Over the years, this column has contained countless variations on the theme, "not all sales are good sales." But the same level of attention has not been paid to the equally true proposition that not all costs are bad costs. This can be remedied if metalcasting plant managers go beyond simple "cost cutting" to more advanced forms of management. Quality is the classic example of a "good cost." Virtually every casting salesperson on the planet, including experts such as W. Edwards Deming, have, in one form or another, said the words, "It's not just the purchase price of an item that counts, but the total cost of the product, including all of the quality costs involved."
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