David C. Crosby

President

Dave Crosby is president of The Crosby Company, a firm he created to develop and deliver software and training in the field of quality management. His SPC software was the first on the market for the personal computer. His books include, How To Get Your People to Do Things Right, Quality is Easy, How To Run a Zero Defects Program, and The Zero Defects Option.

Crosby served as corporate director of quality for RCA Corp., General Instruments Corp., and Portec Inc. He was awarded the “Outstanding Civilian Service Medal” by the U.S. Army for his work with the Army Zero Defects Program. His web site is www.zdoption.com.

Wed, 11/17/2010 - 11:01
The Mystery, Magic, and Myth of Quality Cost The Zero Defects option
Wed, 11/17/2010 - 11:01
Publisher's note: It is with great sadness that I must report that David Crosby passed away on Monday, November 15. This article nicely embodies and encapsulates David's life work, in which he always pressed for personal accountability through a…
The Mystery, Magic, and Myth of Quality Cost The Zero Defects option
Wed, 11/17/2010 - 11:01
Publisher's note: It is with great sadness that I must report that David Crosby passed away on Monday, November 15. This article nicely embodies and encapsulates David's life work, in which he always pressed for personal accountability through a…
Words That Kill Quality and Spill Oil If your boss says, “Don’t worry about it,” then worry.
Mon, 07/19/2010 - 06:00
Ben Margugilio wrote a nice article for Quality Digest Daily outlining how failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and what might be called just good practices could have prevented the Gulf oil spill. I believe the cause goes deeper than…
Who Is Responsible for Quality? You and no one else
Tue, 04/20/2010 - 09:30
I recently wrote an article for Quality Digest Daily titled, “Quality Crisis in America.” It produced quite a response. Most readers agreed that quality needed to improve, maybe even that there is a crisis, but it was a mixed bag about The Boss’…
The Quality Crisis in America Unfortunately, an everlasting current issue
Tue, 04/13/2010 - 08:10
The quality business is all about producing a quality product, right? By that I mean a product that looks and performs just like it was promised. Well, based on the amount of poor quality items and service that I see the quality business is…
Recognizing Outstanding Performance Rules for rewarding employees
Wed, 02/24/2010 - 05:00
A major part of the zero defects concept is to recognize outstanding performance on the part of employees by presenting them with an award. After all, you asked for zero defects performance, so let people know when you get it. Recognition…
The Next New Thing Is Here Foolproof, can’t-fail quality management
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 16:23
Is anyone performing total quality management (TQM) anymore? MIL-Q-9858A? Total cost of quality (TCQ)? Pert planning? Are there any one-minute managers around? Pareto? What about “up the organization?” Value analysis? Quality is free? They were all…
Zero Defects in Teaching Because it all starts with education
Thu, 12/03/2009 - 05:00
Education seems to be a never ending problem for the United States. The drop-out rate in some major cities is 50 to 60 percent, or even more. With teacher strikes, tight money, and controversial curriculum, it’s a wonder any of us can read or write…
Mini Quality System Audit There are audits and there are audits.
Tue, 09/29/2009 - 15:17
Y ears ago, when I was a field quality rep (source inspector), part of my job was to audit prospective suppliers. The basis of the audits was MIL-Q-9858A, the military quality system. Most audits were simply me sitting across the desk from the…
Why Zero Defects Always Works It's your decision to make it so.
Wed, 09/16/2009 - 10:00
Z ero defects (ZD) is probably the simplest, most effective quality management concept ever conceived. Zero defects always works and it can’t fail—only the leader can fail. Once a leader accepts ZD as his or her personal performance standard,…