FOTOFAX BREVARD PLANT PHOTO PRODUCTS DEPARTMENT FOCUS: SOMETHING NEW If you haven’t heard of “PQM,” you soon will. “PQM” is short for Product Quality Management. It’s going to change the way most of us handie our jobs. I believe it’s going to be worth it. Let me tell you why. Customers always set quality standards, no matter how good a job the manufacturer thinks is being done. When you or I go shopping, we’re looking for the best value. We may sometimes fall for a low price or a sales pitch, but most of the time we’re going to be careful enough to get our money’s worth. Our customers shop the same way. That’s why we can only be secure in our jobs if we offer them the best value for their dollars, and that’s the way it should be. Every discussion with our customers reveals that consistent, reliable quality is their number one demand. We enjoy a reputation for meeting this need; however, the decade of the ’80s is going to be dif ferent. The needs of our customers are changing, and R&D is developing new products to meet their needs at a rate that is taxing our ability to handle. Jhese new products are requiring a whole new dimension Tn controlling our processes, raw materials, and sampling. After looking at various approaches to making the required improvements, we have selected PQM. It can best be de scribed as a computerized way of statistically assuring that we have all the numerous process and raw material variables under the best possible control. Setting it up and making it work is going to take time, ef fort, and understanding from all of us. I believe it has great potential for improving quality, con trolling costs, and meeting customer needs. That’s why it will be worth the effort. In the near future you will learn more about this approach. We will continue to count on every person to perform the job with quality in mind, to participate in this effort, and to help find the answers to meet the challenges of the ’80s. N. H. Alford Assistant Plant Manager belts worir mmt) Photo Products .Brevard, N.C. Bumper Stickers are a good way to share information — if you persuade someone else to buckle up, you could save a life! Becky Me Daris, ERD, will send you a sticker like this on request. (Stickers are 3V2 " in diameter, dark green on reflective white surface) VOL. 15, NO. 2 FEB.-MARCH, 1982 r-^4 'V V ■iii YOU WERE THERE when Columbia soared into history. Every weld of the three liquid-fuel rocket engines had been checked with DuPont CRONEX NDT film, our product. The engines were built by Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell Interna tional. The company makes over 15,000 radiographs each month to detect defects and contaminants in engine components. Chuck Magness, Quality Control Manager of Rocketdyne, says “We use CRQNEX films because they provide ultrafine grain, very high con trast and clear images.” Rocketdyne is using the same quality assurance procedures to meet strict NASA requirements for other space shutties now being buiit: Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. When their time comes to roar into space, Brevard people can share the pride of accom plishment. Address Correction Requested Box 267, Brevard, N.C. 28712 Bulk Rate U.S. Postage PAID Brevard, N.C. Permit #66 J OWNDEY BOX 60 OREST N c 18768