SUMMARY OF THE INTEGRATION OF TOTAL QUALITY

MANAGEMENT (TQM) AND SIX-SIGMA

TQM refers to an integrated approach by management to focus all functions and levels of

an organization on quality and continuous improvement. Over the years TQM has become very

important for improving a firm's process capabilities in order to achieve fit and sustain

competitive advantages. TQM focuses on encouraging a continuous flow of incremental

improvements from the bottom of the organization's hierarchy. TQM is not a complete solution

formula as viewed by many – formulas cannot solve managerial problems, but a lasting

commitment to the process of continuous improvement.

Several important quality management systems, or programs, such as ISO 9000, Six-

Sigma program, and Toyota production system, have been launched. Industries around the world

have adopted most quality imperatives. In order to help the industries, we describe the meanings

of the quality, the evolution of quality management, and the content and practices of some

important imperative.

Firms have adopted some quality program simultaneously. When some quality programs

implement separately, the employees, especially the managers and staff, will encounter trouble.

The TQM and Six-sigma are widely adopted by the industries in the world. The TQM with Six-

Sigma program in order to implement these two quality programs effectively.

Quality is defined by Edward as the capacity of product or service to satisfy the customer

requirements in. Juan also defined the quality as being fitness for purpose use,…,it is judge by

the users, not the manufacturers, or the merchants in. He also asserted that each product or

service has multiple quality characteristics. Crosby defined the quality as ’conformances to

customer’ requirements from the view points of the customer.

Some critical concepts of quality to be emphasized. Japanese quality philosophy is ‘zero

defects – doing it right the first time’. It means that quality is the result of doing the right thing

and doing the thing right at the first time, ‘doing the right thing’ is to meet the customers’ needs

and expectations, and doing the thing right’ is to follow the standards of the totality of quality.

Quality management affects everything from employee performance to customer

satisfaction. Product superiority has changed drastically over decades on both the local and

national levels. After World War II. Japan made the decision to make quality improvement a

national imperative in an effort to rebuild their economy. Since that time, a management

philosophy has been established and followed promoting quality, productivity, and

competition.

TQM began in the mid-1980s and was based on benchmarking and learning from Japanese

CWQC. Several gurus, like Deming, Juran and Ishikawa have contributed much to the

development of TQM and implemented then, especially the Deming 14 points and Juran quality

trilogy. In addition to these, the characteristics of CWQC also affected the content of TQM.

During this period, the ISO 9000 quality system was launched and Motorola implemented

Six-Sigma improvement projects in 1987. The USA also started the Malcolm Baldrige National

Quality Award (MBNQA) in 1987, which was based on the referring to the Japanese Deming

Award. After MBNQA launched, many countries also developed their national quality awards

based on the MBNQA system.

1. Customer Focus

2. Continuous Improvement

3. Employees’ Participation

4. Teamwork

5. Process Focus

6. Systemization

7. Empowerment

8. Leadership

9. Management by Facts

10. Training and Education

11. Corporate Quality Culture

Integration of Six-Sigma

Six Sigma is a new management philosophy that seeks a non-existent error rate. It is ripe

for healthcare because many healthcare processes require a near-zero tolerance for mistakes. For

most organizations, establishing a Six Sigma program requires significant resources and

produces considerable stress. Integrating Six Sigma into the existing TQM program facilitates

process improvement through detailed data analysis. A drilled-down approach to root-cause

analysis greatly enhances the existing TQM approach. Using the Six Sigma metrics, internal

project comparisons facilitate resource allocation while external project comparisons allow for

benchmarking. Thus, the application of Six Sigma makes TQM efforts more successful. This

article presents a framework for including Six Sigma in an organization's TQM plan while

providing a concrete example using medication errors. Using the process defined in this article,

healthcare executives can integrate Six Sigma into all of their TQM projects..

The six sigma program was first espoused by Motorola in the mid 1980’s. The successful

implementation of this program led to several famous companies to follow its strata. The huge

contribution of the implementation of the six sigma program is due to the realization of better

practices and operation systems. In this, the main features of the system are included in this

study: implementation steps, the support from the organization and investment in training.

Achieving Six Sigma means that no more than 3.4 defects occur per one million

"opportunities" to create an acceptable output. The name itself is the statistical measure that

describes that defect rate. So, Six Sigma refers to six standard deviations between the mean of a

process and the specification for whatever output is being measured. Specifications are

determined by customers.

In practice, the process relies on the "DMAIC" framework:

Define

Measure

Analyse

Improve

Control

Tips for Success

The long-term philosophy of Six Sigma is to eliminate all non-value-adding activities

within the manufacturing process. This journey is one of continuous improvement and must be

focused so that its implementation does not overwhelm the organization. Here are key points for

entrepreneurs to keep in mind as they implement Six Sigma efforts:

Build the case for change. Involve all levels of the organization and leverage the strengths of

your organization and culture.

Start slowly. Ensure employees are recognized and rewarded for bringing challenges in the

process to the forefront. Do not let Six Sigma become so big that it keeps team members from

speaking up honestly when it is not working.

Seek out the right team. Select individuals to serve as Black Belts who not only have the

appropriate technical expertise but also have the amount of respect needed to work with

employees at all levels.

Create the right foundation. Check the organizational culture to ensure it's not solely based on

safety, data, and a "plan, do, check, act" low-cost, no-cost problem solving approach. This type

of culture lacks the right foundation for Six Sigma to be successful.

Select the right projects. Identify carefully which projects require this level of analysis and take

time to define the necessary level of return.

Involve the team. Use "gate" reviews that involve all team members. This approach helps to

create ownership and maintain employee focus during various stages of the process.

Communicate and visibly celebrate successes. Communicate openly and encourage associates

to communicate openly, too. Successes, even minor ones, should be visibly celebrated.

Train strategically. Conduct extensive training first with those directly involved in

implementing the Six Sigma process and then expand to train all associates in the basics of Six

Sigma.

With such a highly competitive global business environment, implementing Six Sigma

through stakeholder collaboration and involvement is critical to positioning your organization to

thrive in the future.

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

STA. MESA MANILA

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SUMMARY OF THE INTEGRATION OF TOTAL

QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM) AND SIX-

SIGMA

Submitted by:

Dyico, Bingo P.

Submitted to:

Prof. Rosario Turingan

A.Y 2015-2016