a process, these are its beginning and end steps. For a product, it is its batims from the customer interviews,
lifecycle or use case. which are the actual words or phrases
The next step is to define the customer. There may be several types of cus- the customer used when he or she
tomers you want to look at, and they are best described by personas. A persona described his or her experiences.
is a detailed description of a customer that employees can relate to. Personas These verbatims tell you more about
literally put a face and name to a fictitious representation of a customer. your product or process and express
Employees are much more connected to serving Jo, the persona of a new the emotional side of the journey.
customer who is experiencing the product for the first time, than they are to a Gather a diverse team to help
product in a box. Jamie from maintenance is a different persona who will inter- build the map. Go beyond functional
act with the product on a different journey. representation and include employ-
Consider this example: Every year, Thomas Farms advertises its Thomas ees who interact with customers at
Farms Turkey Terrain (Figure 1)—a one-stop-shop for customers to order every- the beginning, middle and end of the
thing they need for a delicious, homecooked Thanksgiving dinner. Figure 2 is process.
a sample persona of Thomas Farms customer Taylor Adams, who is using the
farm’s services for the first time. Anatomy of the
By understanding the personality of the people using your product or customer journey map
process, and their emotions during the journey, you can focus on reducing the The customer journey map should
stresses of the journey and provide a personal and empathetic experience. be a single page that contains just
Personas are built from customer interviews and by watching a variety of enough information to convey the
salient points of the customer’s expe-
rience and has enough detail to easily
FIGURE 1 capture his or her point of view. This
page begins as a large piece of paper
Thomas Farms advertisement or whiteboard, and eventually is con-

densed into something more concise.
Thomas Farms Turkey Terrain has been providing Behind the one page is a collection of
local restaurants and families with the freshest action plans and documents to drive
quality, organic, free-range turkey and poultry
products for more than 100 years. improvement.
Ultimately, the page should
With the holidays fast approaching, sign up today
to pick up your 10 to 32-pound turkey—fresh from include the phases the customer
our farm to your table. Need a little extra help? goes through, what the customer
We’re happy to make the sides as well.
is thinking and feeling at each of
Check out our tablescape recommendations and
Granny Thomas’ family stuffing secrets! those phases, the goal of each phase,
actions and touchpoints. If the map
FIGURE 2 is used internally, business opportu-
Sample customer persona of Taylor Adams

nities can be added to the bottom or
on a separate page.
The customer journey map is built
Young, single professional getting from the customer’s point of view,
ready to host his first Thanksgiving. His Frustrations/pain points
sister normally hosts, but she recently ++ Struggles with the timing of dishes using his or her words and mapping
broke her arm and reluctantly agreed to ++ Has high standards for outcomes his or her actions. The business por-
let him take a turn. He's determined to ++ Mom is on a gluten-free diet
make it a memorable family event. tions can and should reference the
customer, not the other way around.
Goals/motivations Primary influences
Build your process or product
++ New to cooking and wants to improve around the customer. Don’t make the
++ Mom
++ Curious about farm-to-table and ++ Older sister customer conform to your business
organic food ++ Foodie friends
++ Interested in shopping local practices.

FIGURE 3
Sample customer journey of Taylor Adams

Phase Customer's thoughts and feelings
Taylor has many questions and concerns about hosting his first Thanksgiving dinner. A couple of
weeks before the big day, he starts to think about the event and do some research via the internet, cooking shows
Explore and his friends. He hears about Thomas Farms Turkey Terrain on the local news. It sounds interesting, so he looks it up.
They can do most of the work, and Taylor can take the credit. Taylor downloads the Thomas Farms app to plan his event.
On the Thomas Farms app, Taylor answers a questionnaire about the type of event he would like to host.
A meal choice and decoration plans are generated and presented to Taylor.
Decide
Taylor remembers that his mother is on a gluten-free diet, so he makes a few changes to the menu.
Taylor orders his food and decorations, and schedules a pickup time with Thomas Farms.
It is the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving and Taylor is stressed. He has all his ingredients and decorations but
doesn’t know where to begin. What time does he need to start the turkey? How long do the carrots take to cook?
Taylor receives an email from Thomas Farms with a detailed preparation plan, including start times and cook times.
Prepare Taylor also can sign up for text reminders.
A photo of a decorated table is included.
Taylor doesn’t understand a portion of the directions that says to brine the turkey. He clicks on the link provided in the
directions and it takes him to a YouTube video that explains how to brine a turkey.
Dinner was a success! Taylor’s sister gives him a compliment. With the extra containers that came with the meal from
Thomas Farms, Taylor can easily put away the leftovers.
Relax Taylor’s family gathers around the TV to watch their favorite team play football.
On Friday, Thomas Farms sends Taylor an email with recipes using the leftovers.
Customer goals product or service. Have them describe what they are thinking and feeling
Gathering customer information to during their journey, such as excitement, frustration, consternation, dread or a
synthesize into customer needs and sense of completion. Listen closely to the words they use and their expressions.
goals should be an iterative process. These are the keys to understanding and translating customer thinking and
Start with what you have—past feeling into customer goals.
customer surveys, customer service Synthesize customer goals from the data gathered about the customer’s
data, warranty data, sales data and thoughts. What does the customer need? How might you measure it? Under-
social media comments, for example. standing customer thinking and feeling will help with detailed measurement
What does it say? Where are there criteria, and operational definitions and tolerances during the map’s design
gaps? phase.
To fill in those gaps, use this data
to design a customer interview that Define the phases
can be executed across a broad sam- All journeys have phases. The phases of a road trip, for example, are planning,
ple of customers. Make sure to use preparing, exploring, unpacking and enjoying. Key to each phase is a logical
open-ended questions and encour- beginning and ending, and measurable outcomes. The outcomes of a customer
age customers to tell stories about journey are defined by the customer goals—what the customer must accom-
when they were and weren’t suc- plish during that phase. The phases should be the same for all personas, though
cessful using your product or service. not all personas will go through every phase the same way.
Stories allow the team to understand Consider exploring beyond what you think the beginning and end of the
the situation the customer was deal- journey are. How are you going to educate the customer about your product
ing with and empathize with what he or service? What is your follow-up customer service? Look at the end-to-end
or she was feeling in the moment. lifecycle. Is there a return path or recycling of your product?
Additionally, you may want to It’s easiest to perform this step after the customer’s thoughts and goals have
design an ethnographic study to been gathered. Sometimes, the team also must complete the action section of
observe customers using your the map to have a visual representation of the journey.

