Module 2 Understanding Quality

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Know the evolution of quality
2. Define quality and understand its importance
3. Discuss how to manage processes for a quality chain in the organization
4. Understand and appreciate ISO

The Evolution of Quality

Introduction
Before the concepts and ideas of TQM were formalised, much work had taken place over the centuries to
reach this stage. This section charts the evolution, from inspection through to the present-day concepts of
total quality.
From inspection to total quality
During the early days of manufacturing, an operative’s work was inspected and a decision made whether
to accept or reject it. As businesses became larger, so too did this role, and full-time inspection jobs were
created.
Accompanying the creation of inspection functions, other problems arose:
• More technical problems occurred, requiring specialised skills, often not possessed by production
workers
• The inspectors lacked training
• Inspectors were ordered to accept defective goods, to increase output
• Skilled workers were promoted into other roles, leaving less skilled workers to perform the operational
jobs, such as manufacturing
These changes led to the birth of the separate inspection department with a “chief inspector”, reporting to
either the person in charge of manufacturing or the works manager. With the creation of this new
department, there came new services and issues, e.g., standards, training, recording of data and the
accuracy of measuring equipment. It became clear that the responsibilities of the “chief inspector” were
more than just product acceptance, and a need to address defect prevention emerged.
Hence the quality control department evolved, in charge of which was a “quality control manager”, with
responsibility for the inspection services and quality control engineering.
In the 1920’s statistical theory began to be applied effectively to quality control, and in 1924 Shewhart
made the first sketch of a modern control chart. His work was later developed by Deming and the early
work of Shewhart, Deming, Dodge and Romig constitutes much of what today comprises the theory of
statistical process control (SPC). However, there was little use of these techniques in manufacturing
companies until the late 1940’s.

RUTHCELL TAN 15
 At that time, Japan’s industrial system was virtually destroyed, and it had a reputation for cheap imitation
products and an illiterate workforce. The Japanese recognised these problems and set about solving them
with the help of some notable quality gurus – Juran, Deming and Feigenbaum.
In the early 1950’s, quality management practices developed rapidly in Japanese plants, and become a
major theme in Japanese management philosophy, such that, by 1960, quality control and management
had become a national preoccupation. By the late 1960’s/early 1970’s Japan’s imports into the USA and
Europe increased significantly, due to its cheaper, higher quality products, compared to the Western
counterparts.
In 1969 the first international conference on quality control, sponsored by Japan, America and Europe,
was held in Tokyo. In a paper given by Feigenbaum, the term “total quality” was used for the first time,
and referred to wider issues such as planning, organisation and management responsibility. Ishikawa gave
a paper explaining how “total quality control” in Japan was different, it meaning “company wide quality
control”, and describing how all employees, from top management to the workers, must study and
participate in quality control. Company wide quality management was common in Japanese companies by
the late 1970’s.
The quality revolution in the West was slow to follow, and did not begin until the early 1980’s, when
companies introduced their own quality programmes and initiatives to counter the Japanese success. Total
quality management (TQM) became the centre of these drives in most cases.
In a Department of Trade & Industry publication in 1982 it was stated that Britain’s world trade share was
declining and this was having a dramatic effect on the standard of living in the country. There was intense
global competition and any country’s economic performance and reputation for quality was made up of
the reputations and performances of its individual companies and products/services.
The British Standard (BS) 5750 for quality systems had been published in 1979, and in 1983 the National
Quality Campaign was launched, using BS5750 as its main theme. The aim was to bring to the attention
of industry the importance of quality for competitiveness and survival in the world market place.
Since then the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) 9000 has become the internationally
recognised standard for quality management systems. It comprises a number of standards that specify the
requirements for the documentation, implementation and maintenance of a quality system.
TQM is now part of a much wider concept that addresses overall organisational performance and
recognises the importance of processes. There is also extensive research evidence that demonstrates the
benefits from the approach.
As we move into the 21st century, TQM has developed in many countries into holistic frameworks, aimed
at helping organisations achieve excellent performance, particularly in customer and business results. In
Europe, a widely adopted framework is the so-called “Business Excellence” or “Excellence” Model,
promoted by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), and in the UK by the British
Quality Foundation (BQF).”

