Page 396 - The Handbook for Quality Management a Complete Guide to Operational Excellence

he modern approach to quality requires an investment of time and
resources throughout the entire organization—for many people, the
Tprice is about 10 percent of their time (Juran and Gryna, 1993,
p. 129). Eventually, this investment yields time savings that become avail-
able for quality activities and other activities. In the short run, however,
these resources are diverted from other, urgent organizational priorities.
Upper management has the key role in providing resources for quality
activities. This is accomplished through the quality councils mentioned
earli er, as well as through routinely funding the activities of the quality
depart ment. One alternative is to add resources, but this is seldom feasi-
ble in a highly competitive environment. More commonly, priorities are
adjusted to divert existing resources to quality planning, control, and
improvement. This means that other work must be eliminated or post-
poned until the payback from quality efforts permits its completion.
Before resources can be requested, their usage must be determined.
This should be done using a rational process that can be explained to
others. The exercise will also provide a basis for budgeting. Figure 20.1
illustrates the approach used by a large integrated health care organiza-
tion to determine their quality resource needs. The approach is used by
the entire organization, not just the quality department. In fact, the orga-
nization doesn’t have a “quality department” in the traditional sense of a
centralized quality control activity.
People assigned to quality teams should be aware of the amount of
time that will be required while they are on a team. If time is a problem,
they should be encouraged to propose changes in their other priorities
before the team activity starts. Resources for project teams will be made
available only if pilot teams demonstrate benefits by achieving tangible
results. As teams com pile records of success, it will become easier to
secure resources for the quali ty function. Ideally, quality improvement
funding will become a routine part of the budgeting process, much like
R&D.
Quality cost reports provide a valuable source of information for
securing resources for quality improvement. Quality costs indicate the
total impact of nonconformance on the company’s bottom line. If the

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