Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management philosophy in which quality stops being the job of a single department and becomes the responsibility of the whole company, from top management to the shop floor. Its basic principles are customer focus, continuous improvement (the PDCA cycle: plan, do, check, act), process management, decisions based on facts and data, and the involvement of everyone. In this article we look at TQM from a manager's point of view: what needs to be decided and planned, stage by stage, so that a new product from your company is born with quality.The quality policy belongs to the top management level of the organization. Using total quality as a business strategy defines how the company will operate in the market, which resources it will use and what priority it will give to each investment.The quality strategy leads to the definition of objectives, and achieving them requires planning. In general, planning involves defining the actions needed to reach the objectives set, assigning people responsible for those actions, providing the necessary resources and training, and establishing ways to evaluate performance against the objectives. Planning therefore belongs to the managerial level: it is what breaks down the objectives set by top management.The implementation of actions corresponds to the operational level. It is mainly at this stage that the many statistical and organizational quality methods and tools can be applied, according to the quality strategy, at the different stages of the production cycle. The three levels make up the quality pyramid shown below.Quality management has a different focus depending on your area and management levelA company can be seen as a macroprocess made up of several interrelated processes that must work together as a system, as illustrated below.The diagram, in Portuguese, links the market/customer to strategic planning, product design, materials purchasing and supplier development, plant design, hiring of employees, education and training, distribution, marketing and, finally, the customer. Quality must be present in all these processes so that the final product satisfies customers. Each process has its own role and requires different tasks to succeed. By properly exploring the quality dimension, a company can cut costs, gain market share and improve profits, ensuring customer satisfaction and anticipating customer needs.Note that the projects presented here are different from the business plan. The business plan is mainly used to understand the market and deals with financial and competitive aspects, explaining why it makes sense for your company to exist; it is what you present to future investors. The points covered here, on the other hand, guide managers and employees along the right path: the focus is on understanding each stage of manufacturing.Let us now go through the most important managerial points for applying Total Quality Management.In the quality pyramid, who is responsible for breaking down the objectives set by top management into actions, owners, resources and evaluation methods?Answer: The managerial level, which does the planning — top management defines the policy (what and why), management plans the breakdown (how, who, with what resources) and the operational level implements the actions.Product designProduct design is a process made up of activities that translate the customer's needs into a set of design requirements for manufacturing.To design, you need to understand the problem and have its boundary conditions well defined. The typical stages are:Identifying the customersUnderstanding the customer's needs (be a customer, talk to customers or simulate a sale)Generating ideasInitial screeningTranslating the needs into the supplier's technical languageDeveloping and testing the conceptBusiness feasibility analysisProduct developmentPlanning the life cycle and obsolescence (when and how the product will be replaced)Testing and market researchDesign review and optimizationLaunch and commercializationPlant designOnce the product objectives have been set, the process must be developed, giving the operating units the means to produce the products and services in a way that satisfies customers' needs.Plant design consists of drawing up a complete plan for producing goods and services. It covers the plant's location, the definition of processes and the equipment needed, the choice of physical arrangement, the facilities, the procedures, information about operations, the control and maintenance of the facilities and the whole production infrastructure. A good plant design makes it possible to combine materials, equipment and labor better in the available space, avoiding idle equipment, poor use of the land, high rearrangement costs, wasted time and problems such as narrow aisles, poor lighting, excessive material handling and inadequate storage.Planners must analyze the product objectives to see what obstacles the process presents, identifying unrealistic objectives and incomplete information about the product or service.An important consideration in process planning is the operational reality: the training and skills of the people who will run the process, the physical environment where it will take place and the actual workflow. Analyzing these aspects makes the process as well suited as possible to the company's reality, without requiring abrupt changes.The elements that form the basis of facility planning are:a) Product: what will be produced;b) Quantity: how much of each item will be produced at each location;c) Routing: what the process is like, its operations, equipment and sequences;d) Support services: auxiliary resources, activities and functions that give the area the conditions to work effectively;e) Time: when it will be produced, for how long, how often and within what deadline.A roadmap for plant designWith this data, plant design can begin following the roadmap proposed by KEHL (1979):Defining the objectives: knowing the objectives, limitations, factors involved, design constraints, the designer's scope of action, etc.Data collection: all the factors of the physical arrangement, data on the plant's location, sales forecasts, the variety of product lines, manufacturing processes, and the staff and facilities needed.Reassessing the objectives: checking whether the objectives changed after the data were collected.Planning the method: designing the plant should be a process in which each completed step is checked before moving on.Checking the results: at each stage, checking that the design is adequate based on the data collected and the objectives set.Adapting the design: introducing changes and adjustments to correct gaps between the objectives and the plan produced.Preparing the final plan: the plan to be implemented is drawn up after checking the ideal arrangement and the existing limitations.Planning and monitoring implementation: planning prevents the installation of one piece of equipment from getting in the way of others, and monitoring solves difficulties not foreseen in the design.Besides these, other aspects are part of process planning:a) design of tools and jigs;b) planning, specification and design of new production lines and facilities;c) planning the quality management system (for example, according to ISO 9001, whose 2026 edition replaced the 2015 one);d) planning of production staff: task specifications, standard times and costs;e) planning the information flow: what is needed to pass on instructions, flow models and routes;f) production planning and control: work schedules, sequence of operations, inventory control, labor, material and service costs;g) financial planning: sources of funds, means and return on invested capital.Your plant layoutAs for the physical arrangement (layout), the way machines are distributed among work centers depends on the nature of those centers. Operations management textbooks usually list four basic types:Fixed-position layout: the product stays put and the resources come to it, as in building a ship, an aircraft or a building.Functional (process) layout: machines and people doing the same function are grouped together (all drills in one area, all lathes in another), and each product goes through the areas it needs.Line (product) layout: equipment is arranged in the sequence of operations, and every item follows the same path.Group (cellular) layout: each cell brings together the equipment needed to make a family of similar parts.Layout differences have a major influence on production control. A line layout can be controlled more efficiently and at lower cost than a functional one and, when it suits the product, makes better use of labor, equipment and capital.In both line and group layouts, each section is organized to make a certain family of parts. The essential difference is that in a line all the components of the family use the equipment in the same sequence, while in a group this restriction does not apply.One advantage of the group layout is that it allows small and medium-sized companies that make a wide variety of products to reduce manufacturing time, making better use of capital and improving deliveries.According to KEHL (1979), some layout principles to follow during planning are:a) Integration: the plant must have all resources properly sized and in the right places, so that it works as a synchronized system with all parts meshing together. From the time clock to the locker rooms, everything must have a defined position and size.b) Minimum distance: distances between operations should be reduced, keeping only essential transport inside the plant.c) Following the flow of operations: workplaces should be designed so that people, materials and equipment move in a continuous flow, avoiding crossings and backtracking that cause congestion.d) Use of space: all three dimensions of the physical space should be used.e) Satisfaction and safety: working conditions should support higher productivity. Lighting must be adequate, workstations should allow activities to be carried out as comfortably as possible, and safety equipment should be easy to reach.f) Flexibility: possible changes to the plant should be anticipated, designing it so that it is easy to change and adapt to new conditions.g) Manufacturing time: a good plant design shortens production time, optimizing the use of capital.h) Work in process: a good layout reduces work-in-process inventory.To help you visualize the layout, one suggestion is to build a scale model of your plant out of cardboard, as in the video below:A small metalworking shop makes about 200 different parts in small batches, which can be grouped into 5 families with similar shapes and processes. Which layout tends to reduce manufacturing time without requiring a dedicated line for each part?Answer: Group (cellular) layout — each cell makes one family of parts without requiring all of them to follow the same sequence, which suits small and medium-sized companies with a wide variety of products. A line only pays off with high volumes of a few products; a functional layout works, but creates more transport, queues and work in process.Hygiene and safety in your plantHygiene and safety in the company also improve with a good plant design. Some precautions to take when designing the layout are:a) floors free of obstacles and uneven spots, non-slip, resistant to corrosive substances and suitable for material handling equipment;b) adequate dimensions for aisles, stairs, ramps and exits;c) isolation of dangerous machine parts;d) avoiding overloading transport equipment;e) sufficient ventilation or exhaust of contaminated air;f) fire extinguishers and first-aid supplies in easy-to-reach places;g) emergency exits in suitable places;h) compliance with safety standards on lighting and colors;i) adequate spacing between columns;j) a pleasant environment for employees.In Brazil, several of these points are legal obligations under the NRs (Normas Regulamentadoras, the occupational safety and health regulations issued by the Ministry of Labor), such as NR-8 (buildings), NR-12 (machinery and equipment), NR-17 (ergonomics, including lighting), NR-23 (fire protection), NR-24 (sanitary and comfort conditions) and NR-26 (safety signage, including colors). In other countries, check the equivalent occupational safety regulations.Remember 5S? This is where you can apply it.Hiring and training employeesAccording to CHIAVENATO (1990), the stages of recruitment are:Analysis of staff requests: understanding the position to be filled and the characteristics candidates need.Analysis of recruitment sources: analyzing where suitable candidates can be found. Sources can be internal, giving employees growth opportunities, or external, bringing people with new ideas into the company.Choice of recruitment techniques: choosing the best way to tell the market about the company's openings. The main techniques are notices at the entrance, referrals by employees, visits to universities and schools, job ads (today mostly on job sites and professional social networks) and recruitment agencies.Choice of recruitment content: deciding what will be communicated to candidates to attract them, and the