Total Quality Management (TQM) is an approach that plays a pivotal role in improving quality for businesses. It’s a philosophy that emphasizes the importance of customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, and employee involvement. TQM is a holistic approach that involves all employees, from top management to front-line workers, in an effort to improve quality. The goal of TQM is to identify and eliminate all non-value-adding activities and to continuously improve processes and products to meet or exceed customer expectations.

Implementing TQM can provide significant benefits for businesses, including increased efficiency, reduced costs, and improved customer satisfaction. In this article, we will explore the key principles of TQM, how to implement it in your business, and the benefits that you can expect to see. Whether you are in manufacturing, healthcare, or any other industry, TQM can help you improve your business’s quality and drive success.

The TQM Methodology

Total Quality Management differs from other quality management approaches in that it involves all employees in an organization, from top management to front-line workers, in an effort to improve quality. The following are the key principles of TQM:

• Continuous improvement: This involves continually improving products, services, and processes to meet or exceed customer expectations. It involves setting and achieving goals, and measuring progress towards those goals.

• Customer focus: TQM places great emphasis on understanding and meeting customer needs. This means gathering customer feedback, understanding their needs and expectations, and continuously improving products and services to meet those needs.

• Employee involvement: TQM recognizes that employees are critical to achieving quality and involves them in the quality improvement process. This means empowering employees to identify and solve problems, encouraging open communication, and providing the necessary training and resources.

• Process approach: TQM takes a process approach to quality management. This involves identifying and understanding the key processes involved in delivering products and services and continuously improving those processes to achieve better results.

• Data-driven decision-making: TQM emphasizes the importance of using data to make informed decisions. Businesses should be collecting and analyzing data to identify trends, measure progress, and identify opportunities for improvement.

How is TQM Related to Other Process and Quality Improvement Strategies?

Total Quality Management (TQM) is related to other process and quality improvement strategies such as Six Sigma, Kaizen, Lean, and Agile. While each of these strategies may differ in terms of their specific methodologies, they all share a common goal: to improve quality and efficiency in business processes.

TQM integrates Six Sigma’s focus on reducing defects and variability, Kaizen’s emphasis on continuous improvement through small, incremental changes, Lean’s focus on the elimination of waste, and Agile’s emphasis on flexibility and adaptability in project management. 

Harness the Power of Total Quality Management for Your Business

When you follow the key TQM principles, it’s possible to implement an optimized TQM approach that will lead to improved quality, increased efficiency, and better customer satisfaction.

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Imagine big businesses such as GE (General Electric) that actually puts the customer first and foremost and makes a profit. In fact, GE takes customer service to a new level by keeping their promise of on-time delivery, great competitive prices, and putting out a great product based on what the customer wants or requires.

Key Core Concepts of Six Sigma

• Critical to Quality: Focuses on the attributes that are most important to the customer. 
• Defect: Failing to deliver what the customer wants.
• Process Capability: What your process can deliver.
• Variation: What the customer sees and feels.

All of the core concepts are very important, but the ones we are highlighting are ones that could be misunderstood, such as Critical to Quality (CTQ) and Variation. Let’s face it, if your customer isn’t getting what is important to him or her in your product or service, why would your customer continue doing business at your establishment? Getting what is important in the product is what your customer sees as quality. 

Variation in the product is never good; consistency is extremely important. Business processes should yield consistent products that are reliable. When Coca-Cola changed their flavor to the New Coke, there was an uproar. The consistent flavor of Coca-Cola that we all love is the reason we buy their product.

In a nutshell, if have adopted Six Sigma as your company culture, then everything that you do within your business should embrace Six Sigma’s customer-focused, data-driven philosophy. Otherwise, you won’t yield the results at its fullest.

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This simple Six Sigma tool will make a space safer, more productive, improve your mood, and eliminate waste. Since everything is in its place, this will make everything efficient.

