Quality Management Techniques

This chapter provides an overview of six core quality management techniques and of ‘Six Sigma’, a strategic improvement approach. It discusses quality function deployment (QFD), design of experiments (DoE), failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), statistical process control (SPC), benchmarking, business process re-engineering (BPR) and value stream mapping (VSM). The goal of Six Sigma is value creation through quality improvement. Many of the objectives of Six Sigma are similar to those of Total Quality Management (TQM). Six Sigma improvement projects adhere to strict problem-solving approaches. Depending on the organizational processes to which they are applied, i.e. existing processes or new processes, improvement projects use either the define, measure, analyse, improve and control (DMAIC); or define, measure, analyse, design and verify (DMADV) approach. Managers must also realize that, if their organization has no clear power structure and the desired level of competence is not present, then a Six Sigma programme is unlikely to work.