Principles of Quality Management and Historical Evolution

The Evolution of Quality Management

The Concept and Function of Quality

Is quality a recent concept? While the concept itself is ancient, its formal management function is recent.

Historical Eras of Quality Control

The history of quality management can be segmented into distinct eras:

• Inspection Era: Defined by 100% lot inspection (conformance checking).
• Statistical Quality Control (SQC): Achieved through production monitoring and sampling.

Quality Assurance vs. Inspection Era

The shift from inspection to quality assurance brought significant advantages:

• Inspection Era Drawbacks: High inspection costs, low productivity, and significant losses.
• Quality Assurance Benefits: Guaranteed low production costs, increased productivity, and a lower reject rate.

Why Quality is Strategic Management

Quality has become a strategic imperative for organizations because it helps to:

• Improve processes and reduce operational costs.
• Increase sales and attract new customers.

Defining Quality: Different Perspectives

Quality can be viewed through several lenses:

• Transcendent View: Quality transcends the senses; it is not easily quantifiable.
• Product-Based View: Defined by design specifications and the number of attributes in the product.
• User View: Focuses on meeting customer needs; often described as fitness for use.

Quality in the Modern Era

At the beginning of the 21st century, quality is dictated primarily by the client, whereas historically, it was defined by the producer.

Foundational Principles and Quality Philosophers

W. Edwards Deming's Contribution

Deming is considered a primary figure because he was responsible for the Japanese industrial revolution and established fundamental new concepts for quality management.

Organizational Culture and Quality

• Breaking Barriers: It is important to break down departmental barriers to ensure all departments participate effectively in the quality process.
• Education Programs: Crucial for changing organizational philosophy and the mindset of employees regarding quality management.

Joseph M. Juran's Quality Focus

According to Juran, organizations must:

• Identify Customer Needs: Necessary to properly plan and improve quality based on customer desires.
• Improve Quality: Achieved by planning and deploying systems initiated by top management, always striving for continuous improvement.

Armand V. Feigenbaum and TQC

Feigenbaum's key contribution, in addition to Total Quality Control (TQC), was deploying a system to study the Costs of Quality, grounded in sound monetary policies.

Philip B. Crosby's Core Concepts

Crosby's philosophy shares similarities with other quality experts, emphasizing:

• Zero Defects
• Employee Education
• Establishment of Goals
• The principle of "Do it right the first time."

Employee Empowerment and Performance Evaluation

• Empowering Employees: Important for creating self-managed teams and moving away from a single, isolated quality sector.
• Evaluating Performance: Necessary to seek continuous improvement in production processes and identify needs for specific employee training.
• Comparing Performance (Benchmarking): Organizations compare performance because satisfaction relates to competitive offerings (concurrency). This helps improve product useful life and ensures the creation of attributes that maximize customer satisfaction.