BCO 401: QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Definitions of Quality:

 Refers to a measure of excellence or a state of being free from

defects, deficiencies and significant variations (in manufacturing
companies).It is brought about by strict and consistent
commitment to certain standards that achieve uniformity of a
product in order to satisfy specific customer or user
requirements.

 According to ISO 9000, quality is defined as “  the degree to

which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements ”.
Requirements that need to be fulfilled in a contractual situation
typically relate to the provision of a specific product, service or
intangible item such as intellectual property. Requirements may
be stated or implied.

 In a contractual situation, stated needs are specified in

contract requirements and translated into specific product
or service features, functions and characteristics with
specified acceptance criteria.
Implied needs on the other hand are basic features and
characteristics that are identified and defined by the
manufacturer, based on knowledge of the marketplace
expectations. For example, the implied characteristic of a
watch is its basic ability to provide accurate time. Stated
characteristics may be “options” stated by the marketplace,
such as being waterproof, serving as a stopwatch, and having
light, alarm, month and day features.

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  An organization applying this broader definition would then
have to consider the following four facets of quality due to:
• Defining marketplace requirements and opportunities
• Designing the product to meet marketplace requirements
• Consistently conforming to product design
• Providing product support throughout the product’s life
cycle.

Quality Management

 The definition of Quality Management is “coordinated activities

to direct and control an organization with regard to quality ”. A
management system developed and implemented based on the
ISO 9001:2008 quality management system standard provides
assurance through applying the following four tools:

 Planning activities (Quality Planning) - is defined as the

part of quality management focused on setting quality
objectives and specifying necessary operational
processes and resources to fulfill quality objectives.
An organization must identify the processes,
resources and controls needed to meet defined quality
objectives (customer and organization). Specific
requirements from the ISO 9001 standard, coupled
with the customers’ and organization’s requirements,
are used to plan for meeting quality planning
requirements. Quality planning will also include planning
for the quality assurance, quality control and quality
improvement activities.

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  Prevention activities (Quality Assurance) - is defined
as the part of quality management focused on
providing confidence that quality requirements will be
fulfilled. It includes all the proactive controls to
prevent problems, associated cost and customer
dissatisfaction. The intent of prevention is to look at
requirements, design, processes, activities, etc, and
define controls at the source (the design and planning
stages). Controls should address structure,
organization and resources to prevent or minimize the
occurrence of problems in product, processes and
activities. Examples of preventive controls include
employee training, supplier qualification, preventive
maintenance on equipment, process capability studies,
etc.

 Conformity activities (Quality Control) - is defined as

the part of quality management focused on fulfilling
quality requirements. Ideally, prevention based
controls should prevent problems from occurring, but
in reality, no system is foolproof and problems do
occur. Accordingly, controls to detect quality problems
must be established so that customers receive only
products that meet their requirements. Detection
based controls are reactive – the problem and cost
have already occurred and the company is resorting to
damage control. The intent of detection is to evaluate
output from processes and activities by implementing
controls to catch problems when they do occur. For
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 example, final inspection to catch defective product
before it gets shipped.

 Continual improvement activities (Quality

Improvement) - is defined as the part of quality
management focused on increasing the ability to fulfill
requirements. Continual improvement results from
ongoing actions taken to enhance product
characteristics or increase process effectiveness and
efficiency. This is one of the key characteristics that
differentiate a quality management system from a
quality assurance system, i.e., being able to improve
the effectiveness and efficiency and of a process or
activity by setting measurable objectives and using
performance data to manage the achievement of these
objectives.

EVOLUTION

Quality management is a recent phenomenon. Advanced civilizations

that supported the arts and crafts allowed clients to choose goods
meeting higher quality standards than normal goods. In societies where
arts and crafts are the responsibility of a master craftsman or artist,
they would lead their studio and train and supervise others. The
importance of craftsmen diminished as mass production and repetitive
work practices were instituted. The aim was to produce large numbers
of the same goods. The first proponent in the US for this approach
was Eli Whitney who proposed (interchangeable) parts manufacture for
muskets, hence producing the identical components and creating a
musket assembly line. The next step forward was promoted by several
people including Frederick Winslow Taylor a mechanical engineer who
sought to improve industrial efficiency. He is sometimes called "the
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father of scientific management." He was one of the intellectual
leaders of the Efficiency Movement and part of his approach laid a
further foundation for quality management, including aspects like
standardization and adopting improved practices. Henry Ford was also
important in bringing process and quality management practices into
operation in his assembly lines. In Germany, Karl Friedrich Benz, often
called the inventor of the motor car, was pursuing similar assembly and
production practices, although real mass production was properly
initiated in Volkswagen after World War II. From this period onwards,
North American companies focused predominantly upon production
against lower cost with increased efficiency.
Walter A. Shewhart made a major step in the evolution towards quality
management by creating a method for quality control for production,
using statistical methods, first proposed in 1924. This became the
foundation for his ongoing work on statistical quality control. W.
Edwards Deming later applied statistical process control methods in
the United States during World War II, thereby successfully
improving quality in the manufacture of munitions and other
strategically important products.
Quality leadership from a national perspective has changed over the
past five to six decades. After the second world war, Japan decided to
make quality improvement a national imperative as part of rebuilding
their economy, and sought the help of Shewhart, Deming and Juran,
amongst others. W. Edwards Deming championed Shewhart's ideas in
Japan from 1950 onwards. He is probably best known for his
management philosophy establishing quality, productivity, and
competitive position. He has formulated 14 points of attention for
managers, which are a high level abstraction of many of his deep
insights. They should be interpreted by learning and understanding the
deeper insights. These 14 points include key concepts such as:

 Break down barriers between departments

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 Management should learn their responsibilities, and take on
leadership
 Supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to
do a better job
 Improve constantly and forever the system of production and
service
 Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement
In the 1950s and 1960s, Japanese goods were synonymous with
cheapness and low quality, but over time their quality initiatives began
to be successful, with Japan achieving very high levels of quality in
products from the 1970s onward. For example, Japanese cars regularly
top the J.D. Power customer satisfaction ratings. In the 1980s Deming
was asked by Ford Motor Company to start a quality initiative after
they realized that they were falling behind Japanese manufacturers. A
number of highly successful quality initiatives have been invented by
the Japanese (see for example on this page: Genichi
Taguchi, QFD, Toyota Production System. Many of the methods not
only provide techniques but also have associated quality culture (i.e.
people factors). These methods are now adopted by the same western
countries that decades earlier derided Japanese methods.
Customers recognize that quality is an important attribute in products
and services. Suppliers recognize that quality can be an important
differentiator between their own offerings and those of competitors
(quality differentiation is also called the quality gap). In the past two
decades this quality gap has been greatly reduced between competitive
products and services. This is partly due to the contracting (also called
outsourcing) of manufacture to countries like India and China, as well
internationalization of trade and competition. These countries amongst
many others have raised their own standards of quality in order to
meet International standards and customer demands. The ISO
9000 series of standards are probably the best known International
standards for quality management.
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There are a huge number of books available on quality management. In
recent times some themes have become more significant including
quality culture, the importance of knowledge management, and the role
of leadership in promoting and achieving high quality. Disciplines like
systems thinking are bringing more holistic approaches to quality so
that people, process and products are considered together rather than
independent factors in quality management.
The influence of quality thinking has spread to non-traditional
applications outside of walls of manufacturing, extending into service
sectors and into areas such as sales, marketing and customer service.

PRINCIPLES OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT

The International Standard for Quality management (ISO 9001:2008)

adopts a number of management principles that can be used by top
management to guide their organizations towards improved
performance.
Customer focus
Since the organizations depend on their customers, they should
understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer
requirements and should try to exceed the expectations of
customers.An organization attains customer focus when all people in
the organization know both the internal and external customers and
also what customer requirements must be met to ensure that both the
internal and external customers are satisfied.
Leadership
Leaders of an organization establish unity of purpose and direction of
it. They should go for creation and maintenance of such an internal

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environment, in which people can become fully involved in achieving the
organization's quality objective.
Involvement of people
People at all levels of an organization are the essence of it. Their
complete involvement enables their abilities to be used for the benefit
of the organization.
Process approach
The desired result can be achieved when activities and related
resources are managed in an organization as a process.
System approach to management
An organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its quality
objectives are contributed by identifying, understanding and managing
all interrelated processes as a system. Quality Control involves
checking transformed and transforming resources in all stages of
production process.
Continual improvement
One of the permanent quality objectives of an organization should be
the continual improvement of its overall performance, leveraging clear
and concise PPMs (Process Performance Measures).
Factual approach to decision making
Effective decisions are always based on the data analysis and
information.

Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

Since an organization and its suppliers are interdependent, therefore a
mutually beneficial relationship between them increases the ability of
both to add value.

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These eight principles form the basis for the quality management
system standard ISO 9001:2008.

PRODUCT AND SERVICE QUALITY DIMENSIONS OF THE

QUALITY CHAIN

DIMENSIONS OF PRODUCT QUALITY

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Eight dimensions of product quality management can be used at
a strategic level to analyze quality characteristics. The concept was
defined by David Garvin. Some of the dimensions are mutually
reinforcing, whereas others are not—improvement in one may be at the
expense of others. Understanding the trade-offs desired by customers
among these dimensions can help build a competitive advantage.
Garvin's eight dimensions can be summarized as follows:[1]

1. Performance: Performance refers to a product's primary

operating characteristics. This dimension of quality involves
measurable attributes; brands can usually be ranked objectively
on individual aspects of performance.
2. Features: Features are additional characteristics that enhance
the appeal of the product or service to the user.
3. Reliability: Reliability is the likelihood that a product will not fail
within a specific time period. This is a key element for users who
need the product to work without fail.
4. Conformance: Conformance is the precision with which the
product or service meets the specified standards.
5. Durability: Durability measures the length of a product’s life.
When the product can be repaired, estimating durability is more
complicated. The item will be used until it is no longer economical
to operate it. This happens when the repair rate and the
associated costs increase significantly.
6. Serviceability: Serviceability is the speed with which the product
can be put into service when it breaks down, as well as the
competence and the behavior of the serviceperson.
7. Aesthetics: Aesthetics is the subjective dimension indicating the
kind of response a user has to a product. It represents the
individual’s personal preference.
8. Perceived Quality: Perceived Quality is the quality attributed to a
good or service based on indirect measures.

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Performance

Performance refers to a product's primary operating characteristics.

This dimension of quality involves measurable attributes, so brands can
usually be ranked objectively on individual aspects of performance.
Overall performance rankings,however, are more difficult to develop,
especially when they involve benefits that not every consumer needs.
Performance is often a source of contention between customers and
suppliers, particularly when deliverables are not adequately defined
within specifications. The performance of a product often influences
the profitability or reputation of the end-user. As such, many
contracts or specifications include damages related to inadequate
performance. The question of whether performance differences are
quality differences may depend on circumstantial preferences-but
preferences based on functional requirements, not taste. Some
performance standards are based on subjective preferences, but the
preferences are so universal that they have the force of an objective
standard.[2]

Features

Features are additional characteristics that enhance the appeal of the

product or service to the user.
Similar thinking can be applied to features, a second dimensions of
quality that is often a secondary aspects of performance. Features are
the "bells and whistles" of products and services, those characteristics
that supplement their basic functioning. Examples include free drinks
on a plane, permanent-press cycles on a washing machine, and automatic
tuners on a color television set. The line separating primary
performance characteristics from secondary features is often
difficult to draw.

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Reliability

Reliability is the likelihood that a product will not fail within a specific
time period. This is a key element for users who need the product to
work without fail.
This dimension reflects the probability of a product malfunctioning or
failing within a specified time period. Among the most common
measures of reliability are the mean time to first failure, the mean
time between failures, and the failure rate per unit time. Because
these measures require a product to be in use for a specified period,
they are more relevant to durable goods than to products and services
that are consumed instantly.
Reliability normally becomes more important to consumers as downtime
and maintenance become more expensive. Farmers, for example, are
especially sensitive to downtime during the short harvest season.
Reliable equipment can mean the difference between a good year and
spoiled crops. But consumers on other markets are more attuned than
ever to product reliability too. Computers and copying machines
certainly compare on this basis.
Reliability may be closely related to performance. For instance, a
product specification may define parameters for up-time, or
acceptable failure rates. Reliability is a major contributor to brand or
company image, and is considered a fundamental dimension of quality by
most end-users. I.E., recent market research shows that, especially for
women, reliability has become an automobile's most desired attribute. [2]

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Conformance

The outcome of two example processes to show the meaning of the two
approaches to conformance

The dimension of conformance depicts to what extent a product’s

design and operating characteristics meet established standards. This
dimension owes the most to the traditional approaches to quality
pioneered by experts like Juran.
All products and services involve specifications of some sort. When
products are developed, these specifications are set and a target is
set, for instance the materials used or the dimension of the product.
Not only the target but also the tolerance (the range of permitted
deviation from the target) is defined. One problem with this approach
is that there is little interest in whether the specifications have been
met exactly as long as the tolerance limits are met.
On the one hand, this can lead to the so-called “tolerance stack-up”.
When two or more parts are to be fit together, the size of their
tolerances often determine how well they will match. Should one part
fall at a lower limit of its specification and a matching part at its upper
limit, a tight fit is unlikely. The link is likely to wear more quickly than
one made from parts whose dimensions have been centered more
exactly.[2]

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This problem can be addressed by taking a different approach to
measuring quality. Instead of measuring a simple conformance to
specifications, the degree to which parts or products diverge from the
ideal target is measured. Using this approach, process 1 (see picture) is
better even though some items fall beyond specification limits. The
traditional approach would have favoured process 2 because it
produces more items within the specification limit. It was
demonstrated that the problem of “tolerance stack-up” is worse when
the dimensions of parts are more distant from the target than when
they cluster around it, even if some parts fall outside the tolerance.
This approach requires a fresh look at the common process quality
factor of 'defect rate', to take into account the fact that two parts
may each pass the 'tolerance test' separately but be unusable when
the attempt is made to join them together.
In service businesses, measures of conformance normally focus on
accuracy and timeliness and include counts of processing errors,
unanticipated delays and other frequent mistakes.[2]

Durability

Durability measures the length of a product’s life. When the product

can be repaired, estimating durability is more complicated. The item
will be used until it is no longer economical to operate it. This happens
when the repair rate and the associated costs increase significantly.
Technically, durability can be defined as the amount of use one gets
from a product before it deteriorates. After so many hours of use, the
filament of a light bulb burns up and the bulb must be replaced. Repair
is impossible. Economists call such products "one-hoss shays" [4] (Oliver
Wendel Holmes poem).
In other cases, consumers must weigh the expected cost, in both
dollars and personal inconvenience, of future repairs against the
investment and operating expenses of a newer, more reliable model.
Durability, then, may be defined as the amount of use one gets from a
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product before it breaks down and replacement is preferable to
continued repair.
This approach to durability has two important implications. First, it
suggests that durability and reliability are closely linked. A product
that often fails is likely to be scrapped earlier than one that is more
reliable; repair costs will be correspondingly higher and the purchase
of a competitive brand will look that much more desirable. Second, this
approach implies that durability figures should be interpreted with
care. An increase in product life may not be the result of technical
improvements or the use of longer-lived materials. Rather, the
underlying economic environment simply may have changed.

Serviceability

Serviceability involves the consumer's ease of obtaining repair service

(example: access to service centers and/or ease of self-service), the
responsiveness of service personnel(example: ease of getting an
appointment, willingness of repair personnel to listen to the customer),
and the reliability of service (example: whether the service is
performed right the first time). Competence and ease of repair is the
speed with which the product can be put into service when it breaks
down, as well as the competence and the behavior of
the service personnel.
Consumers are concerned not only about a product breaking down but
also about the time before service is restored, the timeliness with
which service appointment are kept, the nature of dealings with service
personnel, and the frequency with which service calls or repairs fail to
correct outstanding problems. In those cases where problems are not
immediately resolved and complaints are filed, a company's complaint
handling procedures are also likely to affect customer's ultimate
evaluation of product and service quality.

