I recently picked up the April 2008 issue of Industry Week and read Brad Kenney's article "Whatever Happened to Quality?" In the past I've written posts about an increase in awareness regarding the importance of quality control, but what my previous posts didn't focus on and Mr. Kenney's article does, is the growing realization that quality management isn't just about manufacturing anymore.
In 2008, quality control has evolved to the point where it embraces an all-encompassing approach to process improvement. That is to say that it accounts not just for manufacturing, but also for services rendered, customer support, employee satisfaction, human resources development, senior leadership decisions, etc. As Kenney describes it, the evolved approach to quality goes "beyond the shop floor and into the front office."
As I see it, the new quality control is a complete quality management system. It's comprised of document control workflow, training management processes, supplier performance tracking procedures, corporate-wide quality policies, and internal & external communications tracking to name just a few components.
Check out Kenney's complete article at http://www.industryweek.com.
