Course: Quality Management (5575)

ASSIGNMENT No. 1

Q. 1 Explain tools and techniques for quality management. What tools could be used for planning, data collection, and analysis, and for contrinuous improvement?

ANS- Many of the tools and techniques in current use have their roots in post-

World War II Japan. Dr. W. Edwards Deming used statistical methods to improve

quality with a strong focus on the customer or end user, while in the process

making organizations more productive and profitable. Although this user-needs

focus is now widely accepted, it was an unconventional perspective at the time.

Deming's approach was plan, do, check, and act; later he expanded these ideas

to:

1. Design the product.

2. Make it; test it in the production line and the laboratory.

3. Put it on the market.

4. Test it in service; find out what the user thinks of it, and why the nonuser

has not bought it.

Joseph Juran also did much to promote quality improvement, especially a

product's fitness of use. Fitness of use is defined as both 1) freedom from

defects and deficiencies, and 2) product features that meet the user's needs.

These two ideas continue to evolve in more recent quality management ideas

and practices. For example, the Six Sigma principle, which attempts to limit

defective units per billion to two, is a disciplined example of the first definition of

fitness of use above. Individuals working with human factors to understand how

end users interact with various graphical user interfaces would be an example of

the second definition.

Tools and techniques for quality management are numerous. A Pareto diagram

is a histogram with columns or bars ordered from most common to least. Figure

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8-7 from Schwalbe (see below) shows an example of a Pareto diagram. It is a

graphical way of summarizing where most problems occur with a product, or

what most users would like to see included in a product. It is an important

graphical display tool, as often a great majority of problems or needs fall into the

same category. Often, the number of individuals providing input is somewhat

limited, so that issues can be classified and enumerated from the entire

population.

Statistical sampling is often necessary to test the quality of products produced,

as looking at each individual product would be very time consuming and cost

prohibitive. The sample must be random, and large enough to represent the

entire population of products with some degree of certainty.

The term quality means different things to different people. For example, a

quality automobile may be one, which has no defects and works exactly as we

expect. Such a definition would fit with an oft-repeated definition by J.M Juran

"Quality is fitness for use." However, there are other definitions widely discussed.

Quality as "conformance to specifications" is a position that people in the

manufacturing industry often promote. Why? Presumably because manufacturing

can do nothing to change the design; hence this definition. Others promote wider

views which include the expectations that the product or service being delivered

1) meets customer standards, 2) meets and fulfills customer needs, 3) meets

customer expectations, and 4) will meet unanticipated future needs and

aspirations. Still others simply ignore definitions and say "I'll know quality when I

see it." It seems that we all 'know' or 'feel' somehow what quality is. A product or

service that exceeds our preconceived idea about the quality of that product or

service is likely to be judged as having "high quality." It is equally clear that the

best of a group of bad products is not likely to be perceived as a quality product.

Lack of management commitment. When management talks TQM, but its actions

fails to support the effort, it will ultimately fail to meet expectations. The result is

cynicism and mistrust and difficulty launching another attempt. For

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implementation to succeed, management must clearly and frequently

communicate the reason for adopting TQM, as if it is another fad.

• Changing organizational culture. Changing an organization’s culture is

extremely difficult and time-consuming. Fear of change must be addressed, past

labor-management conflicts must be resolved, and the organization’s focus must

change from maintaining the status quo. Most employees will need to be

convinced of the benefits that TQM program will provide to buy in to the changes.

This often means that employees need to change behaviors or perform tasks in a

different way than before TQM. If motivation is lacking, frustration and stress are

likely. And trust is a must.

• Preparation. Before implementing TQM, management should strive for an

organization wide commitment, clearly communicate the organization’s vision,

mission, and goals, and foster open communication about the organization’s

changed focus.

• Use of data. TQM relies on databased decision making. To succeed in building

and sustaining a TQM environment, data must be accurate, timely and reliable.

The measurement process used must be valid and consistent, and data access

should be efficient. Decision makers must be trained in data analysis and

interpretation.