Definition of TQM
Total Quality Management is defined as a customer-oriented process and aims for continuous
improvement of business operations. It ensures that all allied works (particularly work of employees) are
toward the common goals of improving product quality or service quality, as well as enhancing the

RUTHCELL TAN 16
production process or process of rendering of services. However, the emphasis is put on fact-based
decision making, with the use of performance metrics to monitor progress.

The key principles of Total Quality Management

Commitment from the management:

 Plan (drive, direct)

 Do (deploy, support, and participate)
 Check (review)
 Act (recognize, communicate, revise)

Employee Empowerment

 Training
 Excellence team
 Measurement and recognition
 Suggestion scheme

Continuous Improvement

 Systematic measurement
 Excellence teams
 Cross-functional process management
 Attain, maintain, improve standards

Customer Focus

 Partnership with Suppliers

 Service relationship with internal customers
 Customer-driven standards
 Never compromise quality

Process Oriented

 Thinking about the process

 Handling of the process
 Processes which are result oriented

Decision Making Based on Facts Only and Not on Opinions

 Integrated, strategic and systematic approach to ensure the entire organisation is aligned
 Communication must be open and at all levels of the organisation.

Dimensions of Quality

The definition of quality is often a hotly debated topic. While it may seem intuitive, when we get right
down to it, “quality” is a difficult concept to define with any precision.

RUTHCELL TAN 17
The most fundamental definition of a quality product is one that meets the expectations of the customer.
However, even this definition is too high level to be considered adequate.
In order to develop a more complete definition of quality, we must consider some of the key dimensions
of a quality product or service.

Dimension 1: Performance
Does the product or service do what it is supposed to do, within its defined tolerances?
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 profitability or reputation of the end-user. As such, many
contracts or specifications include damages related to inadequate performance.

Dimension 2: Features
Does the product or services possess all of the features specified, or required for its intended purpose?
While this dimension may seem obvious, performance specifications rarely define the features required in
a product. Thus, it’s important that suppliers designing product or services from performance
specifications are familiar with its intended uses, and maintain close relationships with the end-users.

Dimension 3: Reliability
Will the product consistently perform within specifications?
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.

Dimension 4: Conformance
Does the product or service conform to the specification?
If it’s developed based on a performance specification, does it perform as specified? If it’s developed
based on a design specification, does it possess all of the features defined?

Dimension 5: Durability
How long will the product perform or last, and under what conditions?
Durability is closely related to warranty. Requirements for product durability are often included within
procurement contracts and specifications.
For instance, fighter aircraft procured to operate from aircraft carriers include design criteria intended to
improve their durability in the demanding naval environment.

Dimension 6: Serviceability
Is the product relatively easy to maintain and repair?

RUTHCELL TAN 18
As end users become more focused on Total Cost of Ownership than simple procurement costs,
serviceability (as well as reliability) is becoming an increasingly important dimension of quality and
criteria for product selection.

Dimension 7: Aesthetics
The way a product looks is important to end-users. 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.

Dimension 8: Perception
Perception is reality. The product or service may possess adequate or even superior dimensions of quality,
but still fall victim to negative customer or public perceptions.
As an example, a high-quality product may get the reputation for being low quality based on poor service
by installation or field technicians. If the product is not installed or maintained properly, and fails as a
result, the failure is often associated with the product’s quality rather than the quality of the service it
receives.

Three popular TQM processes:

Now that you know what total quality management is, it’s time to dive deeper into three new processes
that build on its original principles: ISO 9000, Lean manufacturing, and Six Sigma.

1. ISO 9000: Focuses on people

ISO 9000—first published in 1987 by the International Organization for Standardization—encompasses

an entire family of quality management systems standards. ISO 9000 is based on seven quality
management principles:

1. Customer focus. Companies should focus first and foremost on meeting customer expectations.
2. Leadership. Good leaders are necessary to maintain the right internal environment and drive
companies toward their objectives.
3. Engagement of people. Employees must be empowered to take full advantage of their abilities.
4. Process-centric. All activities and resources should be managed as a system-wide process.
5. Improvement. Companies must continuously and actively seek improvement.
6. Evidence-based decision-making. Decisions should be based on analyzed data.
7. Relationship management. Companies should maintain healthy and mutually beneficial
relationships with suppliers, contractors, and service providers.