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Some of these variables reflect differing personal standards of
acceptable service. others can be measured quite objectively.
Customers may remain dissatisfied even after completion of repairs.
How these complaints are handled is important to a company's
reputation for quality and service. Eventually, profitability is likely to
be affected as well. Companies differ widely in their approaches to
complaint handling and in the importance they attach to this element of
serviceability. Some do their best to resolve complaints; others use
legal gimmicks, the silent treatment and similar ploys to rebuff
dissatisfied customers.
For example recently,[5] General Electric, Procter & Gamble and other
companies have sought to preempt consumer dissatisfaction by
installing toll-free telephone hot lines to their customer relations
departments.
Important attributes for serviceability dimension are: service
warranty, parts warranty, parts availability, number of reasonable
distance to dealer service centers, distance to service parts center-
dealer, distance to service parts center individual, length of wait for
service appointment, schedule of preventive maintenance, employees
listen to customers, information regarding repairs, courteous service
centers, repaired correctly first time, service time relative to other
dealers, warranty claims handled without argument, average repair
cost/year, extended warranty, underestimation of service cost and
provision of loan car.

Aesthetics

The aesthetic properties of a product contribute to a company's or

brand's identity. Faults or defects in a product that diminish its
aesthetic properties, even those that do not reduce or alter other
dimensions of quality, are often cause for rejection. Aeshetics refers
to how the product looks,feels,sounds,tastes or smells.It is clearly a
matter of personal judgement and a reflection of individual
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preference.Nevertheless,there appear to be some patterns in
consumers' rankings of products on the basis of taste. A recent study
of quality in 33 food categories,for example,found that high quality
was most often associated with "rich and full flavour,tastes
natural,tastes fresh,good aroma,and looks apetizing". Aesthetics also
refers to the "outside" feel of the product. The aesthetics dimension
differs from subjective criteria pertaining to "performance" in that
aeshetic choices are not nearly universal.Not all people prefer "rich
and full" flavor or even agree on what that means.Companies therefore
have to search for a niche.On this dimension of quality,it is impossible
to please everyone.[2] See also Japanese quality.

Perceived Quality

Perception is not always reality.

Consumers do not always have complete information about a product's
or service's attributes; indirect measures may be their only basis for
comparing brands.
A product's durability for example,can seldom be observed directly; it
usually must be inferred from various tangible and intangible aspects
of the product.In such circumstances,images,advertising and brand
names-inferences about quality rather than the reality itself-can be
critical.For this reason,both Honda-which makes cars in
Marysville,Ohio-and Sony-which builds color televisions in San Diego-
have been reluctant to publicize that their products are "made in
America".
Reputation is the primary stuff of perceived quality.Its power comes
from an unstated analogy:that the quality of products today is similar
to the quality of products of yesterday,or the quality of goods in a new
product line is similar to the quality of a company's established
products.[2]
SERVICE QUALITY DIMENSIONS

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The 5 Service Dimensions All Customers Care About
by  CHRIS ARLEN   on  OCTOBER 24, 2008
Service providers want to know what customers (internal or external)
care about. Service quality is a good guess. Price, and to a minor degree
product quality, also count.

But for service providers, customers care most about service quality.
Check the research. Statistically valid research. Of course, providers
can always ask customers. But lacking the money, time and skills, why
not look to the leading research for that understanding?

That would be “Delivering Quality Service  “, by Valerie Zeithaml, A.

Parasuraman and Leonard Berry.
Even though service quality research has progressed since 1990 when
first published, this book is still the fountainhead. I referred to it in
Gap 5 & Roswell, and I’m using it here again.

The 5 Dimensions Defined

After extensive research, Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry found five
dimensions customers use when evaluating service quality. They named
their survey instrument SERVQUAL.

In other words, if providers get these dimensions right, customers will

hand over the keys to their loyalty. Because they’ll have received
service excellence. According to what’s important to them.

The five SERVQUAL dimensions are:

 TANGIBLES-Appearance of physical facilities, equipment,

personnel, and communication materials
 RELIABILITY-Ability to perform the promised service
dependably and accurately
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 RESPONSIVENESS-Willingness to help customers and provide
prompt service
 ASSURANCE-Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their
ability to convey trust and confidence
 EMPATHY-Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its
customers

Not All Dimensions Are Equal

All dimensions are important to customers, but some more than others.

Service providers need to know which are which to avoid majoring in

minors. At the same time they can’t focus on only one dimension and let
the others suffer.

SERVQUAL research showed dimensions’ importance to each other by

asking customers to assign 100 points across all five dimensions.

Here’s their importance to customers.

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The 5 Service Dimensions Customers Care About

What’s this mean for service providers?

#1 Just Do It
RELIABILITY: Do what you say you’re going to do when you said you
were going to do it.
Customers want to count on their providers. They value that reliability.
Don’t providers yearn to find out what customers value? This is it.It’s
three times more important to be reliable than have shiny new
equipment or flashy uniforms.

Doesn’t mean you can have ragged uniforms and only be reliable.
Service providers have to do both. But providers first and best efforts
are better spent making service reliable.

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Whether it’s periodics on schedule, on-site response within Service
Level Agreements (SLAs), or Work Orders completed on time.

#2 Do It Now
RESPONSIVENESS: Respond quickly, promptly, rapidly, immediately,
instantly.
Waiting a day to return a call or email doesn’t make it. Even if
customers are chronically slow in getting back to providers,
responsiveness is more than 1/5th of their service quality assessment.

Service providers benefit by establishing internal SLAs for things like

returning phone calls, emails and responding on-site. Whether it’s 30
minutes, 4 hours, or 24 hours, it’s important customers feel providers
are responsive to their requests. Not just emergencies, but everyday
responses too.

REPORTING RESPONSIVENESS
Call centers typically track caller wait times. Service providers can
track response times. And their attainment of SLAs or other Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) of responsiveness. This is great
performance data to present to customers in Departmental
Performance Reviews.

#3 Know What Your Doing

ASSURANCE: Service providers are expected to be the experts of
the service they’re delivering. It’s a given.

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SERVQUAL research showed it’s important to communicate that
expertise to customers. If a service provider is highly skilled, but
customers don’t see that, their confidence in that provider will be
lower. And their assessment of that provider’s service quality will be
lower.

RAISE CUSTOMER AWARENESS OF YOUR COMPETENCIES

Service providers must communicate their expertise and competencies
– before they do the work. This can be done in many ways that are
repeatedly seen by customers, such as:

 Display industry certifications on patches, badges or buttons

worn by employees
 Include certification logos on emails, letters & reports
 Put certifications into posters, newsletters & handouts
By communicating competencies, providers can help manage customer
expectations. And influence their service quality assessment in
advance.

#4 Care about Customers as much as the Service

EMPATHY: Services can be performed completely to specifications.
Yet customers may not feel provider employees care about them during
delivery. And this hurts customers’ assessments of providers’ service
quality.
For example, a day porter efficiently cleans up a spill in a lobby.
However, during the clean up doesn’t smile, make eye contact, or ask
the customer if there is anything else they could do for them. In this
hypothetical the provider’s service was performed fully. But the
customer didn’t feel the provider employee cared. And it’s not

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necessarily the employees fault. They may not know how they’re being
judged. They may be overwhelmed, inadequately trained, or
disinterested.

SERVICE DELIVERY MATTERS

Providers’ service delivery can be as important as how it was done.
Provider employees should be trained how to interact with customers
and their end-users. Even a brief session during initial orientation
helps. Anything to help them understand their impact on customers’
assessment of service quality.

#5 Look Sharp
TANGIBLES: Even though this is the least important dimension,
appearance matters. Just not as much as the other dimensions.
Service providers will still want to make certain their employees
appearance, uniforms, equipment, and work areas on-site (closets,
service offices, etc.) look good. The danger is for providers to make
everything look sharp, and then fall short on RELIABILITY or
RESPONSIVENESS.

At the End of the Day

Customers’ assessments include expectations and perceptions across all
five SERVQUAL dimensions. Service providers need to work on all five,
but emphasize them in order of importance. If sacrifices must be
made, use these dimensions as a guide for which ones to rework.

