I N D U S T R Y V I E W

In a lifetime that spanned 93 years of this century, W. Edwards Deming, a professor of industrial statistics, is often remembered for two things: In the 1950's, Deming helped show the Japanese how to reclaim and restructure industries that lay in the ruins of war, becoming manufacturers of high quality products.

In the 1980's, that same philosophy of continuous quality improvement influenced management and improved products in America-at companies like Ford, IBM, Federal Express and LTV Steel.

While the Quality Movement was at its peak 10 to 15 years ago, the quest for quality today, and the benefits derived from it, are still based on the teachings and philosophy of Dr. Deming-in industries as varied as beer, brakes, paper, pharmaceuticals-and trucking. From the round table discussion which follows, you'll see how "quality" can boost employee morale and be a springboard for growth, profits and lower operating costs in today's trucking fleets.

Members Of Our "Quality" Round Table

Ken Higgins, director of transportation, J.F. Fick, Inc., Anheuser-Busch distributor, Virginia.

Bob Inderbitzen, senior project manager for national trucking operations at Praxair, Inc., manufacturer of industrial gases, New York.

Tim Carpenter, senior consultant, Tennessee Associates International. Carpenter introduced Dr. Deming's principles to Harley-Davidson, helping the company recover from bankruptcy and regain its market share.

How is "Quality" defined at your company?

Ken Higgins: "What separates an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler from other wholesalers is more than the quality of our products, it's the quality of our people. Our employees are our representatives to customers and public. They're dedicated to exceed our consumers' expectations."

Tim Carpenter: "Dr. Deming wrote, 'A product or service possesses quality if it helps somebody and enjoys a good and sustainable market.'

"If you really want to be world-competitive in quality and productivity, it's your responsibility to insist on never-ending improvement - through employee involvement and reliable measuring processes. You must listen to your customers - they know quality when they see it."

Bob Inderbitzen: "At Praxair, the quality process teaches us to focus on the customer, so we increase the emphasis on customer satisfaction. We survey them and ask what is important. We focus on doing the right things, and doing them right the first time. As a result, sales and profits increase."

Does a quality program help recruit drivers?

Inderbitzen: "I think it does. You attract quality people by having and maintaining a quality reputation."

Higgins: "Our policy is to promote from within, which gives us an opportunity to display our commitment to quality in our everyday practices."

Carpenter: "Quality is in the eyes of the beholder. Dirty trucks, old trucks and peeling paint are ways of defining quality. Or lack of it. They show your company's quality to the public and to your drivers."

Is "Quality" more than a philosophy - can it be defined in concrete terms?

Inderbitzen: "Quality greatly affects our fleet maintenance practices and processes. It has proved its worth in our Fleet Reliability Process. Since 1996, we've reduced our maintenance costs 28 percent.

"We focus on safety, reliability, efficiency and availability. Statistically, we examine driver delays that are related to maintenance. We encourage drivers to report maintenance problems on post-trip, not pre-trip - when there's more time to correct the problem without additional delay."

Carpenter: "In the 1980s, Buick asked us to solve a production problem on their V-6 engine. The engine's pistons were not correctly fitting the cylinder walls. In fact, wasted metal - created by workers varying the size and weight of the pistons - filled an entire trash bin every day.

"One of the first things we suggested was to let the machines do their job. Just let them run to see what they would do on their own - without being 'tweaked' by workers. In less than six months, wasted scrap was reduced to half a bin per month.

"Statistical methods in problem solving give managers the opportunity to make decisions that will lead to these kind of improvements. Confidence was restored in the machines - and in the employees throughout the entire plant."

Higgins: "In our fleet maintenance department, 'quality' is lower operating costs, reduced downtime and extended vehicle life. In real numbers, our total fleet costs went from 2.8 percent of a $25 million budget, to 2.3 percent of a $24 million budget. Overall, quality is defined as our greatest return on investment."

Ken, is "quality" a natural tie-in for a Budweiser distributor?

Higgins: "It ties in perfectly. Middle and upper management throughout Anheuser-Busch take a complete course of Deming's teachings - including his '14 Points for Management.' Other employees are taught Anheuser-Busch's company culture, its products and their qualities. And though they're not studying Deming directly, the fact that we're embracing the quality concept helps us to be successful."

