At its most basic, the Quality movement was concerned about removing defects from the customer experience.  This meant removing defective processes from the production process. The result was a reduction in defects and of waste; less waste equals better economics for the producer. It has taken several decades to get this thinking generally accepted; in the early days “quality” via quality control at the end of the production process or at the “end-of-line” was an added cost. The change happened because manufacturers built quality into the whole production process, not just at the end. Imagine how your production process and products would change if you could shift your thinking :

a.     from end-of-line to end-of-life,

b.     from defects to environmental defects,

c.      from customers to all stakeholders