Quality Digest (abbreviated as QD) is an
online news publication and a former monthly print magazine covering
quality management
Total quality management, Total Quality management (TQM), ensures that an organization, product, or service consistently performs as intended, as opposed to Quality Management, which focuses on work process and procedure standards. It has four mai ...
subjects.
The content is divided between
quality control
Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements".
This approach plac ...
,
metrology
Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of Unit of measurement, units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to stan ...
, compliance,
Six Sigma
Six Sigma (6σ) is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement. It was introduced by American engineer Bill Smith while working at Motorola in 1986.
Six Sigma strategies seek to improve manufacturing quality by identifying and removin ...
,
and
ISO
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries.
Me ...
standards and certifications.
History
Known as ''Quality Circle Digest'' from 1981 to 1987, QD started as a print magazine by Donald Dewar as a part of the Quality Circle Institute (later also known as ''QCI International'') that he had founded. During the same year that Dewar started QCI, he started touring the United States teaching the principles of quality circles and participative management while promoting the newly launched magazine to American businesses. The first issue was published in 1981.
By 1989, the total circulation for Quality Digest magazine reached seventy thousand.
Content
QD publishes writing by
expert
An expert is somebody who has a broad and deep understanding and competence in terms of knowledge, skill and experience through practice and education in a particular field or area of study. Informally, an expert is someone widely recognized ...
s in the quality management fields, particularly articles about emerging quality initiatives and the
quality circle
A quality circle or quality control circle is a group of workers who do the same or similar work, who meet regularly to identify, analyze and solve work-related problems. It consists of minimum three and maximum twelve members in number. Normally ...
. Pete Robustelli, John Guaspari, H. James Harrington, and
Donald J. Wheeler are among those whose work appeared in the publication.
Criticism
When ISO 9000-based standards became a focus for American businesses during the 1990s, Quality Digest was criticized for containing an abundance of ads for services offered by organizations engaged in the business of the ISO certification process.
See also
*
Joseph M. Juran
Joseph Moses Juran (December 24, 1904 – February 28, 2008) was a Romanian-born American engineer, management consultant and author. He was an advocate for quality and quality management and wrote several books on the topics. He was the brother ...
*
Kaoru Ishikawa
was a Japanese organizational theorist and a professor in the engineering faculty at the University of Tokyo who was noted for his quality management innovations. He is considered a key figure in the development of quality initiatives in Japan, ...
References
{{reflist
Online magazines with defunct print editions