Tqm Basics

Throughout time skilled workers have always been able to generate and maintain trade by producing goods to a certain standard. Therefore "quality" has always been evident. It has however developed and evolved, becoming a major contributory factor for all organisations wishing to remain competitive in present day markets.

In the 1880's Frederick Taylor was a key figure in the development of quality with the "scientific management" concept. This concept incorporated mass assembly lines, labour division, work standards and wage incentives. In the 1920's the introduction of "Statistical Process Control" further developed the manufacturing approach to quality. This involved methods based on continuous on-line monitoring of process variation i.e. common cause and assignable cause.

In the years following World War Two, Japan identified poor quality of produce as a major problem in their economy. To tackle this problem the Japanese turned to the teachings of Juran and Deming whose concepts on improving quality had largely been ignored by the West. The resulting impact was high quality products replacing home produced products in the Western markets.

It wasn't until the 1980's that the West really started to appreciate the significance of quality. This is highlighted by the fact Deming was hired by "Ford" during this period as a consultant to improve quality. In the 1990's quality programmes began spreading into the service industry as more and more organisations accepted quality as a key factor in maintaining and generating business.

Today competition is global and customer satisfaction always comes first. Successful companies recognise customers are both external and internal. There is more support of the concept of quality and there is greater focus on quality at all levels of organisations.

The main teachings of W Edwards Deming are centred on his fourteen-point plan that is seen as the foundation of TQM. Deming places great significance on the role of management, attributing them with the responsibility for ninety-four percent of all quality problems. His plan highlights this belief stating management must commit to the plan and the TQM philosophy and stop relying on quality control. Management must also strive to improve and maintain operations / product / service, choose quality over price from suppliers and push quality rather than quantity from employees.

Employees are highly significant in Deming's teachings and he emphasises the importance of giving the best opportunity to meet quality levels. This involves providing the correct training, re-training, generating pride in workmanship, removing fear and promoting teamwork.

Deming follows his fourteen-point plan highlighting "seven deadly diseases" and "thirteen obstacles" which he forecasts as detrimental to quality. This is followed by a "seven point action plan" for companies to improve quality and is again very much management-driven.

The final major factor of Deming's teachings involves the "Deming Cycle". Deming encouraged use of the cycle to promote learning and ongoing improvement. Basically this involves planning what is needed, doing it, checking that it works and acting to correct any problems or improve performance. The theory being that by constant evaluation there will be constant improvement. Therefore reducing the gap between the customer requirements and performance of the process.

Joseph M Juran's theories and principles included "Three Basic Steps To Progress", "Ten Steps To Quality Improvement" and "The Pareto Principle". Probably the most significant of Juran's teachings was his development of the "Quality Trilogy". He believed good quality management required quality actions be planned out, improved and controlled. The "Quality Trilogy" was a process of perpetual planning to enhance performance, using techniques such as "Pareto Analysis", with continuous control measures to prevent any negative impact. Juran also suggested the use of his nine-step "Quality Planning Road Map" which aimed to assist