It’s no mistake that a Starbucks latte tastes the same in Chicago as it does in Tokyo. Or that the reassuring “thud” of your BMW driver side door has a ring of quality to it. Or even the satisfaction of pulling the starting cord on your Briggs & Stratton lawnmower and having it start on the first pull. Quality experiences like these are the result of the “mega-machine of quality”—the people, processes, and technology that live behind the products and services that we experience every day.
Individuals and companies are exposed to the mega-machine of quality daily, often without even knowing it. We make hundreds of assessments of quality every day, some consciously and most unconsciously. As the great driver behind the manufacture of everything from military hardware to fast-food sandwiches, the mega-machine of quality is key to creating product consistency, customer satisfaction, brand loyalty and, ultimately, enhanced profitability and business value for the manufacturer. Certainly, the idea of quality is nothing new but the application of automated quality management processes and the technology that makes it possible is constantly evolving. Today, we are seeing the convergence of critical technologies in the quality arena that will prove to be superchargers for the mega-machine in the near future. Some of these are new technologies, while others have matured in other industries and are now being applied and adapted to the manufacturing world.