The Evolution of Product Quality Approach

The emphasis of quality has evolved through four distinct stages since World War II - from “fix-it-in” to inspect-it-in to built-it-in to design-it-in.

Here are the key differences :
• The fix-it-in approach to quality - Rework any defective products identified by quality inspectors at the end of the production process.
• The inspect-it-in approach to quality - Have quality inspectors sample work in process and prescribe machine adjustment to avoid substandard output.
• The built-it-in approach to quality - Make everyone who touches the product responsible for spotting and correcting defects. Emphasis is on identifying and eliminating causes of quality problem
• The design-it-in approach to quality - Intense customer and employee involvement drives the entire design-production cycle. Emphasis is on continuous improvement of personnel, processes and product.

Progressive managers are moving away from the first two approaches to built-it-in and design-it-in approaches. A popular label for the built it in design and design it in approaches to quality is total quality management (TQM)