[The following article appears in _SPC_INC_, Winter 1993 (pages 1 to 4) and Summer 1993 (pages 9 to 12).] COMMUNITY QUALITY COUNCILS by Myron Tribus The establishment of Community Quality Councils has become an important development in the national quality movement. While many individuals have been involved in this effort, the prime leader has been Dr. Myron Tribus. Our first intention was to feature one of his many papers. However, it soon became clear that no one article gave the entire picture--nor would one article in SPC INK be sufficient. So we have edited several papers, organizing them into a series which will continue throughout 1993. In Part One, the topic includes: Why Do We Need Community Quality Councils? The History of Community Quality Councils The Purpose of A Community Quality Council At the end of each article are listed resource people who can help you in your own efforts to develop a Community Quality Council. For more immediate information, we encourage you to read the new book we are offering: "Quality First" by Dr. Myron Tribus, P.E. Why Do We Need Community Quality Councils? Because of the efforts of many quality leaders, there has been a reawakening in the United States to the importance of quality--and the need to manage for quality. Awareness of the "Quality Imperative" has increased as many writers have warned that unless the quality of goods and services produced by the U.S. increases dramatically, we shall no longer be an effective competitor in international commerce. Communities now also face a number of serious problems including the following. Economic Decline: The declining economy has taken away jobs and caused the layoff of hundreds of workers. These layoffs have a ripple effect in the community, causing the closure of many small businesses. Real estate values decline and the tax base is reduced. There are not enough revenues to support essential public services. Inadequate Numbers of Qualified Personnel: The pace of change in high technology causes changes in the work place. At the same time that there are unemployed people, there are often jobs waiting to be filled. Employers find it difficult to compete because they cannot find qualified people to help them fill orders from customers. Decline in Performance of Schools: For more than a decade national studies have chronicled the decline in performance of students leaving our high schools. Equally significant is the fact that nationally there is a 25% dropout rate. Drugs, Crime, Teen age Gangs Overwhelm Local Police Forces: There is not enough money to support the agencies which are supposed to deal with these problems. Decline in Social Services: Faced with too little tax money, local officials struggle to find the funds to keep the fire departments, police departments, schools, libraries, road departments and other essential services going. Budget cuts are the norm. All over America, citizens have become habituated to a low quality of service in their communities. They excuse poor quality in the handling of trash, clean streets, restaurant service, hotels, and in "service" stations. But poor quality does not have to be the norm. We can have a better life. These problems are not just "cultural." The behaviour of employees reflects the way things are managed. The key to better quality in the community lies in the re-education of our managers. Community Quality Councils can mobilize resources in a community to address these problems. Through this series, you will see what C.Q.C.s do, what has been experienced with them in some cities, how to establish these councils, and some lessons learned in communities that have had only limited success. In some communities, these admonitions have been taken to heart and the Community Quality Council has been a way to make a concerted and organized effort to raise the quality of service, manufacturing, and production, within the entire community. The History of Community Quality Councils The first quality council in the U.S. was the Growth Opportunity Alliance for Lawrence (now known as GOAL/QPC) in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The group was begun by Mayor Larry LeFebre, who was alarmed at the city's economic decline. At about the same time, NBC presented its television documentary, If Japan Can... Why Can't We? and Bob King, who became director of GOAL/QPC, saw the television program and at once telephoned to Dr. Deming in Washington and asked him for help. Dr. Deming agreed to help, and from this collaboration grew the start of the community-based quality effort in the U.S. Meanwhile other communities, aware of what had been done in Lawrence, set about to establish their own community-based action committees. The Naval Air Repair Facility was instrumental in starting a "Deming Users' Group" in San Diego. The Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce started the Philadelphia Council on Excellence (PACE). Another council was started by the Chamber of Commerce of Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Ohio Quality & Productivity Forum (OQPF) was started in Cincinnati. The Minnesota Consortium for Quality and Productivity was started in Minneapolis. It should be noted that each community has evolved its own pattern of activity. There are now approximately 1500 communities across the USA which are in one phase or another of starting their own quality councils. During the same time period, the people at the Center for Advanced Engineering Study (CAES) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology began to realize that the quality movement was going to be an important factor in the economic wellbeing of the U.S. Several companies, such as Ford Motor Co., the Nashua Company, and the Pontiac Division of GM, had begun to work with Dr. Deming and were introducing quality as a guiding principle of management. Other companies were working with Dr. Joseph Juran and the Juran Institute. CAES, therefore, called a meeting to see what might be done to help this movement along. Representatives of industry were unanimous in saying that they needed an infrastructure outside their companies to help in the transformation. It is not possible for one company to transform itself alone. Each company is served by a network of suppliers and if all do not