Various Stages of Total Quality Management

After very careful consideration ICI decided to initiate their improvement process with the Philip Crosby approach recognizing that the work of the other quality experts would very quickly come into their thinking. They decided to adopt the Crosby approach utilizing his 14 steps process as given below. Once the management training had been completed to a significant degree ICI launched their own quality improvement process. At the early stage of the process they did not see the need to adopt all the 14 steps of Crosby.

It seemed to them that some of the Crosby's steps had more emphasis in the UK scene than anywhere else. With the increased understanding of the quality improvement process ICI felt confident to develop their own brand of quality improvement process. Their view of educational needs were modified and they were in a position to select appropriate education packages from the various consultants. They started their quality improvement process using an American consultant and gradually brought into their process other US and non-US consultant packages.

However, they also rediscovered the old British productivity film 'Right first time' which in general highlights so many of the points of the whole range of quality gurus and realized that the final approach they had adopted was not really an imported process. The process of implementing total quality management in an organization can be developed in the following four stages:

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1. Identification and preparation: Identifying and collecting information about the organization in the prime areas where improvement will have most impact on the organization's performance. Preparing the detailed basic work for the improvement of all the organization's activities.
2. Management understanding and commitment: To make sure that the management understands the objective and methodology of total quality management and are prepared to adopt them all the time.
3. Scheme for improvement: Identify and resolve quality issues by involving all management and supervision in a proper scheme of training and communication.
4. New initiative, new target and critical examination (Bowman 1991).

Start new initiative with new targets and take the complete improvement process to everybody indicating supplier and customer links in the quality chain. Obtain information about progress and consolidate success. It is often easy to see that some companies have failed to improve their quality by starting the total quality management approach at the third or fourth stages. Without the data to make informed decisions, without total commitment from the top, without the strength of a united and co-ordinated middle management, it is hardly surprising that the company has failed.

There are no by-passes for this total quality management approach but to go through every stage.

Cultural Change

To create a quality organization it requires a comprehensive cultural change in order to provide the required management shift for the improvement of quality. The following points illustrate the requirements in management approach in organizations just embarked on the quality path. They are:

1. Managing Director's commitment in quality issues;
2. Senior management's commitment for customer, supplier and staff contact;
3. Management action for real improvement of the attitude of the work force;
4. Every department's commitment to total quality;
5. Satisfying customer's requirements through quality improvement;
6. Customer and suppliers relationships exist in everybody;
7. Everybody's commitment to quality improvement;
8. Trade-off between quality and cost;
9. Error-free work as a standard;
10. Quality to be designed and managed;
11. All costs are challenged to eliminate wasteful activity;
12. Manager's role to support his team;
13. Barriers to customer satisfaction are systematically eliminated;
14. Trained people to do the job and seek further improvement; and
15. People are rewarded on quality of work and improvement.

An essential part of building any quality program must be the education and training of staff. The main objective is not only to include training on the quality philosophy and tools, but also developing a common language and preparing employees to promote the quality concept.

One of the aspects of total quality management is that the decision must be based on data and not on the management's wishes. Data is a powerful resource to understand where the problems originate and also help to diffuse emotions and blame (Linkow, 1989). Techniques for Total Quality Management Some of the specific techniques that can help you achieve 'Total Quality Management' are given below. The list is far from exhaustive, but includes a sufficient number to promote the total quality management program in an appropriate way. Many of the techniques suggested here can be applied to only one of the four specific stages of the Total Quality Management process described earlier.

1. Customers' perception surveys;
2. Cost of quality statement;
3. Steering group;
4. Quality co-ordinator;
5.  Top team workshops;
6. Total quality seminars;
7. Departmental purpose analysis;
8. Quality training;
9. Communication techniques;
10. Improvement action team;
11. Task force;
12. Job development;
13. Quality circles;
14. Suggestion schemes;
15. Help calls;
16. Visible data;
17. Process management;
18. Statistical process control;
19. Process capability;
20. Foolproofing ('pokaoki'); and
21. Just in time (JIT).

Total quality improvement can be achieved rapidly by the proper use of the appropriate quality techniques. However, no techniques can replace the systematic approach of the total quality management process to create a quality company. Choosing the right kind of techniques for the total quality management process is one of the vital roles of senior management and the degree of success will depend on their skill.

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