Applying Total Quality Management in your company: a managerial perspective

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Here we will see step by step how to apply Quality Management to a product recently launched by your company

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The quality policy is related to the organization’s management level, since the use of the total quality concept as a business strategy leads to the definition of the company’s operating strategies in the market, the resources, and the degree of priority for investments.

The quality strategy leads to the definition of objectives, which, in order to be achieved, require planning. Generally speaking, planning involves defining the actions necessary to achieve the established objectives, assigning responsibilities for such actions, providing the necessary resources and training, and establishing means to evaluate performance against the objectives. Therefore, planning is related to the quality management dynamic for cascading the objectives set by top management.

Quality management has different focuses depending on its area and management level
Quality management has different focuses depending on its area and management level

The implementation of actions is related to the operational aspect of the quality pyramid. It is mainly at this stage that the numerous statistical and organizational quality methodologies and tools can be applied, depending on the quality strategy, in the different phases of the production cycle.

The business organization can be understood as a macroprocess composed of several processes that are interrelated and must function in a systemic way, as illustrated below.

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Quality must be present in all these processes so that the final product can satisfy customers. Each process assumes the main role, with different tasks being necessary to achieve success. With the correct use of the quality dimension, cost reductions, market gains, and improvements in profit can be achieved, ensuring customer satisfaction and anticipation of customer needs.

Note that the projects presented here differ from the business plan. The business plan is used mainly to understand your market, and advances financial and competitive aspects, explaining the “why” your company makes sense to exist. The business plan is used to present your company to future funders. The points presented here, on the other hand, are meant to guide your managers/employees in the right direction; the focus here is to understand each stage of manufacturing.

We then move on to the most important managerial points for applying Total Quality Management.

Product Design

Product design is a process made up of activities that translate customer needs into a set of design requirements for manufacturing.

To design, it is necessary to understand the problem and have its boundary conditions clearly defined.

  • Customer identification
  • Perception of customer needs (be it a customer, communicate, or simulate a sale)
  • Idea generation
  • Initial screening
  • Translation into Supplier language
  • Concept development and testing
  • Business feasibility analysis
  • Product development
  • Obsolescence planning
  • Testing and marketing research
  • Design review and optimization
  • Launch and commercialization

Factory Design

After establishing the product objectives, the process must be developed, providing operating units with the means to produce goods and services in order to satisfy customer needs.

Factory design consists of formulating a complete plan for the creation of goods and services. It involves factory location, process determination, necessary equipment, selection of the physical layout, the necessary physical facilities, procedures, information about operations, control and maintenance of facilities, and all infrastructure for production. Through factory design, it is possible to improve the combination of materials, equipment, and labor in the available space, avoiding equipment idleness, errors in land use, high rearrangement costs, wasted time, problems such as narrow corridors, poor lighting, excessive material handling, inadequate storage, and others.

Process planners must analyze product objectives to check the obstacles posed by the process, identifying unrealistic objectives and incomplete information about the product or service.

An important consideration in process planning is determining operational realities such as training, the skills of the people who will use the process, the physical environments where the process will be carried out, and the actual flow of the process. Analyzing these aspects will make the process as adapted as possible to the company’s realities, without requiring significant 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, sequences;

d) Support Services - resources, activities and auxiliary functions that must supply the area, providing conditions for effective operation:

e) Time - when it will be produced, for how long, how often, and by what deadline.

Route for your factory design

From this data, factory design can begin by following the following route proposed by KEHL (1979):

1. Definition of objectives - to know the objectives, limitations, involved factors, design constraints, the designer’s scope of action, etc.

2. Data collection - involves all factors of the physical layout, data on the factory location, sales forecast, diversity of product lines, manufacturing processes, personnel and necessary facilities.

3. Reassessment of objectives - check whether there has been any change in objectives after the data collection.

4. Method planning - the method of designing the factory should be a process in which, after each step is carried out, a verification is made before moving on.

5. Verification of results - at each stage, the adequacy of the project must be checked using the collected data and the established objectives.

6. Project adaptation - introduction of modifications and adjustments to the project to correct distortions identified between the established objectives and the plan carried out.

7. Preparation of the final plan - the plan to be implemented can be made after verifying the ideal layout and the existing limitations.

8. Planning and monitoring of implementation - planning aims to prevent the placement of one piece of equipment from interfering with the others, and monitoring is important to solve difficulties not considered in the project.

In addition to these, other aspects that are part of process project planning are:

a) Tool and jig design;

b) Planning, specification and design of new production and facilities;

c) Quality system planning;

d) Planning for production personnel - task specifications, standard times, costs;

e) Information flow planning - information needed for the transmission of instructions, flow models and routes;

f) Production control planning - work schedules, sequence of operations, inventory control, labor, materials and service costs;

g) Financial planning - sources of financial resources, means and return on capital investment.

Layout of your factory

With regard to the anatomy of processes or layout, the way in which the various machines will be distributed among the work centers will depend on the organizational nature of those centers.

There are basically 3 ways to organize equipment: line layout, functional layout, and group layout.

Differences in layout have an important influence on production control.

The line layout can be controlled with greater efficiency and lower cost than the functional layout and, when appropriate, the line layout enables 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 between the two is that in a line all components of the family use the equipment in the same sequence, while in a group this restriction does not apply.

One of the advantages of the group layout is that it offers a method for small and medium-sized companies, which make a wide variety of products, to reduce manufacturing time, improving capital utilization and deliveries.

