Armand V. Feigenbaum

Quality Guru

Introduction Armand V. Feigenbaum, 1922 –

His approach to quality is known as Total Quality Control (TQC)

Doctorate at MIT

Manager of world-wide operations and quality control at General Electric Company

President of General Systems Company

Book: “Total Quality Control”

Discovered by the Japanese in 1950’s

Life And Contributions Feigenbaum was the first to define a systems engineering approach

to quality. Feigenbaum’s concept of total quality control, known today as total quality management (TQM), combines management methods and economic theory with organizational principles.

He began his career with General Electric (GE) in 1937 as an apprentice toolmaker and management intern.

He entered Union College in Schenectady, NY, in 1938 to study engineering.

When he graduated in 1942, he joined GE as a full-time design

engineer. Later in 1943, he was named manager of quality control for the Schenectady Works plant in New York.

He went on to graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was later promoted to GE’s corporate headquarters in New York City to serve as the executive champion for quality.

Feigenbaum served as the American Society of Quality (ASQ) president from 1961 to 1963 and co-founded the International Academy for Quality with Kaoru Ishikawa of Japan and Walter Masing of Germany.

In 1968 Feigenbaum established General Systems Co. (GSC), an engineering firm to further research technology management (Watson).

While working at GE, Feigenbaum applied the lessons he learned at MIT to examine observations about how productivity improvement could be achieved by driving quality in a different way from how it had been.

Philosophy Total approach, systemic attitude

All functions in an organization should be involved in the quality process

Quality must be built into the product, not inspected out.

He defines quality as “Best for the customer use and selling price”

Philosophy He defines Quality Control as:

“an effective method for coordinating the quality maintenance and quality improvements efforts of the various groups in an organization so as to enable production at the most economical levels which allow for full customer satisfaction”

The systemic nature of his philosophy is explicit from the outset

There is need to manage from a systemic nature Dealing with interactions across internal and external organization

boundaries and at all levels within them And dealing with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders

Philosophy He addresses the issue of building quality

Quality problems can be eradicated by paying attention to the quality issue from the conception of the idea, right through to delivery of the first and subsequent items

Two constraints of Feigenbaum’s definition of quality: Customer use Selling price

The issue of selling price indicates Feigenbaum perceives limitations to the expectations of quality E.g.: There will be quality differential, perhaps in terms of longevity,

performance or reliability between a car costing 10 000 $ and a car costing 100 000 $

Implies developing an understanding of the real use to which a customer will put the product

Philosophy His definition of quality control emphasizes the integral

nature of the quality process: Stresses “co-ordination” of maintenance and improvements

efforts across “groups” recognition of the human relations aspects of the organization

Summary Total approach Emphasis on designing for quality Involving all departments Recognition of the human relations Statistical methods are used as necessary

His contributions to the quality The concept of "Total quality control” to the comprehensive,

companywide system for achieving the most economical cost & full customer satisfaction.

The concept of a "hidden" plant —the idea that so much extra work is performed in correcting mistakes that there is effectively a hidden plant within any factory.

Accountability for quality: Because quality is everybody's job, it may become nobody's job—the idea that quality must be actively managed and have visibility at the highest levels of management.

The concept of quality costs.

Assumptions1. His explicit assumption of a world composed of

systems Interrelationships between all aspects within the

organizations and its environment or market Recognizes the contribution made by suppliers Recognizes the constraints imposed by customer

2. Human relationships are a basic issue in quality achievement

Management thinking made by the human relations school occurred in the time of his early work

Assumptions3. Focuses attention on the whole enterprise

From suppliers to users, through every function and to all groups involved

4. Full customer satisfaction. Implies awareness of : Customer needs and expectations within the

organization The need for change to satisfy them.

5. Continuous improvement is desirable and achievable

4 Management fundamentals of Total Quality1. There is no such thing as a permanent quality level.

2. A hallmark of good management is personal leadership in mobilizing the quality knowledge, skill, & positive attitudes of everyone in the organization to recognize the importance of quality.