Other problems, many of which fall under the four previous categories, include,

but are not limited to:

• Lack of strategic direction

• Lack of shared vision, mission, or guiding principles

• Lack of cooperation and teamwork among different workgroups

• Focus on short-term profits rather than on long-term goals

• Failure to understand what teamwork entails

• Failure to focus on customers’ need and expectations

• Lack of mutual trust and respect among level of employees

• insufficient resources or lack of sustained commitment of those resources

• Lack of continual and effective training and education

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• Management’s failure to recognize and / or reward achievements

TQM, as a term, is not used as widely in the United States as it once was. Most

of the concepts, principles, and methodology have been subsumed under the

term quality management. Quality is an important factor in today’s increasingly

globalize and liberalized markets, and it is considered that the application of

quality management techniques will make a positive contribution to the

competitive performance of countries, economic sectors and individual

organizations. Since competitiveness contributes to sustainable development,

the widespread diffusion and implementation of quality management seems

desirable from a national point of view. Recently in Latin America there has been

a growing tendency for governments to establish programmes that promote and

support the dissemination of quality management techniques. In this respect,

quality issues will play an increasingly important role in the economic and social

development objectives of the countries in the region. Nevertheless, the

implementation of total quality management (TQM) innovations has not proved to

be either easy or rapid: for example, in Latin America the ISO 9000 standards for

quality systems have not spread as quickly as in most other regions of the world.

The author identifies market considerations, limited access to resources,

traditional management practices and macroeconomic conditions as obstacles

that have limited the level of quality awareness in the region. These obstacles

may be associated with market flaws that occur within companies, between

companies and in factor markets. Various governments have therefore chosen to

promote quality management techniques in order to make the necessary

adjustments to these flaws. The article concludes with an overview of the

activities carried out in some selected Latin American countries in order to

enhance the diffusion of ISO 9000 quality management systems.

The Seven Basic Tools of Quality is a designation given to a fixed set of

graphical techniques identified as being most helpful in troubleshooting issues

related to quality. They are called basic because they are suitable for people with

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little formal training in statistics and because they can be used to solve the vast

majority of quality-related issues.

The Seven Basic Tools of Quality includes :

Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram,

Check sheet,

Control chart,

Histogram,

Pareto chart,

Scatter diagram

Stratified sampling.

Original designation was just ″Seven tools″ and their content was formed during

the fifties and sixties of the last century in Japan by K. Ishikawa and E. Deming.

The designation was inspired by the seven famous weapons of Benkei. At that

time, companies that had set about training their workforces in statistical quality

control found that the complexity of the subject intimidated the vast majority of

their workers and scaled back training to focus primarily on simpler methods

which suffice for most quality-related issues. The Seven Basic Tools stand in

contrast to more advanced statistical methods such as survey sampling,

acceptance sampling, statistical hypothesis testing, design of experiments,

multivariate analysis, and various methods developed in the field of operations

research.

Description of the tools

The seven tools are:

• Cause-and-effect (also known as the "fish-bone" or Ishikawa) diagram

• Check sheet

• Control chart

• Histogram

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• Pareto chart

• Scatter diagram

• Stratification (alternately, flow chart or run chart)

Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram

Ishikawa diagram (called sometimes fishbone diagram or cause-and-effect

diagram) was introduced by Kaoru Ishikawa (1968) and show the causes of a

specific event.

Common use of diagram is on brainstorming to find possible cause of a problem.

Nancy R. Tague’s introduced steps how to use the diagram as follows:

1. Agree on a problem statement (effect). Write it at the center right. Draw

draw box around and horizontal line to it.

2. Brainstorm the major categories of causes of the problem.

3. Write categories as branches.

4. Brainstorm all possible causes of the problem category by asking “Why

does this happen?” and write them as branches of the category.

5. Continue to ask “Why?” and reach deeper level of each cause.

6. Focus on empty space when you run out of ideas

Check sheet

Check sheet

The check sheet is a document used to manually capture data from the process,

usually number of defects by type, location or cause or to check probability

distribution of the process or to monitor steps of the process.

Q. 2 Describe how to incorporate quality goals into strategic and

operational plans with suitable examples.

ANS-The key elements of Business Improvement Architect's Strategic Quality

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Planning Process are:

Identifying the Organizational Quality Initiatives

We'll work with your organization's Quality Manager and team to identify and

assess all of the various quality initiatives that they have used in the past and the

present.

