Quality has been existed for a quite a long time. It is progressed from inspection to its present form.
Based on the pioneering work of Bell Laboratories’ Walter Shewhart, who in 1931 gave a clearer definition of TQM and how to measure and control the quality?
Later in 1900’s Americans developed the concept of statistical quality control and applied it to production processes during the 1920s and 1930s
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After World War II, as the economy expanded quickly, the demand for products was so strong that quality control was less a priority for businesses, and they began to offer warranties to correct defective merchandise.
Japanese borrowed the concept of statistical quality control and gradually expanded the notion of quality to be a broad philosophy of management involving everyone in the organization (Deming and Juran).
Quality then underwent various stages of evolution starting from sampling (Inspection of few random samples) and later quality assurance era was initiated with the pioneering work Juarn and Feingbaum.
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Crosby engineered the concept of zero defects and who strongly believes that perfect quality is both technically possible and economically viable also.
TQM era started in late 1970s and 1980s, as American business “rediscovered” quality in the face of strong Japanese competition. In 1990s, US Police departments started adopting TQM.
The following figure presents the evolution of QMS in a pictorial way.
1. Inspection:
Which aims at the product quality? Generally, it is post-production activity, much importance is given for corrections grading, and salvage of the product. Here, customer satisfaction is least attended.
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(i) Focus on designing and building products for mass consumption.
(ii) Larger volumes will reduce costs and increases profits.
(iii) Push products on the customer (limit choices).
(iv) Quality is maintained by inspecting and detecting bad products.
2. Quality Assurance (QA):
QA provides greater control over the manufacturing processes itself. Here, inspection test results and some SPC (Statistical Process Control) tools and methods are applied as a corrective action.
3. Total Quality Control (TQC):
TQC stresses the importance of preventive action by determining the error source and causes to reduce deviations from the intended design processes.
Quality circles (team of workers) are evolved to look after companywide quality assurance programs.
4. Total Quality Management (TQM):
TQM
Total – Made up of the whole
Quality – degree of excellence a product or service provides Management – Act, art or manner of planning, controlling, directing,
Therefore, TQM is the art of managing the whole to achieve excellence.
TQM is an evolutionary concept and represents current conditions for competitiveness in the business market. It is mainly focuses on continuous improvement, customer orientation and satisfaction, empowered employees through proper training programs.
5. ISO 9000:
ISO 9000 consists of a set of international standards for running a business in an effective manner. These standards require a business to document their plans, specifications, procedures, activities, and such.
ISO 9000 Standards
(i) Define the required elements of an effective quality management system.
(ii) Can be applied to any company.
Before, we discuss QMS further; let us have a look at the following figures which stress the ISO 9000, a stepping stone towards TQM.