Owning a quality management system, is a lot like owning a big-ticket item like a car. It involves hidden and not-so-hidden costs that we seldom take into account when we consider the total cost of ownership.

The recent Covid-19 pandemic reminded me of an opportunity working with a federal government agency where I was asked to train high level scientific professionals on the concepts of Cost of Quality.

Existing models and quality characteristics used for software, systems, and data quality can be leveraged to identify cost categories and support the creation of a Cost of Quality System for Quality 4.0.

As a full time auditor for the past six years for one of the large management system registrars, I start every interview, from production personnel to the CEO, with the question: “Given all of your job responsibilities at this company, what does the word ‘quality’ mean in your work?” 

At the end of the day, nothing matters more than customer satisfaction. Fundamentally, this sounds quite simple; make the customer happy, and all is well. Keeping customers happy and loyal to your brand, however, is not as easy as it sounds. 

Readers of this column are a gentle lot and not likely to run afoul of criminal law but can end up in a similarly frustrating situation that limits their working life.

In these highly competitive times, it may seem as though improving productivity is the key to market share. Manufacturers often focus on improving productivity and managing, controlling and reducing costs. 

Traditionally, the beginning of a new year is a time of renewed energy, when people and businesses strive to improve upon the previous year and take stock of their processes. What’s working and what’s not working? Above all, what needs to change?

Do you collect quality data to catch problems on the production floor—but then never look at that data again? If so, you could be missing an opportunity to reap big rewards from your quality-improvement efforts.