What is the definition of Zero defects management?

Zero Defects – a term coined by Mr. Philip Crosby in his book “Absolutes of Quality Management” has emerged as a trending concept in quality management; Six Sigma adopting it as one of the major theories.  The concept has also faced a lot of criticism. Many say that there cannot be a state of zero defects while others have been trying to prove them wrong. Zero defects in quality management don’t mean so in its literary term but it refers to a state where waste is eliminated and defects are reduced. It means ensuring quality standards and reducing defects to the level of zero in projects.

Zero Defects is not possible; why?

As mentioned above, zero defects cannot be taken in literary terms because in reality, zero defects are not possible. Suppose you are developing a product and want to ensure zero defects in terms of quality. The product might be very good today but tomorrow it will lack feature that the newest development will have. Therefore, you cannot state anything as absolute ‘zero defects’. Zero defects concept is a concept of quest for perfection in order to improve quality. Though perfection might not be achievable but at least the quest will lead towards improvement in quality.

Zero Defects – The Theory and Implementation

Zero defects theory ensures that there is no waste existing in a project. Waste here refers to all unproductive process, tools, employee etc. There is no help in including host of process, tools and employees if the production is not as such. So, anything that is unproductive and do not add value to a project should be eliminated from the project. This is the process of elimination of waste. By doing this, you reduce waste and thus cut down the cost involved in the waste. Besides eliminating waste, there should be a process of improvement. Any scope of improvement that is possible in a project should be experimented. This ensures the movement towards perfection. Zero defects theory also closely connects with “right first time” phrase. This means that every project should be perfect at the very first time itself. Here, again perfect refers to zero defects. Zero defects theory is based on four elements for implementation in real projects.

1. Quality is a state of assurance to requirements. Therefore, zero defects in project means fulfilling requirement at that point of time.
2. Right time first. Quality should be taken care of at the very first go rather than solving problems at a later stage.
3. Quality here is measured in financial terms. One needs to judge waste, production and revenue in terms of money.
4. Performance should be judged as per zero defects theory, i.e. near to perfection. Just being good is not good enough.

Zero Defects – Few Pros and Cons

Zero defects ensure that all waste existing in a project is eliminated in the very first go itself that leads to cost reduction. Thus, Zero defects leads to waste reduction along with cost cutting. All these process improves services and therefore, there is improvement in quality leading to happy customers.  However, there are certain disadvantages of this theory as well. As there is a quest for perfection and zero defects, more people and process might be involved to find out the defects which will lead to extra cost. Also over strictness might hamper the work culture and production in projects. To overcome the cons, along with following zero defects theory, one needs to ensure continual service improvement as well.

Zero Defects – Few Pros and Cons

Zero defects ensure that all waste existing in a project is eliminated in the very first go itself that leads to cost reduction. Thus, Zero defects leads to waste reduction along with cost cutting. All these process improves services and therefore, there is improvement in quality leading to happy customers.  However, there are certain disadvantages of this theory as well. As there is a quest for perfection and zero defects, more people and process might be involved to find out the defects which will lead to extra cost. Also over strictness might hamper the work culture and production in projects. To overcome the cons, along with following zero defects theory, one needs to ensure continual service improvement as well.

These are some insights on the zero defects theory and its implementation.  To know more about Six Sigma and Six Sigma certification and training, avail Simplilearn’s Six Sigma Training program.

Zero Defects, Pioneered By Philip Crosby, is a business practice which aims to reduce and minimize the number of defects and errors in a process and to do things right first time. the ultimate aim will be to reduce the level of defects to zero. However, this May not be possible and in practice and what it means is that everything possible will be done to eliminate the likelihood of errors or defects occurring. The over all effects of achieving zero is the maximization of profitability.  More recently the concept of zero defects has lead to the creation and developement of six sigma pioneered by motorola and adopted worldwide by many other organisations.

How can it be used ?

The concept of zero defects can be practically utilised in any situation to improve quality and reduce cost. However it doesn’t just happen, as the right conditions have to be established to allow this to take place. A process, system or method of working has to be established which allows for the achievement of zero defects. If this process and the associated conditions are not created then it will not be possible for anyone involved in the process to achieve the desired objective of zero defects.

In such a process it will be possible to measure the cost of none conformance in terms of wasted materials and wasted time.

Any process that is to be designed to include this concept must be clear on its customer expectations and desires. The ideal is to aim for a process and finished article that conforms to customer requirements and does not fall short of or exceed these requirements. For example, in recent years many financial organisations have made claims regarding how quickly they can process a home loan application. But what they may have failed to realise is that in spending a great deal of time and money reducing processing time they are exceeding customer requirements (even if they believe that they know them). In these cases they have exceeded the cost of conformance when it was not necessary to do so.

Zero Defects was a popular management system that aimed at reducing defects during handling by employers by educating, training, motivating employees on each level- the importance of their contribution in achieving a damage free goods by better handling, inspection, prevention of accidents during handling etc.

The module proposes to motivate employees on each level to understand their contribution as paramount in achieving success. This system has become more popular in Supply chain these days

The quality manager must be clear, right from the start, that zero defects is not a motivation program. Its purpose is to communicate to all employees the literal meaning of the words ‘zero defects’ and the thought that everyone should do things right the first time.

Defects. They’re the bane of our existence as well as our reason for being as quality professionals. After all, if manufacturing and service processes were immaculate in their natural states, there wouldn’t be much call for ISO standards, Black Belts, metrology equipment, Baldrige awards or statistical process control. That being said, the quest for zero defects can still be considered quality’s Holy Grail. In all industries, defects cost money, waste time and frustrate managers. In some (think pharmaceuticals or medical devices), production errors can cost lives. Everyone can agree that reducing defects is good for business, whatever your business may be. Of course, there’s a huge difference between reducing defects and eliminating them, and therein lies the seeds of debate. Some would argue that a certain level of error--say, 3.4 defects per million opportunities--is acceptable. According to this perspective, the expenditures of money, time and effort necessary to achieve a zero defects state is simply not feasible in modern, high-production environments.

There’s also the matter of defining exactly how quality is to be achieved. The key to zero defects, like Six Sigma, lies in measuring and eliminating errors. Other systems, for example those embraced by proponents of standards such as ISO 9001, define the pursuit for quality in terms of the elimination of variation and nonconformities. “It’s important to create a culture of prevention, which causes people to prevent defects and nonconformities,” says Kevin Weiss, CEO of The Capability Group and Philip Crosby Associates. “The message is clear: if you build and sustain a prevention-oriented culture, both defects and nonconformances are driven out of the organization.”

wait more details from our expert

I amagreeing with my colleague’s answer Mr. wasi

This is not Area of ​​my specialization, I hope to invite only specialists in this area

Zero Defects was originally proposed by Philip Cosby during his tenure at multiple aerospace organizations and later in his consulting organization. In the 1970's and 1980's American manufacturing was suffering the result of poor quality. Crosby defined zero defects based on four principles

The definition of quality is conformance to requirements (requirements meaning both the product and the customer's requirements)

The system of quality is prevention

The performance standard is zero defects (relative to requirements)

The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance