WHAT IS QUALITY MANAGEMENT?

‘Quality Management’ is a generic term, and the word ‘Quality’ means nothing on its own. ‘Quality’ is an individual’s perception. Take a wrist watch for example. What is its purpose? My first initial thoughts are to tell the time, however for others a wrist watch is much more than that it may often be viewed a piece of jewellery and the more expensive the exclusive the brand name the better. Or it can be just a watch, something to use to give you information such as the time. Therefore, when it comes down to function a cheap watch purchased for £10 can be just as good as an expensive brand that can cost £50,000. Of course you would not wear a £50,000 watch to work on a building site. My point is a perception of quality will change according to needs and requirements. For telling the time most watches are reasonably equal, but when it comes to appearance, status, image and personal choice then perception will change. The fact is a true definition of what quality is, is difficult to say. Some say that quality is excellence, well if that is the case it will always be just out of reach. But it is what we all strive for excellence. So again what is ‘Quality Management’, adding the word ‘management’ we change the meaning however it still means nothing without explanation. So to break it down. Effective quality management breaks down into three elements as follows: Quality Control: If we start with chaos we need to control the situation – separating the pigs from the sheep. Quality Assurance: Once we have controlled a process – assuring the pigs and sheep never mix again – we have created a platform for: Quality improvement – This is where our search for excellence begins. This is also the most exciting element of ‘Quality Management’, and because excellence can never really be achieved but we can get close. This is where effective management systems come into their own. There are tools and professional consultants out there to help companies implement effective business (quality) management systems and grow their business. Less is more, in the past many ‘quality’ management systems where heavy with often unnecessary documentation/ procedures that people rarely read let alone actually followed. They were often just updated as required to meet the requirements of 3rd party assessors. Companies implemented these systems to gain ISO 9001 certification not specifically as a toolset to improvement the business and customer satisfaction. ISO 9001:2015 published in September 2015, focuses on ‘risk’ management. I could ask the obvious question; why leave it this late. Most consultants and respectable managers have been focusing on risk anyway. It can be argued that all management is risk management. You cannot have a risk without a hazard. So risk management has a logical sequence: Identify the potential hazard, assess the risks associated to the hazard, what is the probability? What are the consequences? What are the costs of mitigation, contingency and so on? Two simple tools can help with risk management: A risk register – Hazard identification what can go wrong, probability and consequences. A legal register – all legislation associated with the hazards identified. Cross reference the two registers. It is important to realise that business owners and managing directors must be aware (accountable) for the company’s legal obligations a legal register will prove to be a useful tool.