TQM IN FORD

Ford Motor Company total quality management or TQM practices started in the 1980s when
Quality Is Job 1 was their slogan. How did TQM work at Ford and are they still standing
behind this process? Jean Scheid, a Ford Dealer talks with Ford management along with some
insights of her own.

TQM at Ford Motor Company

Today at Ford Motor Company, their most popular slogan is Ford Has a Better Idea. Back in
the 1980s when Ford Motor Company total quality management practices were vast, the slogan
of Quality Is Job 1 made more sense.

In a conversation with Dan Dobbs, a Six Sigma Master Black Belt at Ford, it was noted that
TQM may have worked in the 1980s, but Six Sigma is the project management methodology of
choice these days.

When TQM, a process improvement methodology based on a customer satisfaction quality-

driven process with guidelines set by management was first utilized, it started through a joint
venture.

Through a partnership with ChemFil, a division of PPG Industries, Ford wanted to produce better
quality products, a stable work environment for the workforce, effective management, and
profitability; all by the 1990s, Quality is Job 1 became Quality People, Quality Products.

Through this partnership with paint supplier ChemFil, paint process were developed to ensure
that a quality product that meets customers needs translates into financial success, according
to an insider press release obtained from the Ford Media Room. TQM was forefront in their
painting design as the process of preparation (based on customer quality standards) was
implemented by ChemFil with Ford management and workers informed of all steps needed to
follow the application of paint to a quality outcome.
Gone were the days of guessing, and TQM meant processes at all levels of production were
strictly followed, constantly developed upon, and improved mostly through customer quality
satisfaction surveys.

TQM is Revisited

In 1999, Terry Chenault joined Ford, a risk management specialist who along with Phong Vu,
helped to further the TQM methodology through a Consumer Driven Six Sigma Process. Says
Dan Dobbs today of TQM and Ford, It may have been newsworthy in the 1980s but Ford Motor
Company Total Quality Management practices really began with Henry Ford.

Thats true if you look at Toyotas 5S Best Practices in the production of their vehicles, a
methodology decided upon after visiting Henry Fords assembly lines. While TQM at the Ford
assembly lines looked good to Toyota, they found too much waste and went on to develop their
own quality process or 5S.

What Changed TQM at Ford?

According to Dan Dobbs, the Six Sigma Master Black Belt who runs Six Sigma practices at
Ford, Waste and lack of quality on many levels. This is true especially when you look at the far
superior Ford Warranty claim system. As of 2008, the warranty repair rate for Ford by utilizing
Six Sigma decreased by 60%.

Ford Chief Engineer Art Hyde takes the now implemented Six Sigma a step further saying, The
design and engineering analysis process makes it possible for problems, that previously may not
have surfaced until (product) launch, to be caught and corrected in the virtual world through the
DMAIC process.

The DMAIC process, or define, measure, analyze, improve, and control has built an overall
strategy for consistency in our teams, continues Hyde.

Of their Six Sigma implementation for 2010 product launches, Dobbs told me, The Companys
Quality Operating System or (QOS) is crucial for identifying and correcting problems within the
manufacturing facilities. He goes on to say, Six Sigma and QOS implemented in each plant
includes cross-functional groups of engineers, plant management, and production specialistsall
skilled problem solvers whove been trained through Six Sigma.

Ford seems to be sticking with Six Sigma roles and has 60,000 Six Sigma Green Belts, over
7,000 Black Belts and 400 Master Black Belts worldwide. To make the process work even better,
Ford is working with Wayne State University in Detroit to aid all UAW Ford reps in becoming
Six Sigma Black Belts.

TQM: Ford Uses CT Scans To Weed Out Acceptable Parts, Replace Them With
Optimal Variants:

What may appear to be an innocuous speck of sand to one person can be a substantial bother for
a new car owner. Thats exactly why engineers at Ford Motor Company are working with an
advanced scanning technology to improve vehicle quality.

Ford uses CT scans to detect problems with parts before assembling them into a finished vehicle
- such as this microscopic view of a brake hose.

The sophisticated technology in question is the same computer tomography (CT) scanner used
by the police and hospitals. Ford engineers use the scanner a Skyscan Micro-CT unit that fits
on a table-top to help check for internal and structural deficiencies of vehicle parts, including
gears, latches, welds, nuts, bolts, fasteners, and sensors before they are assembled into a
finished car.

Imperfections such as air pockets, indentations, and blemishes all of which could mean the
difference between acceptable and optimal quality can be detected. If a supplier makes a
change to the way it manufactures or assembles a part, Fords forensic investigators as
theyre known internally can create a short, three-dimensional video from the data collected by
the CT scanner and check whether the change has lead to an improvement in the quality and
performance of the part. The scanner is capable of detecting defects down to 17 microns
smaller than a single particle of sand or one-fifth the diameter of a human hair. This means that
problems not visible to the naked eye can now be seen on the computer screen. The goal of the
procedure is to find problems before they turn into customer-reported issues.
 Before implementing the scanning practice, each component needed to be taken apart by hand in
order to be studied a process thats not only extremely time consuming, but also very tedious:

Wed spend hours sanding it a little, polishing it a little, examining it under a microscope and
then take a picture of it, repeating this process several times, said Vlad Beltran a Ford analyst.
Even then it was possible that we could go right through a defect and not even know it. With
the scanner, many issues can be found and solved within a few short hours.

