Quote Originally Posted by Ken White View Post
A civilian management trainer, Phillip Crosby, is credited with coining the term and IIRC, Donn Starry as CG TRADOC was a proponent in between bouts of developing Air Land Battle doctrine.

The concept but not the phrase existed in the 1960s as a result of Robert Strange McNamara and his Whiz Kid systems analysis and operational research guys; they tended to ask for '...results, not reasons...' Same basic idea. "Engineering success' is another euphemism -- all mean the same thing, micromanagement.Yep but it endures in heirarchial organizations like Armies.Well that's true -- and the Old Guard honor guard folks going to ceremonies in the DC area go in buses with all the passenger seats removed for the same reason...

More than one Squad Bay was waxed with illegal paste wax (which the PX obligingly sold) and the Troops were forbidden form walking in the center of the bay, they had to go behind the bunks.I'd also bet the Pharaoh's Army had similar programs. So, allegedly, did a guy named Jean Martinet. I suspect the idea will be around far into the future -- even though it does not work and is counterproductive. Stupid, even.....
Ken,

1-In the late 60's as you left the Martin Company main complex on Sandlake Rd. in Orlando they used to have a sign saying "Have A Zero Defects Day". Saw it many times as a kid. Yes the concept had been around probably since the late 50's........NASA and the SAC Bomber wing (also in Orlando) had a big part in it also.

2-My mom helped train Phillip Crosby when he was in the engineer training program, he didn't invent anything he just packaged concepts that had been at Martin Company for some time and made a lot of money on it.

3-Zero Defects was meant to be applied to Hardware.......not peopleware which is where it all started to go wrong.

4-Yes some people stood on their bunks to get into their starched GREEN Army men uniforms when we stood Guard Mount......sharpest looking didn't have to pull Guard Duty. Zero defects has some benefits. We used to call it "Making The Man". Not sue why the phrase came about but that is what we called it.

5-Zero Defects was competing with The General Systems Theory which was also coming on strong at the same time and both views were heavily taught in the Orlando school system at the time. This started to come apart as I entered High School......Damn Hippies started calling it Ecology.