The term “total quality” was used for the first time in 1969 at a conference sponsored by Japan, America, and Europe. The terminology referred to wider issues such as planning, organization, and management responsibility. The Japanese further explained it was “total quality control”. The Japanese continued to explain it was “company-wide quality control”, and described how all employees, from top management to floor-level workers, must study and participate in quality control. The West was slow to follow and did not begin until the early 1980’s when Total Quality Management (TQM) began to surface.

Since 1969, the International Standardization Organization (ISO) 9000 has become the internationally recognized standard for quality management systems. ISO 9000 is comprised of a number of standards that specify the requirements for the documentation, implementation, and maintenance of a quality system. While today we are now turning to Six Sigma as the new standard, some argue many of the tools and aspects are the same. However the main difference is that the path to quality is now clearly mapped out in six steps (Leadership Commitment – Customer Focus – Strategic Deployment – Integrated Infrastructure – Disciplined Framework – Education and Training).

As we move into the 21st century, people must be recognized as a fundamental building block of any Total Quality Management organization. The complexity of most of the processes in an organization places them beyond the control of anyone individual, and the only efficient way to tackle process improvement or re-design is through the use of TEAMWORK.

What is quality?

A frequent definition of quality is:

“Delighting the customer by fully meeting their needs and expectations.”

However, we believe Quality begins with market research. For an organization to be really effective, quality must span all functions, all people, departments, products and activities. The cooperation of everyone and all things at every interface is necessary to achieve a TOTAL QUALITY ORGANIZATION.

How many of these poor behaviors do you recognize in other businesses?

  • Leaders not giving clear direction
  • Not understanding or ignoring competitive positioning
  • Individuals or whole departments working only for itself
  • Accepting a certain level of defects or errors is inevitable
  • Firefighting, reactive behavior
  • “It’s not my problem” attitude

At Total Quality Construction, Ltd. you will quickly discover that we truly believe in Total Quality Management.

At Total Quality Construction, Ltd. we practice:

  • Customer-focused decisions and consulting
  • Total employee involvement
  • Strategic and systematic approach
  • Continual Improvement
  • Constant analytical and creative thinking
  • Fact-based decision making
  • Strong communication