1. Brin Tracy Marriott School of Management
Crosby’s 14 Steps
Brin Tracy
Marriott School of Management

2. What Will Be Covered What are Crosby’s 14 Steps?
Brainstorming Exercise: How Can This Tool be Used in Your Organization?
Explanation of Crosby’s 14 Steps
How Crosby’s 14 Steps Work
Real World Example: GM Truck & Bus
An Exercise
Summary
Readings list

3. What are Crosby’s 14 Steps?
Adapted from chapter eight of Quality Is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain (1979)
A fourteen step program for quality improvement
Top management involved
Entire organization involved
In order to be successful, a company needs to develop a quality improvement program that can be implemented throughout their company and management. Crosby’s 14 Steps offers a guideline on how to accomplish this. However, to be successful at the 14 steps takes commitment and determination, as well as support from every level within your organization. The entire organization must be involved and especially top management. It is critical for the top management be an example and support the quality improvement efforts 100%.
This program gives attention to transforming the quality culture of an organization and helps involve every employee that is part of the organization in the quality process.

4. What are Crosby’s 14 Steps?
A “how-to” for management that provides an organization with a simple and organized method to initiating the quality improvement process and beginning the journey to world-class quality
These steps articulate a platform for TQM efforts to follow. They depend on the foundational thought that any money or resources that an organization uses towards quality improvement is well-spent.

5. What are Crosby’s 14 Steps?
“Focuses on long-term employee participation, not short-term motivational tactics.”
- Crosby, Philip (1979) Crosby’s 14 Steps to Improvement
Philip Crosby's 14-step quality improvement program demonstrates how to get all of your employees involved and supportive of the quality movement, and it helps them comprehend and appreciate what quality really means.

6. Brainstorming Exercise: How can this tool be used in your organization?
Each person in the audience identify an area in the organization (process, product, service, etc.) that you feel needs improvement. (3 min)
Cycle times
Delivery times
Any wasteful or non-value added activities
Every one works alone
Save papers for “How it Works” section later in presentation

7. Foundation for Crosby’s 14 Steps
Crosby’s absolutes of quality management:
Quality means conformance, not elegance.
There is no such thing as a quality problem.
There is no such thing as the economics of quality; it is always cheaper to do the job right the first time.
The only performance measurement is the cost of quality.
The only performance standard is Zero Defects.
Crosby’s 14 Steps fall closely in line with these 5 absolutes of quality management that Crosby lists in his book, Quality Is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain (1979).

8. Nuts and Bolts
MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT - Top-level view on quality shown to all employees.
THE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TEAM - To pursue the quality regime throughout the business.
Make it clear that management is committed to quality
Form quality improvement teams with representatives from each department
#1!
WE’RE

9. Nuts and Bolts
QUALITY MEASUREMENT - Analysis of business quality performance in a meaningful manner.
THE COST OF QUALITY - Make sure everyone in the business understands the need for a quality system, and the costs to the business if there is no quality system in place.
Determine how to measure where current and potential quality problems exist
For example late deliveries, budgeted to actual sales/deliveries/costs/etc.
Keep it simple for all to understand.
Evaluate the cost of quality and explain its use as a management tool

10. Nuts and Bolts
QUALITY AWARENESS - Again make everyone in the business aware of the impact of quality systems.
CORRECTIVE ACTION - Ensure a system is in place for analyzing defects in the system and applying simple cause and effect analysis, to prevent re-occurrence.
Raise the quality awareness and personal concern of all employees
Take formal actions to correct problems identified through previous steps

11. Nuts and Bolts
ZERO DEFECTS PLANNING - Look for business activities to which zero defect logic should be applied.
SUPERVISOR TRAINING - Get your supervisors trained in both quality logic and zero defect appreciation which they can apply to their business activities.
Establish a committee for the zero defects program
Train all employees to actively carry out their part of the quality improvement program

12. Nuts and Bolts
ZERO DEFECTS DAY - A quality event by which all members of the effected section become aware that a change has taken place.
GOAL SETTING - Once a change has been implemented in a section of the business, the next step is to get the employees and supervisors in that section to set goals for improvement to bring about continuous improvement.
Hold a “zero defects day” to let all employees realize there has been a change
Encourage individuals to establish improvement goals for themselves and their groups