3. Quality is essential for successful innovation because of 2 reasons The greatly increased speed of new product development. When a product design is likely to be manufactured in several

countries , the entire development process must be clearly & visibly structured.

4. Quality & cost are complementary not conflicting business objectives.

MethodsFeigenbaum’s four steps to quality

His philosophy has been summarized to 4 steps

1. Set quality standard

2. Appraise conformance to standards

3. Act when standards are not met

4. Plan to make improvements

Methods

The measurement of “operating quality costs” is an important tool.

1. Prevention costs, including quality planning and other costs associated with preventing non conformance and defects

2. Appraisal costs, including inspection costs 3. Internal failure costs, including costs arising from scrap and

rework4. External failure costs, including warranty costs and

complaints

Methods Feigenbaum’s concept of total quality extends from

product development right through to product use

Reductions in operating quality costs result from setting up a total quality system for two reasons:

1. Lack of existing effective customer-orientated standards may mean current quality of products is not optimal .

1. Expenditure on prevention costs can lead to a several fold reduction in internal and external failure costs

Summary

• By measuring quality at every critical stage, the total costs of running the organization will be reduced.

• Feigenbaum’s approach is oriented towards management responsibility and involve effective team working across the organization.

Successes and failures Feigenbaum’s approach has been successful

His recognition of quality as a way of running organizations, rather than a secondary activity was a breakthrough in this area

Many organizations today continue to think of quality as an added extra

Many organization focus on “badge hunting” through a quality management system rather on survival through quality products or services

His systemic concept of “total” – quality running throughout the organization, from its input to its output has an immense value.

Successes and failures

1. It stresses a total or whole approach to quality control

2. It places emphasis on the importance of management

3. Socio-technical systems thinking is taken into account

4. Participation is promoted

Successes and failures

Further critique:

The industrial orientation of the approach provides little value for service-based organizations.

Lack of clarity of method: ample instructions of what to do is not supported on how to do it

Successes and failures Feigenbaum’s work says nothing about

identification or selection of tools.

Feigenbaum assumes that people can and will work together for improvement.

However, his recognition that of the need to sell the total quality concept, suggests that a degree of political or coercive pressure may be brought to achieve the end result

Critical review Three founding ideas of Feigenbaum’s work:

1. His acceptance of the systems paradigm2. A belief in appropriate measurement3. Recognition of participation as a means for change and

enabling creativity

The lack of a well-developed, clear methodology is a major drawback

Management styles has a great factor in the success of a TQC initiative

A collaborative, team-based senior management is not easily achieved or maintained

Critical review Functionally structured companies normally have power

within each function Strong power bases may resist the perceived loss of individual or

function power that arises from any other orientation

“Production led” companies are dominated by a particular power group within a professional specialization.

Adoption of a team based approach, where each profession is valued for its contribution to the whole, e.g. in the form of a project or matrix management system is unlikely in such companies.

Critical review Feigenbaum has made a substantial contribution

to work in the field of quality Current development in quality management carry

powerful influences from his work.

Enthusiasm for his approach must be tempered by recognizing some weaknesses with respect to

Methodology and cultural context. His work does not go beyond the industrial sector.

Awards and honors First recipient of ASQ's Lancaster Award ASQ 1965 Edwards Medal in recognition of "his origination and

implementation of basic foundations for modern quality control" National Security Industrial Association Award of Merit Member of the Advisory Group of the U.S. Army Chairman of a system-wide evaluation of quality assurance activities

of the Army Materiel Command Consultant with the Industrial College of the Armed Forces Union College Founders Medal Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Life member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Life member of Plymouth Society of Marine Biology

Born : 1922

Known For “Total Quality Control”It was a platform for all others gurus to work on.

Prevention CostAppraisal Cost

Internal Failure CostExternal Failure Cost

Was his Contribution

Quality For Him Was.“Best for the customer use and selling price”

quality is everybody’s job

First Person to take Quality to the threshold of HRM.

TQC is not a temporary quality improvement plan, it is guiding an ongoing practice and philosophy.

Quick Recap

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