F E AT U R E
customer journey map is created using sticky notes on a wall. When the infor-
During a touchpoint, mation from the wall is transferred to the digital map, use some basic icons and
customers can either be clipart. You’re building a communication tool, so it’s worth spending extra time
delighted or disappointed to simplify the customer process and represent ideas clearly.
as a result of the journey If you’re designing a new process, leave the map free of technology. Aim to
going well or not so well. represent what the customer is trying to do, not how he or she is going to do
it. There may be many ways to take an order with a wide range of technologies
or no technology at all. Decisions about technology can be made during the
design activities of your project. For many journeys, these technology decisions
must align with or inform the enterprise technology roadmap.
Customer touchpoints
Customer touchpoints are where the customer interacts with your process
or product. This is where you can make an impact and differentiate yourself.
During a touchpoint, customers can either be delighted or disappointed as a
Outlined in Figure 3 (p. 49) is an result of the journey going well or not so well.
example of Taylor Adams’ customer Prioritize the touchpoints using the information and data already collected. If
journey and the four phases he goes data aren't available, create a data collection plan to measure performance at
through during his journey with these points of the journey. For an existing product or process, execute the data
Thomas Farms. collection plan. For a new product or process, survey competitive offerings to
determine potential measurable goals to design toward.
Action Remember that the touchpoints are where you win, keep or lose the cus-
The middle—and largest—section tomer. These are the areas to focus on when designing or improving your
of the customer journey map is product or process.
a graphical representation of the Figure 4 shows Taylor Adams’ completed customer journey map.
actions a customer takes to use your
product or service. The purpose of Business opportunities
the action section is to illustrate the Now that the customer journey is done, stand back and really look at the map.
steps of the main journey—or the Try to answer the following questions:
happy path. This is the journey path ++ What actions can you take immediately to positively affect the customer?
on which everything goes well for ++ What technologies are necessary to make this happen? How and when can
the customer. He or she can com- they be implemented?
plete your process or interact with ++ Where are the gaps in your processes?
your product easily. ++ Where are the gaps in your current product performance?
However, the best process and ++ What are your competitors doing in these areas?
product improvements often ++ Where do you need additional information?
come from understanding how Business opportunities don’t follow the journey. They fall into their own cate-
the customer interacts with your gories, such as educate the consumer, perfect delivery or leverage technology.
process when things aren’t perfect. New process and product development roadmaps, technology roadmaps, pro-
Understanding where the journey cess improvement projects and marketing plans now can be aligned to create
deviates from the happy path and the ultimate customer journey. Implementation to achieve the journey may be a
the customer’s level of frustration stepped roadmap or translated into departmental strategies.
or dissatisfaction when the journey
deviates provides insight into where Next steps
you should focus design or improve- Gather the team and try it. Who are your customers? What are their personas?
ment efforts. Don’t try to fit every What is their journey using your process or product? What are the touchpoints
possible deviation on the map, but that customers have with you? What are they feeling during those touchpoints?
make sure the most important ones What can you do to help?
are included. Asking these questions and developing your customer journey map will help
Like a process map or value you improve or create a product or process that will satisfy your customers and
stream map, this part of the help them achieve their goals.

FIGURE 4
Sample customer experience journey map

Journey phase Explore Decide Prepare Relax
Customer goal ++ Impress family and friends ++ Compare options ++ Perfect meal ++ Put away leftovers
++ Learn Thanksgiving Day ++ Create detailed list ++ Served on time ++ Cheer favorite football team
hacks ++ Stay on budget ++ No disasters ++ Enjoy time with family and friends
++ Learn current trends
Customer ++ Want to be better than ++ What style of dinner? ++ To brine or not to brine? ++ Do I have enough containers for
thinking my sister's event last year. ++ How much do I need to ++ How long does the turkey leftovers?
++ Is frying a turkey prepare? need to cook? ++ What can I make with the
dangerous? ++ What can be purchased ++ I only have one oven—what leftovers?
++ What are this year's versus made? order do I cook things? ++ Should I offer after dinner
trends? ++ When can I get it? ++ Where will everyone sit? drinks?
++ How can I make this easy? Do I need a kids' table? ++ What channel is playing my
team's game?
Action Create Pick up food
from Thomas Success!
Thanksgiving Receive text Picture perfect!
Day plan Farms
I want the
messages to
perfect event! guide meal
preparation When do I
start the
turkey?
Ready for
Answer football and
Place order, Troubleshoot pie!
questions questions
about select pickup
desired time
event Put away
leftovers
Receive Can you
Are there a meal and deliver?
variety of side decoration
dishes?
plan
Customer Educate the customer

touchpoints
Download app LT1 Use mobile app LT1 LT2 EP1 EP2
Take order Pick up order Text message reminders PM1 Email recipes for leftovers PM3
Email instructions PM2 1-800-MY-TURKEY PM3
Business Leverage technology (LT) Proactive messaging (PM) Easy preparation (EP) Customer experience journey
opportunities LT1 E stablish MyTurkey
map key
PM1 Text reminders to pick EP1 Create gluten free,
site for education, up meal, season turkey, organic and vegan Customer journey path
shopping, ordering turn on oven and cook side dishes and Optional journey path
and interaction. turkey based on weight. desserts for sale.
Key customer needs
LT2 Create customer PM2 Send email with EP2 Links to easy-to-
ordering guide based step-by-step, timed follow videos. XX1 Business opportunity
on menu, guests, directions for the meal. EP3 1 -800-MY-TURKEY
dietary restrictions PM3 Send email with recipes line for questions. Apps and video
and budget. for leftovers.
Inputs with MyTurkey
account
1-800-MY-TURKEY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
IBM, “Customer Journey Maps and Buyer
Personas: The Modern Tool Kit for Marketing,”
IBM Cloud Marketing, 2016. Lisa Custer is the principal consultant at Firefly
Liedtka, Jeanne, and Tim Ogilvie, Designing Consulting in Phoenix. She earned a doctorate
for Growth: A Design Thinking Tool Kit for in industrial engineering from Arizona State
Managers, Columbia Business School Press, University in Tempe and is an ASQ member.
2011.

Seeking innovation through tools, techniques and approaches
Innovation mperative
COST OF QUALITY
Deming said, “90% of the problems in a
Need a
process are a result of the system in which
the process operates.”1
It’s the reworking of your plans, poor
communications between departments
and wasted time of senior people where
Jumpstart?
your big opportunity cost will be found.
These reworkings also can be great
opportunities for business model inno-
vation. The discovery that 25% to 35% of
your organization’s costs are being wasted
is a great attention-getter, as Figure 1
shows. Cost of quality is also a tool for
Using cost of quality can help set
getting senior management's attention, so
innovation efforts in motion keep your message concise.
When you express waste in terms of
by Peter Merrill cold, hard cash, it really focuses attention
on opportunities. However, it doesn’t
Many use cost of quality to drive corrective action, which, in stop there. You can now prioritize which
turn, drives improvement. Why not use cost of quality to drive problems to work on by analyzing the cost
innovation? Organizations that I have worked with in Europe and of waste—in other words, cost of failure.
North America have used the simple methods I will describe here to Finally, you can measure your success
engage this powerful concept. through continuous collection of cost of
Many organizations don't use cost of quality effectively, even waste to show the value of your improve-
though they are fascinated by it. One of the common reasons for ment or innovation activity.
failure is they make a simple concept too complex. As quality pro- Typical examples of cost of waste that
fessionals, we are frequently guilty of creating too much complexity. are taken for granted include:
Paradoxically, cost of quality is a technique for locating problem ++ Reprocessing information.
points in a complex system. As everyone knows, a problem is an ++ Replanning.
opportunity, and innovators thrive on opportunities. ++ Unplanned inventory.
Much of the time, failure or waste occurs in an organization as ++ Handling complaints.
the result of a poor connection between processes in its manage- ++ Labor turnover.
ment system, which leads to poor communications. As W. Edwards ++ Overdue accounts.
These are great opportunities not only
for improvement, but also for innovation.
FIGURE 1 There has been a long debate about the
difference between improvement and
Percentage cost of failure innovation. In truth, it’s like the difference

between correction and prevention. It is
a gradual transition. At the two ends of
the continuum, however, we can say that
Error-free for improvement, we will change a step in
work Cost of
failure
the process or clarify a requirement. For
innovation, we will create a completely
new process.
Cost of Whenever information or materials
prevention must be reworked, this is a cost of waste.

