Quality Management

 

Introduction

 

Quality cannot happen by itself, it is always the result of intelligent efforts, therefore, it has to be managed. After the customer needs are identified, products are designed and capable processes established to produce and deliver the designed products; the next step is to manage the network of processes to ensure that the desired products and services are produced and delivered in conformance to the design. This is possible by establishing a scientific Quality Management System in the organization.

 

Quality Management involves all the activities of the overall management function that determine the quality policy and objectives of the organization and implement them by means of quality planning, quality control, quality improvement and quality assurance within the quality management system.

 

The starting point for quality management is the formulation of a quality policy and a set of quality objectives of the organization.

 

Quality policy and objectives are implemented within a quality management system
through quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement
activities.

 

The following diagram explains the relationship of quality management, quality policy and objectives, quality planning, quality control, quality assurance, quality improvement and quality management system.

 

As shown in the diagram, quality management system is the foundation of quality management. Quality planning, quality control, quality improvement and quality assurance are the four pillars through which quality policy and objectives are implemented by the organization. As per the above diagram, in order to implement quality management, the first thing to be done is to create a sound foundation of  a scientific quality management system. Various organizations that jumped to Total Quality Management, without establishing an effective quality management system, failed in attaining their quality objectives.