Improvement Insights Blog

Deming on Quality Improvement in Services

Almost 40 years ago, Deming knew that Quality Improvement in service industries was key. Here’s why:



“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].

“You know, I’ve belonged to the American Society for Quality for over 30 years, and predominantly the membership is people in manufacturing who work on factory floors. However, again, I was picking up my Deming book “Out of the Crisis.” This was published in 1986… 1986. That’s about four years before I got started in Quality Improvement. Here’s what he has to say

“Based on the census, 75 people out of 100 are employed in service organizations.

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Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.

Is Your Product or Service Lazy, Crappy or Whacky?

Sometimes the language of Six Sigma is off-putting. I have found one way to get people’s attention is to use plain English to describe their product or service.



“Your product or service suffers from three key problems: It’s either Lazy, Crappy or Whacky.

“Lazy: Your product takes long breaks, goes out to lunch, spends the night on the town, comes in in the morning a little bit hungover… it’s not your people, it’s your product. If you watch your product, your people are busy but your product is hanging out, taking its time, sitting around having a cup of coffee.

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Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Manufacturing, Service.