We have learned
The four hours we wasted rewriting the that the best way of
report, for example, can be translated into connecting to creative
anything from $250 to $1,250, depending solutions is through
on whether you’re an accountant or presi- collective knowledge,
dent of the organization. where diversity is a
But take a moment to think about must.
what might have happened had you not
checked the report—if things had gone
forward and key business decisions had
been based on it. The domino effect can
be staggering. Joseph M. Juran’s law of 10
demonstrates the consequences when a
small error is missed in a design situation. 2
For example, if it costs $1 to correct an
error at the drawing board or in a report,
it can cost:
++ $10 in verification.
++ $100 in manufacturing.
++ $1,000 in assembly.
++ $10,000 in commissioning.
++ $100,000 in field retrofits.
++ $1 million in litigation (ultimately).
If you have been involved in engineering
design, you can relate.
When you look deep into an organi-
zation, you find between one-quarter
and one-third of people’s time is wasted
reworking information or materials. Some
people can spend 100% of their time
correcting errors. For every $10 million
in operating costs, your organization can
waste $2 million to $4 million.
Table 1 shows how a typical cost of
waste calculation is carried out. In general,
the greater the cost, the greater the
opportunity to innovate. For example,
if you found report writing is a com- TA B L E 1
Cost of failure worksheet

panywide problem, you would want
to completely change the process by
innovating.
Writing a Rewriting a 4 hours/month $60/hour 4 × 60 × 12 $2,880
Integrating cost of report report
waste and innovation Blending Reblending
off-spec 1 hour/week $150/hour 150 × 52 $7,800
You use cost of waste to identify which chemical chemicals
elements of your management system are
the main cause of your wasted time and
materials. You can do this by conducting

Innovation Imperative
a first-cut cost of waste calculation. This TA B L E 2
Agenda for a one-day cost of

is a one or two-day task, which touches
each of your managers and supervisors at
some point in that time, and can unearth
between one-third and one-half of your
total cost of waste.
quality workshop
I open a first-cut day by briefing the key
Time Action/discussion
managers in a business on the principles
of process management and cost of qual- Key managers of the business briefed on the
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. concepts of quality, cost of quality and cost of
ity. I explain that our organization consists waste.
of a series of processes linked together. A Key managers brainstorm with their staffs
process is an activity that changes or adds 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. on four questions designed to identify the
organization's main areas of waste.
value to information or materials.
We all are suppliers of material, infor- Key managers and staff quantify the waste areas
10:30 a.m. – noon in terms of time, materials or units.
mation or services to someone in the
CFO, CEO and facilitator analyze the book of
organization. That someone is an internal 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m. accounts to identify waste areas.
customer. We also receive material, infor-
CFO and facilitator visit with each manager’s
mation and services from people who are 11 a.m. – noon group to address any roadblocks.
our internal suppliers. Key managers break for lunch and share
To satisfy the external customer, all Noon – 1 p.m. experiences.
internal customers and suppliers must Key managers and staff continue to quantify
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
link together smoothly. Requirements are waste areas.
characteristics of a product or service that CFO and facilitator revisit groups clearing any
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
must be agreed to with the customer to remaining problems and feeding in cost data.
satisfy the customer. 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. Groups calculate cost of waste using data from
CFO.
Many requirements are not agreed to
because there is not clear ownership of Finance department consolidates waste costs
2 p.m. – 3 p.m. from groups.
processes in an organization, so you don’t
know who should agree with whom. CEO presents key managers with the cost of
waste results that have been identified and
Deep down, we are aware that if our 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. states how the organization intends to tackle the
processes don’t deliver “right the first opportunity this presents.
time,” it costs us money. So we check
things when we’re not sure how effective
a process is. The problem with checking is a price. You must rework information or materials, and this cost of
that it is often too late, and the customer’s waste, expressed in dollars, is a major driving force for improvement
delivery still suffers. and innovation. If you apply prevention, the cost of prevention is
It certainly is an extra cost that adds much less than the cost of waste.
no value to what we are delivering to This briefing I have described can take about an hour. I then
customers. In short, checking implies disperse the managers back to their own departments with four key
that you expect the process to fail. There questions, which they will brainstorm with their respective staffs.
must be a better way. In a successful 1. “Where do you waste time?”
organization processes operate so 2. “What are your biggest hassles?”
rework is avoided. 3. “Where do you get problems dumped on you?”
Checking goods or services after they 4. “Where do you not know requirements?”
have been produced always lets some The questions enable the manager and staff to identify the major
errors slip past. It’s much better to avoid time-wasters and hassles in the department. This also takes about
producing the errors in the first place. an hour. While they’re doing this, I spend time with the CFO, going
Whenever the output requirements do through the accounts to identify items in the ledger that are cost of
not meet those agreed with the customer, waste.
(whether internal or external), you pay After the brainstorming, the departments start to quantify and

Don’t just play with
the process—change
prioritize the items they have listed. By this time, the CFO and I are it completely. That’s
ready to start visiting with each of the groups, helping to remove what innovators do.
any roadblocks and feeding in any extra items found in the accounts.
That takes us through until lunchtime. After lunch, we start to feed
the groups the cost data they now need. By mid-afternoon, smaller
organizations would be ready to consolidate each department’s
findings. In larger organizations, this would run into the following
day. I recommend a maximum scope of a business unit to be around
a 250-person headcount. The end result is a number owned by the
people who calculated it, and a great desire to get started in quality You also must determine what aspects
improvement. of your present product or service block
Table 2 is a possible agenda for a one-day cost of quality the solution. If you look at successful
workshop. innovations, the organizations have had
Next, look for systemic issues. Follow a customer order through the courage to do this. They all removed
design to purchasing to operations—much like following an audit sacred attributes of the status quo.
trail. Here is the challenge after you have found a systemic problem. Combining cost of quality with creative
Don’t just play with the process—change it completely. That’s what problem solving is a great way to jump-
innovators do. It may be just a particular process area you change. It start innovation.
does not have to be an end-to-end process.
REFERENCES
So the question is how do we make this radical change? Well, that 1. Peter Merrill, Do It Right the Second Time,
requires the innovation process itself, which I described in the May second edition, ASQ Quality Press, 2009.
2017 Innovation Imperative column.3 Let me summarize and remind 2. Ibid.
3. Peter Merrill, “Finding Solutions—Creatively,”
you that this is where traditionalists will go into their five whys, 8D Quality Progress, May 2017, pp. 44-46.
or seven-step in-house problem-solving method. Innovators use 4. Albert Einstein, AZ Quotes, www.azquotes.
creative problem solving com/quote/811850.
5. Edward de Bono, Lateral Thinking: Creativity
The first step in solving any problem is defining the problem, and Step by Step, Harper Colophon, 2015.
we have a tendency to define solutions and not problems. Albert 6. Linus Pauling, BrainyQuote, www.brainyquote.
Einstein said, “If I had an hour to save the world, I would spend 55 com/quotes/quotes/l/linuspauli163645.html.
minutes defining the problem and five minutes finding the solution.”4
Connecting to the solution then happens through creative
techniques called ideation or idea creation, which unlock the
subconscious mind and show you are more creative than you think.
There is a popular myth that creative solutions come from the lonely
genius such as Thomas Edison. We have learned that the best way
of connecting to creative solutions is through collective knowledge,
where diversity is a must.
There are several techniques available to harness collective knowl-
edge and the best known is brainstorming. Get 12 to 20 people and
loosen up, which is the first step in creating what Edward de Bono
calls lateral thinking.5 Ice breaker exercises are used for this.
Have them write down three or four ideas on their own. Each per- Peter Merrill is president of Quest
son then turns to the person on their right and shares their ideas to Management Inc., an innovation
consultancy based in Burlington, Ontario.
build their list. Next, they turn to the neighbor on their left-hand side Merrill is the author of several ASQ Quality
and again share their ideas. The ideas of everyone in the room are Press books, including Innovation Never
then captured. The key issue with all of this work is volume. Stops (2015), Do It Right the Second Time,
second edition (2009), and Innovation
Linus Pauling said, “The best way to get a good idea is to get lots Generation (2008). He is a member of
of ideas.”6 Recognize that ideation takes time, whether it is a piece of ASQ, previous chair of the ASQ Innovation
music or a piece of software. Relaxing between sessions is essential. Division and current chair of the ASQ
Innovation Think Tank. Merrill is also head
Often, the epiphany will come unexpectedly. That is why ideation is of delegation for his country to ISO/TC 279
not a one-off, 20-minute session done once a year. Innovation Management.

