Tqm

SRIBATSA

With the increased competition at the global level, more & more organizations are becoming conscious & have started focusing on various aspects , such as :

BETTER QUALITY.ZERO DEFECT.NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT.ELIMINATION OF WASTAGE.CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT , ETC.

A very high emphasis on quality both for products & services has generated a new concept known as: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT. This system is a primary example of a LEAN SYSTEM , i.e, a operation system which includes a total systems prospective, such as: operations strategies, processes, technology, quality, capacity, layout, inventory & resource planning etc.

TQM OWES ITS ORIGIN TO TWO AMERICANS: W.EDWARDS DEMING & J.M.JURAN WHO LAUNCHED IT FIRST IN JAPAN, WHICH WAS ON THE PROCESS OF REBUILDING ITS ECONOMY DEVASTATED BY WORLD WAR- IIND.

International organization for standardization (ISO) defines TQM as follows:

“TQM is a management approach for an organization centered on quality based on the participation of all its members & aiming at long term success through customer satisfaction, & benefits to all members of the organization & to society.”

TQM justifies its name as it is all about giving total customer satisfaction by maintaining all dimensions of quality.

TQM emphasizes on total customer satisfaction, total function, total range of products & services offered by an organization, satisfaction of internal & external customers & addressing the total organizational issue of retaining customers & improving profits as well as generating new business for the future.Thus, TQM is not just about quality in the traditional sense, it is about organizational excellence. It is like Midas touch, where every thing that is touched turns to gold. TQM is about turning all products, all services, all processes & all people in to gold.

The TQM is based on 4 fold principles & eight core concepts:

4 FOLD PRINCIPLES:

8 CORE CONCEPTS:CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:Companies should understand the importance of external

customer as they are the main source of income. Companies should identify their changing needs time to time & find out the satisfying factors. Companies should enhance the satisfying factors & reduce the factors those cause grief.

INTERNAL CUSTOMERS ARE REAL:Internal customers are as important as external customers

as they continuously influence the quality maintenance. They also influence speed, efficiency, perfectness & cost.

ALL WORK IS A BUSINESS PROCESS:Business process is a combination of methods, materials,

manpower & machines that taken together to produce a product or service.

MEASUREMENT:Measurement of present level of quality is more important in order to determine the future quality level.TEAM WORK:People work together in terms to accomplish the most difficult goals. People work in teams to maintain & improve the quality.PEOPLE MAKE QUALITY:Mostly organizational efforts influence the quality. Organizational efforts influence the individuals & teams in the organization to commit to the quality.

Continued…….

Continued…….CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT CYCLE:Identifying the present level of quality standards, establishing the customer needs, establishing the ways & means to produce the product or service to meet the customer needs, measuring the success & improving the quality continuously are the parts of the continuous improvement cycle.PREVENTION:Preventing the failures to occur is the central system of TQM. Foreseeing the possible failures & taking adverse steps to prevent them from occur is important. This process helps for the creation of the culture for continuous improvement.

Product development in a TQM environment :

Product development in a TQM environment is very different to product development in a non-TQM environment. Without a TQM approach, product development is usually carried on in a conflict atmosphere where each department acts independently. Short-term results drive behavior so scrap, changes, work-around, waste, and rework are normal practice. Management focuses on supervising individuals, and fire-fighting is necessary and rewarded.

Product development in a TQM environment is customer-driven and focused on quality. Teams are process-oriented, and interact with their internal customers to deliver the required results. Management's focus is on controlling the overall process, and rewarding teamwork.

A TQM CULTURE :

It's not easy to introduce TQM. An open, cooperative culture has to be created by management. Employees have to be made to feel that they are responsible for customer satisfaction. They are not going to feel this if they are excluded from the development of visions, strategies, and plans. It's important they participate in these activities. They are unlikely to behave in a responsible way if they see management behaving irresponsibly - saying one thing and doing the opposite.

A TQM CULTURE :

It's not easy to introduce TQM. An open, cooperative culture has to be created by management. Employees have to be made to feel that they are responsible for customer satisfaction. They are not going to feel this if they are excluded from the development of visions, strategies, and plans. It's important they participate in these activities. They are unlikely to behave in a responsible way if they see management behaving irresponsibly - saying one thing and doing the opposite.

There are various factors that contribute to the success of quality management practices but human factor is very important in the implementation of any process or principle. If it is missing then there will be reduction in efficiency in implementation. At last it can be concluded that…

QUALITY

Quality is a Journey, not a destination ..