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Also, providers can use SERVQUAL dimensions in determining specific
customer and site needs. By asking questions around these dimensions,
providers can learn how they play out at a particular location/bid
opportunity. What dimensions are you in?

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT -stopped here

There are many methods for quality improvement. These cover product
improvement, process improvement and people based improvement. In
the following list are methods of quality management and techniques
that incorporate and drive quality improvement:

1. ISO 9004:2008 — guidelines for performance improvement.

2. ISO 15504-4: 2005 — information technology — process
assessment — Part 4: Guidance on use for process improvement
and process capability determination.
3. QFD — quality function deployment, also known as the house of
quality approach.
4. Kaizen — 改善, Japanese for change for the better; the common
English term is continuous improvement.
5. Zero Defect Program — created by NEC Corporation of Japan,
based upon statistical process control and one of the inputs for
the inventors of Six Sigma.

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 6. Six Sigma — 6σ, Six Sigma combines established methods such as
statistical process control, design of experiments and failure
mode and effects analysis (FMEA) in an overall framework.
7. PDCA — plan, do, check, act cycle for quality control purposes.
(Six Sigma's DMAIC method (define, measure, analyze, improve,
control) may be viewed as a particular implementation of this.)
8. Quality circle — a group (people oriented) approach to
improvement.
9. Taguchi methods — statistical oriented methods including quality
robustness, quality loss function, and target specifications.
10. The Toyota Production System — reworked in the west into lean
manufacturing.
11. Kansei Engineering — an approach that focuses on capturing
customer emotional feedback about products to drive
improvement.
12. TQM — total quality management is a management strategy aimed
at embedding awareness of quality in all organizational processes.
First promoted in Japan with the Deming prize which was
adopted and adapted in USA as the Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award and in Europe as the European Foundation for
Quality Managementaward (each with their own variations).
13. TRIZ — meaning "theory of inventive problem solving"
14. BPR — business process reengineering, a management approach
aiming at optimizing the workflows and processes within an
organisation.
15. OQRM — Object-oriented Quality and Risk Management, a
model for quality and risk management.
 Proponents of each approach have sought to improve them as well
as apply them for small, medium and large gains. Simple one is
Process Approach, which forms the basis of ISO
9001:2008 Quality Management System standard, duly driven
from the 'Eight principles of Quality management', process
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 approach being one of them. Thareja writes about the mechanism
and benefits: "The process (proficiency) may be limited in words,
but not in its applicability.
 While it fulfills the criteria of all-round gains: in terms of the
competencies augmented by the participants; the organisation
seeks newer directions to the business success, the individual
brand image of both the people and the organisation, in turn, goes
up. The competencies which were hitherto rated as being smaller,
are better recognized and now acclaimed to be more potent and
fruitful". 
 The more complex Quality improvement tools are tailored for
enterprise types not originally targeted. For example, Six Sigma
was designed for manufacturing but has spread to service
enterprises. Each of these approaches and methods has met with
success but also with failures.
 Some of the common differentiators between success and failure
include commitment, knowledge and expertise to guide
improvement, scope of change/improvement desired (Big Bang
type changes tend to fail more often compared to smaller
changes) and adaption to enterprise cultures. For example, quality
circles do not work well in every enterprise (and are even
discouraged by some managers), and relatively few TQM-
participating enterprises have won the national quality awards.
 There have been well publicized failures of BPR, as well as Six
Sigma. Enterprises therefore need to consider carefully which
quality improvement methods to adopt, and certainly should not
adopt all those listed here.
 It is important not to underestimate the people factors, such as
culture, in selecting a quality improvement approach. Any
improvement (change) takes time to implement, gain acceptance
and stabilize as accepted practice. Improvement must allow
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 pauses between implementing new changes so that the change is
stabilized and assessed as a real improvement, before the next
improvement is made (hence continual improvement, not
continuous improvement).
 Improvements that change the culture take longer as they have
to overcome greater resistance to change. It is easier and often
more effective to work within the existing cultural boundaries
and make small improvements (that is Kaizen) than to make major
transformational changes. Use of Kaizen in Japan was a major
reason for the creation of Japanese industrial and economic
strength.
 On the other hand, transformational change works best when an
enterprise faces a crisis and needs to make major changes in
order to survive. In Japan, the land of Kaizen, Carlos Ghosn led a
transformational change at Nissan Motor Company which was in a
financial and operational crisis. Well organized quality
improvement programs take all these factors into account when
selecting the quality improvement methods.

5.0 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

5.1 Total quality management (TQM)

 TQM consists of organization-wide efforts to install and make

permanent a climate in which an organization continuously
improves its ability to deliver high-quality products and services
to customers. While there is no widely agreed-upon approach,
TQM efforts typically draw heavily on the previously developed
tools and techniques of quality control. TQM enjoyed widespread
attention during the late 1980s and early 1990s before being
overshadowed by ISO 9000, Lean manufacturing, and Six Sigma.

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  Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive and
structured approach to organizational management that seeks to
improve the quality of products and services through ongoing
refinements in response to continuous feedback.

 TQM requirements may be defined separately for a particular

organization or may be in adherence to established standards,
such as the International Organization for Standardization's
ISO 9000 series.

 TQM can be applied to any type of organization; it originated in

the manufacturing sector and has since been adapted for use in
almost every type of organization imaginable, including schools,
highway maintenance, hotel management, and churches. As a
current focus of e-business, TQM is based on quality management
from the customer's point of view.

 A holistic approach to long-term success that views continuous

improvement in all aspects of an organization as a process and not
as a short-term goal. It aims to radically transform the
organization through progressive changes in the attitudes,
practices, structures, and systems.
 Total quality management transcends the product quality
approach, involves everyone in the organization, and encompasses
its every function: administration, communications, distribution,
manufacturing, marketing, planning, training, etc. Coined by the
US Naval Air Systems Command in early 1980s, this term has now
taken on several meanings and includes

(1) commitment and direct involvement of highest-level

executives in setting quality goals and policies, allocation of
resources, and monitoring of results

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 (2) realization that transforming an organization means
fundamental changes in basic beliefs and practices and that
this transformation is everyone's job

(3) building quality into products and practices right from the
beginning;

(4) understanding of the changing needs of the internal and

external customers, and stakeholders, and satisfying them in a
cost effective manner;
(5) instituting leadership in place of mere supervision so that
every individual performs in the best possible manner to improve
quality and productivity, thereby continually reducing total cost;
(6) eliminating barriers between people and departments so that
they work as teams to achieve common objectives;
(7) instituting flexible programs for training and education, and
providing meaningful measures of performance that guide the
self-improvement efforts of everyone involved.

5.2 Features

There is no widespread agreement as to what TQM is and what actions

it requires of organizations, however a review of the original United
States Navy effort gives a rough understanding of what is involved in
TQM.
The key concepts in the TQM effort undertaken by the Navy in the
1980s include:

 "Quality is defined by customers' requirements."

 "Top management has direct responsibility for quality
improvement."

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 "Increased quality comes from systematic analysis and
improvement of work processes."
 "Quality improvement is a continuous effort and conducted
throughout the organization."
The Navy used the following tools and techniques:

 The PDCA (Plan ,Do,Check,Act) cycle to drive issues to resolution

 Ad hoc cross-functional teams (similar to quality circles)
responsible for addressing immediate process issues
 Standing cross-functional teams responsible for the improvement
of processes over the long term
 Active management participation through steering committees
 Use of the Seven Basic Tools of Quality to analyze quality-
related issues

5.3 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Total quality management (TQM) tools help organizations to identify,

analyze and assess qualitative and quantitative data that is relevant to
their business. These tools can identify procedures, ideas, statistics,
cause and effect concerns and other issues relevant to their
organizations. Each of which can be examined and used to enhance the
effectiveness, efficiency, standardization and overall quality of
procedures, products or work environment, in accordance with ISO
9000 standards (SQ, 2004). According to Quality America, Inc. the
number of TQM tools is close to 100 and come in various forms, such as
brainstorming, focus groups, check lists, charts and graphs, diagrams
and other analysis tools. In a different vein, manuals and standards are
TQM tools as well, as they give direction and best practice guidelines
to you and/or your staff. TQM tools illustrate and aid in the
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assimilation of complicated information such as: 

1)       Identification of your target audience

2)       Assessment of customer needs
3)       Competition analysis
4)       Market analysis
5)       Brainstorming ideas  
6)       Productivity changes 
7)       Various statistics
8)       Staff duties and work flow analysis 
9)       Statement of purpose  
10)   Financial analysis
11)   Model creation  
12)   Business structure
13)   Logistic analysis

The list goes on, though essentially TQM tools can be used in any
situation, for any number of reasons, and can be extremely effective if
used properly.

