Quality
Solutions.ca® is
Canada's premiere source for TQM
Training and Consulting
Services.
What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?
Total Quality Management (TQM) is systematic problem solving
for continuous improvement. It is both a philosophy (based
on Edward Deming) and a set of guiding principles that represent
the foundation of the continuous improvement process within
an organization.
What's involved ?
Small teams of people, who focus on continually improving
what they do by tracking their quality and reviewing it. Then
problem solving and making changes in how they do their job.
Overview of Total Quality Management (TQM)
TQM is a management philosophy that transformed the products
and processes of leading Japanese companies. TQM pays constant
attention to the needs of the customer and requires a continuing
process of gathering relevant information and data. TQM assumes
that most of an organization's problems are due to flawed processes,
not shortcomings of employees. Ultimately, TQM aims at organization-wide,
continuous improvement that exceeds the expectations of the
customer/client. TQM represents a "paradigm shift" and
strives for nothing less than a new corporate culture.
The fathers of TQM are generally recognized to include, among
many others, W. Edwards Deming, Joseph M. Juran, George Box,
and Philip Crosby in the United States and Genichi Taguchi
and Kaoru Ishikawa in Japan. As its name implies, TQM focuses
on quality. Juran defines quality as "fitness for use" by
the customer while Deming contends that quality "should
be aimed at the needs of the customer, present and future." By
either definition, the customer decides whether a product is
of high quality, not the participants in the process that created
the product.
Deming's 14 Points for Management
Deming has abridged his philosophy in a set of 14 principles
for the transformation of an organization. Deming's fourteen
principles are powerful, universal axioms based on the assumptions
that individuals want to do their best and that it is management's
job to enable them to do so by constantly improving the system
in which they work. They are:
Create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and
service.
Adopt the new [Deming] philosophy. We are in a new economic
age.
Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality...Build
in quality in the first place.
End the practice of awarding business on the basis
of price alone. Instead, minimize total cost.
Improve constantly and forever [every process].
Institute training on the job.
Institute leadership. The aim of supervision should
be to help people...to do a better job.
Drive out fear.
Break down barriers between departments.
.Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets...for
zero defects and new levels of productivity.
Such exhortations only create
adversarial relationships, as the bulk
of the causes of low productivity belong to the system
and thus
lie beyond the power
of the work force.
.Eliminate work quotas, management by
objective, management by numerical
goals. Substitute
leadership.
.Remove barriers that rob people...of
pride of workmanship.
.Institute a vigorous program of
education and self-improvement for
everyone.
.Put everybody in the [organization]
to work to accomplish the transformation.
Deming's System of Profound Knowledge
Deming builds his 14 principles on four areas of "Profound
Knowledge" concerning what people need to believe and
know. Each [area] forces one to confront what he or she accepts
about people and processes in organizations with what they
intuitively 'know'.
One principle of profound knowledge - that workers are intrinsically
motivated to do the best job possible (if only management systems
permit them to do so) - calls into question the traditional
top-down corporate management structure. Instead, TQM builds
trust by empowering employees to implement change and to make
improvements to products and services. Furthermore, TQM is
based on the idea that those feeling the impact of the decision
should be involved in making it.
What is a Total Quality Management (TQM) Environment
* Customers would receive what they ordered-without errors
or mistakes, on time, all the time and for the right price..
* Suppliers would meet your requirements. Incoming inspections,
inventory levels, and administrative hassles would be reduced
or eliminated.
* Sales staff would spend their time working with customers,
understanding their needs and getting orders, instead of acting
as schedulers or expediters taking the heat for poor quality,
late delivery, or paperwork errors.
* New products, processes and services, would be developed
to agreed-upon requirements, as scheduled and at lower costs.
* People would enjoy their work as they became proactive in
doing their jobs. They would stop spending large amounts of
time responding to crises and dealing with a constant level
of recurring errors and mistakes.
Benefits
When organizations embark on a systematic approach to quality
improvement based on a TQM principles, they gain both measurable
and intangible benefits.
* The company becomes more competitive.
* Increased market share.
* Cost reductions.
* Things happen faster.
* The organization becomes easier to manage.
* Communications improve.
* People help solve problems, experiencing less frustration
and more satisfaction.
How We Can Help?
QualitySolutions.ca® Consulting
Group consists of full-time trainers and consultants with industry-diverse
experience. While we do use industry proven approaches and
methodologies, we tailor these to fit your organization’s
specific needs.
A unique combination of manufacturing experience, business
and financial expertise, and a "hands-on" approach
creates a recipe for our clients' success. We not only identify
and prioritize opportunities to add significantly to your bottom
line; we develop and help our clients implement a plan for
exploiting those opportunities to achieve financially measurable
success.
QualitySolutions.ca® provides
comprehensive TQM programs, please contact us for more info.
