Quality Management Techniques and Quality Management System

There are various quality management techniques which are applied since the industrial revolution. Here we discuss some of the modern quality management techniques: 

Total quality management

Total Quality Management refers to modern quality management concept which was popularized in the 1980s and 1990s. TQM is an organization-wide effort to establish the systems, techniques, tools, skills and mind-set permanently required to develop a quality assurance system and continuous growth is responsive to emerging market needs.

The Principles of TQM:

• Produce the products or services which meet quality standards the first time.
• Focus on the needs of the customer
• Develop strategically approach for organization-wide improvement
• Focus on continuous improvement
• Ensure Integrity, Ethics, Trust, Training, Teamwork, Proper Leadership, Recognition and Communication

Six Sigma:

American engineer Bill Smith introduced the six sigma while working at Motorola in 1986. Six Sigma refers to a set of management tools and techniques developed to increase the quality of products and services by reducing the probability of error. The six sigma applies a statistical methodology for eliminating defects with a data-driven approach.

Six Sigma strategies seek to improve the quality of the output of a process by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing impact variability in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality management methods, mainly empirical statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization who are experts in these methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has specific value targets, for example: reduce process cycle time, reduce pollution, reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction, and increase profits.

Sigma (Greek symbol “sigma” or "σ”) is a statistical term for determining the deviation from the mean. “Six Sigma” is explained in bell curve used in statistics, where one Sigma symbolizes a single standard deviation from the mean. The 6 Sigma (3 above the mean and 3 below the mean) is classified as the defect rate is “extremely low.”

Lean Manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing a production system consisting of an integrated manufacturing system that uses less of the key resources to improve efficiency by eliminating waste in the manufacturing process and is cantered on preserving value with less work.

Toyota developed the Lean Manufacturing along with “Toyota Production System (TPS)” (TPS is a is an integrated socio-technical system, that involves the management philosophy and practices to organize manufacturing and logistics for the automobile industry). Lean manufacturing is mainly based on two approaches; elimination of waste and process flow improvement.

The Key lean principles are:

• To ensure first-time quality
• To ensure zero defects, troubleshooting and solving problems at their initial source
• To achieve higher quality and productivity
• To minimize waste by removing all non-value added activities and to make the efficient use of important resources.
• To improve continuously through the dynamic process of change, and integrated product/process development and openness and information sharing.
• To maintain relationship with suppliers and primary producers through collective risk-sharing, cost-sharing, and information-sharing arrangements.

Quality management system (QMS)

Quality management system (QMS) is a group of business processes intended for constantly fulfilling customer needs and ensuring their satisfaction, aligned with an organization's purpose and strategic direction. Quality management system (QMS) is expressed as the organizational goals and aspirations, policies, processes, documented information and resources needed to implement and maintain it.

The following are the details of various industries and concerned general management system standards:

• Any Industry:  ISO 9001
• Automotive: IATF 16949
• Medical device: ISO 13485
• Food: ISO 22000
• Services: ISO 20000
• IT: ISO 27001
• Aerospace: AS 9100D

ISO and ISO 9000 Family

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an international organization with a membership of 164 national standards bodies. ISO has released 22825 International Standards which covers almost every industry.  ISO International Standards has a worldwide impact and acceptance. 

ISO 9000 family is related to quality management and addresses different dimensions of quality management and includes some of ISO’s popular standards. The standards give guidance and tools organizations to ensure their products and services constantly fulfill customer’s requirements, and that quality is constantly improved.

Some important quality awards:

Some of the important quality awards are:

• The Deming the prize is an annual award is given by Japan to an organization that has established TQM appropriate for its management philosophy and environment.
• The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is given for performance excellence in the U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and non-profit sectors.
• The CII-EXIM business Excellence award is given for enhancing the Competitiveness of India Inc. by CII and Export-Import Bank of India based on the internationally recognized EFQM Excellence Model.
• The Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award is the national quality award given to Indian organizations that show excellence in their performance by the Bureau of Indian Standards.