Customer Reviews

Quality Is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain: How to Manage Quality - So That It Becomes A Source of Profit for Your Business

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book contains excellent material, which shows what way to look if you want to increase your productivity/profitability. The whole approach is very customer-oriented, which makes it possible to avoid distinguishing between manufacturing and service businesses (and thus getting lost in irrelevant details). The concept of quality the way that Crosby presents it is fairly universal to all types of businesses. This lets one see to the bottom of the quality issue, which is essential for true understanding.

I found very useful the idea that quality should be observed in all business activities, not only customer-specific (e.g. hiring, bookkeeping, etc. vs programming). If this is neglected then the firm simply does not know the true cost of quality. Seems to be so obvious, but ask yourself if you really think of it this way. Also very useful is the suggested way to measure quality in dollars, instead of indirect measurements, like defects-per-KLOC and such. After all, everything boils down to money, and that's the only real indicator of performance.

The weak point of this book is its language: it is a little bit hard to read, especially if English is not native to you. It would be much better if it were written in decent English, instead of US spoken.

Another pitfall is a somewhat free use of terminology. Thanks to this, many authors argue that the book message is not (entirely) correct, but the point is that some of its statements should not be taken literally. One needs to grasp the true meaning, which Crosby attaches to some of his words, like "requirements".

I rate that book with 4 stars only because of readability, which could be better. The contents deserves full 5 stars, and I consider it a must-read for all managers.

Phil Crosby was a manager at ITT when he conceived the "zero defect" concept. Later its true meaning was lost and the phrase became a meaningless slogan. He realized that managment was usally passing the buck on quality, and blaming poor quality on blue collar workers, rather than accepting full responsibility for quality.

He also emphasizes that many management policies encourage poor quality. He recommends that companies determine the real costs of quality errors, which often rise to 25% of gross sales in manufacturing firms. Even more alarming, in the service industries mistakes often cost up to 40% of gross income. There is a lot of money to be saved!

The author has figured out that it is traditionally difficult to have a meaningful, real-life, factual discussion on sex, quality and other complicated subjects until some basic erroneous assumptions are examined and altered.

"The first erroneous assumption is that quality means goodness, or luxury, so shininess, or weight. We must define quality as conformance to requirements if we are to manage it. The second erroneous assumption is that quality is an intangible and therefore not measurable. In fact, quality is precisely measurable by the oldest and most respected of measurements - cold hard cash", says the author. For example, "It is much less expensive to prevent errors than to rework, scrap or service them".

This book does not only have theoretic approach, but also brings practical value. It offers a quality improvement program that can be installed in any service or manufacturing company.

Philip Crosby's "Quality Is Free", first published in 1979, influences the book "Business @ Speed of Thought" by Bill Gates, released twenty years afterwards. With a bright set of modern case studies, he illustrates the basic concepts presented by Philip Crosby:

- There is absolutely no reason for having errors or defects in any product or service.
- Basically, we are slow to change because we reject newness.
- Transmitting: how you come across to others should not be left to chance.
- It is much less expensive to prevent errors than to rework, scrap or service them.
- Business is ... communication that we control and utilize. The effectiveness of the business is determined by how well we do that data transmission.

In the same year when the Bill Gates's book was published, Philip Crosby exposes his own case studies entitled "Quality and Me: Lessons from an Evolving Life".

A classic in both the best and worst sense. Phil Crosby is very readable, and his case study approach to Zero Defects implementation brings the management of quality to an understandable level. However, the book was written back in 1979, and it shows. The tools are dated, and many of the items noted by Crosby as implementation and employee motivation techniques are a bit worn. The management is timeless, the tools are not. Good background - but not as great as it must have been 25 years ago.

A classic in both the best and worst sense. Phil Crosby is very readable, and his case study approach to Zero Defects implementation brings the management of quality to an understandable level. However, the book was written back in 1979, and it shows. The tools are dated, and many of the items noted by Crosby as implementation and employee motivation techniques are a bit worn. The management is timeless, the tools are not. Good background - but not as great as it must have been 25 years ago.

One of the best books about understanding quality. Excellent source for anyone who wants to improve the company bottom line without increasing expenses. It should be required reading for all managers.

This book teach me three things.
1. Catch copy is important.
"Quality is Free" is a good phrase in the world.
People who concern product quality, may want to read this book.

2 Case study and procedures are good deatail.
If case study is abstractive, readers have not understood the problems.

3 Carefull Role play get good understanding.
Opientation time is about one hour. It is enough to understand the details. Short Role play is good as extreme programing case study.

BTW, it will be good experience on the case study and the tools.

ps.
Is it important quality management maturity grid?
If a project is not well organized, it may good.
But if a project is well organized, perhaps it is too much.

On of the most basic conflicts in any management is the conflict between quality (do it right) and output (do it fast). Crosby starts our with the typical north American assumption that the two are embroiled in a zero-sum game, and then he blows the lid off - suggesting that by focusing on quality you can increase throughput. For example, by spending tens of thousands dollars on education to *prevent* heart attacks now - spent only on a targeted risk group - a health insurance company could avert heart attacks later, saving a million dollars or more. For a second example, if a manufacturing table has physical waste (scrap) and labor waste (re-work of bad parts), both can be eliminated by having zero defects in the first place, with a net increase in performance.

Crosby also spends a little bit of time talking about how to inspire the workforce to save money with a 'buck a day' program.

Then Crosby provides step-by-step suggestions on how to implement those philosophies in a manufacturing environment. I give the book four stars because it is a little dated, and is heavily oriented toward manufacturing. Still, this is a classic in the quality movement. If you are studying quality, don't go for the five-page summary of Crosby's ideas - go to the source!

Crosby wrote an excellent book that is very useful to managers, quality professional and any individual concerned about quality. The author clearly explains the meaning of quality, which is conformity to requirements. He also shows a useful way to measure quality in terms of cash and not just the usual metrics such as the number of rejects per specified number of units produced. The profits that would flow from producing quality products and services is a good measure. Crosby explains that adopting the cost effective practice of preventing errors will result in avoiding rework, scrap or servicing, which result in increased profits.

The author explains that quality processes should pervade the whole organisation, including areas like public relations or industrial relations, and not confined to customer specific areas.

The book is practical oriented with the author providing some suggestions on how to implement his philosophies in a manufacturing organisation. The book is a bit dated but this does little to diminish the quality of the author's message. The book is applicable to all organisations in any industry, although the author had a bias towards manufacturing enterprises. This is a classic book that is highly recommended.

This is a good book as an addition to writings by Deming, Juran, Ishikawa and Ford (My Life and Work). The title is perfect because once you understand how quality really is free, you have the concept.

"Quality is free" is an essential paradigm shift for American business thinking. With it, we can recapture our place in the global economy. Without it, we will slide into obscurity.

I challenge you to consider how "Quality is Free."