14 Points for TQM

Point 1

Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of the product and service so as to become competitive, stay in business and provide jobs.

- Running the business day-to-day basis while looking after the future of the business requires constancy of purpose and dedication to improvement.

- Top Management must spend time to innovate, put resources into research and education, constantly improve the design of the product and service, and put resources into maintenance of equipment, furniture and fixures.

- In this point Deming condemns short term thinking.

Point 2

Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. We no longer need live with commonly accepted levels of delay, mistake, defective material and defective workmanship.

- The level of error that could be tolerated yesterday cannot be tolerated.

- Only Management is in the position to do something about the vast majority of

errors.

- It is Management’s task to remove the obstacles that prevent the worker from doing the job correctly.

Point 3

Cease dependence on mass inspection; require, instead, statistical evidence that quality is built in.

- Mass inspection is an attempt to control the product rather than the process.

- Mass inspection is frequently subject to high levels of inaccuracy.

- Usually, it is too late, ineffective and costly.

Point 4

Improve the quality of incoming materials. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of a price alone. Instead, depend on meaningful measures of quality, along with price.

- Many of the problems of poor quality and low productivity are due to the poor quality of

incoming materials and the low quality of tools and equipment.

Point 5

Find the problem; constantly improve the system of production and service.

- There should be :

• Continual reduction of waste and

• Continual improvement of quality in every activity

- so as to yield a continual rise in productivity and a decrease in costs.

Point 6

Institute modern methods of training and education for all.

- Use modern methods of on-the-job training.

- Include the use of statistical analysis control charts to determine whether a worker has been properly trained and is able to perform the job correctly.

Point 7

Point 7 : Institute modern methods of supervision.

- The emphasis of supervisors and team leaders must be to help people to do a better job.

- Improvement of quality will automatically improve productivity.

- Management must prepare to take immediate action on response from supervisors and team leaders concerning problems such as inherited defect, lack of maintenance of machines, poor tools of fuzzy operations definitions.

- If the supervisor’s and team leader’s job to coach the people that are being supervised.

Point 8

Drive out fear in the workplace

- Encourage effective two-way communication and other mechanisms that will enable ‘everybody to be part of change, and to belong to it’.

- Fear can often be found at all levels in an organization;

- Fear that it may be necessary to learn a better way of working;

- Fear that positions might be eliminated;

- Fear of the effects of change on their job.

Point 9

• Break down barriers between departments and staff areas.

- People in different areas such as research, design, sales, administration and production must work in teams to tackle problems that may be encountered with products or service.

- Barriers result in sub optimization as each area tries to do what is best for itself rather than co-operating in order to achieve what is good for the organization as a whole.

- Deming points out that one clear symptom of sub optimization is paper work.

• Studies that show that 14 per cent of freight charges are spent on paperwork.

Point 10

• ‘Eliminate the use of slogans, posters and exhortations for the work force, demanding zero defects and new levels of productivity without providing

methods. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships; the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system, and thus lie beyond the power of the work force’.

-Deming was not totally against posters, only those that did not support the workers.

• Those that explain to everyone on the job what the Management is doing month by month to in order to improve the system by working smarter, would boost morale.

• Posters can be used for positive feedback.

Point 11

Eliminate work standards that prescribe numerical quotas for the work force and numerical goals for people in Management.

• Substitute aids and helpful leadership;

• Use statistical methods for continual improvement of quality and productivity.

Point 12

Remove the barriers that rob people of their right to pride of workmanship.

- This implies, abolition of the annual merit rating (appraisal of performance) and of

Management by objective.

- Again, the responsibility of managers, supervisors, foremen must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.

- Deming claims that the system of reward used in many organizations is one of the main constraints that prevent them from developing a ‘win-win’ culture.

Point 13

Institute a vigorous program of education, and encourage self-improvement for everyone.

- What an organization needs is not just good people; it needs people that are improving with education.

- Advances in competitive position will have their roots in knowledge.

Point 14

Top management’s permanent commitment to ever-improving quality and productivity must be clearly defined and a structure must be created that will continuously take action to follow the preceding 13 points.

- Deming stresses that the emphasis must be on action by top management, not just support.

Deming’s 14 Points

• Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.

• Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their

responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.

• Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place.

• End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move towards a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.

• Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.

• Institute training on the job.

• Institute leadership. The aim of supervision should be to helppeople and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of an overhaul, as well as supervision of production workers.

Deming’s 14 Points

• Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.

• Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service.

• Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the workforce asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.

a. Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute leadership.

b. Eliminate management by objective. Eliminate management by numbers, numerical goals. Substitute leadership.

• a. Remove barriers that rob the hourly paid worker of his right to pride in workmanship. The responsibility of supervisors must be changed

from sheer numbers to quality.

• B. Remove barriers that rob people in management and engineering of their right to pride in workmanship. This means abolishment of the annual or merit rating and management by objective.

• Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.

• Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody’s job.