It is very difficult to improve quality in companies when neither managers nor employees and operators understand or understand the real and authentic meaning of the word quality from the point of view of managing processes aimed at providing both products and services to customers. internal and external to the company. The lack of training leads us to consider that managing to produce and evaluate quality is a matter of common sense, when we all know very well that common sense is the least common of the senses.
If an unprepared person is asked about two tires, the "A" that lasted 2,000 km and another, the "B" that lasted 3,000 km, which of both is of higher quality? ?, we will almost certainly have "B" as an answer. But this is not necessarily the case, since the quality in this case depends on the specification in terms of the established duration. If for tire “A” a duration of 2,000 km was established and for tire “B” a duration of 3,500 km, “A” met its quality requirements (in terms of duration) and “B” ”Did not comply with it. It goes without saying that the duration is just one of the requirements, others may be the braking capacity, the maneuverability, among many others.
However, many believe that the quality criteria are determined by the company, and this is also a mistake. The specifications are set in the first place by the consumers, hence the importance of remaining expectant and inquisitive regarding the needs and requirements of the users and / or consumers. Also public, semi-public, or parastatal organizations, among others, determine the requirements and quality levels required.
The advancement of the market and technology must never be neglected, since what was not demanded by customers or consumers yesterday, may begin to be demanded today or tomorrow. Thus, what yesterday was considered a "plus" in service, today is considered a basic requirement. Not being alert to such changes is a very serious mistake on the part of managers.
Bringing quality to fruition involves both ethics and discipline. But it also means focusing on prevention rather than reaction, and concentrating on finding and solving root causes rather than resolving symptoms.
Many still believe that achieving quality is merely meeting requirements, and it is much more than that. It is to anticipate the current demands and needs of customers, to provide them with new and more advanced and excellent ways to achieve their full satisfaction.
Having flatly satisfied and satisfied customers is the reason for quality and its management. Managing quality is managing satisfaction.
The authentic feeling of the manager and staff ingrained with quality is to never feel satisfied with what has been done, trying to achieve a better performance day after day that allows excellence to be achieved.
Therefore, we must cultivate ideas of quality aimed at avoiding and preventing the occurrence of failures and errors, for which it is essential to turn our thoughts to a permanent commitment to quality in each of the activities and processes of the company.
Another very common confusion is to believe that higher quality requires higher costs, when in fact the opposite is true, higher quality implies less waste of inputs, such as hours of work, thereby increasing productivity and thereby reducing cost levels. The best way to worry about reducing costs is to start worrying about quality. And not only because of the quality of the products and services to be delivered to external customers, but also the quality incorporated in each of the products and services delivered to internal customers, whether they are manufacturing activities or administrative or commercial activities. information.
Not a few are those who reduce the obtaining of quality to training or the work of survey and statistical analysis in meeting standards. This will not generate anything without first a true commitment from managers with quality, and an establishment of policies and plans conducive to such objectives.
And what to say about those who limit themselves to believing that by having one or more processes endorsed by ISO 9001 standards, they believe that they are already in tune with what quality means and is. Unfortunately, those who believe this are increasing every day, and the degree of error in this regard is total. Many, if not most of the companies with processes endorsed by ISO standards, have their activities regulated, but there is nothing of true compliance with such regulations and they do not even have a Statistical Process Control implemented. Little can be said about companies with certified processes according to ISO Standards, whose processes do not even reach a sigma level equal to three.
They all speak of quality, but unfortunately few are the companies that are genuinely and truly committed to quality, that know about each of their terms and activities, and that have strategies conducive to such realization.
A product or service that requires successive arrangements and adjustments to meet the standards and requirements is not really quality, there is only one authentic quality and it is quality "first time".
The establishment of quality standards allowed mass production instead of artisanal production, thereby greatly increasing productivity, reducing costs and allowing most of the population to access top quality products at affordable prices.
A company that ignores its quality levels is a company with high levels of waste, which implies lower, if not zero, levels of profitability.
Some, if not many, believe that quality is limited to the product, when quality is or should be present from customer service, to billing, maintenance, purchases and each and every one of the tasks carried out in the organization. It is useless to have the best product generated the first time, if our sellers serve the customer badly, if the wrong merchandise is sent and / or out of time, the invoice has errors, incorrect claims are made in relation to current accounts or the after sales service is lousy.
What to say about the quality of a medical service, when both the knowledge of the doctor and the prescribed remedies are outdated and with much less healing power than the new techniques and medicines. Thus, without updating there is no quality. Therefore, the discipline and ethics of being up-to-date with new practices and advances in medicine is essential.
Quality is not only a question of large companies, it is also a question of medium and small companies. Companies must have a true commitment to quality, and not just advertise it to earn a higher income. When we talk about diet food, is it really dietary or is it only given that name to ask for a higher price. Ethics and discipline are once again the watchword in terms of quality.
Quality is also to sincerely and publicly acknowledge errors and initiate actions to alleviate them. Banking institutions have unfortunately little or no inclination to such commitments. Their objectives are not focused on fully satisfying their customers, but rather on achieving profitability at their expense.
Seeking quality is a long-term commitment, focused on improving processes, instead of seeking quick results tending to satisfy owners and shareholders. A company committed to quality knows perfectly well that the results will arrive no matter what, as a result of its continuous and systematic improvement in the quality levels of both products and services, as well as the internal processes that support it. For only by improving and ensuring the quality of the processes can we be convinced of consistently achieving high value-added products. Higher quality also means higher sales, and higher stock turnover.
Quality begins with the selection of personnel, based on a policy and personnel planning conducive to achieving maximum profitability based on the quality of services.
Quality is not something accidental, it is products of prevention, planning and design. In other words, the quality is not the result of a chance, but of a causality. Let's support the causes and we will have firm and consistent results of a high quality.
Only by fully satisfying customers does a company ensure its continuity. Satisfied customers repeat their purchases and also invite third parties to do the same. There is no simpler, cheaper and more powerful way to advertise than through higher quality.
Removing the paradigms that prevent and obstruct the authentic and real vision of quality, it is possible to achieve a competitive advantage of a superlative order. How is it feasible? Very simple, it is difficult for most entrepreneurs to see, understand and feel quality, it is difficult for them to fully commit to it, it is difficult for them to adopt quality as a work ethic and discipline, and above all, it is difficult for them to relate levels quality with its ability to compete globally.