make the change, none of them can. Two independent efforts spearheaded the movement. One was an initiative started in Jackson, Michigan. The economy of Jackson was geared to the automobile companies, so when the auto industry fell on hard times, Jackson was particularly hard hit. The mayor requested the Jackson Community College to start a special course in statistical process control. With the help of several companies, and the State of Michigan, the college received sufficient support and encouragement to develop video tapes and manuals designed to "train trainers" in SPC and elementary quality management. Dr. Deming lent encouragement and advice. Then, under a grant from the State of Michigan, the project expanded to train trainers in other parts of Michigan. Soon the activities had expanded to the training of trainers in about a dozen other states. The project was adopted by, and became the official program of the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, which represents approximately 2000 junior and community colleges. The program was eventually renamed "The Transformation of American Industry" project. Agreements were made with the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) to promote the tapes and the instruction as a joint effort. The Transformation Project has now developed a network of community and junior colleges at which training has been initiated. By early 1987, trainers had been trained in over 100 locations. Meanwhile, the initiative to form a supportive infrastructure (which had been started under the guidance of CAES), was incorporated as the American Quality and Productivity Institute (AQPI), a non-profit institute devoted to the promotion of the principles of quality management through the promotion of more local community-based quality councils. The need for closer cooperation between the Transformation Project and AQPI was first recognized in the community of Jackson. Although the Transformation Project was reaching many community colleges, the schools were still having difficulty attracting students to their courses. It seemed evident that the two organizations needed to combine forces--AQPI to foster community councils and the Transformation Project to create educational resources. Using these and other resources, many communities across the U.S. are working to create Community Quality Councils, and some have progressed far enough to be enjoying the benefits of these organizations. The Purpose of A Community Quality Council In developing a community action program, it is important to have a clear idea of what is to be accomplished. Just wanting to get something started in quality is not sufficient. There is often the naive hope that by merely bringing people together, good things will happen- and they often do in other fields. But quality is a different matter. There are so many misconceptions (often held by quite intelligent people) that even if the organizing effort is turned over to a group of otherwise competent people, what evolves is not likely to be what was intended. The primary goal of the quality council should be to promote the principles of quality of management in every enterprise in the community. By enterprise we mean not only the manufacturing companies, but also the departments of city government, small businesses (including service industries), the schools, and even the small shops on Main Street. The objective is to make the community an "island of quality." It should be kept in mind that the success of Japan is counter to most of the prevalent beliefs about economics. According to most economists, Japan, with practically no natural resources--no coal, no oil, no forests, no minerals, no army, navy or air force should not be a dominant force in international trade. Everything produced by Japan has to be made from imported materials. What Japan has is good management which guides its people in adding value to the imported goods and shipping them out at a huge profit. Many communities in the U.S. may be considered "islands" which, to survive, must import materials from elsewhere, add value and then export their product. In that sense, most communities are very much like Japan. There are, of course, some exceptions such as communities which export a raw material like oil, coal, iron ore, timber, or farm goods. They produce a primary product not based on importation. But most communities are not that fortunate. Bert Nanus, of the University of Southern California, put the matter very succinctly when he said that most managers have concentrated their effort on the creation, protection, and expansion of physical wealth. Survival now requires the creation, protection, and expansion of human wealth. It is the proper leadership of this human wealth that creates the physical wealth. Quality management is concerned with this principle. It is the open secret of Japanese success; but it is a secret which can be put to work by any community. The American Quality and Productivity Institute and the Transformation of American Industry Projects have set forth four purposes which provide a unique approach to this need. 1. To promote the principles of quality management throughout the community. 2. To help all enterprises in the community change their managerial styles to "quality first" management. 3. To provide opportunities for education and training. 