Quality

Quality management is the act of overseeing all activities and tasks that must be accomplished to maintain a desired level of excellence. This includes the determination of a quality policy, creating and implementing quality planning and assurance, and quality control and quality improvement. It is also referred to as total quality management (TQM). In general, quality management focuses on long-term goals through the implementation of short-term initiatives. At its core, TQM is a business philosophy that champions the idea that the long-term success of a company comes from customer satisfaction and loyalty. TQM requires that all stakeholders in a business work together to improve processes, products, services and the culture of the company itself.While TQM seems like an intuitive process, it came about as a revolutionary idea. The 1920s saw the rise in reliance on statistics and statistical theory in business, and the first-ever known control chart was made in 1924. People began to build on theories of statistics and ended up collectively creating the method of statistical process control (SPC). However, it wasn't successfully implemented in a business setting until the 1950s. It was during this time that Japan was faced with a harsh industrial economic environment. Its citizens were thought to be largely illiterate, and its products were known to be of low quality. Key businesses in Japan saw these deficiencies and looked to make a change. Relying on pioneers in statistical thinking, companies such as Toyota integrated the idea of quality management and quality control into their production processes. By the end of the 1960s, Japan completely flipped its narrative and became known as one of the most efficient export countries, with some of the most admired products. Effective quality management resulted in better products that could be produced at a cheaper price.There are many definitions for general quality management systems. Most of them emphasize the use of some type of system that is repeatable, measurable and constantly improving. In an ISO 9001 (or other ISO standards) quality system, this structured way of delivering a better service or product is supported by documented information such as procedures, work instructions, policies and forms. The key is to provide all those who must execute the quality system with documented, understandable and workable instructions which define both expectations, responsibilities and actions to achieve the stated quality goals. Most of the systems include some type of external and internal auditing process which ensures that the system is in compliance with requirements.At its core, a quality management system is an integrative element, uniting diverse aspects of a company into a unified purpose of delivering products/services in their best form. Rather than be seen as a cost burden, an effective quality management system is viewed as a key component of success.

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