TQM Tools
The following are some of the most common TQM tools in use today.
Each is used for, and identifies, specific information in a specific
manner. It should be noted that tools should be used in conjunction
with other tools to understand the full scope of the issue being
analyzed or illustrated. Simply using one tool may inhibit your
understanding of the data provided, or may close you off to further
possibilities.

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1)       Pie Charts and Bar Graphs
   Used to identify and compare data units as they relate to one issue
or the whole, such as budgets, vault space available, extent of funds,
etc.
2)       Histograms
    To illustrate and examine various data element in order to make
decisions regarding them Effective when comparing statistical, survey,
or questionnaire results.
3)       Run Chart  
  Follows a process over a specific period of time, such as accrual rates,
to track high and low points in its run, and ultimately identify trends,
shifts and patterns.   

     a)  Pareto Charts / Analysis         

         Rates issues according to importance and frequency by
prioritizing specific problems or causes in a manner   that facilitates
problem solving. Identify groupings of qualitative data, such as most
frequent complaint, most commonly purchased preservation aid, etc. in
order to measure which have priority.· Can be scheduled over select
periods of time to track changes. They can also be created in
retrospect, as a before and after analysis of a process change.
4)       Force Field Analysis  
      To identify driving and restraining forces occurring in a chosen
process in order to understand why that particular process functions
as it does. For example, identifying the driving and restraining forces
of catering predominantly to genealogists. To identify restraining
forces that need to be eradicated, or driving forces that need to be
improved, in order to function at a higher level of efficiency.

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5)       Focus Groups 
      Useful for marketing or advertising organizations to test products
on the general public.
  · Consist of various people from the general public who use and
discuss your product, providing impartial feedback    to help you
determine whether your product needs improvement or if it should be
introduced onto the market.
6)       Brainstorming and Affinity Diagrams 
      Teams using creative thinking to identify various aspects
surrounding an issue. 
      An affinity diagram, which can be created using anything from
enabling software to post-it notes organized on a wall, is a tool to
organize brainstorming ideas
7) Tree Diagram
    · To identify the various tasks involved in, and the full scope of, a
project.
    · To identify hierarchies, whether of personnel, business structure,
or priorities.
    · To identify inputs and outputs of a project, procedure, process, etc
8) Flowcharts and Modeling Diagrams
     · Assist in the definition and analysis of each step in a process by
illustrating it in a clear and comprehensive manner.
    · Identify areas where workflow may be blocked, or diverted, and
where workflow is fluid.
    · Identify where steps need to be added or removed to improve
efficiency and create standardized workflow
9) Scatter Diagram
    · To illustrate and validate hunches

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    · To discover cause and effect relationships, as well as bonds and
correlations, between two variables 
   · To chart the positive and negative direction of relationships

10) Relations Diagram  

  · To understand the relationships between various factors, issues,
events, etc. so as to understand their importance in the overall
organizational view.
11) PDCA
    · The Plan-Do-Check-Act style of management where each project or
procedure is planned according to needs and outcome, it is then tested,
examined for efficiency and effectiveness, and then acted upon if
anything in the process needs to be altered.
    · This is a cyclical style to be iterated until the process is perfected.
All of these TQM tools can be easily created and examined by using
various types of computer software or by simply mapping them out on
paper. They can also be easily integrated into team meetings,
organizational newsletters, marketing reports, and for various other
data analysis needs. Proper integration and use of these tools will
ultimately assist in  processing data such as identifying collecting
policies, enhancing work flow such as mapping acquisition procedures,
ensuring client satisfaction by surveying their needs and analyzing
them accordingly, and creating an overall high level of quality in all
areas of your organization.

5.4 TQM GURUS CONTRIBUTION

Edwards Deming

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  TQM is a core concept on implementing total quality management,
is a set of management practices to help companies increase their
quality and productivity.

1. Create constancy of purpose for improving products and

services.
2. Adopt the new philosophy.
3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality.
4. End the practice of awarding business on price alone;
instead, minimize total cost by working with a single
supplier.
5. Improve constantly and forever every process for planning,
production and service.
6. Institute training on the job.
7. Adopt and institute leadership.
8. Drive out fear.
9. Break down barriers between staff areas.
10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets for the
workforce.
11. Eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical
goals for management.
12. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of
workmanship, and eliminate the annual rating or merit
system.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-
improvement for everyone.
14. Put everybody in the company to work accomplishing
the transformation.

Joseph Juran
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Juran defines quality as fitness for use in terms of design,
conformance, availability, safety, and field use. Thus, his concept more
closely incorporates the viewpoint of customer. He is prepared to
measure everything and relies on systems and problem-solving
techniques. Unlike Deming, he focuses on top-down management and
technical methods rather than worker pride and satisfaction.

Juran’s 10 steps to quality improvement are:

1. Build awareness of opportunity to improve.

2. Set-goals for improvement.
3. Organize to reach goals.
4. Provide training
5. Carryout projects to solve problems.
6. Report progress.
7. Give recognition.
8. Communicate results.
9. Keep score.
10. Maintain momentum by making annual improvement part of
the regular systems and processes of the company.

Juran is founder is the founder of Juran Institute in Wilton,

Connecticut. He promoted a concept known as Managing Business
Process Quality, which is a technique for executive cross-functional
quality improvement. Juran contribution may, over the longer term, may
be greater than Deming’s because Juran has broader concept, while
Deming’s focus on statistical process control is more technical
oriented.

Phillip Crosby

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Crosby initiated the Zero Defects program at the Martin Company. As
the quality control manager of the Pershing missile program, Crosby
was credited with a 25 percent reduction in the overall rejection rate
and a 30 percent reduction in scrap costs.

The 14 steps

1. Management commitment: The need for quality improvement

must be recognised and adopted by management, with an
emphasis on the need for defect prevention. Quality improvement
is equated with profit improvement. A quality policy is needed
which states that '… each individual is expected to perform
exactly like the requirement or cause the requirement to be
officially changed to what we and the customer really need.'
2. Quality improvement team: Representatives from each
department or function should be brought together to form a
quality improvement team. These should be people who have
sufficient authority to commit the area they represent to action.
3. Quality measurement: The status of quality should be
determined throughout the company. This means establishing
quality measures for each area of activity that are recorded to
show where improvement is possible, and where corrective action
is necessary. Crosby advocates delegation of this task to the
people who actually do the job, so setting the stage for defect
prevention on the job, where it really counts.
4. Cost of quality evaluation: The cost of quality is not an absolute
performance measurement, but an indication of where the action
necessary to correct a defect will result in greater profitability.
5. Quality awareness: This involves, through training and the
provision of visible evidence of the concern for quality
improvement, making employees aware of the cost to the company
of defects. Crosby stresses that this sharing process is a - or
even the - key step in his view of quality.
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 6. Corrective action: Discussion about problems will bring solutions
to light and also raise other elements for improvement. People
need to see that problems are being resolved on a regular basis.
Corrective action should then become a habit.
7. Establish an ad-hoc committee for the Zero Defects
Programme: Zero Defects is not a motivation programme - its
purpose is to communicate and instil the notion that everyone
should do things right first time.
8. Supervisor training: All managers should undergo formal training
on the 14 steps before they are implemented. A manager should
understand each of the 14 steps well enough to be able to explain
them to his or her people.
9. Zero Defects Day: It is important that the commitment to Zero
Defects as the performance standard of the company makes an
impact, and that everyone gets the same message in the same
way. Zero Defects Day, when supervisors explain the programme
to their people, should make a lasting impression as a 'new
attitude' day.
10. Goal setting: Each supervisor gets his or her people to
establish specific, measurable goals to strive for. Usually, these
comprise 30-, 60-, and 90-day goals.
11. Error cause removal: Employees are asked to describe, on a
simple, one-page form, any problems that prevent them from
carrying out error-free work. Problems should be acknowledged
within twenty-four hours by the function or unit to which the
problem is addressed. This constitutes a key step in building up
trust, as people will begin to grow more confident that their
problems will be addressed and dealt with.
12. Recognition: It is important to recognise those who meet
their goals or perform outstanding acts with a prize or award,
although this should not be in financial form. The act of
recognition is what is important.