4. To provide a basis for exchange of information and experience among companies and communities. The unifying theme of community quality councils is their concentration on a different way to manage, applied in both the public and private sectors. This different management has a long history. It was originally developed in the U.S. and taught to the Japanese as a way to prevent them from becoming a burden on the U.S. taxpayer after World War II. This same different management has been adopted by a number of private companies in the U.S. and has been successfully used in a number of communities. When properly applied, this approach makes a business more competitive and a local government most cost effective. With the help of the schools, communities can have a locus of people who are properly qualified to apply this new management and to participate in the constant improvement of the work done in the community. The one theme which can unite the leaders of any community is "jobs creation." Jobs are required to support the economy. The creation of more jobs is an idea to which every citizen can relate. But Community Quality Councils can provide a rallying point by promoting three distinct themes--all related to the creation of more jobs. * Increasing the competitiveness of local industry, i.e., teaching management and labor how to fight back against the foreign competition which has already taken away many jobs from American industry. The promotion of a new way to manage can now be documented as having been the factor which made the difference in many companies such as Ford, Xerox, Harley Davidson, and Corning Glass Company. * Supporting local economic development by providing improved quality of life through better government services, improved education, a more competitive infrastructure. * Providing qualified people. Community councils can provide educational opportunities for both management and labor. The most important resource a community can have is trained people. A Vision: The Potential of a "Quality Community" If you were to visit a community devoted to total quality, what would you find? Let's fantasize for a moment. You arrive at the airport--on time--and find the place clean and the people friendly and helpful. Your baggage is waiting at a clearly marked place very near the exit to the terminal, on the ground level where the taxis and shuttles are waiting. As you get into your cab, the driver asks for the name of your hotel and telephones ahead to confirm your reservation and to tell the hotel you are on the way. When you arrive, the doorman greets you by name and the hotel has the registration form ready for you to sign. All the necessary information has been taken from the computer because the travel agent, or your secretary, was asked for the details when the reservation was made. The next morning, your wake-up call is accompanied by an offer of coffee or tea. The hotel has supplied a disposable toothbrush and toothpaste tube, along with a hair dryer, for your convenience. As you finish your breakfast in the coffee shop, the waitress asks you sign your bill and inquires if you need transportation to your next destination. She also asks if you are checking out so the bill can be made ready. As you go to the next destination, the cab driver asks you if he can call ahead for you to confirm your arrival. You note that the streets are all clean. The street signs are easy to see. Store fronts are of various designs, but all are either new or newly painted and the displays are attractive. Traffic flows smoothly. You note that the cab is clean, both inside and out, and that seatbelts are available for your safety. Have we just described some kind of grand utopia--Walden Three perhaps? Why have Americans become habituated to such low quality of service in their communities? The developers of Community Quality Councils believe that poor quality is neither inevitable nor cultural. Community services reflect the way the community is managed. And the key to a better level of quality in the community lies in the re-education of the community leaders and managers. Community Solutions: Always Political in Nature Crucial to the development of a community quality initiative is the understanding of the political structure of the community. Power has many motivations which may be categorized into three areas: personal, political, or business. In general, personal power is largely tied to the other two. In examining powerful persons in one major city, the key ingredients in gaining power were recognized as being money, achievement, community service, and longevity. None alone was sufficient. Power is often called "clout." Clout comes from "muscle." Muscle is developed from the ability, and more important, the proclivity to use it. "Use it or lose it" applies to political muscle too! Powerful people may also derive their power from the company they represent or from the public office they hold, with some offices having more clout than others. Ethnic and cultural groups find power within themselves, but can seldom transfer that power into the community. Then there are the power brokers. These people have no official link to political power structure--they are often the representatives of business. Or because of longevity within the community, they may have personal clout with those in positions of "official power." They usually have the largest investment in the success of the community. That investment may be financial, familial, social, or may arise from moral leadership of many years, such as an influential educator. Those who seek to make changes must understand the web of power in their community and then, to achieve success, they must be able to activate those forces. As a leader, you must understand the various power sources and how to balance their competing interests in the community. The members are held together by their common goals and concerns. This commonality of purpose tends to bind them together. Their conflicting interests tend to pull them apart. Quality management principles may be used to help the members of a community overcome their differences while working for the good of the community. As you assume a leadership role, it is imperative that you realize the awesome responsibility you have taken on. If you fail, it will be nearly impossible for anyone else to accomplish the task. The "we tried it and it didn't work" attitude will become a powerful barrier. A Brief Review of Quality Management Principles The greatest threat to the quality movement is for it to fall under the control of people who do not understand, or care to learn, what it is all about. The biggest barrier to progress is the lack of a commitment to learn. Many people will want to be involved in this effort. But they may not understand what it is about. They may not realize that the rules of the business world have changed as they were busily climbing the ladder. Unless all participants know and understand the basic principles of quality, it will be impossible to develop a unified vision and plan, toward which the group can work. It is necessary to involve people of power in the movement, but until they understand the underlying quality