Philip B.

Crosby
Philip Crosby is another major contributor to the quality movement. In 1979, he left
ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph) and wrote his book, Quality is Free, in
which he argues that dollars spent on quality and the attention paid to it always
return greater benefits than the costs expended on them. Whereas Deming and
Juran emphasized the sacrifice required for a quality commitment, Crosby takes a
less philosophical and more practical approach, asserting instead that high quality is
relatively easy and inexpensive in the long run.
Crosby is the only American quality expert without a doctorate. He is responsible for
the zero defects program, which emphasizes doing it right the first time, (DIRFT)
with 100 percent acceptable output. Unlike Deming and Juran, Crosby argues that
quality is always cost effective. Like Deming and Juran, Crosby does not place the
blame on workers, but on management.
Crosby also developed a 14point program, which is again more practical than
philosophical. It provides managers with actual concepts that can help them manage
productivity and quality. His program is built around four Absolutes of Quality
Management:
1.

Quality must be viewed as conformance to specifications. If a product meets

design specifications, then it is a highquality product.

2.

Quality should be achieved through the prevention of defects rather than

inspection after the production process is complete.

3.

According to Crosby, the traditional quality control approach taken by

American firms is not cost effective. Instead, production workers should be
granted the authority and responsibility to ensure that quality goods or
services are produced at every step of the process.

4.

Managers need to demonstrate that a higher standard of performance can

lead to perfectionto zero defects. Crosby believed that the company goal

should be zero defects.

5. Quality should be measured by the price of nonconformity. Crosby contends
that the costs associated with achieving quality should be part of a company's
financial system.

Philip Crosby, author of Quality is Free, founded the Quality College in

Winter Park, Florida. Crosby emphasized meeting customer requirements
by focusing on prevention rather than correction. He claimed that poor
quality costs about 20 percent of the revenue; a cost that could be
avoided by using good quality practices. He pushed for zero defects. His
"absolutes" are: (1) quality is defined as conformance to requirements,

not goodness; (2) the system for achieving quality is prevention, not
appraisal; (3) the performance standard is zero defects, not that's close
enough; and (4) the measure of quality is the price of non-conformance,
not indexes.
Crosby's method does not dwell on statistical process control and problem
solving techniques that the Deming method uses. He stated that quality is
free because prevention will always be lower than the costs of detection,
correction and failure. Like Deming, Crosby had fourteen points:
1. Manage commitment, that is, top level management must be
convinced

and

committed

and

communicated

to

the

entire

company.
2. Quality improvement team composed of department heads, oversee
improvements.
3. Quality measurement are established for every activity.
4. Cost of quality is estimated to identify areas of improvement.
5. Quality awareness is raised among all employees.
6. Corrective action is taken.
7. Zero defects is planned for.
8. Supervisor training in quality implementation.
9. Zero defects day is scheduled.
10.

Goal setting for individuals.

11.

Error causes are removed by having employees inform

management of problems.
12.

Recognition is given, but it is non-financial, to those who meet

quality goals.
13.

Quality councils meet regularly.

14.

Do it all over again (i.e., repeat steps one through thirteen).

Looking at the history of quality management, we see several stages of

development. The first was quality control, which involved setting up
product specifications and then inspect the product fore for leaves the
plant. The second state is quality assurance, which involved identifying
the quality characteristics and procedures for quantitatively evaluating
and controlling them. The next phase is the true total quality control, a
term actually coined by Feingenbaum in 1983. At this stage the quality
became a total organization effort. It effected production, profit, human
interaction and customer satisfaction. The fourth stage is total quality
management. In TQM the customer is the center and quality is an
organization-wide effort.

Similarities

Wiliam Edward
Deming

Joseph M. Juran

Philips P.Crosby

Importance of
customer
requirements as
standard

In Demings view,
the consumer is
by necessity the
most important
part of the
production
system: without a
consumer, there is
no reason to
produce.

Like Deming, Juran

also sees quality
as a concept
which can only be
usefully defined
by the consumer.
Strictly put, Juran
defines quality as
"fitness for use."

Mr. Crosby defined

quality as a
conformity to
certain
specifications set
forth by
management and
not some vague
concept of
"goodness." These
specifications are
not arbitrary
either; they must
be set according

to customer needs
and wants.

The Responsible for

qualitymanagement

Quality is made in
the board room.
Dr.Deming's ideas
of hard work,
sincerity, decency,
and personal
responsibility,
forever changed
the world of
management. "It
is not enough to
just do your best
or work hard. You
must know what
to work on."