Solving quality quandaries through statistics
Statistics Spotlight 1213231315447133415341545721157945495241262

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PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Action
Suppose you’re using a control chart to monitor the
performance of an important process. You observe
some points outside the control limits. These observed
points, however, don’t seem to cause any real problem
with the process or its output. What action or inaction do
That
you take?
Suppose in another situation you run an experiment
with the objective of improving the yield of an important
process. You find a way to increase yield by 1%, but this
solution will require a significant capital investment to
Matters
implement. Your finance department suggests this capi-
tal expense will not pay for itself for several years. What
action do you take?
Data collection and statistical analysis have long been
an integral part of process and product development,
control and improvement, and they continue to grow in
importance. Such studies result in questions like those
Practical significance earlier. One of the lingering questions is how you should
provides a basis for action interpret and take action on a statistical analysis. Curi-
ously, the practical issue of when it makes sense to act
on statistical results is discussed little in the statistics and
by Ronald D. Snee and Roger W. Hoerl quality literature, including textbooks. The assumption
seems to be that anything detected in statistical analyses
is actionable.
This issue relates to the difference between statistical
significance—how confident we can be that an effect
is real—and practical significance—whether the effect
is important enough to be acted on. Unfortunately,
analysts often simply note that an effect is “significant,”
without clarification, exacerbating the confusion.
We argue that you should be most concerned about
practical significance of results because practical signif-
icance determines what action, if any, should be taken.
This column provides guidance on how to determine
the practical significance of results, and combining this
with statistical significance, decide on an appropriate
course of action. Examples are included to illustrate the
proposed analysis and decision-making processes.
What is statistical significance?

Stating that an effect (for example, the average response
to a pharmaceutical) is statistically significant implies
that the observed effect is larger than can reasonably
be attributed to random variation. In other words, you

can be confident there really is an have interpreted this simple rule as size. If the sample size is large (as in
effect—that is, the drug has some a scientific fact and won’t publish big data studies, for example), small
effect. It is detectable. The metric research unless the p-value is lower differences can attain statistical sig-
commonly used to assess statistical than 0.05. The logical result is that nificance. This explains why p-values
significance is the so-called p-value, researchers may be tempted to are rarely used in big data analytics.
or the probability of obtaining a manipulate the data and the analysis Conversely, an important effect may
result “this unusual,” assuming the until they achieve p < 0.05. Obvi- go unnoticed because of low sample
hypothesis of no effect (that is, ously, this is not sound application of size or large process variation, pro-
assuming the drug has no effect the scientific method. To help clarify ducing a p-value greater than 0.05.
whatsoever). A common rule of the issue, the American Statistical Certainly, we should follow up on
thumb used in practice is to say that Association recently published a important results, regardless of the
the observed effect is statistically statement on the context, process p-value.
significant if p < 0.05. This would and purpose of p-values.1 Unfortunately, statistical signifi-
mean that an observed drug effect Beyond misinterpreting the 0.05 cance does not determine practical
of this magnitude would occur less threshold, p-values have other significance—the real importance
than 5% of the time in a clinical trial critical limitations. If the process of the effect, nor vice versa. The
if the drug had, in reality, no effect variation (noise) is small, an effect principal value of attaining statistical
whatsoever. may be statistically significant but significance is to be confident in the
Obviously, p < 0.05 is just a rule of of no practical importance. Further, statistical results, and our subse-
thumb. There is no science to justify elementary probability shows that quent action. In short, both types
it. Unfortunately, some journals the p-value also depends on sample of significance must be considered

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TA B L E 1
Actions regarding statistical significance

and practical significance
Practically Statistically significant?
significant? Yes No
++ Increase sample size.
Yes Take appropriate action. ++ Estimate effect size more precisely.
++ Take no action. ++ Action not appropriate.
No ++ Keep effect in mind. May later become ++ Look elsewhere for improvement
practically significant. opportunities.
TA B L E 2
Considerations when using statistical tools—examples

Statistical tool Statistical consideration Practical consideration
Process capability Sample sizes larger than 30 with n > 90 Sampling time sufficient to see total range
indexes preferred. of process variation.
Sample size large enough to detect effect Predictor variable (x) range covers full
Regression coefficient with 95% confidence. operational range.
Maximize f(x) to find optimum set of Make tradeoffs among the responses based
Process optimization conditions. on objectives.
Factor ranges wide (bold experimentation)
No. Runs large enough to detect significant
Screening experiments to maximize probability of detecting
effects with 95% confidence. effects worthy of further study.
Samples should cover full range of process
Gage repeatability and Include five to 10 samples in the study. variation over which the measurement
reproducibility study system will be used.
to respond appropriately to statis- drug large enough to warrant fur- Practical significance is domain
tical studies. This is another reason ther expenses toward bringing it to specific. Clinical significance, in the
why we feel it is unfortunate that market? While being able to detect context of pharmaceutical devel-
so few books discuss this critical that the drug has an effect (signif- opment, for example, is related to
consideration. icance) is noteworthy, is this effect whether the effect is large enough
larger than competitive drugs? Is it to have a meaningful impact on
What is practical large enough to make a convincing a patient’s health.2 On the other
significance? case to doctors that they should hand, regulatory significance should
Practical significance is determined switch to prescribing this drug? answer another question—whether
by assessing the magnitude and Perhaps it has lower side effects. the observed effect, known with
nature of an effect in light of the Cost, priorities and requirements are a given degree of confidence, is
experiment that produced the data, important practical considerations. important enough to warrant regula-
and subject matter (domain) knowl- Will these results justify an action, tory action or inaction.3
edge. Is the effect large enough to change business decisions, revise Often, experience with a certain
have real meaning in context of the policies or procedures, or influence phenomenon identifies the size of an
study and its objectives? the behavior of professionals in the effect that is considered practically
For example, is the effect of the field? important. For example, in some