 Key difference from TQM:  While ISO 9000 shares many of TQM’s principles, it focuses more on
leadership in an organization and people management.
 Use this process when:  you believe your operation needs better leadership.

RUTHCELL TAN 19
2. Lean manufacturing: Focuses on waste

Lean manufacturing is a systematic method of eliminating waste and inefficiency within manufacturing
while continuing to produce products at the same (or even higher) level.

Developed in Japan by automobile manufacturer Toyota, it focuses on overburden (“Muri”) and

unevenness in work loads (“Mura”). Lean manufacturing seeks to identify things that add value, as well
as those that don’t, so the latter can be eliminated.

Lean manufacturing focuses on seven types of waste:

1. Transport: Moving around things that aren’t necessary for production.

2. Inventory: Anything that isn’t involved in production.
3. Motion: People or equipment moving more than is required for production.
4. Waiting: Inactivity before the next production step.
5. Overproduction: Producing more than is required.
6. Overprocessing: Using more activity than is necessary to produce the end product.
7. Defects: Expending too much effort fixing problems with the finished product.

 Key difference from TQM:  Lean manufacturing focuses more on identifying inefficiencies in the
manufacturing process, rather than promoting an organization-wide focus on quality management.
 Use this process when:  you believe that production inefficiencies are decreasing your revenue.

3. Six Sigma: Focuses on process

Six Sigma, developed in the 1980s at Motorola, is a set of techniques for improving on processes in an
organization. This method aims to improve product quality by identifying and eliminating variability that
can cause defects.

The name “Six Sigma” is derived from the sigma rating system for the proportion of defects to total
products created, with six sigma being the very best possible.

Six Sigma projects follow two methodologies, each with five phases: DMAIC and DMADV.

DMAIC:

1. Define the system. Figure out what the customer wants.

2. Measure key aspects of the current process. Collect the data.
3. Analyze the data. Determine the cause of a defect.
4. Improve the current process. Create a new future state process.
5. Control the future state process. Put control systems in place and constantly monitor the
process.

DMADV:

1. Define design goals. Figure out what the customer wants.

2. Measure and identify characteristics that are critical to quality. Collect the data.
3. Analyze the data. Figure out how to develop and design alternatives.

RUTHCELL TAN 20
 4. Design an improved alternative. Fix the problem.
5. Verify the design. Implement the production process and then monitor it.

 Key difference from TQM:  Six Sigma focuses more on the manufacturing process, rather than taking a
holistic view of the organization as TQM does.
 Use this process when:  you think your manufacturing process is what needs the most attention and
improvement within your company.
Take action now

If you aren’t using TQM or any of the above processes at your small business, now is the time to get
started.

Follow these three steps to get the ball rolling:

1. Choose which process is best for your organization based on the problem you need to
solve. Are your processes fine but your leadership lacking? Pick ISO 9000. Could your
operations be streamlined and refined to create a better end product? Choose Six Sigma.
2. Set up a meeting with key members of your team and go over the list of principles for
whatever process you picked. Then, begin brainstorming ideas on how to implement the
principles at your business.
3. Look at your list of brainstormed ideas and choose the easiest/simplest one to implement
right away. Track whether it helps by collecting data and comparing it to output before you
began. Once you’ve successfully implemented this first step, gradually introduce additional
changes over time.

RUTHCELL TAN 21
 Activity 2.1

Answer the following:

1. Discuss the key dimensions of quality.

2. Discuss the 3 popular TQM process.

 Take the quiz in google classroom covering module 1 & 2

Module references:

https://cleartax.in/s/total-quality-management#Definition
https://blog.gembaacademy.com/2008/05/28/8-dimensions-of-quality/
https://blog.capterra.com/what-is-total-quality-management/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4Dwaabbi6Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekD4aY4krfM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zrbfsAdEw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90hcYLB32B0

RUTHCELL TAN 22