Understanding the Voice of the Customer

To ensure that the new Quality Strategy has a clear customer focus, we work

with to identify current and future stakeholder/customer requirements through

research and review of your organization's product and services delivery

process.

Identifying Employee Involvement

We ensure employee input is considered in the strategic planning process to

enrich the quality of the final plan and gain their commitment, buy-in and support

for the implementation phase.

Conducting Benchmarking

We believe that it is beneficial to conduct benchmarking as part of the planning

process to learn what others are doing (including competitors) and to learn from

them. Such effort is worthwhile as it provides information about best practices

and generates useful ideas for improving internal quality processes.

Developing the Vision and Strategic Direction

We facilitate the creation of your Strategic Quality Vision and Quality Strategies.

This includes: the structure and approach to quality throughout the organization,

what tools and processes to use to establish quality and how quality will be

measured. It will also include the outcomes of quality on your organization's

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products, services and what customers will be saying about them.

Developing a Statement of Quality and Quality Standards

We'll work with you to develop:

• A Statement of Quality that is highly relevant to describe what quality will

mean for in the organization. It will clearly describe the overall goals,

mandates and objectives for the quality initiative.

• Quality Standards to guide employees in achieving the Statement of

Quality.

Identifying the Quality Strategies

We facilitate a process to translate the quality vision, quality statement and

quality standards into key strategies. This process includes a risk assessment.

Developing Operational Effectiveness

We facilitate an Operational Effectiveness Plan to identify the requirements for

each Quality Strategy with detailed Action Plans.

Developing Strategy Measurements

We ensure that you have the right measures are in place to monitor and manage

quality on a forward going basis.

Q. 3 (a) What are the characteristics of Quality Function Deployment as a

quality system?

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a “method to transform user demands

into design quality, to deploy the functions forming quality, and to deploy

methods for achieving the design quality into subsystems and component parts,

and ultimately to specific elements of the manufacturing process.”, as described

by Dr. Yoji Akao, who originally developed QFD in Japan in 1966, when the

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author combined his work in quality assurance and quality control points with

function deployment used in value engineering. QFD is designed to help

planners focus on characteristics of a new or existing product or service from the

viewpoints of market segments, company, or technology-development needs.

The technique yields charts and matrices. QFD helps transform customer needs

(the voice of the customer [VOC]) into engineering characteristics (and

appropriate test methods) for a product or service, prioritizing each product or

service characteristic while simultaneously setting development targets for

product or service.

Areas of application

QFD House of Quality for Enterprise Product Development Processes QFD is

applied in a wide variety of services, consumer products, military needs (such as

the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter[2]), and emerging technology products. The

technique is also It is also included in the new ISO 9000:2000 standard which

focuses on customer satisfaction. While many books and articles on "how to do

QFD" are available, there is a relative paucity of example matrices available.

QFD matrices become highly proprietary due to the high density of product or

service information found therein.

Techniques and tools based on QFD

House of Quality

House of Quality appeared in 1972 in the design of an oil tanker by Mitsubishi

Heavy Industries. Akao has reiterated numerous times that a House of Quality is

not QFD, it is just an example of one tool. A Flash tutorial exists showing the

build process of the traditional QFD "House of Quality" (HOQ). (Although this

example may violate QFD principles, the basic sequence of HOQ building are

illustrative.) There are also free QFD templates available that walk users through

the process of creating a House of Quality.[7] Other tools extend the analysis

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beyond quality to cost, technology, reliability, function, parts, technology,

manufacturing, and service deployments.

In addition, the same technique can extend the method into the constituent

product subsystems, configuration items, assemblies, and parts. From these

detail level components, fabrication and assembly process QFD charts can be

developed to support statistical process control techniques.

Pugh concept selection

Pugh Concept Selection can be used in coordination with QFD to select a

promising product or service configuration from among listed alternatives.

Modular Function Deployment

Modular Function Deployment uses QFD to establish customer requirements and

to identify important design requirements with a special emphasis on modularity.

There are three main differences to QFD as applied in Modular Function

Deployment compared to House of Quality:

• The benchmarking data is mostly gone.

