10 Steps to implement total quality in organization

Top 10 Steps to implement total quality in organization

The following steps will give you an idea on how to implement total quality in an organization

1. Monitoring and Evaluation

Manager has to lay greater emphasis on the checking of results. For example, changes in the current management information system may be initiated so as to produce verifiable results on quality and quantity. Quality aspects should be integrated into the way in which success is judged.

2. Briefing Quality

Employees at all levels are to be educated in order to have clear idea through face-to-face communication or through team briefing. Regular quality briefings will make a significant contribution to overall improvement. Briefing must be conducted by the immediate boss with an emphasis on local achievements, difficulties and targets.

3. Consultation

Consultation about the work should be improved as consultation by experts will improve quality and methods of work. Consultation improves the sense of belongingness and has a psychological impact in helping people in making valuable contributions. It provides an opportunity to the employees to concentrate on customer needs. Consultation may be informal or formal through the methods like quality circles and suggestion schemes.

4. Lateral Communication

An early involvement of specialists in marketing, designers, accounting and production engineers in product design results in successful product design. The interdepartmental free flow of communication and interpersonal free-flow communication results in perfect sharing of information of feeding the information forward in order to eradicate the possible failures / defects.

5. External Communication

The employees should understand the cost of failing to private a zero defect product and provide an efficient and courteous service. Those who deal with the customers have the most important job of ensuring high standards of quality of the product and service. They should have the flow of information from external sources regarding the customer needs and expectations.

6. Structure

The closely related aspect to communication is structuring the relationships among the people clear, unambiguous lines of accountability for people are needed. People should work in teams. The teams should be of manageable size of 4 to 15. Quality must report to the line.

7. Quality Targets

Clear and specific quality improvement targets must be set for each job holder. This act gives the feeling to everyone that he/she is associated with the quality issues. Individuals must also be provided with support to achieve these targets.

8. Harmonization

The organizations should ensure harmonization by respecting and communicating the contributions of all the employees in order to make a progress towards total quality. This practice will avoid the “them against us” Syndrome.

9. Training

Every employee should be trained towards total quality, its philosophy, practices and outcome. Infact, training should be continuous and for all levels of employees.

10. Continuous Improvement

Total quality is a must in to-day’s economic scenario, where competition is the order of the day. Meeting the competition efficiently requires satisfying the present and future expected and even unexpected needs of the customer. Meeting the customer needs competition is a continuous and never ending phenomenon.

Therefore, quality improvement is a continuous effort on the part of all organizations. Total quality also requires the development of new procedures and structures. Development of effective leadership at work is necessary to persuade the people to deliver quality to customers. Realignment of work, procedures and organizational culture is a part of total quality.

Organizations should see the total quality as a ‘way of life’ at work using everybody’s Ideas and Expertise.