Total Quality Management Principle and Tools

Total Quality Management Tools

Total Quality Management (TQM) is the optimization and integration of all the functions and processes of a business in order to provide for excited customers through a process of continuous improvement.

Quality Improvement Teams

These are small groups of employees who work on solving specific problems related

to quality and productivity, often with stated targets for improvement. Quality

improvement teams are proving to be highly successful at tracking down the causes of

poor quality as well as taking remedial action.

Benchmarking

This is the process of identifying the best practices and approaches by comparing

productivity in specific areas within ones' own company to other organisations both

within and outside the industry.

Statistical process control

This is a statistical technique that uses periodic random samples taken during actual

production to determine whether acceptable quality levels are being met or whether

production should be stopped in order to take remedial action. Because most

processes produce some variation, statistical process control uses statistical tests to

determine when variations fall outside a narrow range around the acceptable quality

level. The emphasis when using SPC is on defect prevention rather than trying to

inspect the quality into the product.

Commitment

In order for the Eye on the Future Model to be a success, each member in an

organisation must be committed to the change process. It cannot be viewed as the new

flavor of the month, but should rather be regarded as an exciting life changing

process. Too often peoples' enthusiasm wanes when they realize that the change

process in an organisation is not likely to occur overnight People need to pledge their

support to objectively analyzing their job functions and procedures, and seeking new

innovative ways to improve them. If necessary inspirational speakers should be

employed to enthuse staff to a new attitude of commitment. Once again, people are

led by example. If it appears that management is not committed to the change process,

this is the attitude the people will develop. However, if commitment is perceived to

be the attitude of management, then the people are most likely to follow.

Training 

Training must be a part of the organisations succession planning. In today's business

environment any training which is less than visionary will not help the organisation

meet its' future goals and objectives. Training objectives must be supportive of the

company's vision and mission. In order to identify training, the employees must be

involved. System deficiencies including non-conformance reports, customer

complaints and job performance appraisals will highlight the most urgent areas for

development. Training programs must be devised and implemented to help bridge

the gap identified previously. The results of the training must be evaluated to ensure

that effective improvement has been achieved and that employees are competent to

use the skills acquired.

Total Quality Management

Definition Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management (TQM) is the optimisation and integration of all the 
functions and processes of a business in order to provide for excited customers 

through a process of continuous improvement. 

The Primary Elements of TQM

Total quality management can be summarized as a management system for a customer-focused organization that involves all employees in continual improvement. It uses strategy, data, and effective communications to integrate the quality discipline into the culture and activities of the organization.

·         Customer-focused. The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, upgrading computers or software, or buying new measuring tools—the customer determines whether the efforts were worthwhile.

·         Total employee involvement. All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are one form of empowerment.

·         Process-centered. A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers (again, either internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation.

·         Integrated system. Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these functions that are the focus of TQM.

·         Strategic and systematic approach. A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic planning or strategic management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.

·         Continual improvement. A major thrust of TQM is continual process improvement. Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.

·         Fact-based decision making. In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.

·         Communications. During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness.