Quality Management: Definition, Principle and Stages

What is Quality Management?

Quality management is a process to make sure that a product or service made by the company meets the standard of excellence and satisfies the customer's needs. Quality management not only focuses on product quality but also tells us the ways of achieving it. 

Components of Quality Management

There are four main components of quality management:

1. Quality Control (QC)

It is a process in which the quality is maintained and reviewed considering all factors involved in the production.'

2. Quality Assurance (QA)

It is a process of preventing mistakes and manufacturing defects in a product and assuring the customer that the product delivered to him will be of high quality.

3. Quality Improvement (QI)

It is a process of continuous improvement in the quality of products through time-to-time inspections, checks, and reviews. This helps to evolve the product and meet the customer's expectations.

4 Quality Planning (QP)

It is the process of identifying the quality standards relevant to the project and deciding how to meet them.

Example of Quality Management

A great example of the implementation of quality management is Toyota Corporation's Kanban system. It is an inventory control system that helps to create visibility for both suppliers and buyers and helps to regulate the wastage of inventory on the production line at any given point in time. 

This helps Toyota to increase its efficiency and develop cars that are high quality and meets customer needs.

Stages of Quality Management

There are 4 stages of quality management

Stage 1

In this stage, the goals and targets of the company are identified and quality metrics are denied for the product.

Stage 2

In this stage, training, documentation, policies, workflows, and procedures are defined to support the steps of quality management.

Stage 3

In this stage, the manufacturing of the product is monitored and the results are reviewed and areas of improvement are identified.

Stage 4

In this stage, the outcome is reviewed and this whole process is ready to enter into the standard operating procedure domain of the company.

Principles of Quality Management

1. Customer Focus

Meeting and exceeding customer expectations is the primary focus of quality management.

2. Leadership

Effective leadership establishes unity of purpose and direction within an organization.

3. Engagement of People 

Involving and empowering people at all levels promotes their contribution to achieving organizational goals.

4. Process Approach 

Managing activities and resources as interconnected processes helps achieve desired outcomes.

5. Improvement 

Continual improvement is essential for enhancing performance, efficiency, and effectiveness.

6. Evidence-based Decision Making

Making decisions based on analysis and evaluation of data and information leads to better outcomes.

7. Relationship Management

Developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers and stakeholders contributes to overall success.

Advantages of Quality Management

It helps an organization to achieve greater consistency in tasks and activities that are involved in the production of products and services.

By enhancing operational efficiency, minimizing waste, and optimizing resource utilization, it leads to increased productivity and effective utilization of time and resources.

It helps to improve customer satisfaction.

It enables businesses to market their products efficiently and search for new markets.

It makes a business continuously improve its products, processes, and systems.