conditions of the position, such as workplace, pay and benefits.Hiring is only the beginning: as the process diagram at the start of the article shows, education and training feed into hiring. Each employee needs to be trained in the procedures of their job and in the product's quality standards before taking up the post, and retrained whenever the process changes.Purchasing materials and developing suppliersA good relationship between the buying company and the supplier should lead to a partnership. Partnership creates ties that range from jointly developing new projects to improving existing products and parts, with technical assistance and shared use of laboratories, staff and test equipment, and can even include financial support.The company should be seen as part of a chain of buyers and suppliers in which the competitiveness of each depends on the competitiveness of all.Distribution logisticsDistribution logistics runs from the plant outward. It involves controlling and moving products between the plant and warehouses, inventories, and urban and intercity delivery systems. Warehouses handle receiving, handling, storage, picking and shipping.Marketing, pre-sales, technical support and after-salesAccording to MARINS (1993), to secure sales, marketing must draw up a "Customer Project" in the pre-sales phase, which consists of:Getting to know the top 20% of customers in depth: what they do, what they usually buy, what they expect from the product, their consumption and leisure habits, etc.Defining objectives and targets, that is, what is expected from each customer.Drawing up the strategies and plans to reach the objectives: what to do, who will do it, when, where and how.Drawing up the action plan.Note: today, in Brazil, collecting and using customers' personal data (such as marital status, number of children, salary or habits) is subject to the LGPD (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados, Law No. 13,709/2018, Brazil's general data protection law, similar to Europe's GDPR). Collect only what is needed for the purpose disclosed to the customer, with an appropriate legal basis, and protect that data.Pre-sales passes information on to after-sales, which checks whether the customer is really satisfied and looks at how service can be improved.After-sales is the set of activities that follow up on customer satisfaction after the purchase, instead of abandoning the customer. It is important for spotting the risk of losing customers, because winning a new customer usually costs several times more than keeping an existing one (the most frequently cited estimates range from 5 to 25 times, depending on the industry). Technical support is part of this follow-up: handling a defect well can turn a complaint into loyalty.Analyzing pre-sales and after-sales activities leads to marketing's ultimate goal: turning the customer into an active salesperson, someone who spontaneously speaks well of the product at home, at work, at the supermarket and on social media.To turn the customer into an active salesperson, you need to delight, surprise and attract them with features they do not expect to find in the product or service, impressing them to the point that they naturally recommend it.A company spends R$ 300 (Brazilian reais) on marketing to win each new customer and R$ 50 a year on after-sales to keep an existing one. It loses 100 customers a year because of poor service. What is the annual cost of replacing these customers, compared with keeping them?Answer: R$ 30,000 to replace and R$ 5,000 to keep — replacing them costs 100 × R$ 300 = R$ 30,000, while keeping them would cost 100 × R$ 50 = R$ 5,000 a year, six times less. That is why after-sales is treated as an investment, not as a cost.Internal marketing and motivationA good product, a good service, a good design and good equipment are worth little if there are no people behind them: professionals who are trained, motivated and aligned with the company's objectives.Before cutting-edge technology and sophisticated machines, you need to work on people's culture, behavior and attitude, through education, motivation and a clear definition of the company's objectives, and only then seek their integration and involvement.Today's worker does not accept being just a number, a tool, an insignificant part of the whole. They seek recognition and want to be respected and valued for the importance of their work in building the whole.This view gave rise to internal marketing, a management strategy aimed at training and motivating employees so that they offer quality products and services that satisfy customers.Internal marketing is therefore a prerequisite for external marketing: it makes no sense to advertise excellent service before employees are ready to provide it.The main objectives of internal marketing are:a) to ensure that employees are motivated by a customer orientation and a culture of superior quality, acting as a marketing team in their interactions with internal and external customers;b) to attract and retain good employees.Internal marketing manages attitudes, motivation and communication with employees, so that everyone knows what to do in case of emergencies, customer complaints and the unexpected. Everyone must know the routines of their job, the procedures related to products and services, and how to handle complaints.For communication within the company to be efficient, a system is needed that makes it possible to understand employees' needs and to hear their complaints, their suggestions for improving performance and what they find out about customers' wishes.Conclusion: total quality as a cycleNote that none of the stages above is "the quality stage": total quality results from all of them together, from product design to after-sales. In practice, each stage should run its own PDCA cycle: plan (what we covered in each section), do, check with indicators and act to correct and standardize. The information that after-sales and employees bring back from customers feeds strategic planning and product design, and the cycle starts again, a little better with each turn.A home appliance maker's after-sales team finds that many customers complain that one of its models is hard to clean. From a total quality perspective, where should this information go?Answer: To strategic planning and product design, closing the improvement cycle — in TQM, customer information feeds back into the design (the A in PDCA). Handling it only in technical support solves one customer's case, but the defect keeps being manufactured.
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