• The checkboxes and crosses have been replaced with circles.

• The triangular “roof” is missing.

There are also other minor differences between the application of QFD in

Modular Function Deployment as compared to House of Quality, for example the

term "Customer Attribute" is replaced by "Customer Value", and the term

"Engineering Characteristics" is replaced by "Product Properties". But the terms

have similar meanings in the two applications.

Relationship to other techniques

The QFD-associated Hoshin Kanri process somewhat resembles Management

by objectives (MBO), but adds a significant element in the goal setting process,

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called "catchball". Use of these Hoshin techniques by U.S. companies such as

Hewlett Packard have been successful in focusing and aligning company

resources to follow stated strategic goals throughout an organizational hierarchy.

Since the early introduction of QFD, the technique has been developed to

shorten the time span and reduce the required group efforts.

(b) What must an organization do to maintain a customer focus and

explain the benefits of maintaining customer focus?

ANS-Customer focus" is a marketing term that means keeping the customer in

mind when selling products and services. Customers have certain needs and

wants, which companies must meet to increase sales and profits. Some

companies structure their management teams around specific customers.

Customers can include individual consumers and businesses. The best way to

keep track of customers is through marketing research, such as phone or Internet

surveys.

Products

Marketing managers employ customer focus strategies when developing their

products. They obtain input from customers regarding the features, sizes,

dimensions, flavors, fragrances or varieties they want with certain products.

Subsequently, marketing managers inform research and development people of

what customers want, and the company produces products that meet customer

preferences. Customer focus also means adding bonus services for customers

who buy a company's products. For example, retailers may provide customers

with gift bags for products they intend to give to others.

Advertising

Customer focus can also pertain to advertising. Companies develop advertising

messages that appeal to people who buy their products. Advertising managers

determine which magazines and newspapers their customers read, or what

television or radio programs their customers are most likely to regularly enjoy.

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Companies should focus on the experience of their customers when developing

their marketing messages, according to the Small Business Administration. For

example, a diet company may let a customer visualize herself fitting into her new

bathing suit when writing a direct mail sales letter.

Pricing

Customers will not likely purchase products that fall too far outside their price

range. Price ranges are largely dictated by consumer demand. In other words,

customers will only buy products up to a certain price point. Any price above that

range will result in a drastic reduction in sales. Therefore, companies focus on

price ranges their customers will pay for their products and services. They obtain

customer pricing information by studying competitors or conducting their own

marketing research. Ultimately, a company's goal is to establish an optimal price

point that satisfies customers and maximizes sales and profit margins.

Distribution and Payment

Companies make it easy for their customers to order. They distribute their

products in locations their customers are most likely to shop. Additionally, retailers

allot more space to items that are in high demand. Internet and mail order

companies also make it easy on customers, providing them with convenient ways

to pay for and obtain products.

Q. 4 Reflect on your own experience as a customer and, if relevant, as a

provider of customer service to others, and describe the important

characteristics of quality customer relationship management which extend

beyond being ‘nice’. Differentiate between things that make the customer

feel good at the time and things that make the customer come back

repeatedly.

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ANS-The term quality management has a specific meaning within many

business sectors. This specific definition, which does not aim to assure 'good

quality' by the more general definition, but rather to ensure that an organization

or product is consistent, can be considered to have four main components:

quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement.

Quality management is focused not only on product/service quality, but also the

means to achieve it. Quality management therefore uses quality assurance and

control of processes as well as products to achieve more consistent quality.

Quality management evolution

Quality management is a recent phenomenon. Advanced civilizations that

supported the arts and crafts allowed clients to choose goods meeting higher

quality standards than normal goods. In societies where arts and crafts are the

responsibility of a master craftsman or artist, they would lead their studio and

train and supervise others. The importance of craftsmen diminished as mass

production and repetitive work practices were instituted. The aim was to produce

large numbers of the same goods. The first proponent in the US for this approach

was Eli Whitney who proposed (interchangeable) parts manufacture for muskets,

hence producing the identical components and creating a musket assembly line.

