Teaming For Tomorrow
Broadening the Horizons of Total Quality
Management
Summary
What do you remember from the days you spent in high
school? Friday night football games, skipping class with
friends and wishing for the weekend are a few memories
that come into most people’s minds. Can you
remember your class schedule? Biology, History, Geometry,
English, Total Quality Management,
Chemistry...what?
That’s right, the principles of TQM
have entered our schools. In some schools, basketball,
baseball and soccer have taken a backseat to the teamwork
involved in a yearlong project leading up to a national
competition. Perhaps many young people would remember
more than parties if introduced to this fresh perspective
on quality. SkillsUSA-VICA hopes so. They are the
organization behind the movement and the future catalyst
behind the resurgence of American
business.
As both domestic and global competition grow stronger,
the struggle for any kind of competitive edge becomes
tougher. Companies strive for the smartest, most talented
and most sought after candidates. Coming out of college
or graduate school, these men and women are seen as the
future hope for success in their industries. What takes
so long for people to learn? Why wait until college to
teach these future leaders the skills they need to
succeed? Why can’t we start with the youth and
plant the seed of quality where it has time to grow and
flourish? The face of American business may need to adapt
in order to prosper in the new world.
Some companies have heard this call and have
begun to support organizations that choose to prepare
young people for the world ahead of them. These
organizations have fresh ideas that are resonating with
the youth of America. It only makes
sense—don’t force quality principles on
people in their 20s when they’ve already been
partially programmed to perform another way. If started
early, the young people of today will grow into the
business leaders we need for a brighter tomorrow.
SkillsUSA-VICA has taken on this
responsibility.
A Strong Start
SkillsUSA-VICA, formerly The Vocational Industrial Clubs
of America (VICA), has spent the past 36 years getting
young Americans on board the quality movement. They
accomplish this goal, in part, through their Total
Quality Management (TQM) event. Starting only seven years
ago, the TQM event is a collaboration of the work Ruben
Coronado, TeleCheck Inc., and Kathleen McNally,
SkillsUSA-VICA, started in Arizona. “We were doing
the event in Arizona, but once it was over, there was no
place else to go,” says Coronado. “Other
competitions had national events for state level winners.
We got this one started.”
And what a great idea it was. Meeting in
April every year in Kansas City, teams from schools all
over the nation compete against one another and the
standards laid out by the event leaders. “The teams
work on a process improvement project with either their
employers or educational institutions,” says
Coronado. “They work on those projects beginning in
September when school starts and continue throughout the
year.”
Projects range anywhere from attendance
problems and policy issues within the school to process
improvement on how the teachers can manage their classes
better in order to better engage the students. Not only
do they work on the processes, but they also make
recommendations for solving the problems. “They
gather the data, present it to their school
administrators and employers and talk about the return on
investment,” states Coronado. “Then they
report their results when they come to Kansas
City.”
These submittal projects are also what get
them into the national competition—and into the
next leg of the competition. Once in Kansas City, the
on-site competition begins. The teams are given a case
study with 24 hours to work through it. The judges, who
are quality professionals from local industries, analyze
their submittal projects and offer feedback. The teams
are then given insight as to what is being looked for in
the case. Resource rooms are opened up with computers,
printers and other supplies and the teams go to
work.
“Our companies donate the use of the
technical equipment,” states Dale Kendrick,
co-chairman of the TQM event. “We also bring in
whoever furnishes the case study for the event to answer
questions from the teams when they begin.”
Once the on-site work is completed, the
teams present to the judges while the invited case study
contributors sit in and listen. The next day a large
feedback session is held for the teams to discuss their
projects, ideas and findings with the whole group. Not
only do they receive the verbal responses, but written
pointers as well—78 pages worth of survey results
and recommendations. “It isn’t all feedback
though,” says Coronado. “They also receive
congratulations. It is quite a celebration.”
After all of the discussions about the
projects have ended, the awards are finally handed out.
“Our awards are judged on a standard like most
quality recognition programs—ISO 9000, Baldrige and
others,” states Kendrick. “It cannot be a
first, second, third in the country prize.” Last
year, 13 teams made the national event and 11 medalled.
This year, all eight who reached the finals medalled with
five making the gold standard. “The students have a
good feeling of making a difference,” says
Coronado. “There is an aura of confidence and
leadership that they get from the
competition.”
The Real Prize
Although the honor of making the finals and achieving a
high standard are important, the organizers and the teams
themselves understand the true benefit. The huge value
for business is that the students who go through this
process know the jargon—process improvement,
just-in-time, TQM, etc. Not only will they come up with
opportunities for organizations, but they’ll also
go one step further with suggestions for implementation.
“Traditionally, people will tell you what’s
wrong, but will give no ideas for improvement,”
says Coronado. “These students have the skill set
and ability to systematically think through a problem,
come up with solutions and then put a fence around it
with a timeline.”
In Phoenix, Honeywell has a partnership with
SkillsUSA-VICA and the student teams there work directly
on manufacturing and engineering projects. A year ago, a
team that presented on lead times and reducing the amount
of scrap within the department saved the company $60,000
with their project. Not just the companies working
directly with the teams benefit, but also the case
providers. “Marriott implemented the results the
teams came up with from their case study and saved both
time and money by solving the problem
In-House/On-Site,” says Kendrick.
The companies don’t get all of the
benefits from the program. The students gain from the
experience as well. “One student, who was an
engineering aide at Honeywell and a TQM team member,
interviewed for enrollment at Emory-Riddle University,
Prescott, Ariz.,” says Coronado. “The
interviewer focused in on the training he had on his
application and asked him some questions. He told us the
interviewer was blown away and he was
accepted.”
A Call to Arms
The SkillsUSA-VICA program is a refreshing reminder of
what the young people in this country are capable of. It
is a great forum to get involved with, that not only
teaches them processes, but also leadership skills that
make them employable in the business world. “We
always hear the negative things that the youth of today
are doing, but when you see these students out there
making their presentations, it is amazing,” says
Coronado. “I hear the judges say, ‘These are
high school students? Some of my own six sigma black
belts cannot present as good as these
students.’”
“Many of the students presenting have
done it so much and do it so professionally that they
know how to use the quality tools better than some
seasoned veterans,” Kendrick agrees.
A chain is as strong as its weakest link.
Business is much the same. It is only as strong as its
workforce, and that workforce is only as strong as the
educational systems that support it. Due to the
ever-changing marketplace, a new business culture has
emerged which values continuous quality improvement
through an unending commitment from every worker.
“The more people we get involved in this—not
just the students,” says Kendrick, “but those
already in the business environment—I think we can
help young people make better choices, especially if we
expose them early.”
August 2001 News for a
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