Quality 4.0 is receiving frequent attention. Journal articles and webinar/conference presentations address this misunderstood topic from various perspectives. I have spent many hours reading numerous articles published by quality subject matter experts, as well as data scientists and human resources professionals. This article approaches Quality 4.0 from a perspective derived from my experience as the program coordinator for the Master of Science in Quality Assurance (MSQA) program at a university in California.
My experience with quality dates to the early 1980s when the United States automotive industry found themselves in direct competition with Japanese automakers. The U.S. manufacturing industry recognized that quality was an important factor in achieving customer satisfaction and was not to be taken lightly. The birth and the development of ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS) was a huge paradigm shift in the approach that industry had applied to internal processes and final product performance. Today, we recognize this time frame as Quality 3.0. It is interesting that this term did not gain recognition until Quality 4.0 was introduced.