Volume 4, Number 5
January 1997
Carrier 2000: The Quality Perspective
Product quality was identified as a key focus area by the Carrier 2000/CTD Change Team, based on input from CTD employees, customers and suppliers. As the Change Team proceeds through the Design Phase of Carrier 2000, aimed at ways of redesigning our major business processes, Rick Marshall, CTD's director of quality, offers his view of what quality improvements mean to our future.
"Carrier Transicold is the best transport refrigeration and air conditioning company in the world. They build products that work the first time and last longer than any others in the industry. They are the easiest products to use, maintain, and service. If I have a problem or a request, I get immediate help and support. I wouldn't dream of doing business with any other company."
Would you like to hear our customers say that about us? So would I. That's the vision I heard for Carrier Transicold from the Carrier 2000 Change Team and from Senior Management. I believe it's a vision that we all share, and that it's achievable.
But our Carrier 2000 effort has shown that customers think we need to improve. Asked their opinion of our company, most customers felt positive about us, but they all agreed that we have a long way to go to realize our vision. Change Team interviews, conversations with our customers, and our quality measures point to five focus areas for improvement, three of which directly concern our quality processes: new product design and introduction, product and service quality, and customer responsiveness.
We must understand and address those quality-related issues, because they're relevant to all CTD employees and essential to our success. That requires change and commitment from each of us, but change and commitment are nothing new to Carrier Transicold. As we look at each of the opportunities I'd like you to think about what you can do to help us improve.
Designing and introducing new products presents our first opportunity. Despite the common view, this is not an engineering issue. New product introductions depend on sales, marketing, engineering, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, service parts and technical publications, to name several key departments. Our focus in this area will be on improving our use of Carrier's Integrated Development System (IDS). As with every area, IDS requires active participation by everyone involved. We need to question our assumptions and prove that our designs work, that we can build them, that we can support them, and that they will last a reasonable amount of time.
Product quality requires that we build products to the design. It also requires that we each take responsibility for identifying and correcting defects in products that we receive. Beyond that it means that we care about the appearance and consistency of our work. We must identify common mistakes and prevent them from occurring again. Our goal should be zero defects. We need to identify measures that relate directly to our customers' concerns so we can tell whether we are succeeding in the customers' eyes.
However, product and service quality doesn't involve only manufacturing. For example: technical publications and spare parts must be available when needed, technicians at our service centers must be knowledgeable, and billing must be accurate. In every department we need to identify our customers, our product or service, our customers' expectations, our measurements, and our plans for meeting the customers' needs.
Finally, we must respond quickly and effectively to every customer issue. A current book is titled "Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service" and that should be our goal for every customer request we receive. Whether we are dealing with a customer problem in the field or listening to a customer's ideas for improving our product, we have the responsibility for ensuring that the complaint is resolved or the idea is acknowledged and passed on to the appropriate person. When dealing with these concerns, we need to think about how we feel when our complaints or suggestions are ignored. Our customers feel the same way. Improving our responsiveness means treating customers the way we expect to be treated.
We are in the process of identifying strategies for improving in each of these areas. But we don't need to wait for those strategies to be completed. We can start working on each of the concerns right now. The promise of Carrier 2000 is not a new set of programs, systems, and measures. The promise lies in the opportunity to understand our customers' needs better and to excel in every area of our business.
Carrier 2000 is offering us an opportunity to move to a new level of quality. We've come a long way as a team by acting on similar opportunities in the past. We've achieved impressive results in many areas, but competition means that we need to obsolete those achievements with new ones. Working together we can attain our vision to be the unquestioned leader in transport refrigeration and air conditioning in our customers' eyes.
Richard Marshall
Director, Quality
On To 1997
Entering the new year, we must look to our five strategic thrusts and the focus areas of Carrier 2000, which have been validated and reinforced by the market conditions we are experiencing. To provide a focal point for our ambitious efforts as we move forward in the Design Phase of Carrier 2000, we will concentrate on customer responsiveness. We will examine and improve product development, quality issues and sourcing as key factors in customer responsiveness, and will look at how to enhance employee practices in a way that supports issue resolution in each of the other focus areas.
Our 1997 plan, coupled with our efforts in Carrier 2000, will make for a full agenda. In an environment characterized by speed, our Carrier 2000 focus areas and our five strategic thrusts must be integrated and propelled by teamwork. "One company, one team" is an operating principle that has never been more important, and I believe we are making progress in furthering our global orientation as a cohesive team. Our headline accomplishments in 1996 were all the result of team efforts, and so will our achievements be in 1997.
Thank you for your own part in our One Company, One Team. My personal best wishes to you in the New Year.
[RJH signature]
1996 Highlights
Reflecting on the year just ended, CTD President Randy Hogan took a moment to review with his staff the array of significant accomplishments from 1996. A brief summary of achievements from various sectors of the organization is cause for congratulations as we embark on our plans for 1997.
Container
In January, Hanjin placed the largest order in CTD history.
For the first time, we won in competition with TK to secure business from APL and Sealand.
Marine Systems
Sold 10 large centrifugal chillers for installation aboard two new Disney cruise ships.
Secured a major airside contract from Mohring for Montluel-supplied air handlers.
Transport A/C
The Sutrak acquisition makes us the world leader in size and technology.
NAO's strong performance offsets two customer bankruptcies.
Truck & Trailer
Introduction of the Genesis multi-temperature system.
ETO grew and gained share in a flat market.
Fuel testing wins over TK in NAO.
RCG
Growth and financial performance.
BaaN Triton implementation.
APO
Progressed in China, debuted air conditioning with Shanghai Public Bus and initiated sales with key bodybuilders.
Achieved commanding truck/trailer market share in Australia/New Zealand.
Mexico/LAO
Maintained market share in challenging economy.
Initiated Thunderbird production at CTD Brazil.
Carrier 2000
Progressing to plan.
Proceeding through the Design Phase; holding employee input sessions around the world.
Share Information
To share information through The Globe, contact Anthony D'Angelo, CTD Communications, Tel. 315/433-4750, or FAX 315/432-7683.
