TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Total quality management is a structured approach to overall organizational management. The focus of the process is to improve the quality of an organization’s outputs, including goods and services, through the continual improvement of internal practices. The standards set as part of the TQM approach can reflect both internal priorities and any industry standards currently in place.

Industry standards can be defined at multiple levels and may include adherence to various laws and regulations governing the operation of a particular business. Industry standards can also include the production of items to an understood norm, even if the norm is not backed by official regulations might be used to check the progress toward the TQM goal.

Perhaps the most famous example of TQM is Toyota’s implementation of the?system. A kanban is a physical signal that creates a chain reaction, resulting in a specific action. Toyota used this idea to implement its just-in-time (JIT) inventory process.1

The company decided to keep just enough inventory on hand to fill customer orders as they were generated to make its assembly line more efficient. All parts of Toyota’s assembly line are therefore assigned a physical card that has an associated inventory number.

The card is removed and moved up the supply chain right before a part is installed in a car, effectively requesting another of the same part. This allows the company to keep its inventory lean and not overstock unnecessary assets. Effective quality management resulted in better automobiles that could be produced at an affordable price.