The next step forward was promoted by several people including Frederick

Winslow Taylor a mechanical engineer who sought to improve industrial

efficiency. He is sometimes called "the father of scientific management." He was

one of the intellectual leaders of the Efficiency Movement and part of his

approach laid a further foundation for quality management, including aspects like

standardization and adopting improved practices. Henry Ford was also important

in bringing process and quality management practices into operation in his

assembly lines. In Germany, Karl Friedrich Benz, often called the inventor of the

motor car, was pursuing similar assembly and production practices, although real

mass production was properly initiated in Volkswagen after World War II. From

this period onwards, North American companies focused predominantly upon

production against lower cost with increased efficiency.

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Walter A. Shewhart made a major step in the evolution towards quality

management by creating a method for quality control for production, using

statistical methods, first proposed in 1924. This became the foundation for his

ongoing work on statistical quality control. W. Edwards Deming later applied

statistical process control methods in the United States during World War II,

thereby successfully improving quality in the manufacture of munitions and other

strategically important products. Quality leadership from a national perspective

has changed over the past five to six decades. After the second world war, Japan

decided to make quality improvement a national imperative as part of rebuilding

their economy, and sought the help of Shewhart, Deming and Juran, amongst

others. W. Edwards Deming championed Shewhart's ideas in Japan from 1950

onwards. He is probably best known for his management philosophy establishing

quality, productivity, and competitive position. He has formulated 14 points of

attention for managers, which are a high level abstraction of many of his deep

insights. They should be interpreted by learning and understanding the deeper

insights. These 14 points include key concepts such as:

• Break down barriers between departments

• Management should learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership

• Supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a

better job

• Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service

• Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement

In the 1950s and 1960s, Japanese goods were synonymous with cheapness and

low quality, but over time their quality initiatives began to be successful, with

Japan achieving very high levels of quality in products from the 1970s onward.

For example, Japanese cars regularly top the J.D. Power customer satisfaction

ratings. In the 1980s Deming was asked by Ford Motor Company to start a

quality initiative after they realized that they were falling behind Japanese

manufacturers. A number of highly successful quality initiatives have been

invented by the Japanese (see for example on this page: Genichi Taguchi, QFD,

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Toyota Production System. Many of the methods not only provide techniques but

also have associated quality culture (i.e. people factors). These methods are now

adopted by the same western countries that decades earlier derided Japanese

methods. Customers recognize that quality is an important attribute in products

and services. Suppliers recognize that quality can be an important differentiator

between their own offerings and those of competitors (quality differentiation is

also called the quality gap). In the past two decades this quality gap has been

greatly reduced between competitive products and services. This is partly due to

the contracting (also called outsourcing) of manufacture to countries like India

and China, as well internationalization of trade and competition. These countries

amongst many others have raised their own standards of quality in order to meet

International standards and customer demands. The ISO 9000 series of

standards are probably the best known International standards for quality

management.

There are a huge number of books available on quality management. In recent

times some themes have become more significant including quality culture, the

importance of knowledge management, and the role of leadership in promoting

and achieving high quality. Disciplines like systems thinking are bringing more

holistic approaches to quality so that people, process and products are

considered together rather than independent factors in quality management. The

influence of quality thinking has spread to non-traditional applications outside of

walls of manufacturing, extending into service sectors and into areas such as

sales, marketing and customer service.

Principles

The International Standard for Quality management (ISO 9001:2008) adopts a

number of management principles that can be used by top management to guide

their organizations towards improved performance. The principles include:

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Customer focus

Since the organizations depend on their customers, therefore they should

understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer

requirements and try to exceed the expectations of customers. An organization

attains customer focus when all people in the organization know both the internal

and external customers and also what customer requirements must be met to

ensure that both the internal and external customers are satisfied.

Leadership

Leaders of an organization establish unity of purpose and direction of it. They

should go for creation and maintenance of such an internal environment, in which

people can become fully involved in achieving the organization's quality

objective.

Involvement of people

People at all levels of an organization are the essence of it. Their complete

involvement enables their abilities to be used for the benefit of the organization.

Process approach

The desired result can be achieved when activities and related resources are

managed in an organization as process.this may also affect the

System approach to management

An organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its quality objectives

are contributed by identifying, understanding and managing all interrelated

processes as a system.

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Continual improvement

One of the permanent quality objectives of an organization should be the

continual improvement of its overall performance.

