Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management (TQM) Survey Paper

Jacalyn Sponberg

Quality Management and Productivity MGT/449

Instructor: Qiang Cao

June 11, 2006

Total Quality Management (TQM) is seen as the “fix-all” for any company suffering problems with providing quality products or services to their customers. TQM is a system that focuses on the problems at hand and addresses them through employee education and training. It is a long-term solution to the company’s problems of low performance. Management is trained to prevent errors before they even occur thus allowing a quality product to be created and sold to the customer. Six Sigma is a way to measure this quality performance and it is used by many companies today as a guidepost. Several sectors of the business world employ TQM to enhance their company’s performance and to remain competitive in today’s marketplace.

The manufacturing sector is made up of companies “engaged in the mechanical, physical, or chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products” (Monnot, 2004). Anything that is transformed from random parts into a usable product for the consumer is considered a manufactured product. Wausau Windows is an example of an organization that is a member of the manufacturing business sector. Wausau Windows’ main goal is produce quality windows and accompanying products that satisfy their customer’s needs. “For more than 45 years, the company and its extended team of manufacturers have worked with architects, building owners, and contractors to design custom windows and wall systems for customers” (Monnot, 2004). Wausau Windows handles everything from the initial design to installation and quality is the key to their success.

Wausau Windows is committed to superior customer service and their achievement is shown in their financial success. They have been able to improve their manufacturing capabilities over the years to remain competitive and provide the quality products that their customers desire. They listen closely to the voice of their customers and try to anticipate their needs. Their efforts focus on achieving better quality at a lower cost. “TQM and Six Sigma provide them with a process that uses fact based analytical tools and methodologies to prevent defects and eliminate unnecessary excess in products, processes, and services. This further reduces cycle times and helps them manage costs, which ultimately allows them to generate a greater value for their customers” (Monnot, 2004).

TQM and Six Sigma have also allowed the contribution of all employees from management on down to machine operators. It is team work that is the key to success and TQM promotes this company wide. Employee involvement is also the key to the implementation of new ideas. “Using simple Six Sigma tools promotes out of the box thinking and aids in shifting toward continuous improvement. More project ideas are being generated and more employees are becoming involved on project teams and more tools are being used on everyday jobs to improve all processes” (Monnot, 2004). Leadership is at an all time high as more employees volunteer their services to improve the overall quality of products and services and become yellow, green and black belts in the Six Sigma process. Employees continue to train so they too can lead their own smaller scale projects and promote their knowledge in their specialized area of the company. Continuous improvement is seen at Wausau Windows as leadership roles shift and advance to meet new challenges. The company could not be happier with the change that has occurred with the implementation of TQM and Six Sigma and they look forward to exciting advancements in the future.

The service sector in the world of business is also involved with Total Quality Management. Salt River Project (SRP) is a major water and electric utility serving almost a million customers in Arizona. As competition increases, SRP must offer better service and better power quality to their customers, so they expanded their way of servicing clients by enforcing strict quality control measures. “As their system expands, power quality indices become increasingly accurate and SRP uses the data to address issues that reduce power quality, improve service levels, and raise customer satisfaction levels” (Power Measurement, 2006). Even though many customers may not see a clear distinction between SRP’s power quality and that of other power companies with SRP's innovative approach to monitoring and managing power, customers are receiving some of the best