situations an effect greater than are customers unable to pur-
5 to 10% of the typical response Practical significance is chase desired product currently,
is considered to have practical determined by assessing which could force them to go
significance. In our experience, the magnitude and nature with competition if yield cannot
coefficients of variation, also known of an effect in light of the be improved? As with most real
as relative standard deviation, experiment that produced problems, there are often other
being less than 5 to 10% of the typ- the data, and subject matter considerations besides ROI that
ical response are often considered (domain) knowledge. must be considered, such as
to be acceptable for measurement customer satisfaction, safety and
system variation and process environmental compliance.
variation. Table 1 offers guidance on mak-
Jacob Cohen and Shlomo S. Saw- ing the results of statistical analyses
ilowsky provide statistical measures improvement, they should be actionable by integrating statistical
that divide effects into categories investigated and addressed. At a and practical significance.7 Table 1
such as small, medium and large.4, 5 minimum, these OOC points should also illustrates the four situations
Unfortunately, these measures are be remembered as an indication that can occur relative to statisti-
based on statistical considerations that the process may have more cal and practical significance. Of
and not practical relevancy. serious problems in the future. The course, what we are looking for are
acceptance control chart combines those situations in the upper left in
Integrating statistical process stability and process speci- which the difference is important
and practical significance fications, and should be considered and real. However, when the effect
Let’s return to the two situations as a viable option.6 is large enough to be important
mentioned at the beginning of this In the second example, a study but there are insufficient data to be
column. In the case of the control has found a way to increase the confident that it is real, gathering
chart, out-of-control (OOC) signals yield by 1%, which is statistically additional data will either confirm
can be viewed as a statistically significant but will require a capital the effect or demonstrate that it is
significant signal for special causes. investment to implement. This not as large as we had hoped.
Some would argue that every OOC investment will not pay for itself for Conversely, if the effect can be
event should be investigated. How- years, and there are other invest- detected, but is not of practical
ever, production operators are busy ment options being considered that importance, we often may choose
people. So are nurses and financial would pay for themselves sooner. not to act, but rather to continue
analysts. They only have time to Two practical considerations come monitoring, looking for a potential
investigate OOC points that matter. into play here: increase in the effect to the point
One way to assess practical sig- ++ First, as just noted, what is the that it becomes important. A lack
nificance in this case is to compare financial value of the 1% increase of both practical and statistical
the OOC values to the specifica- in yield and the return on significance allows us to cross
tions. If the OOC points are well investment (ROI) of the needed this variable off our list and move
within specs, then the differences capital improvement? If this is on to other potential sources of
are not practically significant. One a high-volume process, then improvement. A negative result can
option is to footnote the special the 1% yield improvement, while be helpful in improvement efforts
cause, but hold off on investigating numerically small, can produce because it allows us to focus atten-
for now. a significant increase in revenue tion on the critical few issues that
Note that we are suggesting that when multiplied by the high drive improvement.
statistical and practical significance volume. This assumes, of course,
be considered, not one or the other. that additional production can Using statistical
If there is time to investigate points be sold. thinking and methods
that are statistically detectable, ++ Secondly, are there any cus- There is another important consid-
but not yet practically significant, tomer satisfaction issues with eration in the issue of statistical and
then, in the spirit of continuous the current yield? In other words, practical significance: the collection

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91545154134541213231315447133415341545721157945495241262
of data that enables practical inter- in Table 2 relate to ensuring a emphasis on practical significance
pretation of the statistical analysis. reasonable time period and range will result in our employers and
Too often, practical significance is of factors are studied, as is based scientists, engineers and other pro-
an afterthought, only considered on experience. We cannot prove fessionals making better decisions.
after the data are collected. that these guidelines are correct in Of course, this should be our
However, we can plan and collect any sense, but we argue they are overarching objective in any statis-
appropriate data for practical reasonable from a practical point tical study. An added benefit will be
interpretation. In our experience, of view. Obviously, incorporating that our profession becomes more
for example, nearly all the guidance the desired sources of variation relevant as its practitioners create
provided in statistical texts on with a reasonable time period—and more solutions that truly matter.
individual methods relate to their studying an appropriate range of
© 2018 Ronald D. Snee and Roger W. Hoerl
statistical performance. each variable—will influence the
As Table 2 (p. 58) shows, how- inferences that can be made from
ever, you also can consider practical the study and, therefore, influence REFERENCES
1. American Statistical Association (ASA),
importance and interpretation from the actions that can be taken based “The ASA’s Statement on p-Values:
the beginning of planning the study on the results of the study. Context, Process and Purpose,”
and data collection. Table 2 shows American Statistician, 2016, Vol. 20,
No. 2, pp. 129-133, https://tinyurl.com/
that statistical considerations, and Creating bases for ASA-statement-p-value.
the associated concept of statistical action that matter 2. Yifan Wang, Ronald D. Snee, Golshid
significance, revolve for the most Statisticians and quality profes- Keyvan and Fernado J. Muzzio,
“Statistical Comparison of Dissolution
part around sample size. Essentially, sionals should be placing greater Profiles,” Drug Development and
the question boils down to: “Is the emphasis on the practical signifi- Industrial Pharmacy, 2016, Vol. 42, No.
sample size large enough to deter- cance of the results of their studies. 5, pp. 796-807.
3. Ibid.
mine that an effect of a desired Such consideration augments, 4. Jacob Cohen, Statistical Power Analysis
size is statistically significant with a and does not replace, the concept for the Behavioral Sciences, Routledge
desired probability?” of statistical significance. Finding Taylor-Francis Group, 1988.
5. Shlomo S. Sawilowsky, “New Effect Size
This problem can be easily statistical significance is necessary Rules of Thumb,” Journal of Modern
“mathematized” to calculate a but not sufficient. Applied Statistical Methods, 2009, Vol.
unique correct answer, which, of Integration of both types of sig- 8, No. 2, pp. 467–474.
6. Richard A. Freund, “Acceptance Control
course, is typical in textbooks. Prac- nificance should be in our problem Charts,” Industrial Quality Control, 1957,
tical considerations are rarely so cut solving and process improvement Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 13-23.
and dried, however, and are difficult work, as well as in the articles we 7. Roger W. Hoerl and Ronald D. Snee,
Statistical Thinking—Improving
to “mathematize.” write and the statistics and quality Business Performance, second edition,
The practical considerations texts we publish. This enhanced John Wiley and Sons, 2012.
Ronald D. Snee is president

of Snee Associates LLC Roger W. Hoerl is a Brate-
in Newark, DE. He has a Peschel assistant professor
doctorate in applied and of statistics at Union College
mathematical statistics from in Schenectady, NY. He
Rutgers University in New has a doctorate in applied
Brunswick, NJ. Snee is an statistics from the University
honorary member of ASQ and of Delaware in Newark. Hoerl
has received ASQ’s Shewhart, is an ASQ fellow, a recipient
Grant and Distinguished Service Medals. He is an of the ASQ’s Shewhart Medal
ASQ fellow and an academician in the International and Brumbaugh Award, and an academician in the
Academy for Quality. International Academy for Quality.

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Standards-related developments and activities
Standard Issues
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Paddle Like
The Dickens
Embrace quality management to keep your
organization running smoothly
by Govind Ramu
Throughout my quality career, I have been continually challenged by business

process owners, R&D engineers and scientists, and senior management staff to
prove the benefits of quality management systems (QMS).
These are the people who say: “We have a quality product and service,” or, “Our
brand is synonymous with quality,” and use the word “quality” a lot when marketing
to customers. They unanimously agree that quality is important to an organization’s
revenue and bottom line, but, somehow, they don’t deem QMSs important.
QMSs are misperceived as a paperwork exercise done to ensure the organization
has an ISO 9001 certification hanging on the wall. This narrow understanding often
results in quality management professionals becoming an easy target for headcount
reduction. This shortsighted cost cutting blurs the long-term vision of achieving a
sustainable and more resilient organization.