Factual approach to decision making

Effective decisions are always based on the data analysis and information.

Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

Since an organization and its suppliers are interdependent, therefore a mutually

beneficial relationship between them increases the ability of both to add value.

These eight principles form the basis for the quality management system

standard ISO 9001:2008.

Q. 5 Why ISO certification is important for both service and manufacturing

organizations? What possible problems an organization can come

across in Pakistan while getting quality standard certification, discuss

in detail.

While ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certification is certainly

not the only thing that should be examined when you are evaluating potential

corporate partnerships, it is an indicator that a company has invested significant

time and effort to implement an objective quality assurance program. To ensure

that an ISO system is being effectively implemented, companies that seek

certification must commit themselves to monitor, control and attempt to improve

quality. Audits must be implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of the effort,

and identify any shortcomings that need corrective action. You should be aware

that certification is not necessarily companywide; different practice areas may

need to have individual certification. So simply because a company states that

they are ISO 9001:2008 certified doesn’t necessarily mean that they are ISO

9001:2008 certified in the area that provides the services you seek.

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ISO Certification can provide benefits to both a company and its customers. A

1995 study on "The Benefits of ISO 9000 Certification" (ISO 9000 was the

predecessor of ISO 9001) by J.E. Alcorn was published in Ceramic Engineering

and Science Proceedings. Alcorn wrote that benefits were found in diverse

areas including customer satisfaction, interdepartmental communications, and

customer/supplier partnerships. As Alcorn noted, these benefits were the result

of substantial efforts to comply with quality standards and gain certification. The

hard work pays off, not only by imparting a competitive advantage to the ISO

certified company, but also to the benefit of its customers. After certification,

Alcorn found a significant improvement in quality and, as one would expect, a

reduction in customer complaints. In the end, increased customer satisfaction is

the most meaningful measure of the value of ISO certification, and while ISO

certification of a company does not guarantee that you will be a satisfied

customer, the evidence strongly suggests that the chances are improved.

The abbreviation “ISO” stands for International Organization for Standardization.

ISO is a series of international standards introduced in 1987 that define and

structure a company’s management systems. These standards apply equally to

all industries and require companies seeking certification to define how their

systems meet the standards’ rigorous requirements. Meeting the standards

assures customers that all vendor company activities – design, manufacturing,

production, purchasing, quality control, packaging, handling, storage, shipping,

and customer service – are appropriately managed and controlled.

What is the difference between ISO 9000 and 14000?

ISO 9000 is concerned with "quality management.” This means what the

organization does to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer and

applicable regulatory requirements and continually improving its performance in

this regard.

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ISO 14000 is primarily concerned with "environmental management.” This means

what the organization does to minimize harmful effects on the environment

caused by its activities and continually improving its environmental performance.

Can any vendor be ISO-certified?

Yes. There are approximately 250,000 companies worldwide registered to ISO

standards. Any company willing to make the effort can be certified.

Why should I require vendors to be ISO-certified?

• ISO is direct evidence of a company's financial and ethical commitment to

provide high quality, safe products.

• ISO certified companies maintain comprehensive internal audit programs

that demonstrate to customers the effectiveness of their quality and

environmental efforts.

• ISO certified companies utilize systems that have been accepted for use

by over 80 countries as effective means to achieve product quality and

environmental stewardship.

• ISO certified companies document, review, and approve product designs

that meet applicable safety, regulatory, and customer requirements.

• ISO certified companies prove their systems through audits by

independent registrars. Registrars are governed by strict international

codes that dictate operating practices, audit methods, and staff

qualifications. Failure to maintain quality program requirements will lead to

de-certification by the registrar.

• ISO certified company products reduce the need for the buyers to perform

audits and reviews to determine if quality systems are in place and being

maintained.

• A certificate of analysis from an ISO certified company will be supported

by documented procedures and records that demonstrate its validity. This

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is particularly important should a customer ever have a reason to question

product quality.