Try the 5S tool in a cluttered space at home and see for yourself how this simple template can clean up that cluttered space in the corner of your closet. After this is all done, make sure you sustain the new normal by making this a habit. 

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The company culture is what makes Six Sigma a success in the long run. The success rate in saving company costs speaks for itself. Just ask Toyota, Motorola, GE or any of the Fortune 500 companies who subscribe to the Six Sigma methodologies. These five benefits listed in the below infographic are just the beginning of how powerful Six Sigma is for your business or organization.

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Here are some facts about our personal computers:

• Files can get corrupted
• Files duplicate numerous times over
• Too many files can eliminate precious storage space on your computer
• Useless files can also slow down your computer

Lean Six Sigma 5S Tool to the Rescue

Since we are dealing with the dreaded personal computer, we will adjust the verbiage when discussing the 5S tool. However, the actual methodology is the same.

1. Sort: Look through your computer files and set up folders and label them. Then delete any files that you do not need, any duplicates or corrupt files. Also check your email and delete the ones not needed, and label the emails that are deemed important.
2. Straighten: Organize your folders in such a way that everything is easy to find. For example, if you are a writer, have a folder labeled for separate assignments. Organize them by due date or business name, perhaps in alphabetical order, or maybe color code them. It is up to you, but get it done.
3. Shine: Clean the exterior of your computer, remove fingerprints, smudges and any dust that could ruin the hardware. If any part of your computer needs repair, get it fixed.
4. Standardize: Whether it is your own personal computer, or even if others use the computer, set up a maintenance chart. If everyone has their own profile that they are responsible for, each one should be maintained to avoid computer crashes.
5. Sustain: Everyone that uses the computer, whether at work or home, should be responsible for maintaining it. The deletion of files should be done regularly. There is excellent cleaning software available that can scan your computer on a regular basis in order to keep it clean. Make it a daily habit after using your computer, and you will always have a clean and organized computer that runs smoothly.

For more information on our Lean Six Sigma courses or training services, please visit our class schedule at 6sigma.com. 

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Prevention is the key! Company culture is very important, if everyone is involved at every point in the process. Mistakes or defects in the final product can be avoided. So everyone is equally important, everyone is on the same page for the same goal, which is to get the best possible product at its highest quality out to the customer.

Important Tools in Total Quality Management (TQM)

Fishbone Diagram: This is a Cause and Effect diagram. It is a great way to visually see where the problem is originating, and will help to identity the root cause and sort them out into specific categories along with solutions.

Histogram: This tool merely lets you know the frequency that certain data is happening in a bar graph form. This works with the process that you are trying to improve. This is a great statistical tool.

Process Flow Charts: As you can see (no pun), visualizing is the trick when quality control is the goal. The process must flow effortlessly and the end result must have a high standard of quality. Defects are the enemy, so do not let them into your camp — be on the lookout. Process flow charts do exactly what it says — lets you visualize the entire process by looking at the chart. 

An easy way to start a flowchart would be by using post-it notes, and with your team walk through the entire process and at each step, stop and write down the activity, in the exact order that it is done. You can post them on a large board after you are finished and review. This will make the process come to life as you are reading them, and identify opportunities for improvements.

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These Six Sigma principles can also be used as what we promise to do on our behalf to increase the likelihood of success in our business or company.

The 5 Six Sigma Principles

1. Customer Focus: This means customer satisfaction. Since the quality of the product or service is directly in line with your customers, they are the direct gage with the degree of quality you provide. Get their feedback on what is important to them and provide their requirements in your product or service. Happy and satisfied customers means a long future for your business.

