Methods for quality management
The most common method of ensuring product quality conforms to regulations is that examines products and component details in order to chose and disminish any part that does not meet the standards or technical regulations
1. Quality inspection.
At the early of the 20th century, the production of huge quantities became widespread, customers began to highly give the quality demand and the competition between organization for quality became more and more intense. The managers recognize that inspection is not the best way to guarantee quality. By definition, quality inspection is an activity such as measuring, reviewing, testing, calibrating one or more properties of an object and comparing results with requirements to determine the comformity of each property. So, inspection is just a classification of products that have been manufactured. In today's language, quality is not built up through inspection.
In the 1920s, people began to focus on the previous process rather than wait until the final stage of product to select. The concept of quality control (Quality Control - QC) was born.
2. Quality control
Definitional speaking, Quality Control is operational and technical activities used to comply quality requirements.
For quality control, the company does not control all factors that directly affect the quality creation process. This control prevents the defect appearance on products. In general, quality control is the control of the following factors:
- Human;
- Method and process;
- Input;
- Devices;
- Environment.
QC was born in the US; but unfortunately, these methods were only applied strongly in the military field and were not promoted by American companies after the war. In contrast, in Japan, new quality control is applied and developed, which is absorbed into their own culture.
3. Comprehensive quality control
Quality control techniques are limited to production and inspection areas. Achieving the main goal of quality management is to satisfy consumers. It is not a sufficient condition, it requires not only applying these methods to the processes that occur before the production process and inspection (such as market survey, research, planning, development, design and purchase) but also for subsequent processes, such as packaging, storage, transportation, and distribution. distribution, sales and after sales services. This type of management is called Total Quality Control. The term Total Quality Control (TQC) is defined by Feigenbaum as follows:
Total quality control is the most effective system to consolidate the efforts of development, maintainance and improvement the quality of different groups into an organization in which marketing, engineering, production and services can be done by the most economical way and allow to complete customer satisfaction.
Total quality control needs the efforts of every unit in the company into processes related to maintenance and quality improvement. This will help savings in goods production and services while satisfying customer needs.
4. Comprehensive quality management
In recent years, the apparence of many new management techniques contributes to enhance quality management activities, such as the "Just-in-time" system, has been the basis for Theory of Total Quality Management (TQM). Total quality management is grown up from Western countries relating Deming, Juran, Crosby.
TQM is defined as a management method of an organization, oriented to quality, based on the participation of all members and to achieve long-term success through customer satisfaction and the benefits of every member of that company and society.
TQM's goal is that improves product quality and to satisfy customers with the best possible level. Characteristics of TQM comparing with past quality management methods is that it provides a comprehensive system for managing and improving all aspects of quality and mobilizing participation of every department and every individual to achieve the given quality goals.
The general characteristics of TQM in the actual implementation process at companies can be summarized as follows:
- Quality is oriented by customers.
- Leadership in the company.
- Continually quality improvement.
- Unity and symmatical characteristics
- Engagement of people
- Use scientific thinking methods such as statistical technique, just in time, ...
In fact, TQC, TQM or CWQC (Company-wide quality control, very popular in Japan) are different names for a form of quality management. In recent years, the general trend of quality managers in the world is to use the term TQM.
Translator: Department of Administration