ABF Freight System, Inc. - Quality Improvement Process

At ABF, we will meet the agreed-upon requirements of our internal and external customers. Our commitment is to achieve total customer satisfaction through error-free work.

	The Quality Process at ABF was initiated in 1984.
	Quality at ABF is a process - not a program! It is on-going and without an end.
	Based upon the principles of Philip Crosby & Associates.
	At ABF every employee participates in the Quality Process.

THE QUALITY PROCESS FOSTERS TEAMWORK

Participative Management.: Employee involvement in the decision-making process.
Attitude Improvement.: The elimination of hassle in the workplace improves responsiveness to customers' needs.
Communication.: Internal and external.
Flexibility.: Willingness to consider special requests.

HOW QUALITY WORKS AT ABF

Education.: Quality seminars and job skills training.
Quality Teams.: Customer service center, regional and corporate.
Focus Groups.: Assistance and involvement with customers on solving mutual problems.
Partnership.: Between individuals, service centers and customers.

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROCESS

When a problem does arise at ABF, our employees will follow the Five-Step Problem Elimination Process to solve the problem and prevent the same problem from recurring. We evaluate the effectiveness of the corrective action through measurement.

Five-Step Problem Elimination Process
(1)	Define the problem.
(2)	Fix the problem.
(3)	Identify the root cause.
(4)	Take corrective action.
(5)	Evaluate and follow up.

FOUR ABSOLUTES OF QUALITY
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM	FOUR ABSOLUTES	REALITY
Goodness	DEFINITION	Conformance to Agreed-Upon Requirements
Appraisal/Inspection	SYSTEM	Prevention
That's Close Enough	PERFORMANCE STANDARD	Zero Defects Do It Right The First Time DIRTFT
Non-Dollar Indices	MEASURE	Nonconformance Dollars