TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Total quality management (TQM), also referred to as total quality control (TQC), is a comprehensive approach for improving processes to satisfy the customers’ needs, specifications, and so forth.

One of the fundamental principles of TQM is focusing on the customer. Other principles include exercising continuous improvement of processes, relying on facts and data to make improvements, documenting processes, obtaining employee involvement (especially key people involved with the processes), and maintaining good customer-supplier relationships.

Some of the tools and techniques for doing TQM include:

• benchmarking
• data analysis
• Deming Wheel
• flowcharting
• interviewing
• statistical process control.

TQM offers several advantages. It encourages better relationships with suppliers and promotes a greater understanding of processes and the big picture. It also provides for continuous improvement. Finally, it encourages ownership from the people doing the work.

for Implementing Total Quality Management

• Document processes.
• Encourage participation from the people doing the work.
• Establish standards to measure against.
• Focus on the customer (e.g., defining requirements).
• Institute cultural changes (e.g., education, training).
• Communicate the results.