Concept of Zero Defect in Quality Management

Introduction to Zero Defect Concept

Zero Defects is a quality management term that means deliverables contain no defects or faults. It was coined by Mr. Philip Crosby and emerged as a popular and highly-regarded concept in quality management. Zero Defects doesn't necessarily mean perfection but a state where companies identify the high cost of defects and follow a continuous improvement process to make the defect count as low as possible.

What is Zero Defects Concept? 

The motive of every company is to deliver its product with utmost quality. It is challenging but fairly achievable with a proper Quality Management strategy. The zero defect concept, from the name suggests that the product is flawless with zero imperfections. The zero defect concept helps the organization achieve a whole new level with an exponential increase of customers and boosts the employee's confidence to cater to their fullest to the product.

Strategies to Achieve Zero Defect

The following strategies can be used to achieve the zero defect. The main motive of the zero defect theory is to reduce the imperfections to the maximum possible extent.

1. The first and foremost strategy is to prioritize the type of work that bundles up a vast majority of the defects. This can be done easily with the help of effective product management.
2. Designing the upcoming work so that there is a very minimal chance of leaks or flaws that might arise in the worst case. This can be achieved by using the latest tools with a well-experienced team.
3. An end-to-end understanding of the business process is vital in the zero defect concept to reach the zero defect milestone. Again, an effective management strategy should involve a creative teaching mechanism that makes everyone associated with the product  to gather complete knowledge.
4. Continuous measurement of quality is essential. A wide range of tools is available in the global market to measure the quality, track the progress, and benchmark it against the various releases.
5. Capturing the root cause of defects will prove beneficial in the future, as the team will be aware of the solution beforehand.
6. Fix milestones and reward the employees who thrive hard to reach the zero defects milestone.
7. A highly proficient team is necessary to validate several edge case scenarios so that the product remains in the zero defect zone. Persisting in the zero defect zone after reaching it is equally important because, in the ever-changing world, the demand to update the product is very high.
8. Use Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning wherever possible so that redundant work processes can be reduced with effective cost management.

Principles of Zero Defect Concept

Although Zero Defect as a term, lean towards manufacturing, it is highly used by all businesses in the modernizing world. Below are the key elements of zero defect concept that can be used for implementation in real projects.

1. Maintaining quality by satisfying requirements - Even a high quality product, that does not meet requirements will not satisfy the need of the customer. Hence, zero defect concept works in parallel with meeting requirements.
2. Getting it right the first time - Prevention is better than cure. In order to achieve the zero defect milestone, it is important to mandate prevention as a business policy rather than creating a need for correcting defects in the future.
3. Quality is measured in terms of money - Every defect has a hidden cost linked to it in terms of wasted material, labor, and customer dissatisfaction. Budgetary impact must be taken into account in order to improve quality.

Zero Defects Examples

Most companies today that follow continuous improvement & continuous delivery process try to follow the zero defect concept to stand out from the crowd. One of the good zero defects examples from the latest electric vehicle trend is the company named Ather Energy, which was able to succeed because of zero or less number of flaws when compared to its competitors.

When the world was expecting some companies to shine in this segment, Ather came out of nowhere and captured the throne. It's not as simple as it looks. It involves several people's hard work and an effective management vision. Yet another example in the grocery delivery segment is Zepto which processes 10-minute delivery in several leading cities in India.

Even after knowing that there are several leading grocery delivery giants, Zepto, a late joiner, never gave up the efforts to attract customers and came up with a highly efficient application and marketing strategy to lead from the front.

Can Zero Defect Be Achieved Without Proper Management?

Even though hardworking professionals are available in the team, the leader's vision is very important. The team will be able to fix any flaws that come up, but in reality, without a proper vision, the team would get into a never-ending loop where fixing the flaws that reoccur over time becomes a high priority.

Quality is measured in terms of its flawless state and from the budgetary point of view. Proper business management will aim at reducing the cost, at the same time, follow the zero defect theory.

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Conclusion

The implementation of the “Zero Defects” concept allows companies to understand and streamline their production process down to every minor detail. The minimal costing and maximum returns on implementation make it ideal for any organization looking to introduce a new business concept without training and recalibration investment. Zero Defect is not impossible or impractical, and it is highly possible by following the right strategies with an excellent vision.