What happens when an issue is found and identified by the scanning procedure? The findings are
given to the proper people to fix the problem in this case, its the materials engineering group
that works with designers and a supplier base to resolve the issue and/or correct the situation.

The Ford Authority Take

Needless to say, this is awesome on many levels. Ford is driving quality to a point that has
been unheard-of in the mainstream automotive space and the numbers are living proof that its
working. Hows that for Total Quality Management (TQM)? Manufacturing geeks, feel free to
chime in!

Advantages of TQM in FORD:

The major thrust of Total Quality Management (TQM) is to achieve productivity and process
efficiency by identifying and eliminating problems in work processes and systems. TQM
addresses key problem areas such as mistakes in work processes, redundant processes,
unnecessary tasks, and duplicate efforts. TQM interventions also help with predicting and pre-
empting such mistakes and unproductive activities.

Improving process efficiency brings about many benefits to the organizations in terms of costs
and time.

The major benefits of TQM in terms of cost savings include:

elimination of non-confirmation and repetitive work

 elimination of waste costs and reject products

elimination of repairs and reworks

reduced warranty and customer support costs

process efficiency leading to improved profit per product or service

fiscal discipline through elimination of unnecessary steps and wasteful expenditure

TQM frees up management time from redressing problems and directs management time and
effort to:

increase production

extend the range of products

improve existing products

TQM and Customer Satisfaction

A major long-term benefit of Total Quality Management relates to customer satisfaction. TQM
aims at improving quality, and identifies the best measure of quality as matching customer
expectations in terms of service, product, and experience. TQM interventions quantify problems
and aim to achieve the best state defined in terms of such customer expectations.

Some examples of the application of Total Quality Management to improve customer satisfaction
include:

Reduction of waiting time by changing the method of appointment scheduling or client

handling

Making changes to the delivery process so that the product reaches the customer faster

Better quality products requiring no repairs improving customer loyalty

TQM and Organizational Development

 Among the major benefits of Total Quality Management is improvement in Organizational
Development. TQM heralds a change in the work culture by educating all employees on quality
and making quality the concern of everybody, not just the Quality Control department. The focus
on quality leads to a proactive work culture aimed at preventing mistakes rather than correcting
mistakes.

Total Quality Managements focus on teamwork leads to the formation of cross-departmental

teams and cross-functional knowledge sharing. Such interventions lead to many benefits such as:

Improvement in communication skills of individual employees and overall

organizational communication

Knowledge sharing, resulting in deepening and broadening of knowledge and skill-set

of team members, and the making of a Learning Organization

Flexibility for the organization in deploying personnel, contributing to rightsizing, and

ensuring cost competitiveness.

Another benefit of Total Quality Management is that TQM promotes the concept of internal
customer/supplier satisfaction. For instance, the HR department considers employees as internal
customers and processes their queries or requests within the specified time limit. The lab
technician in a hospital processes the clinical tests required by the doctor, an internal customer in
a timely and efficient manner, according to the laid down customer satisfaction norms.

TQM and Human Resources

A major application of benefits of Total Quality Management relate to Human Resource

Management. Application of TQM in an organization brings about the following benefits to the
Human Resources of an organization:

1. TQM extends the ownership of the business process to each employee involved in the
process by empowering them to rectify mistakes on the spot without supervisor review or
action. This generates intrinsic motivation and creates an atmosphere of enthusiasm and
satisfaction among the workforce.
2. TQMs thrust on eliminating mistakes and improving productivity contributes to
accomplishment of targets faster. The resultant free time allows employees to enhance their
knowledge and apply their creativity to improve existing products and develop new products.

3. TQMs thrust on quality leads to identifying skill-deficiencies in employees and

providing training and other interventions to bridge such deficiencies. Cross-functional and
cross-departmental teams allow employees to share their experience and solve issues jointly,
leading to benefits such as broadening skill-sets, and improvement of existing skills.

4. TQMs focus on eliminating mistakes and bringing about process efficiency heralds a
direct approach such as counseling and other remedial actions to solve issues such as
absenteeism.

5. The enhanced productivity brought about by TQM translates to better profits for the
organization, and consequently better wages.

TQM and Competitive Advantage

The application of Total Quality Management brings forth all-round benefits and makes the
organization more competitive. In the new business environment marked by demolition of
barriers and free flow of information and products, organizations retain their competitive
advantage by reducing prices, improving existing products and innovating new products. TQM is
a business strategy that allows organizations to achieve all this and much more.

Total Quality Management demolishes the myth that increased quality results in increased costs
and decreased productivity. TQM proves that quality is actually the key to decreased costs, and
better productivity and positions quality as a critical component of strategic business advantage