Commitment to What?

Commitment to What?

By Wallace J.Devlin

In my 40 odd years in the business environment, I have often heard Senior Managers declare their commitment to Quality. Yet when the 'chips are down' many of them revert to form. Why declare your commitment then be proved to lack integrity?

Not so long ago I sat in a Plant Managers office listening to him talk about his commitment to customer service. He stated that "my customers are so important to me and my company that I always make sure they receive exactly what they ordered". He went on to state "We do not compromise on Quality, we are a Quality Company".

As I was getting ready to leave, the Production Supervisor came into the office in somewhat of a panic. He ignored me and said to his boss " We can't meet the dead line for XYZ, we have only produced 95% A grade material the rest is a mix of A2 and WS (wide specification) what should we do?"

You can probably imagine that, after hearing my host's declaration for Quality I would expect an answer something like, "Don't ship I will call XYZ and explain the problem". What I did hear was "ship what you have we will argue about it later".

So much for Quality, so much for integrity.

Philip Crosby knew all about this 'human frailty' when he developed his 6 C's.

The first C is COMPREHENSION, the understanding of what is required and the abandonment of the "conventional-wisdom" way of thinking. This is the key to the culture change required by companies that are determined to improve. Obviously our Plant Manager did not understand what he was committed to.

The second C is COMMITMENT. This is the expression of the dedication on the part of management first then everyone else soon after. In management's case this MUST be demonstrated by way of example. This is VISIBLE COMMITMENT.

The third is COMPETENCE. This is the implementation of a deliberate improvement process in a methodical way. This is no place for manipulation or motivation.

The fourth is CORRECTION. This is the elimination of opportunities for error by identifying current problems, tracking them back to their basic cause then eliminating that cause. Applying a 'quick fix' to a problem is easy, however improvement can't be made on top of 'quick fixes'.

The fifth C is COMMUNICATION. This is the complete understanding and support of all the people in the corporate society including customers and suppliers. Without open and honest communication any improvement effort will fail. Management's role is paramount is creating the environment for open communication.

Finally we have CONTINUANCE. A formal effort is required forever to ensure that their is no slipping back to the 'old days'. We must not become complacent and self satisfied.

Before you state your commitment to Quality, challenge yourself to apply the 6 C's.