(BQ) This guidebook is for senior management who already have the resolve to reduce cycle time. It provides an overview of the steps and tools involved in cutting time to market and cycle times by half or more. | SEMATECH and the SEMATECH logo are trademarks of SEMATECH, Inc. SEMI/SEMATECH is a licensed trademark of SEMI/SEMATECH, Inc. A T is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is a trademark of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Consortium. CYCLE TIME IMPROVEMENT GUIDEBOOK A PARTNERING FOR TOTAL QUALITY DOCUMENT ii “Success in competitive markets increasingly demands ever-shorter product and service introduction cycles and more rapid response to customers. Indeed, fast response itself is often a major quality attribute. Reduction in cycle times and rapid response to customers can occur when work processes are designed to meet both quality and response goals. Accordingly, response time improvement should be included as a major focus within all quality improvement processes of work units. This requires that all designs, objectives, and work unit activities include measurement of cycle time and responsiveness. Major improvements in response time may require work processes and paths to be simplified and shortened. Response time improvements often ‘drive’ simultaneous improvements in quality and productivity. Hence, it is highly beneficial to consider response time, quality, and productivity objectives together.” 1992 Award Criteria, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award 1 1. Fourth award criterion, Fast Response, page .
