American and Japanese quality

It is appropriate to start this article with a comparison of American and Japanese quality practices. The Japanese have had great successes over the last decade in producing items of high quality. Perhaps something can be learned from them.

Juran conducted an in-depth analysis of Japanese and American quality with particular attention to the colour TV set. He observed the following differences in quality practices between the two countries:

1. Scrubdown of new products. In Japan, a very careful procedure is followed prior to the introduction of a new product to ensure the quality of design and conformance. This process of pilot production is called “scrubdown” and is aimed at getting the bugs out of the product before regular production begins. In the United States, scrubdown procedures are also used, but inevitably the conflict between the schedule and quality emerges. In most cases, the United States companies decide to go to market and meet the schedule while correcting the quality defects on the fly. The Japanese scrubdown procedure is more careful and deliberate.

2. Emphasis on quality characteristics. A TV set has three principal quality characteristics: picture quality, cabinet appeal, and reliability. It appears that Japan has emphasized reliability to a much greater extent than the United States while competing favourably on picture quality and cabinet appeal. Although the Americans have been attempting to close the gap, the Japanese still have the lead in quality and particularly in reliability.

3. Marketing structure. In Japan, the major TV producers have their own retail outlets and service shops. In Japan, their sets are not sold through huge retail chains and repaired by independent dealers, as TV sets are in the United States. The manufacturer in Japan does it all. As a result, the manufacturers pay more of the real cost of failure; logically, therefore, they stress reliability.

4. Components. As any TV manufacturer knows, a key to quality is the use of quality components. The Japanese carefully test all components prior to putting them in a set. They also select vendors carefully to get the best possible supplier from a quality-price standpoint. The Americans do less screening and end up with a much higher rate of in-plant failures.

5. Training. The Japanese emphasize quality training at all levels. Top management attends classes on quality principles.

6. Employee relations. The Japanese stress teamwork and worker responsibility for quality. There is a pride in workmanship which starts with top management and permeates the entire organization. The line managers and workers are put in a decision-making role, and the staff is advisory. As a result, the workforce knows it is responsible for producing a quality product and accepts that responsibility. There is a great emphasis in Japan on the total quality concept described above and on doing things right the first time.

Many people feel that the Japanese methods may be all right for Japan but that they will not work in America.

The Americans are improving quality today as a matter of survival. Customers demand and expect better quality. Much can be learned from the Japanese, who have already succeeded in transforming their World War II image of cheap Japanese goods to the current image of cheap but high-quality Japanese goods.

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