What is the TQC Design Process?

TQC: A Strategy for All Types of Business

Introduction

Total Quality Control (TQC), also called Total Quality Management (TQM), is a system that seeks to make quality the focus and the responsibility of every organizational function, from the CEO to the shop floor. After observing the success that TQC had engendered in Japanese businesses following World War II, the concept was widely adopted by western businesses in the 1980's. It has since evolved and matured into an indispensable tool for customer satisfaction, business growth and cost reduction.

Quality By Design

TQC = Increased Customer Confidence

Before TQC became widely utilized, most quality control processes were concentrated at the end of the production cycle. The completed product was tested for quality, and if the quality was poor, the product had to be repaired or rejected. The costs and inefficiencies of this approach are obvious. The primary aim of TQC is to detect and correct faults early in the process and so reduce costs, delays and customer dissatisfaction--to "get it right the first time every time."

Quality expert Joseph M. Juran took the idea one step further. His idea was that with a thorough understanding of the product and the processes by which it is made, the product and the process can be designed to avoid quality problems. The advantages of designing quality into a product instead of inspecting for quality in after its production are obvious, and the concept has proven its worth in businesses around the world.

Costs

Quality Can Grow a Business

While TQC includes costly components such as thorough staff training and the education of suppliers, these costs are quickly overcome. They are offset by such benefits as savings from reduced product rejection and delay, increased customer satisfaction and confidence, and an improved business image.

Both businesses and consumers have benefited greatly from TQC, and it can be argued that the concept has migrated from business and industry into education and government, thereby having a positive effect on society as a whole.

References

• Kaizen and Total Quality Management
• Total Quality Management, Wikipedia

Resources

• Total Quality Control By Armand V. Feigenbaum, 2004