 |
To fully understand the TQM movement, we need to look at the philosophies of notable individuals who have |
| shaped the evolution of TQM. Their philosophies and teachings have contributed to our knowledge and | |
| understanding of quality today. Their individual contributions are summarized in Table 1.2. |
|
Was a statistician at Bell Labs during the 1920s and 1930s. Shewhart studied randomness and recognized |
| that variability existed in all manufacturing processes. |
|
He developed quality control charts that are used to identify whether the variability in the process is random or |
| due to an assignable cause, such as poor workers or miscalibrated machinery. |
|
He stressed that eliminating variability improves quality. His work created the foundation for today's statistical |
| process control, and he is often referred to as the "grandfather o quality control." |
|
Is often referred to as the "father of quality control." He was a statistics professor at New York University in |
| the 1940s. After World War II he assisted many Japanese companies in improving quality. |
|
The Japanese regarded him so highly that in 1951 they established the Deming Prize, an annual award given |
| to firms that demonstrate outstanding quality. It was almost 30 years later that American businesses began | |
| adopting Deming's philosophy. |
|
A number of elements of Deming's philosophy depart from traditional notions of quality. The first is the role |
| management should play in a company's quality improvement effort. |
|
Historically, poor quality was blamed on workers-on their lack of productivity, laziness, or carelessness. |
| However, Deming pointed out that only 15 percent of quality problems are actually due to worker error. |
|
The remaining 85 percent are caused by processes and systems, including poor management. Deming said |
| that it is up to management to correct system problems and create an environment that promotes quality and | |
| enables workers to achieve their full potential. |
|
He believed that managers should drive out any fear employees have of identifying quality problems, and that |
| numerical quotas should be eliminated. Proper methods should be taught and detecting and eliminating poor | |
| quality should be everyone's responsibility. |
|
Deming outlined his philosophy on quality in his famous "14 Points." These points are principles that help |
| guide companies in achieving quality improvement. |
|
The principles are founded on the idea that upper management must develop a commitment to quality and |
| provide a system to support this commitment that involves all employees and suppliers. |
|
Deming stressed that quality improvements cannot happen without organizational change that comes from |
| upper management. |
|
After W. Edwards Deming, Dr. Joseph Juran is considered to have had the greatest impact on quality |
| management. Juran originally worked in the quality program at Western Electric. |
|
He became better known in 1951, after the publication of his book Quality Control Handbook. In 1954 he went |
| to Japan to work with manufacturers and teach classes on quality. |
|
Though his philosophy is similar to Deming's, there are some differences. |
|
Whereas Deming stressed the need for an organizational "transformation," Juran believes that |
| implementing quality initiatives should not require such a dramatic change and that quality management | |
| should be embedded in the organization. |
|
One of Juran's significant contributions is his focus on the definition of quality and the cost of quality. Juran is |
| credited with defining quality as fitness for use rather than simply conformance to specifications. |
|
As we have learned in this chapter, defining quality as fitness for use takes into account customer intentions |
| for use of the product, instead of only focusing on technical specifications. |
|
Juran is also credited with developing the concept of cost of quality, which allows us to measure quality in |
| dollar terms rather than on the basis of subjective evaluations. |
|
Juran is well known for originating the idea of the quality trilogy: quality planning, quality control, and quality |
| improvement. |
|
The first part of the trilogy, quality planning, is necessary so that companies identify their customers, product |
| requirements, and overriding business goals. |
|
Processes should be set up to ensure that the quality standards can be met. |
|
The second part of the trilogy, quality control, stresses the regular use of statistical control methods to ensure |
| that quality standards are met and to identify variations from the standards. |
|
The third part of the quality trilogy is quality improvement. |
|
According to Juran, quality improvements should be continuous as well as breakthrough. |
|
Together with Deming, Juran stressed that to implement continuous improvement workers need to have |
| training in proper methods on a regular basis. |
|
Another quality leader is Armand V. Feigenbaum, who introduced the concept of total quality control. In his |
| 1961 book Total Quality Control. |
|
In his 1961 book Total Quality Control, he outlined his quality principles in 40 steps. |
|
Feigenbaum took a total system approach to quality. |
|
He promoted the idea of a work environment where quality developments are integrated throughout the entire |
| organization, where management and employees have a total commitment to improve quality, and people | |
| learn from each other's successes. |
|
This philosophy was adapted by the Japanese and termed "company-wide quality control." |
|
Is another recognized guru in the area of TQM. He worked in the area of quality for many years, first at Martin |
| Marietta and then, in the 1970s, as the vice president for quality at ITT. |
|
He developed the phrase "Do it right the first time" and the notion of zero defects, arguing that no amount of |
| defects should be considered acceptable. |
|
He scorned the idea that a small number of defects is a normal part of the operating process because |
| systems and workers are imperfect. |
|
Instead, he stressed the idea of prevention. |
|
To promote his concepts, Crosby wrote a book titled Quality Is Free, which was published in 1979. |
|
He became famous for coining the phrase "quality is free" and for pointing out the many costs of quality, |
| which include not only the costs of wasted labor, equipment time, scrap, rework, and lost sales, but also | |
| organizational costs that are hard to quantify. |
|
Crosby stressed those efforts to improve quality more than pay for themselves because these costs are |
| prevented. Therefore, quality is free. |
|
Like Deming and Juran, Crosby stressed the role of management in the quality improvement effort and the use |
| of statistical control tools in measuring and monitoring quality. |
|
Is best known for the development of quality tools called cause-and-effect diagrams, also called fishbone or |
| Ishikawa diagrams. |
|
These diagrams are used for quality problem solving. |
|
He was the first quality guru to emphasize the importance of the "internal customer," the next person in the |
| production process. |
|
He was also one of the first to stress the importance of total company quality control, rather than just focusing |
| on products and services. |
|
Dr. Ishikawa believed that everyone in the company needed to be united with a shared vision and a common |
| goal. |
|
He stressed that quality initiatives should be pursued at every level of the organization and that all employees |
| should be involved. |
|
Dr. Ishikawa was a proponent of implementation of quality circles, which are small teams of employees that |
| volunteer to solve quality problems. |
|
Is a Japanese quality expert known for his work in the area of product design. He estimates that as much as |
| 80 percent of all defective items are caused by poor product design. |
|
Taguchi stresses that companies should focus their quality efforts on the design stage, as it is much cheaper |
| and easier to make changes during the product design stage than later during the production process. |
|
Taguchi is known for applying a concept called design of experiment to product design. |
|
This method is an engineering approach that is based on developing robust design, a design that results in |
| products that can perform over a wide range of conditions. |
|
Taguchi's philosophy is based on the idea that it is easier to design a product that can perform over a wide |
| range of environmental conditions than it is to control the environmental conditions. |