Kick off National Quality Month with Fun Quality and ISO Trivia!

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed October as National Quality Month as a commitment to excellence in manufacturing and services. Quality Excellence is the foundation of our business at simpleQuE, as well as part of our name – (notice the Qu and E).  To celebrate National Quality Month, we gathered some interesting facts from around the world about Quality Management and its important role in every business we serve. We hope you enjoy this fun trivia and learn something new about ISO and quality.

1. President Ronald Reagan also signed The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award into law to raise awareness of quality management and recognize U.S. organizations that have implemented successful quality management systems.  It is the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence.
2. The term ISO (as in ISO standard) derives from the Greek word “isos,” which means equal.
3. The history of quality assurance began in World War II, when ammunition had to be tested for performance.
4. Many quality terms, tools, and methods were popularized in Japan— kaizen, gemba, muda, kanban, etc.
5. In Germany, 77 percent of organizations provide ISO training and 82 percent provide general quality management training—the highest of any group of organizations. (1)
6. The Pareto principle, or 80-20 rule, states that 80 percent of problems come from 20 percent of causes, and that management should concentrate on the 20 percent. It was popularized by Joseph M. Juran.
7. Twenty percent of senior executives rate their quality programs as world class, but only 5 percent of quality professionals do the same. (2)
8. Philip B. Crosby is perhaps best known for promoting a standard of excellence based on nothing—the concept of zero defects.
9. The “Big Q” refers to comparing differences between managing for quality in all business processes and products; while the “little q” relates to managing quality in a limited capacity, traditionally in factory products and processes.
10. Today there are 24,497 ISO standards covering almost all aspects of technology and manufacturing, and one of the world’s best-known standards is ISO 9001. (3) (Did you know that simpleQuE is ISO 9001:2015 certified?)
11. Plan-do-check-act is not only the name of a popular process improvement method, it’s also the title of a music CD released in 2014 by a New Jersey-based rock trio Recovery Council.
12. W. Edwards Deming introduced the 14 points for management, which, he said, “have one aim: to make it possible for people to work with joy.”

Sources:

1. 1. ASQ Global State of Quality research, 2013. www.globalstateofquality.org
   2. ASQ/Forbes Insights Culture of Quality, 2014. www.cultureofquality.org
   3. www.ISO.org

SimpleQuE is a leader in AS, IATF® and ISO consulting, auditing and training.  Contact us for a consult and see the difference that our experts can bring to your quality management process.