Sunday, September 04, 2005

What's Next?


What's next? Those that have been in the quality field for many years have seen different ideas come and go. In the late eighties, there were quality teams. The early nineties saw everyone embracing Kaizen. This transitioned into TQM where the customer became the priority. This customer first mentality paved the way for the Malcom Baldridge era. At the same time, quality standards such as ISO and QS9000 became standard modes of operation. Now, lean is in. Call it Six Sigma or the Toyota Production system. Wad them up and unfold them and you have the same thing. Companies around the world are furiously trying to eliminate waste to become more competitive.

I often wonder what's next? What is the next big initiative that will intoxicate the business world?

What do you think?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Focus Factories are the new wave thing. The concept is to have all resources readily available at the blink of an eye. Using lean, kanban, and 5S, still lack the understanding that to be competitive "Quality" must be the mind set of all personnel. AS9100 is the key driver in some facilities. But no matter how you peel back the layers of concepts, it boils down to customer satisfaction. With this in mind, customer satisfaction is a subjective perception. But if you have an open correlation and communication within an organization, everyone can see real results. Specifics must be defined and driven by quality.

Stephen said...

Why AS9100? What does it offer over other quality standards? I'm curious.

Quality being the mindset of everyone. I have often thought that this is not possible in America and that it will need to happen with a new generation. This is where our school system comes into play. The way we think is developed, in large part, by the educational system. This system, like any other system, must change to keep up with the times.

Skip Reardon said...

For small businesses that can't afford the expense and resources of TQM, Six Sigma, etc..there is a new wave coming:

Take a look at Six Disciplines .

Also - pick up Six Disciplines for Excellence from Amazon.