Question
What is quality management and how has it changed from its original to now?
Answers
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
Brief definition
- Quality management is the coordinated activities an organization uses to direct, control and improve the quality of its products, services and processes so they meet customer requirements and regulatory and business objectives. It covers planning, assurance (preventing defects), control (monitoring/inspection) and continuous improvement.
How it started — the original model
- Craftsmanship era: Quality was the maker’s responsibility — items were inspected by the craftsman who made them; defects were fixed by rework.
- Early industrial/inspection era (late 19th–early 20th century): With mass production, inspection became a separate stage. Quality was mostly a final-check function: accept/reject lots, reject defects. Responsibility sat with a quality department.
- Scientific management influence: Focus on standardization and efficiency (Taylor, Ford). Quality thinking was mostly about interchangeability and conformance to specs.
Major shifts over time (milestones)
- Statistical process control (1920s–1940s): Walter Shewhart introduced control charts and the idea of controlling variability in processes. During WWII SPC spread to industry.
- Postwar quality revolution (1950s–1970s): W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran and others emphasized management responsibility, process thinking, and continual improvement. Japan adopted these principles to build world-class quality.
- Total Quality Management (TQM) (1980s–1990s): Quality as an organization-wide philosophy — customer focus, employee involvement, process improvement (PDCA), measurement and teamwork.
- Standards and certification (1987 onward): ISO 9000 family established common QMS requirements; certification became a business requirement for many industries and supply chains.
- Lean and Six Sigma (1990s–2000s): Lean (waste elimination, flow) and Six Sigma (variation reduction, DMAIC) brought rigorous tools and financial metrics for improving processes.
- Modern digital era (2010s–today): Integration of real-time data, automation, analytics, AI, risk-based thinking, and software/DevOps practices into quality.
How quality management today differs from the original
1) From inspection to prevention and built-in quality
- Original: end-of-line inspection and sorting.
- Now: design quality into processes (process control, mistake-proofing, validation), focus on preventing defects rather than catching them.
2) From department to organization-wide responsibility
- Original: quality was primarily a separate function.
- Now: everyone is responsible for quality — “quality is everyone’s job.” Leadership drives quality culture and policy.
3) From product conformance to customer experience and value
- Original: meet technical specifications.
- Now: meet customer needs, experience, and broader outcomes (voice of the customer, NPS, customer journey).
4) From local measures to data-driven, continuous improvement
- Original: simple pass/fail and defect counts.
- Now: metrics tied to business outcomes, real-time KPIs, predictive analytics, root-cause analysis, continuous improvement cycles (PDCA, DMAIC, Kaizen).
5) From manual processes to digital and automated systems
- Use of IoT sensors, automated inspection (machine vision), digital quality management systems, dashboards, predictive maintenance, and AI-driven anomaly detection.
6) From standalone QMS to integrated, risk-based management
- Modern QMS (e.g., ISO 9001:2015) uses process approach, risk-based thinking and is often integrated with environmental, health & safety and information security systems (IMS).
- Greater emphasis on supplier quality, global supply chains and regulatory compliance.
7) From isolated tools to systematic methods and frameworks
- Wider toolbox: SPC, FMEA, 5S, poka-yoke, DMAIC, Value Stream Mapping, DevOps/CI for software, automated test suites, etc.
Other contemporary trends
- Quality in services and software: accepted models for manufacturing quality adapted for services, software, and digital products (continuous integration/continuous delivery, automated testing, observability).
- Sustainability and ethics: quality now includes social and environmental aspects (product lifecycle, circularity).
- Customer personalization: quality needs to support configurable/personalized products without losing consistency.
Implications for organizations
- Invest in leadership, culture and training (problem-solving skills).
- Move from inspection to process design, automation and data analytics.
- Integrate supplier quality and use standards strategically (not just for certification).
- Adopt continuous improvement methods and measure business impact.
Summary
Quality management has evolved from a narrow inspection activity that caught defects at the end of production to a strategic, organization-wide, data-driven discipline focused on preventing problems, meeting customer needs, managing risk, and continuously improving processes using digital technologies and cross-functional methods.
