Dr. Deming: 14 Points

Deming’s 14 Points is a framework to improve quality and production. It is basically cure to 5 Deadly Diseases mentioned above. The 14 points are:

1. Constancy of purpose

The management must have continuous plans to compete in the ever-changing industry by always looking for ways to improve products and services. This will eliminate short term goals and always be prepared for new changes. A good example will be AirAsia, where the management team jumped leaps and bounds from what they have started as a budget airline company. Now they are majority shareholder of MAS, Team Lotus F1 and Queens Park Rangers FC, and they’ve spread their wings in other businesses like Tune Hotels, Tune Talk and Tune Insurance.

2. Adopt to the new philosophy

Industries and economics are dynamic, failure to move in parallel leads to obsoleteness. Competitions become stiffer as each business or industry is stuffed with similar producers. The management and workers as well must accept and understand new philosophy wholly. Changes occurs all the time and each level must acknowledge it and incorporate it fully to generate passion to the new philosophy.

3. Cease dependence on mass inspection

For years quality inspection has been about detecting defects rather than preventing them. Defect rate can be reduced by using quality materials, machines and workers. To ensure high quality offshore modules fabrication, Brooke Dockyard ensures that steel plates have milling certificates, quality machineries, hire skilled workers and to top it off, employ highly qualified QAQC staffs to monitor fabrication process.

4. End lowest tender contracts

If expensive does not ensure quality, cheap will be a long shot. To get higher profit margin, some management award tenders to companies with the lowest cost. Contracts should always be given based on proven records from previous projects or those with evidence of quality like up-to-date machineries and qualified workers.

5. Find problems to make improvements

No system is flawless and it is one of many roles of the management to find problems with the system. Problems do not mean defects or deficiency, but can be considered as points which could be improved. For example, cutting defects are solved by replacing cutting tool(s) and an inspector with RT Level 2 can detect more defects than a RT Level 1 inspector. (RT = Radiographic Testing).

6. Institute modern methods of training on the job

Most of the time, workers are trained by showing them how to do things. Thus workers do not really understand the process but just work for the sake of working. With on job training in the other hand, workers are able to understand the work process and such training should be standardize so that all workers have produces same quality standard.

7. Institute leadership

It is common that most ‘leaders’ in management system are instructors rather than leaders. Usually they tell ‘do this’, ‘do that’, ‘stop’ and etc. Leadership is more than that; they help others to improve by giving coaching and encouragements.

8. Drive out fear

This point is related to Point 7. When leadership is instituted, leaders gain respect and workers will feel close to them. If leaders are instruction givers, boundary will occur between workers and management and this will strike fear among workers. With this, workers will refrain from giving out new ideas to improve the system.

9. Eliminate barriers between departments

Different processes/roles in a system create barriers between different departments. Thus a department will not fully understand the process of another department and this situation will creates a lot of problems between departments. If the barriers can be removed, understandings between departments can be achieved and this will improve the process flow, thus improve quality.

10. Eliminate exhortations

Dr. Deming has highlighted that problems are due to those in management, not workers. Exhortations such as meaningless motto and slogans will only frustrate workers that understand errors are done by the system and not workers. This will cause dissatisfaction and workers will not have the passion to produce quality products and services.

11. Eliminate arbitrary numerical targets

Usually management will use average production quality standard as benchmark and most of the time; most workers will fall below the benchmark. This will cause workers to unite to lower average standard and the better workers will not be able to perform according to real ability. This will lower quality standard of end product.

12. Permit pride of workmanship

Workers are those involved more in production of products or services. By instilling passion with the work they do, workers will have the sense of pride of their work. This will encourage them wanting to produce high work quality all the time without offering many rewards like bonuses and off days. Rewards are temporary, pride is forever.

13. Encourage education

Economics and businesses change all the time, prompting change in technologies and philosophies. This also means workers must also change to move along with the flow. This can be done by continuous process to improve themselves through trainings, education and seminars. Experience helps but knowledge of new technologies and systems will generate even more value to quality production.

14. Commitment to accomplish transformation

The last point demands commitment from every level of the system, from management to workers, to put into action Point 1 to Point 13. This can also be viewed as enforcement of the first 13 points to achieve quality management.