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The Relationships of Tqm, Six Sigma, and Jit

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1. Introduction More and more companies have implemented quality management in their operations. According to isixsigma.com, many international organizations have implemented total quality management (TQM) such as Toyota Motor, Motorola, Ford Motor, and Philip semiconductor. TQM which is a strategy aimed at embedding awareness of quality in all organizational process (wikipedia) began in the 1950’s and it has become widely known in 1980’s. Also, Six Sigma was originated from Motorola in 1986. Its purpose is to “identify and remove the causes of defects and errors in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the …show more content…

However, there is one inherent problem with attempting to apply Six Sigma to retail in which people occupy a main part. Thus, it is imperative for any businesses to consider defects made by their employees. 3. Relationship between TQM and JIT A synthesis of the two approaches, total quality management (TQM) and just-in-time (JIT), could improve the manufacturing competitiveness in many aspects. This section will discuss the effects of practices of one approach on the performance of the other approach respectively. TQM practices improve JIT performance Although TQM practices are believed to be a primary determinant of quality performance, their use may improve JIT performance as well. First, many TQM practices reduce process variance, considered to be a prerequisite for effective use of JIT. As process variance is reduced, there is less need for safety inventory. The impact of TQM practices on inventory turnover can be understood by examining the functional elements of aggregate inventory. When machines stop frequently for quality problems, high amounts of safety stock inventory a re required, to compensate for the absence of a constant work flow. The optimal level of safety stock is proportional to the square root of the standard deviation of the lead time; that means, as cycle time varies more because of

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