Armand Feigenbaum

Armand Feigenbaum

Armand Vallin Feigenbaum was born in 1922 in the United States. He died in 2014. He graduated from Union College, the with title of bachelor and then got a master's degree from MIT Sloan School of Management. From 1958-1968 he was director in charge of production and quality control at General Electric Company. From 1961-1963 he was president of the American Society of Quality Control, and then the president of the General System Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Dr. Feigenbaum is the father of the concept of Total Quality Control and the author of many books, dealing with the subject of quality management. In 1951 he released his book Quality Control. This book is a thorough analysis covering the whole area of quality control. The author helped to develop the idea of quality control, making the fragmented and limited knowledge of a coherent system of principles, practices and technologies, known as Total Quality Control (TQC).

Biography

• 1922, April 6 - New York City, NY - date of birth
• 1937-1958 - work in General Electric Company, NY
• 1951 - the first book Quality Control: Principles, Practice, and Administration published
• 1958-1968 - Director of Manufacturing Operations, General Electric Company
• 1958-1961 - V-ce President of the American Society for Quality
• 1961-1963 - President of the American Society for Quality
• 1968 - CEO, General Systems Company Pittsfield MA
• 1988 - appointed to the first Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program.
• 1992 - elected to the National Academy of Engineering of the United States.
• 1998 - the American Society for Quality established the Feigenbaum Medal to be granted annually for excellence in performance
• 2005 - The Feigenbaum Leadership Excellence Award was established in Dubai
• 2014, November 13 - Pittsfield, MA - date of death

Philosophy

Quality and profitability

Armand Feigenbaum wrote "Total quality control is an effective system for integrating the quality development, quality maintenance, and quality improvement efforts of the various groups in an organization so as to enable production and service at the most economical levels which allow full customer satisfaction".

Hidden plant

The hidden plan (hidden factory) consists of all the work performed to repair products that weren't done right first time. If the worker has to repair his work, cost of time, energy and tools usually is not registered. It's only visible through poor productivity. But knowing the productivity level is not enough to understand causes of problems. The concept is related to quality costs. Feigenbaum proposed do improve productivity through identification of causes and their removal. To achieve this, a set of methods can be used, e.g. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Kaizen, 7 quality tools.

Total Quality Control

The "Total Quality Control" is the most important book by Armand Feigenbaum. Together with works of Joseph M. Juran, William Edwards Deming and Walter A. Shewhart it allowed to move quality movement towards quality assurance and then quality management.

The book was translated into many languages, and its still important source of knowledge about quality.

Total Quality Control principles

Dr. Feigenbaum defined several TQC principles, which are the base of the modern quality approach in company:

• Quality is the customers perception of what quality is, not what a company thinks it is.
• Quality and cost are the same not different.
• Quality is an individual and team commitment.
• Quality and innovation are interrelated and mutually beneficial.
• Managing Quality is managing the business.
• Quality is a principal.
• Quality is not a temporary or quick fix but a continuous process of improvement.
• Productivity gained by cost effective demonstrably beneficial Quality investment.
• Implement Quality by encompassing suppliers and customers in the system.

Examples of Armand Feigenbaum work areas

• Quality Control: Armand Feigenbaum is credited for introducing the Total Quality Control (TQC) concept, which is a system of managing quality in every aspect of production. This concept involves the implementation of a set of procedures and techniques, such as statistical process control, that are used to monitor, identify, and rectify any defects in production.
• Quality Costs: Feigenbaum developed the concept of "Quality Costs" which is a system of measuring the costs associated with producing a product. Quality costs can include all costs associated with producing a product, such as materials, labor, and overhead, as well as the costs associated with quality assurance and quality control.
• Quality Circles: Feigenbaum also developed the concept of Quality Circles, which is a system of involving workers in the management of quality. Quality circles involve teams of workers that meet periodically to review processes and production and to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Quality Assurance: Feigenbaum is also credited for developing the concept of quality assurance, which is an ongoing process of evaluating and improving the quality of products and services. Quality assurance involves the implementation of a set of standards and procedures that are used to ensure that products and services meet the required quality levels.

Achievements of Armand Feigenbaum

Here are some of the advantages of Feigenbaum's approach:

• It emphasizes a holistic approach to managing quality. Feigenbaum believes that all areas of an organization should be involved in quality control, from the top to the bottom. This reduces the possibility of errors and allows for more efficient operations.
• It encourages continuous improvement. Feigenbaum's approach promotes the idea that quality should be regularly monitored and improved. This ensures that organizations are always striving to provide the best possible products or services.
• It emphasizes customer satisfaction. Feigenbaum believes that customer satisfaction should be a primary goal of any organization. He also recommends that customer feedback be regularly collected and used to inform decisions around quality control.
• It reduces costs. By focusing on quality, Feigenbaum's approach helps organizations reduce costs associated with poor quality products, wasted resources, and customer dissatisfaction. This can have a positive impact on overall profitability.

Limitations of Armand Feigenbaum

Despite the breadth and depth of his contributions to the field, there are several limitations to his work. These include:

• Focus on the manufacturing industry: Feigenbaum's work primarily focused on the manufacturing industry, leaving out other sectors such as healthcare, finance, and service industries.
• Lack of focus on customer satisfaction: Feigenbaum's conceptualization of TQM does not prioritize customer satisfaction and does not address the customer's point of view.
• Lack of long-term view: Feigenbaum's approach to TQM is focused on short-term successes and does not consider the long-term implications of an organization's quality management strategy.
• Lack of consideration of cultural factors: Feigenbaum's approach to TQM does not take into account the cultural context of an organization, which can have a significant impact on the success of an organization's quality management strategy.

In summary, Armand Feigenbaum developed the concept of Total Quality Management, which is based on a set of principles. Other approaches related to Armand Feigenbaum are Quality Function Deployment, Taguchi Method and Statistical Process Control. These methods are used to ensure high-quality standards in the manufacturing process.

Armand Feigenbaum — recommended articles

Joseph M. Juran — Total quality control — House of total quality model — Total Quality Management — Philip B. Crosby — William Edwards Deming — ISO 9001 — Deming prize — Kaoru Ishikawa