• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

technacon.com

Taking your Quality Standards to the Next Level...

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

Call Today (708) 814-3685

  • Home
  • About
    • What’s in a Picture?
  • Standards
    • ISO 9001:2015
    • ISO 13485:2016
    • ISO 17100
    • VCAP
  • Services
    • IAFT 16949 to ISO 13485
    • First Time Certifications
    • Adding ISO Certifications
    • Solving Compliance Issues
    • Our Building Division
      • Estimating Software
      • Identifying Code Issues
      • Technacon – Building Division Resources
  • Articles
    • Dr. W. Edward Deming
    • Philip Crosby
    • Dr. Joseph M. Juran
  • Contact Us
  • Log In

Do It Right The First Time – DIRTFT

"It" quite simply is the customer requirements. However, simple is not so simple. The customer requirements must be clearly defined and communicated.

You are here: Home / Philip Crosby / Do It Right The First Time – DIRTFT

July 14, 2012 by Sherri 2 Comments

DITRTFT or “Dirt foot” generally brought giggles but it served the purpose of grabbing people’s attention. The anachronism stood for “Do It Right the First Time”. The statement seems almost ludicrous in today’s business environment, but is it?

Do It Right The First Time
DIRTFT means Do It Right the First Time where "It" is the customer requirements.

What is the “It” in Do It Right the First Time?

“It” quite simply is the customer requirements. However, simple is not so simple. The customer requirements must be clearly defined and communicated. This is done with drawings and specifications but also must be considered when developing procedures and training programs, performing Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, and reviewing process capabilities.

At one plant where I worked, the customers were getting consistently non-conforming material. They were furious and they had a right to be. The problem had been going on for more than a year. The problem was not that the employees were making non-conforming product, or the tooling had not been maintained of the process capabilities were poor. The problem came when a dimension was transferred from a customer drawing to a working drawing and was reversed. As soon as we corrected the drawings, modified the tooling to manufacture to the drawings and gave the information to the operator to check the product, we went from 100% non-conformance to 100% conformance to requirements. Not following Do It Right the First Time can be caused anywhere in the process, not just at the operator level.

The Attitude of Do It Right the First Time

Have you ever had an employee say something along the lines of “Hey, I just do what I’m told and keep my head down and my mouth shut.” Do It Right the First Time does not even enter this picture. Creating an atmosphere where employees feel free to speak up when they see a problem or have a question is the first step in creating an atmosphere that supports “Do It Right the First Time.” In today’s economy with high unemployment, management must work overtime to make sure the negative attitude does not invade their facility. What are you doing to make sure your company employees have an attitude to “Do It Right the First Time”?

Filed Under: Philip Crosby Tagged With: Big picture, break down barriers, Communication, continuous improvement, corporate climate, Customer Satisfaction, DIRTFT, Do It Right The First Time, Listening to the customer, Management Responsibility, say what you do do what you say, Zero Defects

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Todd Phillips says

    April 28, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    Doing it right the first time to me is across the board for all industries. I believe that this can be related in Transportation now more than ever because transportation as an industry cannot move or operate like it currently does without have specific parameters.

    Please do it Right the first time transportation operators.

  2. Jayne Kline says

    October 1, 2019 at 10:43 pm

    In mid 90s I attended a class that was presented to the employees of a company I worked for and it was called DIRTFT. I carry that message with me every day as a reminder that it takes as much time to do right as it does to do it wrong. So DIRTFT Do It Right The First Time. What happened to that mentality?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s work together

Get in touch with us and send some basic info about your project.

Contact Us Today

Footer

Social

Connect with us by following along on social media.

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

Contact

Get directions
(708) 814-3685
Contact
Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

Navigation

  • Home
  • About
    • What’s in a Picture?
  • Standards
    • ISO 9001:2015
    • ISO 13485:2016
    • ISO 17100
    • VCAP
  • Services
    • IAFT 16949 to ISO 13485
    • First Time Certifications
    • Adding ISO Certifications
    • Solving Compliance Issues
    • Our Building Division
      • Estimating Software
      • Identifying Code Issues
      • Technacon – Building Division Resources
  • Articles
    • Dr. W. Edward Deming
    • Philip Crosby
    • Dr. Joseph M. Juran
  • Contact Us
  • Log In

Log In


Lost Password?

Copyright © 2021 Technacon Company Inc. · Custom Authority Site by Online Market Domination · Log in