According to KEHL (1979), some principles of physical layout that should be followed during planning are:

a) Integration: the factory must have all resources properly sized and placed in the appropriate locations, so that it functions as a synchronized system, with all parts integrated. From the time clock to the changing rooms, everything must be placed in determined positions and properly sized.

b) Minimization of Distances: distances between operations should be reduced, keeping only the indispensable transport within the factory.

c) Compliance with the Operation Flow: work locations must be designed so that people, materials and equipment move in a continuous flow, avoiding crossings and returns that cause congestion.

d) Use of Space: the 3 dimensions of physical space must be utilized.

e) Satisfaction and Safety: working conditions must be such that they can increase productivity. Lighting must be adequate, workstations must allow activities to be carried out as comfortably as possible, and safety equipment must be in places that are easy to access.

f) Flexibility: possible changes in the factory must be identified and it must be designed so that change and adaptation to new conditions are easy.

g) Manufacturing time: production time can be reduced with a good factory design, optimizing capital utilization.

h) Work in Process: a good layout influences inventory volume, allowing its reduction.

To help you visualize the layout, I recommend buying cardboard and assembling your factory according to the video below:

Hygiene and safety of your factory

The company’s hygiene and safety can also be increased through a good factory design. Some precautions that should be taken in the layout project are:

a) floors without obstacles or unevenness, non-slip, resistant to corrosive substances, and suitable for handling equipment;

b) adequate dimensions of corridors, stairs, ramps, exits;

c) isolation of dangerous parts of machines;

d) avoid overloading transport equipment;

f) sufficient ventilation or exhaust of contaminated air;

g) fire extinguishers and first aid kits in easily accessible places;

h) emergency exits in appropriate places;

i) compliance with safety codes regarding lighting and color;

j) adequate spacing between columns;

1) pleasant location for employees.

Remember 5S? This is where you can apply it.

Hiring employees

According to CHIA VENATO (1990), the phases of recruitment are:

1. Analysis of employee requests - knowing the position to be filled and the characteristics required of candidates.

2. Analysis of recruitment sources - analyzing where suitable candidates can be found to fill the vacancy. Sources may be internal, providing employees with growth opportunities, and external, bringing people with new ideas to the company.

3. Choice of recruitment techniques - choosing the best way to inform the market about the available positions in the company. The main techniques are: signs at the entrance, employee referrals, visits to universities and schools, advertisements in newspapers and magazines, and recruitment agencies.

4. Choice of recruitment content - choosing what will be communicated to candidates to attract them and the requirements of the position, such as workplace, compensation, benefits, among others.

Acquisition of raw materials and acquisition of suppliers

A good relationship between the purchasing company and the supplier should lead to the establishment of a partnership relationship. The partnership establishes ties between the companies and suppliers that include from the joint development of new projects, improvement of existing products and parts, through technical assistance, shared use of laboratories, personnel, testing equipment, and may even involve financial assistance.

The company should be seen as part of a chain of buyers and suppliers where the competitiveness of one depends on the competitiveness of all.

Distribution Logistics

Distribution logistics operates from the inside out of manufacturing. It involves the control and transfer of products between the factory and warehouses, inventories, urban and interurban delivery subsystems, warehouses, where operations of receiving, movement, storage, separation, shipping and external circulation and other activities take place.

Marketing, pre-sale, technical assistance and after-sales

According to MARINS (1993), in order for sales to be guaranteed, marketing must develop a "Customer Project" in the pre-sale phase. This project consists of:

1. Diagnosing the top 20% of customers, obtaining all information about them: what they do, marital status, number of children, where they work, salary, what they usually buy, what they expect from the product, what activities they usually practice in their leisure time, etc.

2. Defining objectives and goals, that is, what is expected from the customer and establishing the targets.

3. Developing strategies and plans to be used to achieve the objectives. What to do, who will do it, when to do it, where to do it and how to do it.

4. Developing the action plan.

Pre-sales provides information to after-sales so that it can verify whether the customer is really satisfied and analyze possibilities for improving service.

After-sales is a set of activities carried out with the objective of analyzing the satisfaction of the customer's needs, not abandoning them after the purchase. It is important in identifying possibilities of losing the customer, since the cost of winning a new customer is sometimes the cost of keeping one.

The analysis of pre-sales and after-sales activities leads to the major objective of marketing, which is to turn the customer into an active seller, someone who spontaneously talks about the product at home, at work, at the supermarket, etc.

To turn the customer into an active seller, it is necessary to delight them, surprise them, attract them with features that they do not expect to find in the product or service, impressing them and making them naturally sell the product/service.

Internal Marketing and Motivation

A product, a good service, a good project, good equipment are worth little if behind them there is not the human being, the trained professional, motivated and integrated with the company's objectives.

Before cutting-edge technology and sophisticated machines, it is necessary to work with culture, behavior and attitude of people, through education, motivation and clear definition of the company's objectives, and only then aspire to their integration and involvement.

Today, people no longer accept being just another number, an instrument, an insignificant piece of the whole. They seek recognition, they want to be respected, valued for the importance of their work in building the whole.

Within this vision, internal marketing developed, which is a management strategy aimed at training and motivating the employees of a company so that they offer quality products and services that will satisfy customers.

Thus, internal marketing is a prerequisite for external marketing, since it makes no sense to advertise excellent service before the company's employees are ready to provide it.

The main objectives of internal marketing are:

a) Ensure that employees are motivated by a customer-oriented approach and a culture of superior quality, acting as a marketing team in their interaction with internal and external customers;

b) Attract and retain good employees;

Internal marketing manages attitudes, motivation and the communication of information to employees, so that everyone can know what to do in case of emergency, customer complaints and unforeseen events. Everyone should be informed about the

routines of the positions, procedures related to products and services, and handling of complaints.

For communication in the company to be efficient, a system is needed that allows knowing employees' needs, hearing their complaints, suggestions to improve their performance and their discoveries about customers' desires.

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