Bob, your products are commodities. How does "quality" help Praxair grow?

Inderbitzen: "To be in this business, product quality is a given. The difference is in reliability and service.

"One thing we can do for high-volume customers is build a processing plant on their property - to produce gas, and immediately pipe it into use. In the long run, it saves the customer money - by eliminating frequent deliveries- and improves reliability of supply. But even when we deliver by truck, we focus on reliability and service."

Can "quality" at your company ever reach perfection?

Inderbitzen: "In a continual improvement environment, processes are always being improved. If you ever reach the quality you need, you look at the process itself. Can you shorten the time? Can you improve the efficiency of the process? Can you do it with fewer people?

"In safety, our goal is zero/zero. Zero crashes, zero injuries. Statistically you can get there. Other than acts of God, something happens that causes crashes. We can control that 'something.'

"However, the quality of a product can become 'too good' if it is better than the customer needs, or will pay for. We provide the 'commodity' the customer expects, but do it in a way that exceeds expectations."

Higgins: "When you live by quality, improvements take place - increased productivity, lowered operating costs and increased sales. When you learn to measure yourself, and become comfortable with being measured, it becomes a challenge to beat those measurements every year.

"Without a commitment to quality, there is no tomorrow."

Who's The Man Behind The Quality Movement?

To some people, he was cantankerous, mean-spirited and irascible; his only purpose in life was to be nasty. There were others, however, who found him warm-hearted, spontaneous and generous.

But no one could deny that he was brilliant.

W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993) was for years a little-known industrial statistician and professor at New York University.

Until Japan called.

From 1950 onward, Dr. Deming taught quality management methods to top management and engineers in Japan. His teachings helped create a total transformation of Japanese business.

In recognition, the Union of Japanese Science and Engineering (JUSE) instituted the annual Deming Prizes for contributions to quality and dependability of product. The Emperor of Japan awarded the Second Order Medal of the Sacred Treasure to Dr. Deming in 1960.

Around 1955, when Japanese exports of cameras, electronics, automobiles and motorcycles started to find willing American buyers, U.S. manufacturers eventually realized that Deming's program of Continual Improvement could also help them. And the Quality Movement began in the 1980s - in which Deming ignited a quality revolution that continues to improve the competitive position of the United States.

For his efforts, President Ronald Reagan awarded the National Medal of Technology to Dr. Deming in 1986. That year, Deming was also inducted into the Science and Engineering Hall of Fame.

Dr. Deming conducted a worldwide consulting practice for more than forty years - clients included manufacturing companies, telephone companies, railways, motor freight carriers, consumer researchers, census methodologists, hospitals, legal firms, government agencies and research organizations in universities and industry. And, Deming taught his four-day seminars to over 10,000 people annually for more than ten years.

One of Deming's renowned "14 Points for Management" recommends restoring pride of workmanship to management, engineers and workers on the line.

"Anyone that enjoys his work is a pleasure to work with," Deming wrote. Joy of work is one of the points that makes the Quality Movement so successful.

EDITORS NOTE: The Union of Japanese Science and Engineering awarded the Deming Prize to Bridgestone in 1967.

CONDENSATION OF DEMING'S 14 POINTS OF MANAGEMENT
1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become com- petitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs. 2. Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change. 3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place. 4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move toward a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust. 5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs. 6. Institute training on the job. 7. Institute leadership (see Point 12). The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of overhaul as well as supervision of production workers. 8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.	9. Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service. 10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force. 11. a. Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute leadership. b. Eliminate management by objective. Eliminate management by numbers, numerical goals. Substitute leadership. 12. a. Remove barriers that rob the hourly worker of his right to pride of workmanship. The responsibility of supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality. b. Remove barriers that rob people in management and in engineering of their right to pride of workmanship. This means, inter alia (among other things), abolishment of the annual merit rating and of management by objective. 13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement. 14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job.
Reprinted from OUT OF THE CRISIS by W. Edwards Deming. Published by MIT Center for Advanced Engineering Study, Cambridge, MA 02319. Copyright 1966 by W. Edwards Deming. Reprinted by permission of MIT and the W. Edwards Deming Institute.

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