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 13. Quality Councils: The quality professionals and team-
leaders should meet regularly to discuss improvements and
upgrades to the quality programme.
14. Do it over again: During the course of a typical programme,
lasting from 12 to18 months, turnover and change will dissipate
much of the educational process.It is important to set up a new
team of representatives and begin the programme over again,
starting with Zero Defects day. This 'starting over again' helps
quality to become ingrained in the organisation.

Kaoru Ishikawa

 Kaoru Ishikawa wanted to change the way people think about

work. He urged managers to resist becoming content with merely
improving a product's quality, insisting that quality improvement
can always go one step further.

 His notion of company-wide quality control called for continued

customer service. This meant that a customer would continue
receiving service even after receiving the product.

 This service would extend across the company itself in all levels
of management, and even beyond the company to the everyday
lives of those involved.

 According to Ishikawa, quality improvement is a continuous

process, and it can always be taken one step further.

 With his cause and effect diagram (also called the "Ishikawa" or
"fishbone" diagram) this management leader made significant and
specific advancements in quality improvement.
 With the use of this new diagram, the user can see all possible
causes of a result, and hopefully find the root of process
imperfections. By pinpointing root problems, this diagram

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 provides quality improvement from the "bottom up." Dr. W.
Edwards Deming --one of Isikawa's colleagues -- adopted this
diagram and used it to teach Total Quality Control in Japan as
early as World War II. Both Ishikawa and Deming use this
diagram as one the first tools in the quality management process.
 Ishikawa also showed the importance of the seven quality tools:

- control chart
- run chart
- histogram
- scatter diagram
- Pareto chart
- and flowchart.

 Additionally, Ishikawa explored the concept of quality circles-- a

Japanese philosophy which he drew from obscurity into world
wide acceptance.
 Ishikawa believed in the importance of support and leadership
from top level management. He continually urged top level
executives to take quality control courses, knowing that without
the support of the management, these programs would ultimately
fail.
 He stressed that it would take firm commitment from the entire
hierarchy of employees to reach the company's potential for
success. Another area of quality improvement that Ishikawa
emphasized is quality throughout a product's life cycle -- not just
during production.
 Although he believed strongly in creating standards, he felt that
standards were like continuous quality improvement programs --
they too should be constantly evaluated and changed.
 Standards are not the ultimate source of decision making;
customer satisfaction is. He wanted managers to consistently
meet consumer needs; from these needs, all other decisions
40 | P a g e
 should stem. Besides his own developments, Ishikawa drew and
expounded on principles from other quality gurus, including those
of one man in particular: W. Edwards Deming, creator of the Plan-
Do-Check-Act model. Ishikawa expanded Deming's four steps into
the following six:

 Determine goals and targets.

 Determine methods of reaching goals.
 Engage in education and training.
 Implement work.
 Check the effects of implementation.
 Take appropriate action.

QUALITY CULTURE

 Culture is a simple way of saying how an organization expresses

itself internally and externally. It is driven by values, whether by
purpose or default.

 It is driven by leadership and determines how the organization

responds to all things, both good and bad.

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  As a matter of fact, there isn’t a part of an organization that
isn’t influenced or affected by the type of culture that has
either been developed or allowed to exist.

 No organization is without culture. It will develop one way or

another and it is indicative of the lowest accepted common
denominator. How employees interact with leadership and one
another is driven by culture.

 Response to conflict is as well. Customer care, no matter how

much training you try to do to the contrary, will always reflect
the prevalent culture. There may a few exceptions, but the
overall feel will be a raging testimony of your culture.

 It is the tangible representation of interactions among those

affiliated with your organization in any capacity.

 Culture must be demonstrated by the actions of those in

leadership and not relegated to a few finely framed posters
strategically positioned above work spaces.

 It must be more than a few paragraphs in the employee handbook

that is briefly mentioned during the on boarding process, never to
again see the light of day. The people in your organization will only
take your culture as seriously as you do.

Here are 7 essential elements, as an alliteration of the word Culture,

to creating a solid culture that can be both purposeful and positive:

Consistent – There aren’t too many things that will destroy the efforts
to create a quality culture than to appear to have double standards.
This only underscores the absolute necessity to build your culture on
the organizational values. They serve as an anchor and reference point
for those difficult circumstances. People won’t always like it, but they

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will appreciate knowing where things stand and that it isn’t some
ambiguous idea built in the moment.

Useful – It’s amazing how many organizations create cultural

boundaries and definitions as a means to control and manipulate people.
Your culture must be of use relative to your mission and vision. If not,
it will be received for what it is…manipulation and micro-management
under the innocuous banner of “culture”. People know that’s a farce and
you will develop a minimalist attitude towards productivity. The moment
you begin to micro-manage people, they will force you to continue to do
so in order to accomplish anything.

Learning – People want to know you care. One of the best ways to show
you care is to develop them professionally. Make sure you culture not
only supports, but champions learning and development. A learning
environment leaves room for mistakes and errors without the fear of
being chastised unnecessarily. Honest mistakes happen and a learning
environment reduces the stress of making them. Less stress means
more productivity and less health issues…which usually translates into
less absenteeism.

Truthful – No matter what you’ve experienced in the past, people want

and can handle the truth. It’s so offensive and insulting to be treated
with kiddie gloves under the assumption you’re just not educated
enough, mature enough, whatever enough to navigate hearing the truth.
You may be surprised how many innovative solutions can be developed
when the truth is consistently shared throughout the organization.

Utilitarian – No matter what is in place, there will always be those who

choose to operate on the fringes. Don’t worry about it. Make sure that
the overall focus of your values and culture support the largest
majority. There may be the occasional opportunity for you to make
special concessions, so don’t rule it out entirely. Just don’t let the
habitual naysayers contort and bastardize how your culture is
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developed. Culture acts as a governance of a community based on
commonly accepted behaviors. There will always be those who feel they
should be able to operate outside these boundaries. Deal with it
accordingly.

Respectful – Conflict WILL occur. There is no way to avoid

differences, nor should you try. Everything can be dealt with via the
lens of respect. Respect doesn’t automatically mean compromise or
common ground has to rule the day. A respectful dialog can take place
for the sake of understanding the position of another. It is in the
understanding of another view that allows us to respect another’s
position without abandoning our own. It allows for a discussion on how
to align things with the values instead of a biased position of a
particular person or group.

Empowerment – Let people explore their creativity. Give them the

freedom to be as autonomous as possible. Sure there are certain
industries that are more heavily regulated than others, but as long as
they stay within the necessary guidelines in order to comply legally let
them have at it. Empowered people make positive changes. Sure you will
have a few duds, but that’s the price of progress. Don’t let the duds
diminish the opportunity to experience the successes!

COST OF QUALITY

It’s a term that's widely used – and widely misunderstood.

The "cost of quality" isn't the price of creating a quality product or

service. It's the cost of NOT creating a quality product or service.

Every time work is redone, the cost of quality increases. Obvious

examples include:

 The reworking of a manufactured item.

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  The retesting of an assembly.
 The rebuilding of a tool.
 The correction of a bank statement.
 The reworking of a service, such as the reprocessing of a loan
operation or the replacement of a food order in a restaurant.

In short, any cost that would not have been expended if quality were
perfect contributes to the cost of quality.

Total Quality Costs

Quality costs are the total of the cost incurred by:

 Investing in the prevention of nonconformance to requirements.

 Appraising a product or service for conformance to requirements.
 Failing to meet requirements.

