Quality Management: Corporate Responsibilities In A Post-Inspection

Elimination of Inspection Initial Q&R Program Actions As a skeletal framework for the new Q&R philosophy, McKenzie introduced a fourteen-point program based on the book, Quality Is Free, by Philip B.Crosby. While the group viewed Crosby's program, originally developed for ITT, as not totally complete, it felt the need to have an anchor and a method of instruction-one that had been articulated and would be recognized by other companies and in some published works. In addition, the initial success was based on the humanistic aspects of the program, and not its technical content. In early 1980 the Q&R staff met with Signetics president Chuck Har-wood to ask his approval and support for the detailed pilot program. It proposed that all the basic elements be in place by late 1980: throughout the company the Q&R police role would be replaced by individual accountability with a goal of zero defects. In describing their program to Harwood, the Q&R staff even made rough comparisons of how each manager's Responsibility, Measures, and Objectives (RMO) goals a management by objectives type system in place throughout Signetics) would change after the pilot program. Harwood was asked to communicate his personal support by presenting the program to employees and key customers and by chairing a corporate quality committee that would meet monthly to review the program's progress. Harwood agreed to the program, but one of the group vice-presidents had serious concerns, typical of the conventional wisdom, about the quality department abdicating its role of keeping the people honest with regard to quality. Since the manager of the division chosen to serve as the pilot site was anxious to get going on the program, approval to begin was given with the understanding that such questions would be answered to corporate satisfaction before the program was adopted company-wide. Reorganization of the Quality Department The first of two organizational steps was taken in early 1980. This step included a series of organization changes that decentralized the quality functions into the operating groups. Starting in the Analog Division, the plan was to proceed throughout the other product divisions and manufacturing operations so that by the end of 1980 the transition would be completed. As McKenzie explained: The essence of the reorganization consisted of consolidating the various quality activities —Wafer Fabrication Quality Control (QC), Product As-surance, Electrical Sort Quality Control, Quality Engineering, and Reliability Engineering under the Divisional Quality/Reliability Assurance (QRA) managers. The QRA managers became direct members of the Division Vice Presidents' staffs; the previous structure had them reporting to Corporate Q&R. In the manufacturing/operations groups, a similar transition was accomplished with Assembly and Incoming QC. The Assembly QC functions became part of the Sunnyvale Manufacturing operation and Incoming QC was transferred to Material Control (Purchasing). By the end of 1980, Corporate 0&R would consist of the five functional activities it had prior to the transition, but with different objectives. Elimination of the inspection function would make it possible for Corporate O&R to improve planning and overview activities. In addition to previous activities such as qualification programs, corrective action, and monitors/ audits-anticipated new corporate responsibilities included data com-pilation/trend analysis, corporate quality systems standards/procedures, training, quality improvement, and prevention programs.