ISO 9000:2015 defines “quality leader performs cost benefit calculations to justify pursuing the project. After
management” as establishing the project is completed, the project leader presents the benefits realized to
quality policies and objectives, management and the project champion.
and processes to achieve those But when it comes to implementing a QMS, a cost benefit analysis isn’t
objectives through quality calculated. This is because quality professionals see quality management as the
planning, assurance, control foundation of the sustainability of overall business. It even serves as the founda-
and improvement.1 The same tion of lean and Six Sigma projects.
standard defines “quality” as the Quality professionals see a QMS as a common-sense aspect of conducting
degree to which an object’s set business. When building a house, for example, the foundation isn’t optional. The
of inherent characteristics fulfills same holds true for a QMS when running a business.
requirements.2
If an organization demonstrates
quality through quality control
inspections only and not by
TA B L E 1
addressing the other dimensions
of quality management (such as
quality planning, assurance and
improvement), the product or ser-
Typical wastes in an organization
vice quality that is delivered won’t Example of quality
Organizational issue Cost of quality
system gaps
bring value to the organization’s
customers. Eventually, quality Design technical External failure costs:
review ineffectiveness, lost opportunity and
control will become unaffordable. Delayed launch of inadequate verification market share.
On the other hand, if quality new products or and validation plans,
services. and products and Internal failure costs:
is built into the products and services not meeting products expedited
quality goals. at premium costs.
services the organization offers
by embracing every dimension External failure costs:
Difficulty ramping Low process and lost opportunity and
of quality management, qual- up high volume equipment capability, market share.
ity becomes affordable and without affecting untrained personnel,
the quality and manufacturing, Internal failure
sustainable. reliability of prod- inadequate service costs: repair, rework,
ucts and services. infrastructure. reinspection,
This is where there is discon- regrade.
nect. Quality professionals often
Internal failure
don’t do a great job of making top Failure modes not costs: repair, rework,
Lost productivity fully understood, lack
management and other inter- reinspection,
from process of control plan and regrade, overtime,
ested parties aware of everything excursions. ineffectiveness of expedited delivery,
control plan.
quality management encom- excess inventory.
passes and why it’s important to Appraisal costs:
Incomplete inspection, screening
understand a holistic approach to Supplier quality of lots.
specifications, supplier
achieving quality. As a result, top issues require incapability, supplied Internal failure
inspection and
management often sees quality material inadequate for costs: repair, rework,
screening of lots. production. reinspection,
as a transactional activity, not a regrade.
strategic advantage.
Unable to identify External failure costs:
Most people in an organization root cause, lack of nonconforming mate-
Customer compliant
understand that improvement traceability to affected rial handling costs,
investigation and products and services, replacement, admin-
projects help the bottom line. resolution is taking lack of facilities to istrative costs, lost
too long.
In a typical lean or Six Sigma test solutions for revenue (customer
effectiveness. dissatisfaction).
improvement project, the project

Standard Issues
Benefits of a QMS COPQ and monitor it periodi-

An effective QMS prevents or reduces the occurrence of organizational issues, cally to show top management
such as those outlined in Table 1 (p. 63). The benefits of employing a QMS are the benefits realized through
cost avoidance through preventing failures or a reduction in failure costs. improved quality management
As an example, before implementing an effective QMS, the organization effectiveness and maturity.
encountering the issues in Table 1 experienced a baseline cost of poor quality
(COPQ) of 30% of the cost of goods sold (COGS).3 Going beyond compliance QMS as a foundation
and improving the maturity of the business process reduced the organization’s The benefits of an effective QMS
COPQ to less than 5% of the COGS, improved its profit margin, and helped it often are taken for granted. If you
realize financial and economic benefits. take the probability of occurrence
The challenge for most organizations is attributing the measured benefits of the issues identified in Table
to the QMS. QMS benefits can become intertwined with other factors. Table 2 1 and multiply it by the number
outlines some QMS benefits. Some benefits align directly with cost benefits and of transactions affected, the
others with cost avoidance, which is why it’s important to measure a baseline processes performed in the orga-
nization and the corresponding
cost impact, you can estimate an
overall potential financial and eco-
TA B L E 2 nomic impact on the organization.
Quality management system This is the dollar amount the

QMS is “quietly saving” in every
(QMS) benefits
area of the organization. These
implicit savings aren’t publicized
to the organization because they
aren’t obvious.
QMS process Benefits realized (“quiet savings”) The “loud savings” are what
get people’s attention because
Determine and document Minimizes the confusion of who does what, they are typically what prevent
roles, responsibilities chances of unfinished work and the need to wait
and authority to perform major losses or embarrassments.
for someone to make a decision.
business process.
Consider this example:
Helps improve consistency by establishing a
Standardize documented predictable process, and reduce or prevent An organization detected
business process
(where required). rework due to unacceptable variability and product quality issues after its
results.
products were shipped to one of
Ensure competency prior Helps reduce poor output quality and wastes from its major customers. The products
to assigning work. repair, rework, regrade and reinspection.
were in the organization’s finished
Ensure traceable records are Helps demonstrate compliance with customers' and goods inventory, in transit to
other interested parties' requirements, and conduct
controlled and retrievable. the customer, in the customer’s
problem investigation and resolution.
Prevents mix-up with conforming products, and warehouse and in the customer’s
Control nonconforming shipping nonconforming parts to internal and assembled goods. The orga-
outputs. external customers, which prevents internal and
external failures. nization was unable to supply
conforming finished goods that
Helps ensure reliable process results, reduce or
Monitor and measure prevent delivering nonconforming products and met the customer’s requirements
resources. services to customers, and enhance customer and delivery schedule.
confidence.
The customer was dissatisfied
Helps prevent chaos and waste by ensuring
changes are managed through a process. For and notified the organization that
example, manufacturing is unaware of a change it was going to switch to another
Control changes. and produces a product in large volumes without
it. The product eventually must be scrapped. supplier in three to six months. In
Service organization sends customer support to response, the organization quickly
the site, unaware of change.
assembled a tiger team (a team of

specialists) to investigate and resolve the crisis.
Although the organization lost money from recalling products at all stages
of the supply chain and distribution, the tiger team demonstrated its ability to
recover from such a crisis and prevented the organization from losing a major
customer.
The resolution made the tiger team heroes, but the organization went back
to how it had been operating, with the possibility of another crisis looming rewarded. But that’s just part of
ahead. Even in this situation, the organization would not have recovered from being a quality professional.
this crisis without the foundation of QMS pro- A crisis-free organization might
cesses in Table 2. be boring, but it racks up quiet
When building a Quality professionals must effectively com- savings that strengthen its bottom
house, for example, municate to their key interested parties that the line. If quality professionals make
the foundation isn’t organization’s QMS foundation is what keeps top management aware of these
optional. The same the organizational business process stable and quiet savings as often as possible,
holds true for a QMS repeatable. This is analogous to the saying, “Be the quality professionals won’t have
when running a like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always to defend their existence during
business. paddling like the dickens underneath.”4 economically difficult times. Fur-
Organizations that are crisis free and calm on thermore, organizations will think
the outside are being paddled by quality profes- twice before asking quality profes-
sionals who help prevent crises through effective QMS design, implementation sionals to do as little as possible for
and maintenance. Unlike those who pull the organization out of a crisis, the the organization to barely keep its
quality professionals who keep things stable aren’t always recognized or ISO 9001 certification.5
REFERENCES AND NOTE expected to bring value to

