Quality Management: 5 Quick and Easy Steps September 02 2015
When choosing a favorite company or product, consumers are concerning themselves with the final outcome. However, there are a multitude of factors that go into creating a quality product, and much of that creation process comes down to quality management. If the management of an organization is of high quality, the products will follow in the same fashion.
Quality management adheres to a company’s principles and standards, making it the specific task of quality managers to ensure that these standards are in place. Without the foundational principles of an organization, both employee morale and production value will decrease exponentially.
What can YOU do to implement a culture of quality management?
Be customer-focused. Everyone has heard the old adage: “The customer is always right.” You can have a well-stocked inventory, full staff of employees, and all of the capital in the world. Without loyal consumers, you have no business. Make sure that all of your focuses -- in the long run -- will benefit the customer. If possible, conduct surveys of focus groups from your consumer base. Find out what you can improve and what consumers like about your business and products.
Choose born leaders... Not everyone has the capacity to be a manager. Someone within your organization can have the tenure and the knowledge to step into a management role, but the position should only be offered to those with true leadership characteristics. It is not enough to have the knowledge; managers must also be able to demand respect and be willing to do the “tough stuff.”
...but be sure to consult those on all levels. While not everyone is cut out to be a manager, the workers on your production floor will also have plenty of insight on how to improve the day-to-day operations within your organization. Hold weekly meetings with your crew, and allow your lower-level employees to have the floor first; doing this will allow them to offer their thoughts without being muddled by what they think you and your management team want to hear.
Create and follow a step-by-step procedure. Things can easily slip through the cracks during long days on the production floor. In addition to the quality checker at the end of the production line, you should also create a step-by-step process for completion. This doesn’t have to be the end-all-be-all procedure; Lean is all about continuous improvement, after all!
Make decisions based on facts, not feelings. It may be tempting to try to overhaul your entire production procedure all at once when you are in your quest for creating a Lean workplace, but it is best to take things slow and steady. Have your management team streamline one section of production at a time. This will make the switch much less overwhelming for both you and your team.
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