2. Identify Root Causes: If something isn’t right, you need to find out why, and that entails understanding how a process is to meet your goals. The process for this is as follows:

• State the goals for data collection
• Identify what specific data is needed
• Make sure communication is clear by defining terms
• Use Voice of Customer (VOC) — surveys, interviews, observations, as well as one-on-one customer interviews.
• Once this data has been collected, it can be put through the Six Sigma tool, the 5 Whys line of questioning until the root cause of a variation is achieved
• Use a Pareto chart, which is a bar graph that prioritizes which factors are more significant

3. Eliminate the Variation: Do this immediately 

4. Work as a United Front: Teamwork is imperative to the success of Six Sigma. This means everyone should be trained and have the knowledge of Six Sigma methods of operations. Teams should have members with a variety of knowledge and skills that is related to the process to help identify variations.

5. Adaptability: Create a culture that accepts change readily.

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The Tools and Methodologies Used by Both TPS and Lean

5S: This is a system to organize the workplace and then maintain it. This system originated from the Toyota Production System.

• Sort (Seiri): Only keep what is needed and discard the rest.
• Straighten (Seiton): Make sure everything needed for work as its own place.
• Shine (Seiso): Make sure everything is clean free of dirt, dust and contaminates so that problems can be easily noted and taken care of.
• Standardize (Seiketsu): Create a process of standards; make things visible so that it is easy to identify what are normal conditions and what isn’t.
• Sustain (Shitsuke) implement protocols for maintaining established desired standards.

Kaizen: This Japanese philosophy focuses on the mindset of continuous small improvements over the long haul.

Kanban: A method (could be a board) for managing the actual process of a product or service.

P.D.C.A: Plan-Do-Check-Act  — this is used for implementing improvements

• Plan: Create the plan and expected results
• Do: Carry out the plan
• Check: Confirm the results you achieved
• Act: Review estimated expected results and repeat again

Poke-Yoke: Mistake proofing, when you design the product with the mindset of avoiding specific errors in the actual design.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Conducting RCA will ensure that the issue won’t happen again. One great tool for RCA is the 5 Whys.

5 Whys: Keep asking why to the previous answer until a satisfactory answer is achieved.

As you can see, the same tried and true methods still work today. The tools or methods need not be complicated to achieve great results. Want to learn more about these Six Sigma tools and methodologies? For more information on our Six Sigma training courses or services, please visit 6sigma.com.

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The Cost of Poor Quality

When your business has to rework or redo a product, you lose production costs. This includes delays, which leads to dissatisfied customers…which leads to loss of customers, which equates to no business.

Critical to Quality CTQs

These are parts of a process that have an important effect in the outcome of the process. If these are identified, this can be extremely important in dramatically reducing costs and improving and enhancing quality.

Remember DMAIC

Define: The process goals and customer deliverables (internal/external)
Measure: The said process for determining current performance level
Analyze: Determine the root cause or causes of current defects
Improve: The process by eliminating defects
Control: For maintaining future process performance

Each Six Sigma phase has a step-by-step template that is to be followed; for example, the Define phase would have:

1. Define customers and their requirements
2. Create a problem statement including goals and benefits when issues are solved
3. Identify all involved, process owner and team
4. Define resources
5. Access key support involved
6. Create project plan
7. Create detailed process map

The above is the step-by-step of the Define phase. The basic template is taken for the remaining Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control phases. This is in relation to quality and removal of errors.

Some of the Six Sigma tools that can be used include:

• Process Mapping
• Measurement System Analysis (MSA)
• Process Capability Tool
• XY Matrix
• Design of Experiments (DOE)

The processes for obtaining data are extensive, but it may mean the difference between success and failure of a business, and well worth the extra effort.

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Adding insult to injury is the fact the that data shows that rising healthcare costs for services are inflated by 30-80%, without any rhyme or reason.

The tool known as the 5 Whys in root cause analysis (RCA) is one of the most important tools that can literally eradicate the underlying cause of specific problems, or better said, identify potential root causes. You can brainstorm and keep asking why on the potential cause and subcause, and keep going until you finally arrive at the root cause.

Variation is a huge culprit in errors being made. Look at all the data and see exactly where in the process the errors are being made. Once you find that, you must make a change in the process so that particular error won’t reoccur. The data will back the change being made to the process.

