Quality management techniques are commonly called TQM (total quality management). The basic concepts of quality management are:
– Continuous improvement of processes
– Focus on the client
– Prevention of defects
– Universal responsibility
Continuous process improvement takes place in incremental steps. It should not stop under any circumstances. The first step in quality development is for employees to view their work and effort in terms of being part of an ongoing business process.
Continual improvement is a persistent effort. To improve the quality improvement process, select an improvement project with a specific objective. Selecting a project with a specific plan helps improve total quality management. After this, assign a suitable project team to improve it. Define project steps using a flow chart and define project variability and problems. Locate the root causes of problems and recommend and implement improvements. Measure the results and proceed to a final implementation. Then start the new project.
The continuous quality improvement process should be driven by top management, but implemented from the core team member and the rest of the staff. The selection of improvement projects needs a specific approach. You should prioritize problem areas, select serious processes for improvement, and set improvement goals for project team members. This is a top-down procedure. There are several techniques that teams can use to improve their quality. Training should be provided so teams know how to use these quality techniques.
Employees assigned to project improvement teams must know how to use these techniques. Managers and superiors also need to know these techniques, because their job is to facilitate and drive the quality improvement effort.
Everyone is a customer: external and internal customer. The external customer is someone who purchases the product or service. Internal customers are those who make use of what another group lends. This has quite profound implications. It means that each work group has to think about adding value to the people who use its product. This involves figuring out exactly what the user requirements are and making sure the process provides it. The starting point for quality improvement is to determine the customer’s requirements. When the requirements are quite simple, this can be done simply by talking to them.
When dealing with an external customer and the product is extremely complex, determining customer requirements can be time consuming and requires detailed analysis. A useful tool for determining customer requirements and ensuring these needs are incorporated into product design is the Quality Features Implementation Matrix. Accurately determining customer requirements is an important aspect of quality control. Obviously, it is less expensive to rectify a mistake in defining customer requirements before a product is produced than after. Therefore, spending time and effort to correctly determine needs up front is time well spent.
Preventing or preventing defects saves money. The manufacturing process of a product begins with a specification. Drawings are created, parts are manufactured and assembled, and the product is delivered to the customer. The cost of rectifying a fault increases by at least a factor of ten as the product goes through each of these stages. Defect prevention or avoidance is all about catching bugs as early as possible in the game or preventing them from happening.
Universal responsibility refers to the fact that total quality is not just the responsibility of the inspection department, it is the responsibility of everyone in the organization. Quality improvement should be totally ubiquitous. Every working group in the company should be concerned with finding ways to improve the quality process.