The Concept of Continuous Improvement by TQM

[H. M. Nasim]

TQM is mainly concerned with a continuous improvement in all work, from high-level strategic planning and decision-making to detailed execution of work elements on the shop floor. It stems from the belief that mistakes can be avoided and defects can be prevented. It leads to continuously improving results, in all aspects of work, as a result of continuously improving capabilities, people, processes, technology, and machine capabilities.

Continuous improvement must deal not only with improving results but more importantly with improving capabilities to produce better results in the future. The five major areas of focus for capability improvement are demand generation, supply generation, technology, operations, and people capability.

A central principle of TQM is that mistakes may be made by people, but most of them are caused, or at least permitted, by faulty systems and processes. This means that the root cause of such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition can be prevented by changing the process.

There are three major mechanisms of prevention:
1. Preventing mistakes (defects) from occurring (mistake-proofing or poka-yoke).

2. Where mistakes can't be absolutely prevented, detecting them early to prevent them from being passed down the value-added chain (inspection at the source or by the next operation).

3. Where mistakes recur, stopping production until the process can be corrected, to prevent the production of more defects. (stop in time).

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[H. M. Nasim]

Source: https://www.isixsigma.com/methodology/total-quality-management-tqm/introduction-and-implementation-total-quality-management-tqm/