Burnt toast

[Richard White <WhiteR@Approach.com>]

>>Does the Deming philosophy have such a path? If so, what is it?

Grant's question raises many more in my mind.

If I may use a metaphor that Dr. Deming was fond of, Grant's scenario tells
me 
that QS-9000 would identify the defective tires as burnt toast and, in order
to meet the
required standard, Firestone management would have to see to it that the
toast was scraped.
I don't really see that as providing much of a path forward. Then again,
using control 
charts to track the incidence of burnt toast does no more.

Are the severity/occurrence/detection numbers derived from statistics or
perceptions? Even 
if analytic statistical methods are used to determine that a lot of toast
gets burned, 
is that really the Deming philosophy at work? Or should we be measuring
farther upstream?
If so, where? And where/how does the analysis of cause and effect come into
play?

Where do ISO 9000 and Deming stand on these issues? Perhaps this discussion
will help 
illuminate the philosophical differences.

Richard White
Approach Inc.
100 Summit Lake Drive
Valhalla, NY 10595
whiter@approach.com
914-769-2800
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