Quality Costs

Prevention Costs

The costs of all activities specifically designed to prevent poor quality

in products or services.

Examples are the costs of:

 New product review

 Quality planning
 Supplier capability surveys
 Process capability evaluations
 Quality improvement team meetings
 Quality improvement projects
 Quality education and training

Appraisal Costs
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The costs associated with measuring, evaluating or auditing products or
services to assure conformance to quality standards and performance
requirements.

These include the costs of:

 Incoming and source inspection/test of purchased material

 In-process and final inspection/test
 Product, process or service audits
 Calibration of measuring and test equipment
 Associated supplies and materials

Failure Costs

The costs resulting from products or services not conforming to

requirements or customer/user needs. Failure costs are divided into
internal and external failure categories.

Internal Failure Costs

Failure costs occurring prior to delivery or shipment of the product, or

the furnishing of a service, to the customer.

Examples are the costs of:

 Scrap
 Rework
 Re-inspection
 Re-testing
 Material review
 Downgrading

External Failure Costs

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Failure costs occurring after delivery or shipment of the product —
and during or after furnishing of a service — to the customer.

Examples are the costs of:

 Processing customer complaints

 Customer returns
 Warranty claims
 Product recalls

Total Quality Costs:

The sum of the above costs. This represents the difference between
the actual cost of a product or service and what the reduced cost
would be if there were no possibility of substandard service, failure of
products or defects in their manufacture.

QUALITY STANDARDS
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created
the Quality Management System (QMS)  standards in 1987. They were
the ISO 9000:1987 series of standards comprising ISO 9001:1987,
ISO 9002:1987 and ISO 9003:1987; which were applicable in
different types of industries, based on the type of activity or process:
designing, production or service delivery.
The standards are reviewed every few years by the International
Organization for Standardization. The version in 1994 was called the
ISO 9000:1994 series; consisting of the ISO 9001:1994, 9002:1994
and 9003:1994 versions.
The last major revision was in the year 2008 and the series was
called ISO 9000:2000 series. The ISO 9002 and 9003 standards were
integrated into one single certifiable standard: ISO 9001:2000. After

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December 2003, organizations holding ISO 9002 or 9003 standards
had to complete a transition to the new standard.
ISO released a minor revision, ISO 9001:2008 on 14 October 2008. It
contains no new requirements. Many of the changes were to improve
consistency in grammar, facilitating translation of the standard into
other languages for use by over 950,000 certified organization in the
175 countries (as at Dec 2007) that use the standard.
The ISO 9004:2009 document gives guidelines for performance
improvement over and above the basic standard (ISO 9001:2000). This
standard provides a measurement framework for improved quality
management, similar to and based upon the measurement framework
for process assessment.
The Quality Management System standards created by ISO are meant
to certify the processes and the system of an organization, not the
product or service itself. ISO 9000 standards do not certify the
quality of the product or service.
In 2005 the International Organization for Standardization released a
standard, ISO 22000, meant for the food industry. This standard
covers the values and principles of ISO 9000 and
the HACCP standards. It gives one single integrated standard for the
food industry and is expected to become more popular in the coming
years in such industry.
ISO has also released standards for other industries. For example
Technical Standard TS 16949 defines requirements in addition to
those in ISO 9001:2008 specifically for the automotive industry.
ISO has a number of standards that support quality management. One
group describes processes (including ISO/IEC 12207 & ISO/IEC
15288) and another describes process assessment and improvement
ISO 15504.

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The Software Engineering Institute has its own process assessment
and improvement methods, called CMMi (Capability Maturity Model —
integrated) and IDEAL respectively.

ISO CERTIFICATION
Certification...

Certification can be a useful tool to add credibility, by demonstrating

that your product or service meets the expectations of your
customers. For some industries, certification is a legal or contractual
requirement.

ISO does not perform certification.

At ISO, we develop International Standards, such as ISO
9001 and ISO 14001, but we are not involved in their certification, and
do not issue certificates. This is performed by external certification
bodies, thus a company or organization cannot be certified by ISO.
However ISO's Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) has
produced a number of standards related to the certification process,
which are used by certification bodies.
Choosing a certification body
When choosing a certification body, you should:

 Evaluate several certification bodies.

 Check if the certification body uses the relevant CASCO
standard
 Check if it is accredited. Accreditation is not compulsory,
and non-accreditation does not necessarily mean it is not
reputable, but it does provide independent confirmation of
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 competence. To find an accredited certification body,
contact the national accreditation body in your country or
visit theInternational Accreditation Forum.
Displaying your certificate
Remember, when labelling a product or system as certified to an ISO
standard:

Don't say: "ISO certified" or "ISO certification"

DO say: "ISO 9001:2008 certified" or "ISO 9001:2008 certification"
(for example).

BUSINESS PROCESS RE – ENGINEERING

Business process can be defined as "a set of logically related tasks
performed to achieve a defined business outcome." It is "a
structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a
specified output for a particular customer or market." Improving
business processes is important for businesses to stay ahead of
competition in today's marketplace. Over the last 10 to 15 years,
companies have been forced to improve their business processes
because customers are demanding better products and services.
Many companies begin business process improvement with a
continuous improvement model. The BPR methodology comprises of
developing the business vision and process objectives, identifying
the processes to be redesigned, understanding and measuring the
existing processes, identifying IT levers and designing and building
a prototype of the new process. In this context it can be mentioned
that, some of the biggest obstacles faced by reengineering are lack
of sustained management commitment and leadership, unrealistic
scope and expectations, and resistance to change.

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 Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and Total Quality
Management (TQM)
Total Quality Management and BPR share a cross-functional
relationship. Quality specialists tend to focus on incremental
change and gradual improvement of processes, while proponents of
reengineering often seek radical redesign and drastic improvement
of processes. Quality management, often referred to as TQM or
continuous improvement, means programs and initiatives, which
emphasize incremental improvement in work processes, and outputs
over an open-ended period of time. In contrast, reengineering, also
known as business process redesign or process innovation, refers to
prudent initiatives intended to achieve radically redesigned and
improved work processes in a specific time frame. In contrast to
continuous improvement, BPR relies on a different school of
thought. The extreme difference between continuous process
improvement and business process reengineering lies in where you
start from and also the magnitude and rate of resulting changes. In
course of time, many derivatives of radical, breakthrough
improvement and continuous improvement have emerged to address
the difficulties of implementing major changes in corporations.
Leadership is really important for effective BPR deployment, and
successful leaders use leadership styles to suit the particular
situation and perform their tasks, giving due importance to both
people and work. Business process is essentially value engineering
applied to the system to bring forth, and sustain the product with
an emphasis on information flow. By mapping the functions of the
business process, low value functions can be identified and
eliminated, thus reducing cost. Alternatively, a new and less costly
process, which implements the function of the current process can
be developed to replace the present one.

The role of executive leadership or top management in business

process reengineering cannot be disregarded. They should provide
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 the needed resources to the team, demonstrate their active
support for the project, set the stage for reengineering by
determining core business processes, and by defining the project
scope and objectives. The management should also take care to
provide adequate funding, set new standards as well as encourage
others to be open to innovative approaches. Many reengineering
projects fail to be completed or do not achieve bottom-line
business results. For this reason alone, business process
reengineering 'success factors' has become an important area of
study. Success factors are a collection of lessons learnt from
previous projects. It is useful to think of your team structure in 3
levels: stakeholders, core team, and extended team.

The stakeholders are key business leaders ultimately accountable

for the success of the project. Their role is to provide high-level
guidance to the team, help remove barriers, and provide funding.
The core team is the group responsible for the design and
implementation of the solution. Your extended team includes other
people in the organization contributing to the project on an as-
needed basis. These extended-team members include subject-
matter experts. A well-rounded team includes a mix of people and
skills. Such a team may include individuals who thoroughly
understand the current process, who actively use the process and
also work closely with customers, technical experts, and
consultants, if necessary. But the main criterion is that the entire
team should work together for the project to succeed.

The Role of Consultants in BPR projects

New reengineering teams typically employ the assistance of a
consultant for their project. Consultants can play a valuable role in
BPR projects. They are objective and immune to internal politics.
Having followed the processes before, they provide valuable
information and best practices from a wide range of experience.