- Quality management is the coordinated activities an organization uses to direct, control and improve the quality of its products, services and processes so they meet customer requirements and regulatory and business objectives. It covers planning, assurance (preventing defects), control (monitoring/inspection) and continuous improvement.
How it started — the original model
- Craftsmanship era: Quality was the maker’s responsibility — items were inspected by the craftsman who made them; defects were fixed by rework.
- Early industrial/inspection era (late 19th–early 20th century): With mass production, inspection became a separate stage. Quality was mostly a final-check function: accept/reject lots, reject defects. Responsibility sat with a quality department.
- Scientific management influence: Focus on standardization and efficiency (Taylor, Ford). Quality thinking was mostly about interchangeability and conformance to specs.
Major shifts over time (milestones)
- Statistical process control (1920s–1940s): Walter Shewhart introduced control charts and the idea of controlling variability in processes. During WWII SPC spread to industry.
- Postwar quality revolution (1950s–1970s): W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran and others emphasized management responsibility, process thinking, and continual improvement. Japan adopted these principles to build world-class quality.
- Total Quality Management (TQM) (1980s–1990s): Quality as an organization-wide philosophy — customer focus, employee involvement, process improvement (PDCA), measurement and teamwork.
- Standards and certification (1987 onward): ISO 9000 family established common QMS requirements; certification became a business requirement for many industries and supply chains.
- Lean and Six Sigma (1990s–2000s): Lean (waste elimination, flow) and Six Sigma (variation reduction, DMAIC) brought rigorous tools and financial metrics for improving processes.
- Modern digital era (2010s–today): Integration of real-time data, automation, analytics, AI, risk-based thinking, and software/DevOps practices into quality.
How quality management today differs from the original
1) From inspection to prevention and built-in quality
- Original: end-of-line inspection and sorting.
- Now: design quality into processes (process control, mistake-proofing, validation), focus on preventing defects rather than catching them.
2) From department to organization-wide responsibility
- Original: quality was primarily a separate function.
- Now: everyone is responsible for quality — “quality is everyone’s job.” Leadership drives quality culture and policy.
3) From product conformance to customer experience and value
- Original: meet technical specifications.
- Now: meet customer needs, experience, and broader outcomes (voice of the customer, NPS, customer journey).
4) From local measures to data-driven, continuous improvement
- Original: simple pass/fail and defect counts.
- Now: metrics tied to business outcomes, real-time KPIs, predictive analytics, root-cause analysis, continuous improvement cycles (PDCA, DMAIC, Kaizen).
5) From manual processes to digital and automated systems
- Use of IoT sensors, automated inspection (machine vision), digital quality management systems, dashboards, predictive maintenance, and AI-driven anomaly detection.
6) From standalone QMS to integrated, risk-based management
- Modern QMS (e.g., ISO 9001:2015) uses process approach, risk-based thinking and is often integrated with environmental, health & safety and information security systems (IMS).
- Greater emphasis on supplier quality, global supply chains and regulatory compliance.
7) From isolated tools to systematic methods and frameworks
- Wider toolbox: SPC, FMEA, 5S, poka-yoke, DMAIC, Value Stream Mapping, DevOps/CI for software, automated test suites, etc.
Other contemporary trends
- Quality in services and software: accepted models for manufacturing quality adapted for services, software, and digital products (continuous integration/continuous delivery, automated testing, observability).
- Sustainability and ethics: quality now includes social and environmental aspects (product lifecycle, circularity).
- Customer personalization: quality needs to support configurable/personalized products without losing consistency.
Implications for organizations
- Invest in leadership, culture and training (problem-solving skills).
- Move from inspection to process design, automation and data analytics.
- Integrate supplier quality and use standards strategically (not just for certification).
- Adopt continuous improvement methods and measure business impact.
Summary
Quality management has evolved from a narrow inspection activity that caught defects at the end of production to a strategic, organization-wide, data-driven discipline focused on preventing problems, meeting customer needs, managing risk, and continuously improving processes using digital technologies and cross-functional methods.