Quality is something every company strives for and is often times very difficult to

achieve. Complications concerning efficiency and quality present themselves

everyday in business, whether an important document cannot be found or a

consumer finds a product not up to their expectations. How can a company

increase the quality of its products and services? The answer is ISO 9000. As

standards go, ISO 9000 is one of the most widely recognized in the world. ISO

9000 is a quality management standard that presents guidelines intended to

increase business efficiency and customer satisfaction. The goal of ISO 9000 is

to embed a quality management system within an organization, increasing

productivity, reducing unnecessary costs, and ensuring quality of processes and

products. ISO 9001:2008 is applicable to businesses and organizations from

every sector. The process oriented approach makes the standard applicable to

service organizations as well. Its general guidelines allow for the flexibility

needed for today’s diverse business world.

How does ISO 9000 work?

ISO 9000 is set up as a collection of guidelines that help a company establish,

maintain, and improve a quality management system. It is important to stress that

ISO 9000 is not a rigid set of requirements, and that organizations have flexibility

in how they implement their quality management system. This freedom allows

the ISO 9000 standard to be used in a wide range of organizations, and in

businesses large and small. One important aspect of ISO 9000 is its process-

oriented approach. Instead of looking at a company’s departments and individual

processes, ISO 9000 requires that a company look at “the big picture.” How do

processes interact? Can they be integrated with one another? What are the

important aspects of products and services? Once this process-oriented

approach is implemented, various audits can be done as a check of the

effectiveness of your quality management system. There are three main types of

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audits – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party audits. An internal audit is a 1st party audit. ISO

9000 encourages (and requires) this type of audit so that an organization can get

feedback quickly from those who know the company best. However, this audit

process cannot be viewed as impartial. Therefore, 2nd party audits allow for a

consumer to evaluate the performance on an organization. As an alternative to a

2nd party audit, many companies choose to become certified with ISO 9000

through a 3rd party audit. In this case, an independent certification body comes

into an organization and evaluates it in terms of the ISO 9000 guidelines. If an

organization meets the requirements of the standard, it becomes certified in ISO

9000 and carries a seal of quality recognized throughout the world.

Why is ISO 9000 important?

The importance of ISO 9000 is the importance of quality. Many companies offer

products and services, but it is those companies who put out the best products

and services efficiently that succeed. With ISO 9000, an organization can identify

the root of the problem, and therefore find a solution. By improving efficiency,

profit can be maximized. As a broad range of companies implement the ISO

9000 standards, a supply chain with integrity is created. Each company that

participates in the process of developing, manufacturing, and marketing a

product knows that it is part of an internationally known, reliable system.

Not only do businesses recognize the importance of the ISO 9000, but also the

customer realizes the importance of quality. And because the consumer is most

important to a company, ISO 9000 makes the customer its focus.

What are the ISO 9000 Principles?

1. A Customer Focus

As stated before, the customer is the primary focus of a business. By

understanding and responding to the needs of customers, an organization can

correctly targeting key demographics and therefore increase revenue by

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delivering the products and services that the customer is looking for. With

knowledge of customer needs, resources can be allocated appropriately and

efficiently. Most importantly, a business’s dedication will be recognized by the

customer, creating customer loyalty. And customer loyalty is return business.

2. Good Leadership

A team of good leaders will establish unity and direction quickly in a business

environment. Their goal is to motivate everyone working on the project, and

successful leaders will minimize miscommunication within and between

departments. Their role is intimately intertwined with the next ISO 9000 principle.

3. Involvement of people

The inclusion of everyone on a business team is critical to its success.

Involvement of substance will lead to a personal investment in a project and in

turn create motivated, committed workers. These people will tend towards

innovation and creativity, and utilize their full abilities to complete a project. If

people have a vested interest in performance, they will be eager to participate in

the continual improvement that ISO 900 facilitates.

4. Process approach to quality management

The best results are achieved when activities and resources are managed

together. This process approach to quality management can lower costs through

the effective use of resources, personnel, and time. If a process is controlled as a

whole, management can focus on goals that are important to the big picture, and

prioritize objectives to maximize effectiveness.

5. Management system approach

Combining management groups may seem like a dangerous clash of titans, but if

done correctly can result in an efficient and effective management system. If

leaders are dedicated to the goals of an organization, they will aid each other to

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achieve improved productivity. Some results include integration and alignment of

key processes. Additionally, interested parties will recognize the consistency,

effectiveness, and efficiency that come with a management system. Both

suppliers and customers will gain confidence in a business’s abilities.