The process of
developing ideas
was a gradual one
for Dr. Juran. Top
management
involvement, the
Pareto principle,
the need for
widespread
training in quality,
the definition of
quality as fitness
for use. Majority of
Quality problems
are the fault of
poor management
rather than poor
workmanship.

Quality
improvement
starts from the
top.To create a
manufacturing
process that has
zero defects
management must
set the tone and
atmosphere for
employees to
follow. If
management does
not create a
system by which
zero defects,not
thats close
enough.

Goal of quality

Meet/exceed
customer needs;
continuous
improvement.

continuous
improvement.

Continuous
improvement by
setting zero
defects
production.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENT BETWEEN WILLIAM

EDWARD DEMING, JOSEPH M. JURAN AND PHILIPS P.
CROSBY

Different

William Edward
Deming

Joseph M. Juran

Philips P. Crosby

Basic orientation
toward quality

Technical- To
Deming, the only
meaningful
definition of
quality is that
which the
consumer
specifies. A
product could
meet every

Process-Juran's
work focuses on
the idea of process
that organizational
quality
Problems are
largely the result
of insufficient and
ineffective
planning for

MotivationalCrosby made two

key points in his
arguments about
the responsibility
of the quality
department. First,
he
argued that
quality, as a

possible technical
specification and
be offered at an
appropriate price,
but if it is the
wrong product, it
is worthless to the
consumer.

What is quality?

Chief elements of
implementation

quality. In
addition, Juran
fleshed out many
of the
implementation
issues involved
with quality
through his trilogy.

Nonfaulty systems

Fitness for use.

freedom from
Deming addressed trouble
the entire process
and focused
primarily the
assertion
that poor quality
is not the fault of
the worker, but is
the fault of the
system. Deming
also strongly
opposed the
creation of quality
inspection
departments.

Juran defines
quality as "fitness
for use, the

14-point program
Dr. Deming's
famous 14 Points,
originally
presented in Out
of the Crisis, serve
as management

Breakthrough
projects; quality
council; quality
teams.

quality as a concept
which can only be
usefully defined by
the consumer.

Juran's work
focuses on the
idea that
organizational
quality
freedom from
trouble to achive
result of sufficient
and effective
planning for
setting the goal of
quality.

managed process,
could be a source
of profit for
an organization.
Second, Crosby
adopted a "zero
defects" approach
to
quality
management, and
emphasized the
behavioral and
motivational
aspects of quality
improvement
rather than
statistical
approaches.

Conformance to
requirements
Mr. Crosby defined
quality as a
conformity to
certain
specifications set
forth by
management and
not some vague
concept of
"goodness." These
specifications are
not arbitrary
either; they must
be set according
to customer needs
and wants.

14-step program;
cost of quality;
quality
management
"maturity grid".

guidelines. The
points cultivate a
fertile soil in which
a more efficient
workplace, higher
profits, and
increased
productivity may
grow.

Inspection / defect
control

Cease
dependence on
inspection to
achieve quality.
Eliminate the need
for mass
inspection by
building quality
into the product in
the first place.

Improvement basis

Repeated use of
PDSA cycle.
Put everyone in
the company to
work to
accomplish the
transformation.
The
transformation is
every body's job.

Cost of quality

- Companies
should look at the
total cost of
product or service
provided by others
, and not just the
purchase price.
Accepting the
lowest bid does
not guarantee the
lowest total cost.

Operator errors
can be reduced by
: foolproofing ,
keeping people
attentive,training ,
changing
technology ,
improving
communication ,
establishing
accountabilty ,
removing the
error-prone person
and motivation.
Quality
improvement
raises quality
performance to
imprecedented or
break through
levels.

- Cost Of Poor
Quality (COPQ) is
the sum of all
costs that would
disappear if there
were no quality
problems.
- Quality
improvement does
not come free.

Two factors cause

defects or
mistakes : -Lack of
knowledge and
lack of attention.

Quality
improvement is
built on getting
everyone to do it
right the first time
(DIRFT).
Quality
improvement is a
process ,not a
program , and it
takes a long time
for it to become a
normal part of the
scene.
- Measurement of
quality is the price
of non
conformance , not
indexes.
- Price of non
conformance is by
counting every
thing
that is spent if
every thing was
not done right the
first time.