The principles of quality management imply a brief wording, which contains guidelines regarding the monitoring of the condition of products. They are developed internationally and also serve as a guide to action for entrepreneurs.
Basic principles of quality management
Quality management is governed by international standards. These are some kind of recommendations and directives for heads of industrial enterprises. So, the following principles of quality management are provided:
- Any organization in its activities should focus on customers , since it is somewhat dependent on them. The company is created in order to satisfy the needs of customers, and therefore it is necessary to constantly respond to newly arising requests. Customer focus will significantly increase market share, as well as profit by attracting new customers.
- The leadership of the leader lies in the fact that he sets the goals for the functioning of the enterprise and creates a certain atmosphere in which employees work. The leader must literally lead his team on the path to achieving high results. Thus, the work of all units will be coordinated, coherent and directed.
- Any manager should delegate a number of responsibilities, as well as involve employees in the management process. This allows you to identify their hidden abilities, as well as fully utilize all available labor resources. This gives additional motivation to employees, and also allows them to feel personal responsibility for the results of the organization.
- The principle of the process approach implies that the activities of the enterprise should be perceived and managed as a process. In this regard, the entrances and exits, as well as intermediate positions, must be clearly marked. This allows you to standardize production processes, which subsequently leads to a reduction in the cycle.
- A systematic approach to managing the organization. This allows you to improve the relationship between the individual units and processes. As a result, the manager has the opportunity to concentrate on key processes without scattering attention on secondary tasks. As a result, the organization’s work becomes stable.
- Continuous improvement is the main goal of any enterprise that strives for success. This allows you to get certain advantages against other organizations operating in the market.
- All decisions regarding the management of the enterprise should be made on the basis of specific facts that are objective in nature. Thus, any action will be fundamental and justified.
- Relations with suppliers should be based on mutually beneficial conditions. When the company is confident in the purchased raw materials or semi-finished products, it can reduce the time and material costs of control. In addition, such a partnership would be valuable in view of stability.
Thus, we can say that the principles of quality management illustrate the organization's work ideally. The manager can implement them in whole or in part.
ISO 9000
The quality of products and services is regulated at the international level. So, the requirements for this system are described in international standards ISO 9000. It should be noted that compliance with this document is not always a guarantee of high quality, because it depends on a number of factors. Nevertheless, this gives the manufacturer some degree of reliability. In addition, it is worth noting that the basic principles declared by this document can be adjusted, depending on the organizational characteristics of the enterprise.
The quality management system 9001 is an upgraded version whose goal is to stabilize the quality management system. Initially, relations between consumers and suppliers were regulated. At the moment, this is the minimum necessary condition that allows the company to act effectively in the market. The system allows managers to formalize the management approach.
Certification of quality management systems defines the fundamental terms that should guide enterprises. This is a necessary basis that allows you to control the characteristics of the product at all stages of production.
Why certification
Certification of quality management systems is carried out in order to determine the following points:
- compliance of products and services with the requirements of international organizations;
- determination of the effectiveness of the quality management system used at the enterprise;
- setting standards and norms to which product quality must comply;
- workflow regulation;
- detailing the processes of a quality management system.
Obtaining the appropriate certificate is preceded by the following steps:
- submission of documents and their preliminary consideration;
- preparation and conduct of an audit of quality management in the enterprise;
- completion of work.
How is product quality evaluated?
Methods for assessing product quality can be classified as follows:
- By the method of obtaining information:
- measuring - implies the use of special precision instruments;
- registration - data obtained on the basis of mechanical or automatic calculation are used;
- organoleptic - based on information obtained by perception using the senses;
- settlement - relies on the use of special formulas.
- By source of information:
- traditional - data from reporting documents are used;
- expert - involves a group of specialists in a particular industry;
- sociological - data is collected through surveys.
The most common quality assessment methods are as follows:
- differential - individual indicators are evaluated, for each of which a comparison is made with the standard;
- qualitative - this is a generalized indicator that takes into account all the characteristics at once;
- the mixed method implies a general assessment with highlighting individual characteristics.
Total control
Total quality management is a concept that combines modern achievements in the field of increasing labor productivity, as well as the principles of compliance with international standards. The term was first introduced by the Japanese back in the 1960s. The method is based on the constant application of the basic eight principles.
Primary requirements
The enterprises put forward the following requirements for quality management:
- determination of the list of controlling processes with their application at all stages of production activity;
- all quality management processes should be carried out in a certain sequence and clearly interact with each other;
- criteria and methods of control must comply with modern achievements of science and technology;
- the manager should always have access to relevant information for continuous monitoring of the process;
- continuous analytical work in order to identify deviations and timely action;
- monitoring compliance with the achieved results should be planned.
The purpose, objectives and tactics of quality management
The goal of quality management is a long-term orientation to the consumer's request, as well as the interests of the owners and employees of the enterprise and society as a whole. The results of the company should be brought into strict accordance with international standards.
