TQM IN MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA

-By Amit Bansal

BACKGROUNDFounded in 1945 in Ludhiana as

Mahindra & Mohammed Founded by K.C. Mahindra, J.C.

Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Mohammed

Changed its name to Mahindra & Mahindra in 1948

Set up as steel trading company

INTRODUCTIONOne of the largest automobile

manufacturers by production in INDIA

Headquarter in MumbaiAround 1,50,000 employees in

over 100 countries across globe19th in the list of top companies

of India by fortune India 500

CRITICAL ISSUES FACED BY M&M Global market scenario- economic

turbulence , govt. Unsupportive policyTotal quality management- although

quality is good but failed to manageProduct innovation- no development of

new product & improvement of existing product

Human resource development- no individual development to achieve performance improvement

New marketing strategies- not much focused on advertisements.

PREVIOUS TO TQMTractor division was main marketFocus was more on qualityNo emphasis on development of new

modelsInteraction with suppliers is purely need

basedSales and service activity lacked

standardizationRejection percentage very highEmployee involvement in improvement

activity was very limited

TQM JOURNEY WITH M&MTQM journey was in 3 phases Introduction phase (1990-1994) Promotion phase(1995-1999) Development phase(2000

onwards)

INTRODUCTION PHASE(1990-1994)Improving manufacturing quality

through process controlImproving the quality of bought

out componentsIncreasing productivity and

reducing the cost of poor quality

PROMOTION PHASE(1995-1999)

The focus was not just on standardization of operation according to international guidelines but improvement of operations

Certification ISO 9000 and automotive sector specified standard QS 9000 were obtained

Up gradation of manufacturing facilities

Initiation of Deming Prize guidelines

DEVELOPMENT PHASE(2000 ONWARDS)Improvement in core processes

like new product development , manufacturer supplier management and sales customer operation

Certification to environment management system standards ISO 14001

Continuous improvement activity started including 100 percent of the employees

TQM BENEFITS…Reduction in rejection at

suppliers end as well at receipt stage

Reduction in number of customer complains

Increased productivity, customer satisfaction, employee involvement in continuous improvement

Introduction of new models –15 models in three years

WINNER…First and only tractor company

globally to win Deming award in 2003Won Japan quality model in 2007, only

tractor company worldwide to be bestowed this honor

Total productive maintenance (TPM) Excellence award first category from Japanese institute of plant maintenance (JIPM) for the company’s automotive division

CONCLUSION

In marching towards the 21st century, M&M have begun the journey of TQM. The journey is very painful. Yet there is no alternate road for excellence. TQM is both goal and a path. Therefore the quality journey is one that can never end.