Industry Expert Blogs

Early in my so-called EE career, I sat in a workshop led by the director of quality for the Ford truck plant in Louisville, KY, where “Quality is Job #1.” At that time, they were gaining experience in electronic control modules (ECMs) for fuel efficiency and emissions control. Who better to transfer the secrets of Crosby and Deming to a bunch of missile designers?

After one of the sessions, he opened up to a Q&A. One of my colleagues asked him if these methods really worked in improving quality. His response was that quality is a moving target, and that is why we have jobs. He said that even with all the progress Ford had made, he would go down to the end of the F-150 production line and “watch trucks drive away just to convince myself we built stuff that actually worked.” Fortunately, most of what they put out did work.

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