principles, they must be kept in the background as much as possible. This will require real leadership skills, including tremendous tact and sensitivity. But what are the new principles? What is different about quality-driven management? Here is a brief list of a few of the principles of quality management. Principle 1: * Quality is never your problem * Quality is the solution. Principle 2: * Organized human activity takes place within a system. * 85% of problems are in the system; 15% are worker problems. Principle 3: * The essence of Quality Management is the ability to treat problems of systems and people simultaneously. Principle 4: * All systems exhibit variability. * Managers must be able to distinguish signals from noise. * Quality management techniques permit intelligent decisions concerning when to take action. Principle 5: * The manager's job has changed! * The people work in a system. * The manager must work to improve the system--with employee help. Principle 6: * Quality does not cost-It pays! * High quality produces profits, lower costs, happier customers, happier workers, better suppliers, stronger competitive posture. Principle 7: * Successful organizations are customer-driven . * Everyone serves a customer. * The concept of "customer" includes more than the outside customer. Everyone serves a "customer." The next person in line is your customer. This is only a partial list of principles, of course. And the listing is just that--a list. It doesn't begin to give the full scope of the transformation necessary for a community to achieve real quality services. But it is a tiny picture of the concepts that must be learned, understood, and committed to-by everyone involved in the quality effort. One striking thing about these principles is that they are fundamentally different from the principles upon which most companies and communities are now managed. Layers of management abound in most organizations. If the system of management is to change, there must be a change in the entire organizational "culture." Making such changes is not easy. People must help one another, and that is where community quality councils can play an important role. But to be successful, everyone in the transformation effort must share a common vision. And to quote Dr. Deming's Point I- there must be a constancy of purpose. The task will not be easy or short in duration. Getting Organized: Start Slowly Without Publicity A quality movement must be executed with quality. Do not make the mistake of starting by making public proclamations. The first thing to do is gather the proper allies around you. You need to find colleagues who understand and who are committed to the promotion of quality. Recall Dr. Deming's reply when asked, "What does it take to get started?" He said, "A critical mass of people who understand and who work consistently." The first step is to find the critical mass of people who understand. In most cases, the required number is about six or seven. Of course, it only takes one person to start, but the task is much too large for any one person to undertake alone. Organization and cooperation is required. The person or group who starts the organization must be someone who understands quality management principles and who practices them. It is absolutely essential that the group begins by developing a shared vision, delineated with operational definitions of what is to be accomplished and a plan for action. One way to locate other people who may want to be involved is to contact the local chapter of ASQC. Harry Kenworthy, in starting a group in Connecticut, wrote to the people on the list, asking them to submit to him the name of a person in their organization who was highly placed and who, in their opinion, understood the quality movement and was trying to implement it. These responses led him to the executives in the community who had a stake in quality improvement and understood it. After a few telephone calls to such a list (which, unfortunately, is apt to be a short one) a small organizing committee may be formed. Of course, there are other ways to find the members. The right people are often to be found at conferences and seminars on quality. But by whatever means, you must find a small number of people who are dedicated, competent in quality, and willing to work for the good of the community. But remember--quality is like motherhood and apple pie-- everyone is for it! Many people may be enthusiastic, but have no real understanding of the new quality principles. If they are unwilling to learn and make a commitment, in the long run they will be detrimental to your effort. The next step is to organize a broader basis of support. Committee members should call upon the leadership of several organizations, such as: The Chamber of Commerce The Mayor's Office Professional Societies Local Industry Local Community Colleges Continuing Education Unions The Medical Community Service Organizations The Kickoff Meeting: Going Public After you have lined up your organizational group and have developed a clear vision and a set of operationally defined objectives, you are ready to launch the program. One good way to get started is to ask the Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor's Office to sponsor a kickoff meeting. A good format would be to convene about 9:00 a.m. for carefully planned presentations. At noon, your guests can be invited to a luncheon, complete with a keynote speaker. The kickoff meeting must accomplish three things: 1. Announce the start of the quality movement in your community and explain what it will do for the community. 