Root cause analysis is very important in fixing the cause of the problem instead of just dealing with the symptom. Behind every mistake and problem there is waste, and behind waste there is cost.

The benefits of conducting a root cause analysis are:

• Prevents future errors in healthcare, which results in saved lives
• Lower costs
• Increased patient satisfaction
• Increase profit without rising costs

Since healthcare affects us all, mistakes cannot happen especially since one mistake in our personal healthcare can be a matter of life or the lack of…

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Six Sigma

Six Sigma is the world’s most trusted process improvement methodology. But what does it entail? Six Sigma’s primary aim is to reduce variation, to create greater quality and efficiency in the workplace. Like any science, Six Sigma uses statistics to validate hypotheses, with practitioners using data to justify their decisions and predict future problems. Furthermore, your mastery of Six Sigma depends on belt color, as different belts require different levels of training. Yellow Belts, for instance, have a basic understanding of Six Sigma and can conduct simple data analysis. Master Black Belts, on the other hand, are just that – masters of Six Sigma knowledge and technique. They utilize tools like DMAIC, hypothesis testing, statistical process control, root cause analysis, and Pareto charts. With these key skills, practitioners make lasting process and quality improvements in industries like manufacturing.

Lean

Lean shares many similarities with both Six Sigma, each complementing the other, giving rise to a hybrid methodology: Lean Six Sigma. LSS combines the best qualities of both improvement approaches to create even greater efficiency. But Lean alone takes a different approach. In Lean terms, anything that does not add value is a threat to production. Utilizing in-depth analytical techniques to identify waste, Lean allows you to eliminate it at the source. Below are the eight types of waste (Muda) that occur in the workplace.

1. Transport. Movement of people, products or information to different locations.
2. Inventory. Unnecessary storage of parts, pieces or documentation.
3. Motion. Any extraneous human motion or action. E.g. bending down, turning around, reaching, lifting, or walking.
4. Waiting. Needless waiting for parts, instructions, information or equipment.
5. Overproduction. Producing more product than your current demand due to human error. g. producing fifty batches of mobile phones when the customer only wanted ten.
6. Over-processing. Maintaining overly strict procedures or excessively high-grade materials than you need.
7. Defect. Variation, defective products, reworking, repeating tasks, incorrect documentation.
8. Skills. Failure to utilize talented employees appropriately. Delegating tasks to those unqualified to perform them.

Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese word, also known as continuous improvement, though its literal meaning is “good change.” As such, any positive change to a business’s production processes, quality, efficiency or productivity is Kaizen. There is some overlap with both Lean and Six Sigma, but, the difference between them is that Kaizen is not a practice. Kaizen is a culture, an attitude towards work, that you must cultivate to see positive change. You can use Lean and Six Sigma to build a continuous improvement culture at work. Moreover, the key is in the word “continuous,” in that there is no end. Therefore, Kaizen is not a single practice but a way of thinking. The aim of which is to create a sustained and continuous effort to maximize your business’s productivity and efficiency.

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Sort (seiri): Get rid of any thing that you do not need in the workspace. Anything that doesn’t serve a purpose — get rid of it.  If you apply the Pareto principle to sorting out what you need, it might help you establish the correct mindset. The Pareto principle states that 80% of any outcome is the direct result of 20% of the input. So ask yourself: what do you truly need and what purpose does it serve in your business processes?

Straighten (seiton): Having a neat and tidy workspace can save you time, money and increase the quality of any product or service. Any time you remove an excess barrier from any workspace, your focus improves tremendously, and it’s that focus that directly affects the quality of the end result.

Shine (seiso): Keeping something clean is different from keeping something tidy. Keep a well-lit workspace. Make sure you establish the root cause of dust and dirt, and develop a process that will ensure this is maintained. Keep a log of daily cleaning process.

Standardize (seiketsu): Set up a standard that makes sense, use color codes, and make visual displays of the high standard of maintenance. When you standardize, you will immediately reduce variations. Invest time in setting up standardization, and it will prove beneficial over the long haul.