1. International Organization for quality management.
Standardization (ISO), ISO
9001:2015—Quality management BIBLIOGRAPHY
systems—requirements, clause 3. IndustryWeek staff, “Financial
2. Ibid. Impact of Quality Remains a
3. Joseph A. DeFeo, “The Tip of the Question,” IndustryWeek, July Govind Ramu is a licensed
Iceberg,” Quality Progress, May 2001, 19, 2016, https://tinyurl.com/ professional engineer from
pp. 29-37. y9xbbsm6. Ontario, Canada. He also is
4. Michael Caine, www.brainyquote. ISO, ISO 9004:2009—Managing the chair of the U.S. Technical
com/quotes/michael_caine_140815. for the sustained success of Advisory Group to International
5. U.S. Technical Advisory Group an organization—a quality Organization for Standardization
experts are contributing to two management approach. Technical Committee (ISO/TC)
important standards expected to ISO, ISO 10014:2006—Quality 176, subcommittee (SC) 1 on ISO
bring value to quality management. management—guidelines for 9000:2015 standards and the
The national standard, Cost of realizing financial and economic convener for ISO TC 176/SC3
Quality: Guidelines for development, benefits. working group 23 for ISO 10014.
implementation and monitoring to Lyke-Ho-Gland, Holly, “Quantifying Ramu is an ASQ fellow, ASQ
improve quality and performance is in the Financial Benefits Crosby Medal recipient and holds
draft form. ISO 10014:2006—Quality of Quality—The Role of six ASQ certifications: manager of
management—guidelines for realizing Governance and Transparency,” quality/organizational excellence,
financial and economic benefits IndustryWeek, Dec. 13, 2016, engineer, Six Sigma Black Belt,
is being balloted for revision. It is https://tinyurl.com/y6ugt4nb. auditor, software quality engineer
directed to top management to bring Wood, Douglas C., Principles of and reliability engineer. He is an
added awareness to the benefits of Quality Costs, fourth edition, author of The Certified Six Sigma
an effective quality management ASQ Quality Press, 2013. Yellow Belt Handbook (ASQ
system. These standards are Quality Press, 2016).

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The ASQ CSSBB Study Guide develop sustainable projects from a cost, statis-
MARK ALLEN DURIVAGE AND SHAWN FINDLATER tical and project management perspective.
❚ ASQ QUALITY PRESS ❚ 2017 ❚ 282 PP. ❚ $30 This book is recommended for engineers and
MEMBER ❚ $50 LIST (BOOK). technical personnel in management positions,
as well as for entry-level personnel. One minor
This study guide is for those taking the critique is that
ASQ-certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB) It would have been great if the guide pro-
exam. The guide covers the areas on the test. It vided more visuals that directly reference
provides the perspective that engineering and project management and continuous improve-
management can go together and their princi- ment tools proven to be effective from an
ples are equally useful to ensure success in an industrial perspective. The author described
enterprise from a business perspective. some of these, but visuals would have com-
This book also offers Six Sigma Black Belt pleted the message for those new to the topic.
leadership and technical tools essential to -- Robert Guzman, Morehead City, NC
Additions to your quality library
Footnotes
Cause Analysis Manual: Incident Investigation Method and Techniques
FRED FORCK AND KRISTEN NOAKES-FRYE, EDITOR ❚ ROTHSTEIN PUBLISHING ❚ 2016 ❚ 342 PP. ❚
$109.99 (BOOK).
This is the most complete general book on investigat- readjust) ones, or melding several
ing incidents and root causes. The approach focuses basic tools together such as making
on a success-based outcome. It insists on finding root a "Why Factor Staircase" from five
causes and contributing factors no matter where they whys and a fishbone diagram.
lie. Providing practical, cost effective and efficient Several sample scenarios are
recommendations for a path forward in the report is continued throughout the coverage
mandatory. The overall process in investigating major to illustrate the entire technique.
incidents or minor inefficiencies is: Context reinforces the fundamentals
++ Pinpoint the problem. being explained. To make easier
++ Find the problem's enabling factors. understanding templates, illus-
++ Develop a corrective action plan. trations, checklists and forms are
++ Write investigation reports for the decision makers. included, which enable you to follow the recommended
The book begins with a survey of concepts, objectives, procedures and processes in the quest for causal
methods and techniques for cause analysis. Each step is information.
dissected and explained with multiple examples, practi- Each chapter ends with questions for understanding
cal tools and advice. The whys, why-nots, hows and what and discussion, references and suggested future reading.
to use when are explained. An excellent glossary and index complete the book. If
As expected, many basic quality tools are presented, you have issues finding out what really happened, why
but some are amplified with additional capabilities such something happened or continues to happen, you must
as making specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and read this book and take advantage of Forck’s expertise.
timely (SMART) objectives into SMARTER (evaluate and -- Marc A. Feldman, Houston

The Toyota Engagement Equation: How to Understand and Implement Continuous
Improvement Thinking in Any Organization
TRACEY RICHARDSON AND ERNIE RICHARDSON ❚ MCGRAW-HILL EDUCATION ❚ 2017 ❚ 272 PP. ❚ $32 (BOOK).
The authors of this book have offered a firsthand report of what The authors, two Americans, were
they learned as employees at Toyota. The book is a thought-pro- trained by Japanese mentors, and
voking exploration of a real operation. It is not a statistical report now they present methods for taking
of compliance measuring, the use of statistical reporting systems Toyota's success forward to other
or advanced systems of standards in the automotive industry. It is organizations. Throughout the book,
a report of how the culture and procedures delivering contentious you will see how Toyota developed this
improvement work. effective approach into an overall man-
Ernie and Tracey Richardson have delivered an idea-generating agement system and how it may be
resource applicable in many settings. The book shares substance applied to other operations. The book is a unique firsthand report to
and spirit of what they learned from their experiences in the building a business with a people-based thinking system. Offered
Toyota environment. It is an indexed reference to an operation is an interesting and thought-provoking read that should result in
delivering successes, measurable outcomes and results. discussions, further explorations and the development of strategies
The Richardsons have offered a guide to the culture and think- that may be successfully implemented delivering goal-focused out-
ing behind Toyota’s success. In the book, the authors speak from comes and confirmable results. In a group or team setting, the book
firsthand experiences, emotional experiences and their heart as may be a resource sparking discussion, creative thinking and actions
employees who worked in the Kentucky factory during the time that could deliver goal-specific confirmable results. The book closes
the organization first introduced the people-first approach in the with Richardson’s reflections on how the thinking behind Toyota’s
United States. The strategies from Kentucky were successfully culture became part of his and Tracey’s life.
transferred to other Toyota work sites. --Jerry Brong, Ellensburg, WA
Toyota Kata Culture: Building process whose success in achieving the next
Organizational Capability and creates inter- target condition may depend on
Mindset Through Kata Coaching connected resources, input or the influence of
MIKE ROTHER AND GERD AULINGER ❚ goals at each each other.
MCGRAW-HILL ❚ 2017 ❚ 176 PP. ❚ $60 (BOOK). level, which The last section encourages the
are aligned reader to use the structure provided
This book gives a detailed and in-depth with the in the book, but to modify and imple-
look at how to implement structured, objectives ment it in a way that best suits his or
standardized and interconnected com- of the entire her organization. This section also
munication methods for integrating organization. provides standardized templates,
continuous improvement into the daily The third questions and other resources to
routine throughout an organization—from and fourth help get started.
frontline workers to executives. The book sections are My favorite part of this book is
is divided into six sections that progres- about the how the information is provided in
sively build on one another and provide execution process and extending it to the top a story-like format with fictional
essential details and diagrams that make levels of the organization. The focus of these characters working together in their
the content very easy to understand. routines is to enhance the learner’s ability to organization. The authors do an
The first section provides an overview solve problems through structured, scien- excellent job of demonstrating the
of the entire kata system, including: tific problem solving with the guidance of a exact dialogue and tool application
coach-learner relationships, scientific coach. This process starts on the frontline so the reader can see what kata
thinking, skill acquisition, storyboards and and repeats up through every management looks like in action.
coaching kata cards with five standard level following the same structured routine I would highly recommend this
questions. that uses visual management techniques to book to anyone looking to implement
The second section on planning, covers facilitate communication. shared goal setting and standardized
setting direction, grasping the current The fifth section expands on the previous coaching routines in their organiza-
condition and establishing the next target concepts to include integrating with other tion to drive long term continuous
condition. This section walks through the functions in the organization—how to imple- improvement and ongoing system-
setting of organizational goals and how ment standardized routines to seek out and atic employee development.
those specific goals are shared through- help others who may not be directly involved -- Christopher Spranger, Wisconsin
out the varying organization levels. This with your work team or value stream, but Rapids, WI