2. Present inspiring speakers for the sessions. They will help guests to understand what must be done and what advantages those things will bring to the community 3. End with a specific program of action. People must leave with something tangible to do. The Mayor and Head of the Chamber of Commerce can fulfill the first objective--if you have educated them properly. For your session speakers, you need to find speakers with meaningful and practical messages and ideas. The local chapter of AQPI or ASQC may be able to help you. And you may have Deming experts in your community who could make presentations. Another source would be representatives from local businesses who have successfully brought quality management principles into the workplace. For the keynote speaker, it is helpful to procure someone who is well-known, who is a dynamic and inspirational speaker, and who can send people out with a sense of excitement about the quality concepts. This speaker may well have to be paid a fee, or at the very least, you will need to be prepared to pay their expenses. The Action Program: The Key to Success Be sure to end your first meeting with a definite action program. You should announce the various committees, ask the chairmen to speak in public about what they intend to do and then announce your first activity. If you intend to start with round tables or conferences, be sure to have some of the details and the dates ready to announce. People who have taken time out from their jobs to hear what you intend to do want to know that something definite will happen. It is very poor quality to call a meeting only to announce that more planning meetings will be held in the future! Some people fear that if they announce a program of events people will feel that there was some kind of "steamroller" at work. Therefore your announcement should include what you intend to do to get started and a description of what planning is required for future programs. In other words, your presentation should involve something definite to do, and at the same time, hold the door open for others to participate and plan additional activities. What Not To Do! If there is one danger trap to be avoided above all others it is this: The local quality movement must not fall under the dominance of people who do not understand what the quality revolution is all about! Because there is such a shortage of people who really understand the new management principles, there will be a tendency for the people who normally wield the power in the community to assume that all they need to do is put their shoulders to the wheel and push with their accustomed zeal--and good things will happen. Nothing could be further from the truth. The quality movement must have leadership. The leaders must, above all, understand what the principles of quality management are and know how to apply them. Because there is a shortage of "willing workers" who understand the quality revolution, you must be on guard. Remember--a public false start will be a powerful barrier to further efforts! _________________________________________________________________ This article was adapted from two papers: "A Template for Bringing Quality to the Community" by Myron Tribus (from the BDA 1992 National Forum) and "Creating Community Quality Councils: Applying Quality Management Principles in a Political Environment" by Kathy Lusk, Ph. D.; Myron Tribus, Ph. D.; Carole and David Schwinn, Transformation of American Industry Project. The latter paper is included in the book, Quality First: Selected Papers on Quality & Productivity Improvement by Dr. Myron Tribus, P.E., published by the National Institute for Engineering Management & Systems, and available from SPC Press, Inc. Myron's book is only $25.00 plus shipping charges. It is an 8 1/2 x 11 inch format, has a soft cover. and is 308 pages. It includes such classic articles as: The Germ Theory of Management Deming's Way Managing to Survive in a Competitive World Reducing Deming's 14 Points to Practice Deming's Redefinition of Management Creating Community Quality Councils TQM at the Grass Roots Improving Productivity in Government Services The Application of Quality Management Principles in Education AND MANY MORE! ________________________________________________________________ Resource People for the Formation of Community Quality Councils Dr. Myron Tribus 30 Britto Terrace Fremont, CA 94539 William M. DeCrease 205 W. 42nd Street Erie, PA 16508 Richard Miller Quality Counselor 17175 Bay Street Jupiter, FL 33477 Dr. Kathy Hagler Technology Exchange Center 1616 East Fourth St. Santa Ana, CA 92701 James Brown Manager, Quality Resources Tennessee Valley Authority 400 West Summit Hill Drive WT 8A-K Knoxville, TN 37902 Harry Kenworthy, Div. Mgr. Willimantic Division Rogers Corporation 730 Windham South Windham, CT 06266 Barbara Hummel Executive Director MAQIN 1010 Mound Street Madison, WI 53715 Jan Partain, Coordinator Arkansas Ind. Dev. Commission One State Capitol Mall Little Rock, AR 72201 Carole & David Schwinn Transformation of American Industry Project Jackson Community College 2111 Emmons Road Jackson, MI 49201 ______________________________________________________________ Myron Tribus, P.E. Quality Counselor Dr. Tribus is a consulting engineer specializing in Quality Management, and a Director of Exergy, a company specializing in the design of advanced high efficiency power production systems. He retired from MIT in 1986 after over 11 years as Director of the CAES. Before going to MIT, he was a Senior Vice President for Research and Engineering for the Xerox Corporation; he served for two years as Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce; he was Dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College; he was on the faculties of the Colleges of Engineering at UCLA and the University of Michigan. Dr. Tribus has published over 100 papers and two books. He has also published and lectured extensively on topics of social interest such as the decline of U.S. competitiveness in world trade, the role of decision theory in political decision-making, and the role of technology in society. In recent years, Dr. Tribus has become known through his writings on Dr. Deming's philosophy of management. He is one of the founders of AQPI. ======================================== Downloaded through the Community Quality Electronic Network. You can connect to the CQEN by computer modem through the TQM BBS: (301) 585-1164. You can subscribe to the CQEN internet mailing list by writing tom.glenn@tqm.permanet.org; in the body of the message write: join CQEN your name, your community quality group (if any). You can download files like this one from the CQEN on the TQM BBS or from Clemson University: anonymous ftp to deming.eng.clemson.edu gopher to deming.eng.clemson.edu:70/1 mosaic to http://deming.eng.clemson.edu/ The file named CQENFILE.ZIP is an annotated bibliography of all the files available through the CQEN.