Preface To The Fifth Edition

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PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION

In the preface to the Fourth Edition of this handbook, Dr. Juran commented on the events of the four decades between signing the contract for the First Edition of this handbook (1945) and the publication of the Fourth Edition (1988). He noted the growth of the handbook itself —in circulation and in status— and the parallel growth of importance of quality in society generally. The growth was attributable to the increasing complexity of products and the systems in which they participate, and, because of our increasing dependence on these systems, to the unprecedented potential for disruption when these products fail. This threat (and its occasional frightening fulfillment) is what he long ago identified as “life behind the quality dikes.” In the decade that has passed since the Fourth Edition, the importance of quality has continued to grow rapidly. To some extent, that growth is due in part to the continuing growth in complexity of products and systems, society’s growing dependence on them, and, thus, society’s growing dependence on those “quality dikes.” But the main impetus for the growing importance of quality in the past decade has been the realization of the critical role quality plays as the key to competitive success in the increasingly globalized business environment. Upper managers now understand much more clearly the importance of quality—convinced by the threat of the consequences of product failure, by the rapid shift of power to the buyers and by the demands of global competition in costs, performance, and service. As the importance of achieving quality has sunk in, the quest to learn how to achieve it has grown also. The emergence in the United States of America of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and its many offspring at the state level, have promoted the development of quality by providing a comprehensive, home-grown organizational model for the achievement of quality, and by opening to view organizations that have applied this model successfully. It is difficult to overstate the importance of these models of excellence in the promotion of quality practice over the past decade. They have provided managers at all levels with evidence that “it can be done here,” and, more important, they have provided in unusual detail, roadmaps of how it was done. In Europe, the European Quality Award and its offspring have provided much the same motive power to the quality movement that the Baldrige Award has provided in the United States. The mounting success of quality in the industrial sector has caused recognition of the importance of quality to spread throughout manufacturing industries, the traditional home ground of quality ideas and applications, and beyond to the service sector, government, and non-profit enterprises. In this regard, we are especially pleased to welcome the contribution on quality in government of Vice President of the United States Al Gore. In recognition of these changes, the editors have made some fundamental changes in this handbook. 1. We have changed the name from Juran’s Quality Control Handbook, to Juran’s Quality Handbook. The new name signals the change in emphasis from quality control, traditionally the concern of those working on the manufacturing floor, to an emphasis on the management of quality generally, a concern of managers throughout an organization. 2. We have changed the structure to reflect the new emphasis on managing quality. The Fifth Edition has 48 sections, arranged in five groups: Managerial, Functional, Industry, International, and Statistical.

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The revision has not consisted merely of rearrangement. Once again, as in the Fourth Edition, the content of this edition has has undergone extensive editing and updating. There are many entirely new sections on new subjects. There are total rewrites of other sections. And there are many new additions of case studies, examples and other material even to the few “classic sections.” An editorial undertaking of this scope and magnitude would be unthinkable without the help and support of a number of our colleagues and friends. The founding editor of the handbook, Joseph M. Juran, has placed his unmistakable stamp of vision and clarity on this new edition—the fifth in which he has played a guiding role— by his contributions to its planning and, more directly, in the six major sections that he authored. My association with him since I joined Juran Institute in 1987 has provided a deep and rewarding exploration of the evolving field of quality management. Sharing the position of Editor-in-Chief of the present volume has been a part of that experience. Our Associate Editors, Edward Schilling and Robert Hoogstoel, shared the major literary and diplomatic burden of helping the contributors create handbook sections that would at once reveal their individual subject-matter expertise and would mesh smoothly with the other sections to make a coherent and useful desk reference, in the long tradition of this book. Ed Schilling edited Sections 44 through 48, those concerned with mathematical statistics and related applications; Bob Hoogstoel edited most of the remaining sections and provided overall coordination of the editorial effort. The grounding in practical experience which has characterized earlier editions of this book is strengthened further in this edition by the examples provided by the numerous managers who have shared their experiences on the quality journey through their presentations at Juran Institute’s annual IMPRO conferences, workshops and seminars. We also wish to acknowledge the generous support of Juran Institute, Inc. throughout this endeavor. Many of the figures and charts come straight from Juran Institute publications and files, many others were created with support from people and facilities within the Institute. Among the many colleagues at Juran Institute who have made major exertions on behalf of this book, Josette Williams stands out. Her own editorial and publishing experience have sharpened her sense of what goes and what doesn’t, a sense she shared willingly. Jo provided a comforting presence as she managed the flow of correspondence with the contributors, and helped the editors enormously by performing calmly and expertly as liaison with the publisher astride the flow of manuscripts, the counterflow of page proofs, and the publisher’s myriad last-minute questions of detail and the manuscript tweakings by contributors. Jo went far beyond the usual bounds of the responsibilities of an assistant editor. She worked closely with authors, editors, the publisher, and others in making this edition happen. Her style and grasp of language and clarity of expression are present in almost every section. This handbook owes much to her dedication, focus, and thousands of hours of hard work. Fran Milberg played a major role in preparing the manuscript for submission. My Executive Assistant, Jenny Edwards, frequently found her considerable workload in that job added to by the sudden, often unpredictable demands associated with the preparation of the manuscript, answering authors’ questions, and keeping me on track. It was too much to ask of a normal person, but Jenny, as always, rose to the occasion, for which I am most grateful. Many others among the Juran Institute support staff helped at various stages of manuscript preparation, including: Laura Sutherland, Jane Gallagher, Marilyn Maher, and Carole Wesolowski. In the early stages of organizing for this effort we were grateful for the assistance of Sharon Davis and Rosalie Kaye. Special thanks go to Hank Williams who spent hours at the copier and many other hours helping Josette make sure manuscripts were sent on time to all the right places. It would be unfair (and unwise) to omit mention of those closest to the contributors and editors of this book, the wives and husbands whose personal plans had occasionally to be put on hold in favor of work on the book. Larry Bernstein and C.M.Yuhas sidestepped the problem by making Section 20, Software Development, a family project, as is their joint consultancy. Other contributors no doubt were faced with dealing with the inevitable impingement on family life in their own ways. As for the editors, we unite to thank our wives for their support in this endeavor: Dr. Juran’s wife of 73 years, known to him as “Babs,” and to the rest of us as a gracious inspiration and

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Editorial Assistant Emerita of the first three editions of this book and numerous of his earlier books and papers; Judy Godfrey, now a survivor of three books; Jean Schilling, a veteran editor of her husband’s earlier publications and who has been patient and supportive in this effort; and Jewel Hoogstoel, for whom the answer to her persistent question is “It is done.” We hope they will share the editors’ mutual sense of accomplishment. A. BLANTON GODFREY Co-Editor-in-Chief