The purpose of this paper is to describe two management phases required to drive quality planning and implementation. The Customer Analysis and Planning phase involves managers who lead quantitative goal-setting processes, document business agreements to establish goals, and personally teach the expected organizational changes aimed at business excellence.
Critical to the second phase, Implementation, are three fundamentals: 1.) a quality system for functions beyond manufacturing; 2. ) attainment of functional skills for each employee; 3. ) utilization of a common improvement language across the organization.
Although this paper focuses on general management, engineering functions are challenged to determine their role in the establishment of business goals and plans. They are to think of their own functions as a work flow with specific customers. Engineers should document their customer needs and determine how engineering work delights the customer eventually leading to delighted external customers, profits, and a growing business.