Is TQM dead?

One expert suggests there's a better way to improve quality.

by Troy M. Hawks,
Contributing Editor

If Total Quality Management (TQM) isn't already dead then it's surely on its way to extinction, at least in its traditional application, according to Jay Arthur, a self-described corporate shaman, based in Denver, CO.

"The statistics are ominous. Over half of all TQM and reengineering efforts fail and the price of failure is not cheap," says Arthur. "Time, money, market share, and opportunity have all been lost on the promises of TQM and reengineering."

Indeed, reports of failed TQM efforts can be found not only within the manufacturing sector, but throughout most industries. One could argue that some of these TQM vendors could use a little of their own medicine. In fact, Arthur believes that these programs fail because of the very concept of TQM.

He says that Dr. W. Edwards Deming, who most consider to be the father of TQM, once said that he had no idea where the word total, in Total Quality Management came from.

In short, Arthur believes that engaging in a typical TQM program, that seeks to implement company-wide training courses in order to bring about improvements in the overall quality of its manufacturing processes, is too overwhelming, and ultimately unattainable for most companies. Instead Arthur, a systems engineering graduate of the University of Arizona, says his Six Sigma approach to Quantum Improvements (QI) focuses on finding the source of the largest problems and making immediate counter-measures to remedy them, with as few people involved in the process as possible. His QI system is designed to reduce cycle times, defects, and costs.

In addition to producing ISO 9000 SPC software products, Arthur has penned five books on corporate quality improvement including The Beginner's Guide to TQM and Six Sigma Simplified, a Just-In-Time training manual designed to help manufacturing companies pinpoint problem areas and make immediate corrections to improve their processes.

Six Sigma, a quality improvement theory that is gaining popularity with many TQM vendors, refers to the level at which companies are able to reduce their defective products per million manufactured. As the Six Sigma Academy (Scottsdale, AZ) explains, the term "sigma", taken from a letter in the Greek alphabet, is used in statistics as a measure of variation.

In short, a company at the three sigma level produces 66,803 defective parts per million (PPM) produced. Four sigma equates to 6,280 PPM, five sigma is 233 PPM, and six sigma is 3.4 PPM, which, according to Arthur, is a level of quality that most companies cannot reach without special training.

Six Sigma Academy founder Dr. Mikel J. Harry initially developed and deployed the six sigma methodology at Motorola in 1986, and since then his company has successfully implemented six sigma into other companies such as GE, Seagate, Sony, Polaroid, AlliedSignal, Lockheed Martin, and Bombardier to name a few.

To reach the six sigma level says Arthur--who was trained in the Deming Award Winning Florida Power and Light improvement process in 1990--clients must first understand the 80/20 rule, a theory that suggests that 20-percent of business operations create 80-percent of the problem. Yet he takes this one step further, and suggests that as little as 4-percent of any business creates 50-percent of the problem. In short, inadequate quality issues are not distributed evenly throughout an entire business, but lie within a few select areas. So rather than changing an entire process, Arthur suggests simply pinpointing and correcting the sources of the greatest problem.

"You need to focus on improvement efforts that can generate the greatest return on investment, the one- to four-percent of the process that is creating more than 50-percent of the problem," says Arthur.

Another area where many traditional TQM systems fall short, says Arthur, is that they seek to train everyone involved in the business, and try to fix every problem. Instead, he suggests focusing on Just-In-Time training for a few select team members.

"If only 1- to 4-percent of your business causes 50-percent of the waste and rework, why are you trying to blanket the organization with training? Widespread training and application of improvement methods and tools takes too much time, money and resources," says Arthur. "To be successful, think of QI as an improvement that needs to integrate into the organization, not be layered on top of it. Once a critical mass of employees have experienced and adopted QI, the resulting implementation will snowball."

Arthur says that when working with his clients, he only trains a select group of improvement team members, and teaches them only a few basic skills that they'll need in order to make quality improvements. Some of these skills include root-cause analysis, and using line graphs, Pareto charts, and cause-effect diagrams to detect problem areas.

"The tools and processes of an improvement program must be taught in such a way that participants experience the immediate cause-effect of using these tools to bring about a desired result," says Arthur. "This gets the participants more involved in understanding how the quality improvement process was used to solve a problem, and then guides the participants in using the same improvement process to solve similar quality-related problems in the future."

In most circumstances, Arthur is able to teach his improvement processes in one two-hour session. From there he introduces the employees to a real-world problem and aids them in using the newly learned skills to find the source of the problem and make the corrective countermeasures to bring about a solution.

"The problem with most training programs, is that no matter how motivated you might be, when you get back to the office you lose 90-percent of what you've learned if you don't apply it within 48 hours," says Arthur. "Human beings are masterful at detecting patterns of behavior, then modeling, and repeating them. This instructional process shows the improvement strategy at least three times and then allows the participants to actually put the process into action for themselves in just a few hours."

Yet, Arthur adds, even after a TQM program has been successfully implemented, many remain susceptible to failure because efforts are not made to sustain them.

"Once the improvement efforts are focused on key business needs, the leaders can afford to bring together the best minds in the company for a few days to identify the root causes and appropriate countermeasures. Then the leadership must commit and direct the resources that will resolve the problem and prevent its recurrence. Without this level of sponsorship and leadership, improvement efforts invariably fail," Arthur says.

"Employees and customers are creatures of habit, and it takes time for any improvement to become a new habit. Without ongoing, periodic analysis, old habits eventually bend the improvement out of shape. Leadership must follow up on the performance results and ongoing improvement activities to ensure that the gains are sustained and retained," he adds.

To date Arthur's list of accomplishments includes helping the Denver-based telecommunications company US West save over $36 million dollars in billing expense and reduce computer system downtime in key online applications from 100,000 minutes a week to less than 26,000 minutes a week, all in just six months. This year Arthur helped a wireless company eliminate five main service order errors and increase service order accuracy from 65-percent to 95-percent.

Jay Arthur's latest book, Six Sigma Simplified, Quantum Improvement Made Easy, published by John Wiley and Sons, features 123-pages illustrating step-by-step instructions on how users can focus on the key areas of their business where dramatic quality improvements are necessary. The book explains the Six Sigma theory and teaches readers how to use tools such as root cause analysis to prevent problems permanently. The book also includes a workbook with examples that guide readers through each essential tool of Quantum Improvement.

In addition, Arthur's latest software release, The QI Coloring Book, Macros for Excel, provides one-click access to line, pie, bar, Pareto, histogram and other graphs and control charts for use with ISO 9000, Six Sigma, or Baldrige documentation. The program automatically draws the graphs and charts using Microsoft Excel and is available in either PC or Mac format. For more information on Quantum Improvement, contact Jay Arthur at 2244 S. Olive St., Denver, CO 80224; Phone: (303) 753-9355; Fax: (303) 753-9675; e-mail: lifestar@rmi.net, or visit: http://www.quantum-i.com Circle 188

Other Six Sigma and TQM products and services

SigmaTRAC software

The DuPont Company, in conjunction with the Six Sigma Academy (Scottsdale, AZ) created SigmaTRAC software to support fast-track global Six Sigma implementation and management. SigmaTRAC is a management tool designed to give users up-to-the-minute views of project financials, project status versus schedule, insight into issues and barriers, and other vital information around specific projects in relation to a company's overall Six Sigma effort.

Available as either a web-enabled application or a client-server application, SigmaTRAC's core is a Lotus Notes or Lotus Domino database, which captures information about all of the projects throughout an organization. The project record includes all data throughout the project life cycle, including team, tools, documentation, and financials. Roll up financial data shows total program impact or sorts by business site to quantify impact at different levels. Six Sigma Academy, Scottsdale, AZ. Phone: (480) 515-9501. http://www.6-sigma.com Circle 189

Six Sigma Black Belt Program

From J.G. Noguera & Associates in conjunction with Air Academy Associates--http://www.airacad .com--comes the Six Sigma Black Belt Program. Participants of the Six Sigma training class learn the KISS (Keep It Simple Statistically) approach to prioritize, characterize, optimize, and realize return on investment (ROI). The KISS approach is used, with the intention to avoid statistical complexity. Here statistics are not presented as an "end", but rather as the means to gaining knowledge for making good decisions which are critical for success. Participants practice a variety of Six Sigma tools and techniques through the use of physical demonstrations and computer simulations. Participants are also required to demonstrate the use of these methodologies in their specific areas, and then write a report to document their success story and their impact to the company's bottom line. J.G. Noguera & Associates, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. Phone: (416) 620-4363. http://www.jgna.com Circle 190

Plan-IT Pro

Plan-IT Pro is able to schedule resources, manage project plans, and determine accurate costs to consulting organizations, software companies, and internal IT departments. The software is designed to be flexible, easy to use, and to handle the requirements of a mobile staff. Plan-IT Pro is particularly useful for practice managers, project managers, staff consultants, and the accounting and human resource departments and is available in both small business and professional editions. TQM Software Inc., Atlanta, GA. Phone (770) 956-1256. http://www.planitpro.com Circle 191

TeamFlow

TeamFlow combines process deployment flowchart, Gantt chart, org chart, document management, and full Internet capabilities into one package for complete team-based process management. TeamFlow is designed to be used for a variety of team-based process mapping applications, including TQM management, ISO 9000 certification, and business process reengineering. Users are able to map and document processes and utilize the deployment flowchart to clearly illustrate which department is responsible for what part of the work, how information flows between team members, and which members need to work together to get things done.

TeamFlow is fully integrated with the Internet so users can read and write models, post deployment flowcharts, or create HTML files across the Internet. CFM Inc., Bedford, MA. Phone (800) 647-1708. http://www.teamflow.com Circle 192

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This article was originally published in the September/October 2000 issue of Quality in Manufacturing.

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