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The Age-old Pursuit of Exceptional Quality
Imagine a world where the clink of armor was a day's soundtrack and guild banners flew high above cobbled streets. Here, in the bustling heart of medieval Europe, the quest for quality first began to take shape. It was in the late 13th century that craftsmen banded together, forming guilds. These guilds were instrumental in developing and enforcing strict quality rules for products and services, ensuring high standards through specialized inspection committees. Their legacy? A thread that weaves through the fabric of time, connecting their meticulous methods to the very essence of what America now celebrates each October - National Quality Month.
The origins of Quality Month in the United States can be traced back to the American Society for Quality (ASQ), which initiated the celebration in 1984. October was designated as National Quality Month through a joint resolution by Congress, along with a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan. The aim was to highlight the importance of quality as a national priority. This move was later reaffirmed in 1989 by Congress and President George Bush, solidifying the significance of quality in national consciousness. While Quality Month has its roots in national recognition, it has since gained international acknowledgment. World Quality Month is now observed in November, following the lead of the United Nations, which in 1990 sought to raise international awareness of the important role quality plays in ensuring the prosperity of nations.
The American Industrial Revolution
During the 1800s, the American Industrial Revolution brought significant changes to production methods in the United States, shifting from manual craftsmanship to mechanized manufacturing. This transition necessitated a focus on product inspection to maintain standards of craftsmanship for several reasons:
Mass Production: The advent of mass production techniques meant that products were no longer made by a single craftsman. With multiple workers handling different stages of production, there was a need for a system to ensure that the final product met certain standards of quality.
Consistency and Uniformity: Unlike the work of artisans, where each piece could be unique, industrial manufacturing aimed for uniformity. Inspection was essential to ensure that every item produced was identical and met the predefined specifications.
Complex Supply Chains: The complexity of supply chains increased with industrialization. Parts and components were often made in different locations, and product inspection was crucial to ensure that these parts would fit together and function correctly when assembled.
Consumer Safety: As products became more complex and were produced in larger volumes, ensuring the safety of consumers became paramount. Product inspection helped to prevent defective products from reaching the market, which could potentially harm users and damage the manufacturer's reputation.
Standardization: The Industrial Revolution saw the development of standards for materials and processes. Inspection ensured compliance with these standards, facilitating trade and the ability to scale production.
Economic Reasons: There was an economic incentive to reduce waste and rework. By inspecting products during and after production, manufacturers aimed to catch defects early, reducing the cost of scrap and avoiding the expenses associated with returns and repairs.
Examples of the focus on product inspection during the Industrial Revolution include:
The Armory Practice: The Springfield and Harpers Ferry armories developed the concept of interchangeable parts during the early 19th century, which required precise measurements and strict inspection to ensure that parts manufactured separately would fit together properly in muskets.
The Railroads: As railroads expanded across the United States, the need for consistent and reliable rails, fasteners, and rolling stock became critical. Inspection was necessary to ensure that the materials used could withstand the rigors of use and that the tracks were safe for trains to travel on.
Textile Industry: With the boom in textile manufacturing, products had to be inspected for consistent quality in terms of fabric strength, colorfastness, and pattern repeatability, which were all important to meet the expectations of consumers and maintain a competitive edge.
Conclusion
As we reflect on the journey from the dawn of the American Industrial Revolution in the 1800s to the establishment of National Quality Month in 1984, we see a narrative of continual progress and an increasing focus on quality. The United States is dedicated to upholding quality as a national priority, an ethos that continues to drive innovation, ensure consumer satisfaction, and maintain the country's competitive edge in the global marketplace. This observance, rooted in historical development and sustained by contemporary efforts, underscores the indispensable role of quality in the fabric of American industry and commerce.
About Bluestreak™:
Bluestreak™ is a powerful Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and a fully integrated Quality Management System (QMS), designed for the manufacturing environment and service-based manufacturing companies ( metal-treating/powder-coating, plating, heat-treating, forging, and metal-finishing), businesses that receive customers’ parts, perform a process (service) on them, and send those parts back to the customer). Companies need MES software tailored to specific functionality and workflow needs such as industry-specific specifications management, intuitive scheduling control for staff and machinery maintenance, and the ability to manage work orders and track real-time data. If different work centers on the production floor aren’t “speaking” to each other via the MES, the data loses value and becomes disjointed or lost in disparate silos.
Bluestreak | Bright AM™ is an MES + QMS software solution specifically designed to manage and optimize the unique requirements of Additive Manufacturing’s production of parts and powder inventory usage.
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