In accordance with the goal, it is worth highlighting the main tasks of quality management, which can be formulated as follows:
- continuous improvement of product quality with a parallel reduction in its cost (the principle of correcting the causes of deviations, and not eliminating the negative consequences of unsatisfactory results should be used);
- mandatory certification of the quality management system in order to develop confidence in the consumer of the manufacturer’s reliability.
The tactical provisions of quality management are as follows:
- constant identification of the causes of possible defects in order to eliminate them and prevent marriage;
- ensuring the interest of employees at all levels in improving the quality level;
- creating an appropriate strategy;
- continuous improvement of the quality of goods through the introduction of new technologies;
- constant monitoring of the latest scientific achievements with a view to their application in the production and management process;
- independent audit, in addition to inspections of regulatory bodies;
- continuous training and improvement of knowledge in the field of quality management both on the part of the manager and all employees without exception.
The main components of quality management
ISO quality management system implies the presence of the following main components:
- quality control is the activity of identifying the conformity of the actual state of a product with that described in regulatory documents (can be carried out by means of measuring work, laboratory tests, observations in the natural environment in order to obtain information);
- quality assurance is a regular activity, which implies the implementation of relevant regulatory requirements (this applies to the production process, and the management apparatus, and the procurement of raw materials, and after-sales service, and so on);
- quality planning is a set of measures to determine the future characteristics of an object and to draw up a long-term program to achieve relevant indicators (this also includes the definition and procurement of resources necessary for the production process);
- quality improvement is the realization of the ability to meet the increased requirements for the production facility (also we can talk about the technological process, organizational structure, and so on).
Popular areas of quality management
At the moment, quality management has received an extensive theoretical and practical base, which combines elements of many areas of knowledge. Over the years, many systems have been formed, the most popular of which are the following:
- ISO is one of the most common systems in the world. Its main postulates are the orientation of the enterprise and each individual employee to improving quality, which is manifested in the continuous improvement of each of the subsystems.
- Total quality management is a philosophy that came to world practice from Japan. Its essence is to improve everything that is possible. However, there are no clear principles and postulates by which activities should be carried out.
- Quality awards are a kind of awards awarded to organizations that have achieved the greatest success in the field of quality control. Their products must fully comply with all established requirements. At the same time, attention is also drawn to the organization of internal control.
- Six Sigma is a technique that aims to improve all processes in an enterprise. It is aimed at identifying all non-conformities to standards in time, identifying their causes and bringing the system to normal. This is a specific set of tools that allows you to optimize the production process.
- Lean manufacturing is a practice that involves reducing the cost of production and at the same time improving the quality of products. The essence of the system is that all resources and material goods should be used exclusively for the purpose of producing the product for the end user in full. If an increase in the consumption of material goods does not lead to an improvement in the quality of the finished product, then they should be reviewed.
- Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that implies a continuous pursuit of the best and stimulating demand. This is a systematic approach that declares that at least insignificant steps must be taken on the path to improvement, even if there is no opportunity for global transformation. Over time, these minor reforms will lead to global change (quantity will turn into quality).
- Best practices - a concept that involves the study and use of the most progressive achievements of organizations that work in a particular industry.
conclusions
Quality management is one of the main tasks of any enterprise, which focuses on satisfying the consumer's request and ensuring the maximum level of profit. International organizations have developed relevant principles that should guide enterprises in carrying out their activities. Producers must first of all focus on the interests of consumers. The head of the enterprise should be the leader from whom the initiative and energy come, but at the same time all employees must be involved in the production process. The organization should be perceived as a holistic system. All production is a single process. When making any management decisions, it is worth relying on current data. As for relations with suppliers, they should be based on mutually beneficial conditions.
There are a number of requirements for quality management at the enterprise. The first step is to determine a list of processes that are subject to continuous monitoring. A clear sequence of monitoring actions should be defined, and it should also establish a clear relationship between them. Controlling the production process on the subject of quality, it is worth focusing on the achievements of modern science, while the information from the manager should always be relevant. The control service must identify deviations from the planned indicator and make timely adjustments.
The most widespread in the world is the ISO 9000 quality system, which contains clear recommendations and instructions on the organization and control of the production process. If we talk about Japanese total quality management, it only determines the general direction and recommends a general improvement in all areas. Quality awards are a popular practice that involves rewarding the best manufacturers in their industry if their products comply with all established standards. A system such as Six Sigma is an orientation to continuous monitoring of the situation in order to identify deviations and correct them in a timely manner. Lean production was quite widespread. In accordance with this concept, all available resources should be fully spent on the production of the final product with minimal losses. Quite interesting is the Japanese kaizen philosophy. It consists in the fact that the organization must regularly take at least insignificant steps towards improvement, counting on the future cumulative effect. If we talk about best practices, then the leader should study and learn from the experience of the most successful organizations working in the industry.