At the time, the term made in Japan was synonymous with shoddy craftsmanship. As early as , such visionaries as electrical engineer Homer Sarasohn spoke about controlling variation and monitoring process to produce better deliverables. As a result, in the s, quality became the byword for Japanese manufacturing. Quality concerned not just management, but all levels of a company. In the s, quality circles began appearing in Japanese workplaces to allow employees the opportunity to discuss problems and consider solutions, which they then presented to management.
Starting on the factory floor, quality circles spread to other functional departments. The company-wide focus on quality may also provide a clue to the origin of the phrase total quality.
By the s, the term made in the USA was no longer a badge of pride. Since the end of WWII, the main effort in American factories was to produce a large quantity of items, maintain the production schedule, and save money.
Usability and durability seldom mattered until concerns about lack of product quality reached a fever pitch. Influential businessmen like Philip Crosby championed the trend. Navy guidelines articulated the principles that customer requirements should define quality and continuous improvement should pervade an entire organization. Congress established the Federal Quality Institute in to highlight the need for quality management in business and reward organizations for successful implementations.
But by the s, TQM was superseded by ISO International Standards Organization , which became the standard for much of continental Europe, and by another methodological response of the s to quality concerns, Six Sigma.
TQM lives on in data-driven methods for a data-driven age. Much of our current understanding of the value and pursuit of quality traces back to William Deming. This American statistician, engineer, and management consultant laid many foundations for the use of statistics in production and work management.
He introduced statistical process methods to the US Census Bureau in the early s, marking the first time they were used in the business or service sector. During WWII, he advised US business and government on statistical methods to help with planning for wartime manufacturing.
After the war, Deming was recruited by no less than General Douglas MacArthur to advise Japanese officials on census models to assess war damage and plan for rebuilding. Deming distinguished himself among many of the occupying forces by showing a genuine interest in Japan and its culture.
Because Japan lacked abundant natural resources, Japanese leaders viewed the exportation of goods worldwide as their main path to financial success. Their post-war reputation for low-quality products posed a particular challenge to this goal.
Japanese products were gradually recognized for usability and durability. By the s, Japanese exports surpassed those of the United States. By contrast, American goods gained a reputation for poor design and defects. As early as , Juran remarked that producing goods and meeting deadlines took priority, with quality being relegated to the final inspection. Deming believed that as soon as the war was over, US industry lost interest in statistical methods for pursuing quality.
That is total profit, and it multiplies several times. He gained a reputation for bluntness and fearlessness in the presence of senior executives. Legend has it he told senior Ford staff that 85 percent of quality issues resulted from poor management decisions.
Some companies rejected him. However, on his advice, Ford conducted user surveys before designing and building the Ford Taurus.
In , the Taurus became the number one selling car in the US. In his book, Out of the Crisis , he discussed his 14 Points for Management. The following year, at the age of 87, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology.
In , the year of his death, he established the Deming Institute. Nichols says that TQM tools and principles acquire power not when an organization creates a dedicated quality department, but when it includes the whole company in the pursuit of high quality. An example is the quality circle, in which workers directly involved in a process brainstorm to discover solutions.
In addition to tapping a native resource, implementing a TQM philosophy can help an organization:. A fundamental tenet of TQM is that the cost of doing things right the first time is far less than the potential cost of re-doing things. There are also residual losses when customers abandon products and brands for quality reasons. Some schools of thought view quality as having a cost which cannot be recouped.
Juran, Deming, and Feigenbaum held a different view. For advocates of TQM, the cost of quality really describes the cost of not creating a quality deliverable. There are four primary cost categories:. Although TQM does not possess one universally recognized body of knowledge, organizations do pattern their efforts after a few formal models, including several industry entities and awards. Winners have included Ricoh, Toyota, Bridgestone Tire, and many others. It is given to large and small companies and nonprofit entities that demonstrate excellent performance in the following areas:.
In addition to the information on this current page, see the following blog which has posts related to Total Quality Management. Scan down the blog's page to see various posts. Also see the section "Recent Blog Posts" in the sidebar of the blog or click on "next" near the bottom of a post in the blog. Library's Quality Management Blog. To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below.
Each of the related topics includes free, online resources. Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy. Total Quality Management TQM TQM is a set of management practices throughout the organization, geared to ensure the organization consistently meets or exceeds customer requirements.
Quality can and must be managed Many companies have wallowed in a repetitive cycle of chaos and customer complaints. Every employee is responsible for quality Everyone in the company, from the workers on the line to the upper management, must realize that they have an important part to play in ensuring high levels of quality in their products and services. Quality must be measurable A quality management system is only effective when you can quantify the results.
Quality improvements must be continuous Total Quality Management is not something that can be done once and then forgotten. Every person in an organization—from entry-level workers to management—has a responsibility for the quality of products and services. However, employees can only be invested if they feel empowered to make their own decisions, something that depends on management creating the right workplace environment. A TQM system will fail without a clear focus on processes and process-led thinking.
A process fault is ultimately the cause of most problems, which is why effective monitoring of every single step is an essential part of assessing, maintaining and improving quality. An organization should have an integrated system that allows for effective total quality management. This may be a bespoke system, or one based on a quality standard such as ISO , but it should be understood and applied across all functions and departments.
Critical to quality management is the existence of a strategic plan that outlines how an organization intends to achieve its mission and business goals.
It goes without saying that quality should be a core component of such a plan. Business performance can only be assessed using the available facts, such as sales data, revenue figures, and customer retention rates.
The opinions of customers, employers and suppliers should never be used to inform decisions. Effective communication is essential when an organization is implementing significant changes for the sake of business improvement. Every member of staff should be made aware of the strategy, the timescales involved, and the reasons for implementing it.
Applying the principles of DMAIC and Lean Six Sigma will instill an organization with a culture of continuous improvement , driving all employees to constantly seek new ways to be more competitive and deliver high-quality products for all stakeholders.
The quality department in many companies is only responsible for the quality of products, with its focus typically limited to the supply chain.
0コメント