13. Nuts and Bolts
ERROR CAUSE REMOVAL - Communication process by which management are made aware that set goals are difficult to achieve in order for either the goals to be reset or help given by management to achieve the goals.
RECOGNITION - Management must recognize the employees who participate in the quality schemes.
Encourage employees to communicate to management the obstacles they face in attaining their improvement
Recognize and appreciate those who participate

14. Nuts and Bolts
QUALITY COUNCILS - Using both specialist knowledge and employee experiences to bring about a focused approach to business quality regime.
DO IT OVER AGAIN - Continuous improvement means starting from the beginning again and again.
Establish quality councils to communicate on a regular basis
Do it all over again to emphasize that the quality improvement program never ends

15. Quality Improvement How It Works1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Quality Improvement
Crosby’s 14 Steps to quality improvement can be used in any organization to better the organization as a whole and offer a better result for the customers.
It is a continuous process that is not a quick-fix and isn’t always easy. It is very important that the method be carefully followed. Beginning with step 1 and moving forward will build the organizations confidence and comfort with the process. It will also allow everyone to jump on board in the beginning stages so that the entire organization as whole can move forward more efficient.
It is critical that when you complete Steps 1 through 14, that you do not stop there, but that you start the entire quality program over from the beginning and continuously reach for improvement.

16. Real World Example: GM Truck & Bus
Background:
Responsible for the planning, engineering, manufacturing, and assembly of General Motors Trucks worldwide
They needed to develop a common direction for our quality process
They wanted the entire workforce to be aware and involved
- (Hartman, 2002)
“In 1982, the Truck & Bus Group was formed by combining the truck operations of Chevrolet, General Motors Assembly Division, and the Truck and Coach Division.” (Hartman, 2002)

17. Real World Example: GM Truck & Bus
Implementing Crosby’s 14 Steps:
“In line with Step 2 of Crosby’s 14-step process, Truck & Bus implemented both a group quality improvement team and plant and staff quality improvement teams to run the quality improvement process.”
- (Hartman, 2002)

18. Real World Example: GM Truck & Bus
Progress:
The quality improvement teams initially managed the “soft” or non-product areas covered in Crosby’s 14 steps, such as awareness and communication, quality education, cost of quality, and recognition.
The role of [their] quality improvement teams gradually shifted from “implementing [their] quality improvement process” to “being the driving force in improving the quality of all of [their] business processes.”
- (Hartman, 2002)

19. Real World Example: GM Truck & Bus
Results:
“The 14-step process provided The Truck & Bus Group with the most defined, simple-to-follow road map for the initial legs of their quality journey.”
“Helped everyone focus on the quality of their business process and to understand their internal customer/supplier relationship. Every individual produces a product and has customers. Everyone must determine the requirements and satisfaction of their personal customers.”
- (Hartman, 2002)

20. An Exercise Break into groups of four-six
The group discusses the identified items from the brainstorming session (6 min)
Choose one area that you feel needs the most improvement (i.e. causes the most problems, wastes time and resources, will make biggest impact)
Discuss as a class

21. An Exercise Cont.
Split back into your groups and determine the following (8 min):
The costs to the business if there is no quality system in place
A corrective action that will prevent re-occurrence
A goal for improvement that will bring about continuous improvement
Discuss as a class

22. Summary
Crosby’s program is designed to transform the quality culture of an organization
Helps involve everyone in the organization in the quality process
Crosby 14 Steps to quality improvement is a continuous process that will bring great rewards and benefits to your organization

23. Summary
“Either you don't accept things that don't meet the requirements— or you find out whether the requirement is really what you need, but the business of ‘that's close enough’ has to go away.” ~Philip Crosby

24. Readings List
Crosby, Philip (1979). Crosby’s 14 Steps to Improvement. New York: McGraw-Hill
Crosby, Philip (1979). Quality is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain. New York: McGraw‐Hill.
Crosby, Philip (1984). Quality Without Tears. New York: McGraw‐Hill.
Crosby, Philip (1988). The Eternally Successful Organization. New York: McGraw‐Hill.
Crosby, Philip (1989). Let’s Talk Quality. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Crosby, Philip (1994). Completeness: Quality for the 21st Century. Plume.
Crosby, Philip (1996). Quality is Still Free. New York: McGraw-Hill.
R W Hoyer, Brooke B Y Hoyer, Philip B Crosby, W Edwards Deming, et al. (2001)  Quality Progress. Milwaukee: Vol. 34, Iss. 7.
Hartman, Melissa (2002). Fundamental Concepts of Quality Improvement. Milwaukee: ASQ Quality Press.