Emerging Megatrends in Quality Engineering and the “New 5S” Response

ABSTRACT

Ongoing changes in the world of quality engineering have not been adequately captured in traditional textbooks or training materials. This article discusses the “megatrends” that are emerging and advocates that serious efforts be made to address, among other things, the new meaning of “customer satisfaction” as well as the performance of an organization. Thoughts and arguments are presented in terms of the concerns of three categories of stakeholders: business leaders, quality professionals, and end customers. Accordingly, a “New 5S” perspective is advocated for effectiveness as well as “future proofing” of the quality profession.

KEYWORDS:

• future of quality
• performance improvement
• quality management
• statistical thinking, Taguchi methods