Abstract

For 160 years, Corning Incorporated, a company known for innovations in the development of glass products and glass- and ceramics-based applications, has had a commitment to manufacturing what it invents. In the 1980s, the company made enormous strides in performance using total quality management concepts, and it achieved a major milestone in 1995 when its telecommunications products division received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Falling into a slump in the early 2000s after an uptick in globalization, Corning returned to profitability and reclaimed its stronghold by renewing its commitment to quality and adding rigor to its innovation process. Results include $1.5 billion in savings over eight years and $300 million in savings in one year using four improvement methodologies. Corning’s culture of quality and homegrown scalable approach enables employees in all functions to participate in improvement activities. Every year, 100,000 individual improvement projects are completed across the company, an average of four per employee.