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Quality Roundtable
ENTERPRISE
MEMBERS
3M Company Defense Contract L3 Technologies
Management Agency
Abbott Lockheed Martin
The Dow Chemical
AbbVie Inc. Mattel (Fisher Price)
Company
Adient NOAA National Marine
DRDO
Altria Fisheries Service
Dubai Electricity &
Ansell Healthcare LLC Water Authority Northrop Grumman Corp.
Baxter FDA/CDRH Office of Plexus
BD Center Director
Procter & Gamble
Bechtel FedEx Corp.

RTA (Roads and Transport
BMW Manufacturing Ford Motor Company Authority)
Co., LLC
General Motors Raytheon Company
The Boeing Company
Getinge Tata Group
Brunswick Corp./
Mercury Marine Hewlett Packard Enterprise TE Connectivity
Caterpillar Inc. Honeywell Textron
Cisco HP Inc. UTC
Deere & Company Intel Corp. VF Corp.
Congratulations to these organizations who have pledged their

commitment to quality by becoming ASQ Enterprise Quality
Roundtable members. Learn more about these membership
types, and the benefits, by visiting asq.org/organizations.
The
A refresher on a quality
tool, concept or method
Language
Of Business
In the fall of 1956, Harvard Business
Review published a landmark article by
economist and business leader Armand
Feigenbaum titled “Total Quality Control.”
His article summarized the quality con-
trol system he developed during his long Why measuring cost of quality matters by Ray Harkins
tenure at General Electric and gave prom-
inence to many concepts still used today The four categories into which all It also should contain section headers for
in modern quality management, including quality costs fall are prevention, appraisal, each of the four cost categories.
the cost of quality measurement. internal failure and external failure. Quality tools such as Pareto analysis
The goal of measuring an organiza- 1. Prevention costs often include training, can be integrated into the report to show
tion’s cost of quality is to generate a tool administrative costs to develop sam- individual customer returns ranked by
managers and engineers can use to drive pling and process control plans, supplier their magnitude of sales loss, for example.
improvements. To develop this tool: assessment audits and other costs A cost of quality report can better serve
1. Identify the quality costs. incurred to avoid defects. as a strong indicator of organizational
2. Group these costs into categories. 2. Appraisal costs include wages for performance if it is published frequently
3. Summarize the results in a usable in-process inspections, the cost of (at least quarterly but preferably monthly),
format. supplier evaluations and other costs tied to other business metrics (cost of
The two keys to identifying an organi- associated with ensuring conformance quality as a percentage of sales, for exam-
zation’s quality costs are consensus in the to product requirements. ple), and used to analyze performance
management group and consistency over 3. Internal failure costs include all costs improvement projects, product families
time. If you’re leading an organization or related to defective material identified and individual departments.
working in its quality function, many of prior to shipping—including scrapped For an organization’s quality function
these costs are obvious. material—sorting and rework labor, and to have equal footing with its other key
Customer returns, production scrap and the cost to evaluate such material. processes, such as production scheduling
inspectors’ wages are the quality costs 4. External failure costs include all costs and inventory management, it must have
that typically get the most consideration tied to product failures identified by established and repeatable metrics tied
in an organization. Other costs are subtler, customers, including defect investi- to its financial goals. After all, money is
such as expedited freight due to poor gation visits, on-site sorting, returned the language of business. A well-designed
quality, administrative costs associated product freight and field service costs. cost of quality reporting system using fair
with corrective action requests and defect Organizational costs that are clearly and consistently applied money manage-
investigation trips to customers. tied to quality, such as a quality engineer’s ment principles will do just that.
When developing a cost of quality salary, but don’t fit entirely in a single cat-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
report, certain costs won’t clearly align egory usually are apportioned according Feigenbaum, Armand, “Total Quality Control,”
with quality, such as the wages of a lab to their approximate contribution to each Harvard Business Review, 1956.
technician who serves the quality and category.
engineering functions. A little philosoph- For example, if a quality engineer
ical banter and compromise between spends roughly a quarter of her time on
managers usually resolves these issues. supplier selection and the rest performing
Ray Harkins is the
More importantly, however, is the con- ongoing supplier audits, 25% of his or her quality manager of
sistent identification of these costs over salary can be apportioned to prevention the Ohio Star Forge
time. If an organization defines lab techni- and the rest to appraisal. Co. in Warren. He is a
senior member of ASQ
cian wages as a quality cost, for example, The last step to developing a useful and the Institute of
it must remain a quality cost over time. cost of quality report is to summarize the Industrial and Systems Engineers, and an
This is the only way an organization can data in a readable and easily understood ASQ-certified quality engineer, auditor
and calibration technician. He also teaches
accurately compare its performance to format. The report should be brief so a quality and business-related courses on
past periods. manager can review it in a few minutes. Udemy.com.

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M AY 2 0 1 8 | Q U A L I T Y P R O G R E S S .

3-D Printing’s Waste Practical vs.

The official publication of ASQ

Arrival and departure curves

The Global Voice of Quality

Visit economicsofquality.org to download

ASQ now offers free digital subscriptions to two of

The new and improved online versions of the journals

28 Beds, Math and Beyond 46 Mapping the Way

Pick and Choose

VOLUME 51 ● NUMBER 5 Volviendo a los fundamentos

qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 3

6 Seen and Heard 16 My Quality Story 68 Footnotes

8 Expert Answers 72 Back to Basics

Graphic Designers Article Submission Process express permission of Quality

4 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

Putting the ‘Q’ in Queue

SAC Sylvester (Bud) Newton Jr., Alcoa Administrative Committee

qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 5

“A Different Kind of BBQ” is excellent. All organizations should

FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

THE REACTION GAUGE

are situations in which we can explain processes and

6 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

Learn on your own with web-based instruction materials, or with virtual

For more information, visit asq.org/training/catalog.

THIS MONTH'S FIRST QUESTION ++ Show common courtesy

8 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 9

10 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 11

Mr. Pareto Head By Mike Crossen

12 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

2 Honorary Members Named quality? just seemed to click

qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 13

14 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 15

The A’s Have It

16 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

Learn more about these books through the

18 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

Queues and service quality

qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 19

Nevertheless, an economy-class passenger’s value equa- TA B L E 1

Service quality: customer they must be checked in 60 minutes before the

expectations and perceptions

20 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

flight check-in example Average queue length =

30 while the check-in counter works at a constant average

qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 21

AD curves—flight check-in example

22 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

AD curves—flight check-in example

Service delivery system

qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 23

AD curves for pizza pie factory

For example, 40 minutes after the production run begins, 21

24 QP May 2018 ❘ qualityprogress.com

qualityprogress.com ❘ May 2018 QP 25

Strategies to improve performance of an

SDS = service delivery system

continued from page 23

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