Demonstrating Quality in the Future

I read with interest the updated study on the Future of Quality as published in a recent View From The Q post.

The challenge will be to demonstrate quality in a convincing way.  It is no longer acceptable to communicate in vague terms.  More objectivity and precision will be required for our businesses and organizations.

In our era of excessive marketing and publicity, it is increasingly difficult to convince the public at large, but particularly the regulatory bodies of the legitimacy of quality claims.

This part of an overall communication challenge where the inputs from our Big Data and Analytics must be refined, summarized, and expressed in a way that is both accurate and palatable.

The future of Quality will be defined by our ability to provide this information and have it ready before it is demanded by the stakeholder: the customer, the public at large, the regulatory bodies, and the business environment who demands answers.

We are already doing this reactively in response to a product recall or critical incident investigation.  We have to move from getting the details leading to a "confession" of fault and liability, and toward a "profession" of our capabilities and attributes.

This will also help to put an end to "pseudo-savings".  Consultants who claim to save $50 million from an operation simply by adopting 5S in the warehouse, but then do not have corresponding reductions in headcount or operating budget, can be more easily identified when the reporting details do not match the narrative.  This progression will enhance the credibility and stature of our profession, and ensure that the Future of Quality is clearly understood and embrace.