Sustain (shitsuke): It is important to have the mindset of maintaining this new level of responsibility. The participation of everyone is necessary, because it only takes one bad apple to hinder the morale of the entire team. Continuous audits are in order. Get to the root causes of problems so that sustaining this new high-level process will be easier.

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The main reason this collective term is so important is because without figuring out what the root of the problem is, the problem will re-occur. The goal is to eradicate the problem permanently.

The Five-Step RCA DMAIC Process:

• Step 1: Define the problem
• Step 2: Measure and collect data to determine the severity of the problem
• Step 3: Analyze to determine the root cause of the problem
• Step 4: Improve with a solution to solve the problem
• Step 5: Control determine how you will sustain the improved process

A great tool for identifying the root cause of a problem is the 5 Whys. Here is a breakdown of this important tool:

• State the problem
• Determine the cause by asking “why” until the cause has been established
• Use a Cause & Effect chart to establish the relationship between the two
• Use a Pareto Chart to show the significance of the identified root causes

The entire process is detailed and must be first broken down into specific pieces to be dealt with. An important detail to remember is that you are dealing with the actual problem and not just the symptom.

The simplicity of the 5 Whys tool will make discovering the root cause easy to determine. The Pareto chart and the Cause and Effect chart will show you the significance of the stated issue that must get resolved permanently.

In business as in life, finding out the root of a problem can save an entire empire. Want to learn more about Root Cause Analysis? Click here to learn more information on our Six Sigma training courses and services.

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Top 7 Six Sigma Quality Tools –

1.     Control Chart – One of Your Essential Control Tools

Quality improvement involves a lot of testing and documentation. As such, a control chart is a highly effective method by which to monitor and maintain statistical control. Control charts will help you remain aware of your measurements and limits, as well as pin down the causes of variation.

2.     Cause and Effect Diagram

Also known as Fishbone or Ishikawa Diagrams, CEDs give your employees the freedom to interrogate problems for their possible causes. Every fishbone branching off the spine of the diagram represents a different category, allowing you to question multiple lines of inquiry at once.

3.     Histograms – For Graphical Data Display

One of Six Sigma’s most commonly used tools, histograms display and make sense of data. You should use them to show probability distribution in graph form. Histograms are also useful for indicating the frequency with which factors affecting quality or process improvement appear. Histograms, like Pareto diagrams, represent data vertically and horizontally.

4.     Check Sheet – Asks the 5 Whys

Another frequently used quality tool, you should use check sheets for data collection. Check sheets collect and collate data in real time, when and where your data is located. You can spot problems and highlight trends with ease, as check sheets make analysis simpler. Taking the form of a physical document or as a computer program, check sheets allow you to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. Check sheets become tally sheets when dealing with quantitative data. Check sheets involve collating all relevant project or process information. Questions of Who, What, When, Where, and Why are used to measure probability distribution and quantify variation.

5.     Stratification

Six Sigma practitioners use stratification to classify data systematically. Stratification arranges information according to suitable categories, which you should devise for yourself, such as process, time, place, frequency, etc. Stratification is sometimes known as a flowchart and provides a visual template for how processes work. They can also identify your process customers.

6.     Scatter Diagram – Critical Quality Tools

A critical quality tool in Six Sigma, scatter diagrams allow you to show how two factors are related. Like cause and effect diagrams, scatter diagrams can display both causation and correlation, as well as the degree to which both appear. You can also test potential cause and effect relationships between multiple variables.

7.     Pareto Chart

Known as ABC analysis, Pareto charts are a classic of quality improvement work. Pareto charts are one of Six Sigma’s most highly utilized tools and used by companies all over the world. Pareto charts enable you to prioritize your most critical problems and the factors contributing to them. If a factor affects your business in a negative way, Pareto charts can help distinguish between the vital few and your trivial many are useful for identifying the most significant issues to tackle first.

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