6. Continual Improvement

The importance of this principle is paramount, and should a permanent objective

of every organization. Through increased performance, a company can increase

profits and gain an advantage over competitors. If a whole business is dedicated

to continual improvement, improvement activities will be aligned, leading to faster

and more efficient development.

Ready for improvement and change, businesses will have the flexibility to react

quickly to new opportunities.

7. Factual approach to decision making

Effective decisions are based on the analysis and interpretation of information

and data. By making informed decisions, an organization will be more likely to

make the right decision. As companies make this a habit, they will be able to

demonstrate the effectiveness of past decisions. This will put confidence in

current and future decisions.

8. Supplier relationships

It is important to establish a mutually beneficial supplier relationship; such a

relationship creates value for both parties. A supplier that recognizes a mutually

beneficial relationship will be quick to react when a business needs to respond to

customer needs or market changes. Through close contact and interaction with a

supplier, both organizations will be able to optimize resources and costs.

Why is root cause analysis and systemic corrective action so important in

management system standards, such as ISO 9001?

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When problem solving, it is important to find the cause of problem in order to

develop a solution. Sometimes, the most obvious cause is not the right one. This

is why ISO 9000 stresses the importance of finding the root cause(s) of a

problem. There may be multiple, subtle reasons why a process isn’t working

correctly, and finding the actual causes will lead a company one step closer to a

solution and implementation of corrective actions.

The goal of finding root causes is to improve the way problems are managed.

Becoming adept in recognizing the root causes of a problem will lead to a

reduced impact, a containment of error, and the prevention of recurrence.

Identifying and correcting root causes will also lead to the reduction of

unnecessary efforts which in turn will lower the cost of maintaining quality. As

more and more corrective actions are taken, processes will become more stable,

and continual improvement will face less interruptions.

How does ISO 9000 interact with other standards?

ISO 9000 is the standard for a quality management system that closely

resembles many other management systems. These other systems, based on

health, safety, the environment, and business continuity, can be integrated into

an overarching business management system. Benefits of this system include

aligned interests, reduced costs, and improved efficiency. With one of these

systems in place, it is easier to implement any of the others; many documents

required for a different standard are already prepared, and personnel are already

accustomed to the audit process. Using multiple standards will not only increase

the efficiency of an organization, but increase the integrity of its operations.

What does ISO 9000 mean to me and my company?

ISO 9000 is a standard created to make the attainment of quality, consistent

products easier by providing specific steps for development of an organization’s

quality management system. This quality management system is meant to

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monitor the progress of a product or service as it goes through each stage of

production, from development to testing to assembly to customer feedback.

One cornerstone of ISO 9000 is continual improvement. No company should

ever be satisfied with the conditions of a process at the given moment; they

should always be looking for ways to make these processes more efficient and

effective. ISO 9000 was written with the business world’s insatiable desire for

excellence in mind. This is why continual improvement is a requirement of the

standard – to inspire progress and the pursuit of perfection.

ISO 9000 is an internationally recognized standard, and that may seem daunting

for some smaller businesses. How are they going to implement the same

standard adopted by multi-national corporations? Quite easily, actually. ISO 9000

is a flexible standard that lays down requirements for an organization to follow,

but allows the organization to fulfill these requirements any way they choose.

This increases ISO 9000′s scope of effectiveness, allowing a wide range of

companies to create quality management systems that match their needs.

ISO 9000 is seen in every sector of the business world, and its success is a

testament to its worth. With a focus on customer satisfaction, products and

services improve and flourish under ISO 9000′s quality management system.

With a combination of continual improvement and corrective actions – tenets of

ISO 9000 – a business will create processes that run smoothly and efficiently.

Q-1-Reference- Authors: Integration of Customer and Process M. Millmore, P.

Lewis, M. Saunders,

Q-2-Reference-Levine-How TQM worked for one firm

Q-3-Reference-Abridged with permission form Academy of Management

Executive Vol-6

Q-4-Reference- A. Thornhill, & T. Morrow

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Q-5-Reference- Strategic Management: Contemporary Issues

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