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Philip B. Crosby
Philip B. Crosby is best known for his concept of zero defects in the early 1960's. His book, Quality Is Free, has been a popular reference for many quality-oriented organizations. If one was to sum up Crosby's theory on quality in a single word that word would be "prevention". His theory is further summarized in his "4 Absolutes", as illustrated in the box below:
Crosby's 4 Absolutes |
| 1. Quality has to be defined as conformance to requirements, not as goodness. |
| 2. The system for causing quality is prevention, not appraisal (inspection). |
| 3. The performance standard must be Zero Defects, not "That's close enough." |
| 4. The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance, not indices. |
The conventional view on quality says it is achieved through inspection, testing and checking. Crosby says that prevention is the only system that succeeds, and when Crosby says "prevention," he means "zero defects." There is no place in his philosophy for statistically acceptable levels of quality. "People have developed the notion of statistical levels of compliance -- we've learned to believe that error is inevitable, and to plan for it." According to Crosby, "There is absolutely no reason for having errors or defects in any product obtained."
W. Edwards Deming | Joseph M. Juran
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