GITAM

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT Deemed to be University

From holistic historical review quality revolution

Evolutionary into 4 phases
Inspection
Quality Control
Quality Assurance
Total Quality Management
History of TQM GITAM
Deemed to be University
 GITAM
 History of Quality Evolution Deemed to be University

• B.C. era structures in India and Egypt show evidence of measurement

and inspection. e.g. precisely cut stones for pyramids, forts.
• Quality” of those structures was due to consistent use of well-
developed methods and procedures and precise measurement devices.
Evidence of quality assurance 
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

Before Industrial Revolution, skilled craftsmen served both as manufacturers and inspectors, building
quality into their products through their considerable pride in their workmanship
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

During this time, quality assurance was informal. Efforts were directed to building quality into the
final product
 History of Quality GITAM
Deemed to be University

•Whitney disaster
•In 1798, the US government awarded a two-year contract of supplying
10,000 muskets to Eli Whitney.
•Whitney designed special machine tools and trained workers to make
parts following a fixed design.
•He underestimated the process variation
•It took him more than 10 years to supply the muskets!
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

Industrial Revolution changed this

basic concept to interchangeable
parts .

Likes of Thomas Jefferson and F.

W. Taylor (“scientific
management” fame) emphasized
on production efficiency and
decomposed jobs into smaller
work tasks.

Holistic nature of manufacturing

rejected
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

Industrial Revolution changed this

basic concept to interchangeable
parts .

Likes of Thomas Jefferson and F.

W. Taylor (“scientific
management” fame) emphasized
on production efficiency and
decomposed jobs into smaller
work tasks.

Holistic nature of manufacturing

rejected
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

The Bell story

Started an inspection department in its Western Electric Company in
early 1900s to support Bell operating companies.
Through massive inspection efforts, achieved its reputation in the field
of quality.
Employees of Western Electric were transferred to Bell Telephone
Laboratories in 1920s.
Their goal – develop theories and methods for improving and
maintaining quality.
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

Statistical approaches to
quality control started at
Western Electric with the
separation of inspection
division.

Pioneers like Walter

Shewhart, George Edwards,
W. Edwards Deming and
Joseph M. Juran were all
employees of Western
Electric
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

Statistical approaches to
quality control started at
Western Electric with the
separation of inspection
division.

Pioneers like Walter

Shewhart, George Edwards,
W. Edwards Deming and
Joseph M. Juran were all
employees of Western
Electric
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

During the Second World

War, US military started
using statistical sampling and
imposed stringent standards
on suppliers.
Tie-up between US War Production
Board and Bell Labs.
Importance for statistical quality
control rose and gradually adopted
throughout the manufacturing
industry.
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

• Post-war period saw a massive shortage of consumer goods in US and

the emphasis shifted from quality to quantity. Quality remained the
area for the specialist, and managers started thinking about
productivity, efficiency.
• After World War II, under General MacArthur's Japan rebuilding plan,
Deming and Juran went to Japan.
• Deming and Juran introduced statistical quality control theory to
Japanese industry.
• The difference between approaches to quality in USA and Japan:
Deming and Juran were able to convince the top managers the
importance of quality
 GITAM
Deemed to be University

History of quality
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

Slow moving giant: It took almost 20 years for Japanese industry to overtake
western manufacturer
Widely reported cases
Hewlett-Packard report in 1980 about RAM chips from US and Japanese
manufacturer.
Steel and banking industry realized the growing clout of Japanese manufacturers in
the quality aspect.

Top managers in USA focused on marketing, production quantity and financial

performance,

Japanese managers improved quality to an unprecedented level

Market started preferring Japanese products and American companies suffered
immensely.
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

The book

Western managers did not focus on the “total quality”

approach…. Almost all!

When Ford executives visited Japan in 1982, the

Japanese managers told them that they learned the total
quality principles from “the book

Turned out, the book was My Life and Work written by

Henry Ford and Samuel Crowther in 1926.
Where Ford missed out, Japanese industry capitalized!
 History of Quality Evolution GITAM
Deemed to be University

The western world woke up to the quality revolution – 1986 Challenger exploded
killing all seven astronauts made everyone aware of the importance of quality

Ford Motor Company consulted Dr. Deming to help transform its operations.

By then, 80-year-old Deming was virtually unknown in USA. Whereas Japanese

government had instituted The Deming Prize for Quality in 1950.)

The Xerox story - “Leadership Through Quality.”

1980 NBC telecast of a special program “If Japan can…why can’t we?”