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 Consultants can also serve as good communication bridge between
the team and management, write project documentation, lead the
project and facilitate meetings, make presentations to stakeholders
and associates, and last but not the least, contribute subject-
matter expertise in your organization's work processes.

BPR and Information Technology

Business Process Re-engineering has rapidly developed towards a
new management philosophy. The inherent business process
orientation changes the perspective of international management
from a structural to that of a process view. The re-engineering of
business processes is only one aspect of the management of
business processes. In particular, the re-engineering of
international business processes needs special attention, because
the multi-faceted structure of multinational corporations increases
the complexity of business processes, there by influencing the
options for redesign. Business Process Re-engineering has rapidly
developed towards a new management philosophy based upon
predecessors like Total Quality Management, Overhead Value
Analysis, Kanban or Just-In-Time-Management. Business processes
can be re-engineered by redesigning the steps, by changing the
logical and temporal sequence of the steps, or by changing any
other characteristics of the process. The role of IT is discussed in
contradictory way. Advocates of information systems favor the
view that the new technology is an enabler of process re-
engineering. IT has to be monitored constantly to determine
whether it can generate new process designs or contribute to the
performance of a business process. The breakthrough of BPR is
closely connected with IT, which opens new dimensions of process
reorganization. Moreover, those who take the initiative in process
improvement/redesign, influence the role of IT. If the data
processing department initiates the process change, then IT will
have more of a generator function for new process redesigns. If on
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 the other hand, the top management sets off the change process,
then the process will be first restructured and later optimized
through IT.

BENCHMARKING IN TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

BENCHMARKING
Introduction
 The term ‘benchmark’ originally meant a surveyor’s mark out in a
rock used as a point of reference.
 It has come to mean anything taken as a point of reference or
comparison. In general sense, therefore, benchmarking mean
setting standards which acts as a point of reference.
 In business, benchmarking has come to mean variety of things. It
has assumed a very special significance in today’s competitive
world.
 It is now recognized as an effective approach towards
improvement of productivity, quality and other dimensions of
performances that are determinants of competitiveness.
Benchmarking is one of the many techniques that one can employ
to gather management information.

Origin of Benchmarking
 In its general sense, benchmarking has been with us since
business has been in operations. From earlier times, traders have
sought to compete by offering better, cheaper and wide range of

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 products. In order to do this they used to compare with standard
norms.
 After the advent of Industrial revolution, the business processes
have become more complex. For measuring the performance of
business processes, a whole range of scientifically based methods
like operations research, work-study, organization and methods,
statistical quality control etc. were evolved. Even though those
methods have sought to measure and promote improvement of
performance, they often lacked any external reference or
benchmark, thereby making only constant small improvements.
 These methods could not give a quantum leap in the performance
of business processes. Since benchmarking is based on reference
(mainly external), the company could recognize the competition
which in turn forces the organization to learn from the best
processes and make a quantum leap in their performance to gain
competitive advantage.
Role of Benchmarking
 The role of benchmarking is to provide management with
knowledge of what constitutes ‘best performance’ or ‘superior
performance’ in a particular field.
 Best performance relates to output, efficiency, quality and any
other measurement relevant to performing the job. Benchmarking
not only investigates what best practice means in terms of
performance yardsticks but also examine how best practices is
achieved.
 Benchmarking is, therefore, not only the practice of obtaining
measurements but also involves understanding the conditions,
resources and competence necessary to deliver top performance.
 No individual, team, or operating unit-no matter how creative or
prolific can possibly parent all innovation. No single department or
company can corner the market on all good ideas. In view of this
reality recognizing human limitations, it makes eminently good
sense to consider the experience of others. Those who always go
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 it alone are doomed to perennially reinvent the wheel, for they do
not learn and benefit from others progress.
 By systematically studying the best practices and by innovative
adaptations an organization can accelerate the progresses of
improvement.
Benchmarking and Total Quality Management
 Total Quality Management is a long-term commitment to
satisfying customer requirements in every aspect of business
operations. It is a philosophy, which has been adopted by many
organizations who wish to enhance customer satisfaction and
thereby increase market share.
 The basic principle is that individuals are responsible for
improving the service they provide to their customers, be it
external customers (outside the organizations) or internal
customers (inside the organization).
 Companies who adopt a TQM approach make a commitment to
continuous improvement. Often a team approach is adopted under
the TQM banner to identify areas of improvement generate and
implement solutions.
 Increasingly, benchmarking is being adopted by organizations that
are striving for continuous improvement because it offers an
external perspective in the quest for service quality. That’s why
Benchmarking programmes often take place as part of total
quality management.

Benchmarking and Business Process Re-Engineering

 Benchmarking is a tool in the armory of Business Process Re-
engineering. Process Benchmarking exposes organizations to
state-of-the-art practices, thereby acting as a catalyst for
improvements in performance through emulation of best
practices.
 Effective benchmarking cannot take place unless the
organizations’ existing process is well understood.
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  Benchmarking and process improvement are therefore
fundamentally linked. Re-engineering is “radical redesign of
business processes” whereas benchmarking is “finding and
implementing best practices”. Through Benchmarking best
practices can be unearthed and when these practices form basis
for the new design of the process then it is called Re-engineering.
Thus Benchmarking is essential to Re-engineering but still a
necessary stand-alone tool.
 The radical re-design of business process is useful for continuous
improvement whether it radically affects business processes or
not.
Benefits of Benchmarking
♦ Develop realistic stretch goals and strategic targets
♦ Establishes realistic, actionable objectives for implementation
♦ Provides a sense of urgency for improvement
♦ Encourages striving for excellence, breakthrough thinking and
innovation
♦ Creates a better understanding of competitors and the dynamics of
the industry
♦ Emphasises sensitivity to changing customer needs.
Types Of Benchmarking:
1. Result Benchmarking
2. Product Benchmarking
3. Process Benchmarking
4. Strategic Benchmarking

Result Benchmarking (Interfirm Comparison)

Definition
Result Benchmarking is used for gathering quantitative data, either
physical or financial, to compare the performance of different
organisations in the same industry.
Why Result Benchmarking
Performance comparison with other participating firms
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Identification of strengths and weaknesses
Improved ability for target setting and monitoring
Better basis for strategic and operational decisions
Broadened knowledge about industry profile
Basics of Result Benchmarking
Selection of performance criteria in key result areas
Collection of data with questionnaire
Data processing and analysis
Presentation of general and individual reports
Development of result benchmarks for selected areas
Assistance for remedial measures

REFERENCES

1.  Rose, Kenneth H. (July 2005). Project Quality Management:

Why, What and How. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: J. Ross Publishing.
p. 41. ISBN 1-932159-48-7.
2. Paul H. Selden (December 1998). "Sales Process Engineering: An
Emerging Quality Application". Quality Progress: 59–63.
3.  Quality Management Strategy, May 2010.
4. Cianfrani, Charles A.; West, John E. (2009). Cracking the Case of
ISO 9001:2008 for Service: A Simple Guide to Implementing
Quality Management to Service Organizations (2nd ed.).
Milwaukee: American Society for Quality. pp. 5–€“7. ISBN 978-
0-87389-762-4.
5.  Westcott, Russell T. (2003). Stepping Up To ISO 9004: 2000  :
A Practical Guide For Creating A World-class Organization . Paton
Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-9713231-7-8.
6.  "Taking the First Step with PDCA". 2 February 2009. Retrieved
17 March 2011.
7.  "Object Oriented Quality Management, a model for quality
management.". Statistics Netherlands, The Hague. 2009-04-29.
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 8.  http://ssrn.com/abstract=1488690 "Thareja"
9.  Thareja P(2008), "Total Quality Organization Thru’ People, Each
one is Capable", FOUNDRY, Vol. XX, No. 4, July/Aug 2008
10.  "ISO 9001 Quality Management System QMS
Certification". Indian Register Quality Systems. Retrieved 13
March 2014.
11.  Littlefield, Matthew; Roberts, Michael (June 2012). "Enterprise
Quality Management Software Best Practices Guide". LNS
Research Quality Management Systems: 10.

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