You should know at least the surface topics surrounding TQM (Total Quality Management) because nearly all modern businesses practice TQM strategies and tactics to reduce costs and ensure top quality.
But first, check out this old video clip of America discovering something that ironically, an American (W. Edwards Deming) exported to Japan with great success years before:
So big-Q "Quality" became a bit hit and has been embedded in process management throughout the globe ever since.
Here are some Quality buzz words that surely you've heard before:
ASQ - American Society for Quality
"Black Belt" - Ooo. Ahh. It does mean something. It means a person has passed a series of very difficult exams on statistics and statistical process control for quality based on the quantitative technics and measures originated in Japan by W. Edwards Deming.
ISO 9001 - the International standard of a Quality Management System that is used to certify that business processes follow standard process and product guidelines.
Kaizen - a long-term approach to work that systematically seeks to achieve small, incremental changes in processes in order to improve efficiency and quality.
Kanban - a visual system for managing work as it moves through a process.
Lean - a synonym for continuous improvement through balanced efficiency gains.
LCL* - Lower Control Limit - The negative value beyond which a process is statistically unstable.
MAIC - Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control.
Service Level Agreements (SLA) - A contract between a service provider and end user that defines the expected level of service to the end user.
UCL* - Upper Control Limit - The positive value beyond which a process is statistically unstable.
Uptime - Uptime is a measure of the time a service is working and available and opposite of Downtime.
Six Sigma - a statistical approach to process improvement and quality control; sometimes defined as +/-3 three deviations for the mean ("6"), sometimes as +/-6 deviations from mean.
History and W. Edwards Deming
Quality Management is a permanent organizational approach to continuous process improvement. It was successfully applied by W. Edwards Deming in post-WWII Japan. Deming's work began in August 1950 at the Hakone Convention Center in Tokyo, when Deming delivered a speech on what he called "Statistical Product Quality Administration".
He is credited with helping hasten Japanese recovery after the war and then later helping American companies embrace TQM and realize significant efficiency and quality gains.
*Measures such as standard deviation and other distribution-based statistics determine the LCL and UCL for a process (any process- temperature of a factory floor, time to assemble a component, download/upload speed, defects per million, etc.).
References:
http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/total-quality-management/overview/deming-points.html
https://www.quora.com/How-did-W-Edwards-Deming-influence-Japanese-manufacturing
But first, check out this old video clip of America discovering something that ironically, an American (W. Edwards Deming) exported to Japan with great success years before:
1980 NBC News Report: "If Japan Can, Why Can't We?"
So big-Q "Quality" became a bit hit and has been embedded in process management throughout the globe ever since.
I think he has a point here.
Here are some Quality buzz words that surely you've heard before:
ASQ - American Society for Quality
"Black Belt" - Ooo. Ahh. It does mean something. It means a person has passed a series of very difficult exams on statistics and statistical process control for quality based on the quantitative technics and measures originated in Japan by W. Edwards Deming.
ISO 9001 - the International standard of a Quality Management System that is used to certify that business processes follow standard process and product guidelines.
Kaizen - a long-term approach to work that systematically seeks to achieve small, incremental changes in processes in order to improve efficiency and quality.
Kanban - a visual system for managing work as it moves through a process.
Lean - a synonym for continuous improvement through balanced efficiency gains.
Example of statistical process control using UCL and LCL boundaries and a process (Fall Rate) improving.
MAIC - Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control.
Service Level Agreements (SLA) - A contract between a service provider and end user that defines the expected level of service to the end user.
UCL* - Upper Control Limit - The positive value beyond which a process is statistically unstable.
Uptime - Uptime is a measure of the time a service is working and available and opposite of Downtime.
Six Sigma - a statistical approach to process improvement and quality control; sometimes defined as +/-3 three deviations for the mean ("6"), sometimes as +/-6 deviations from mean.
The table above gives you an idea of realistic process improvement numbers (66,800 == a lot of defective items)
Quality Management is a permanent organizational approach to continuous process improvement. It was successfully applied by W. Edwards Deming in post-WWII Japan. Deming's work began in August 1950 at the Hakone Convention Center in Tokyo, when Deming delivered a speech on what he called "Statistical Product Quality Administration".
He is credited with helping hasten Japanese recovery after the war and then later helping American companies embrace TQM and realize significant efficiency and quality gains.
Deming's 14 Points for Total Quality Management
References:
http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/total-quality-management/overview/deming-points.html
https://www.quora.com/How-did-W-Edwards-Deming-influence-Japanese-manufacturing
