European Management ]ournal Volume 7 No 4

0 European Management journal 1989

ISSN (1263-2373 $3.00

Total Quality Control: Lessons European Executives

can Learn from Japanese Companies
Barrie Dale
Lecturer in Operations Management
UMIST, UK

Mike Asher
Managing

Director,

Daisley Associates,

UK.

This paper reports the finding of a Mission to Japan by 18 executives to study the total quality control activities
of 8 companies from diverse industries. A number of the companies can be classified as world class. In the
companies studied the dedication, vision and planning for total quality control, development of policy and setting
of improvement objectives at each level in the organisation structure, and attention to detail in the production
preparation stage is without equal in the majority of Western organisations.
It is also pointed out that the
housekeeping of Japanese companies is first class and all the companies studied said their greatest assets are
employees.

Introduction
In April 1989 a fact finding mission was made to Japan
by a group of 18 European executives to see at firsthand the Total Quality Control (TQC) methods and
practices of a wide range of Japanese companies from
diverse industries.
The data was collected using a
variety of means, including an introductory lecture by
Professor Yamashina of Kyoto University, presentations by senior Japanese company management, video
presentations,
factory tours, personal observations,
discussions with Japanese company personnel and
study group discussions.
The paper begins by describing some of the key
elements of TQC from each of the eight organisations
studied. This is followed by a discussion of the major
issues arising out of the study mission.

distribution. It is Japans second largest electric power

station and utilises nuclear, steam and coal fueled
stations. It was established in 1951 and employs over
24,000 people. Kansai initiated the TQC movement in
the utility industry and has won the Deming prize. The
company mission is to serve:
l

l
l

customers with abundant quality electricity at

cost effective prices
customers with honesty and sincerity
local communities
and citizens
for their
development and prosperity

Like many other organisations visited on the mission,

environmental
considerations
are a central feature of
Kansai Power Stations operating philosophy. They are
working for environmental
protection in three areas
- preservation,
harmony, and improvement.
TQC Highlights

The Kansai Electric

Power Co Inc

Back,ground
The company is a privately-owned
utility involved in
electric
power
generation,
transmission
and

The company started preparing for TQC in

mid-1981 the President delivered a written
outlining the reasons why the company had
to introduce TQC and the role of each person
The scientific analysis of facts and establishing

1980. In
message
decided
in TQC.
the root

494

BARRIE DALE and MIKE ASHER

cause of a problem was stressed. Prior to the decision

to launch TQC the company had developed a longrange management vision of future opportunities into
the next century.
The senior management
were
convinced that the introduction of TQC was the only
path to fulfil this vision.
A policy, from 1981 up to the end of 1985, to promote
and establish TQC activities was formulated.
The
guidelines for this stage of TQC were:
.
.

Control and develop the management policies to

secure their effective realization.
Solve problems by a priority-orientated approach
and improve business operations in an effective
and efficient manner.
Obtain
reliable
quality
information
and
knowledge on the new needs of society and
perform the utility business on a basis of marketorientated thinking.
Ensure that quality control is embedded in the
process of management and that the root cause(s)
of problems are eliminated to improve the quality
of utility operations and its management.
Learn, from practical activities and experiences,
to solve problems in a scientific and objective
manner.

develop and promote

their TQC
The company
activities using the Deming Cycle of Plan, Do, Check,
(Deming (1)). The first cycle
Action (PDCA) (introduction) or P in the long-range PDCA cycle has
been completed. They are now into the second cycle
(Promotion) or D. The third and fourth cycles are
termed development (C) and fostering and advancement (A). These cycles, each of a four year duration,
are under the leadership of senior management.
The major aspects of TQC activities in the introduction
phase, include:
Promote activities which are market-orientated
and attach importance to quality assurance.
Facilitate cooperation between departments by
setting-up systems of quality assurance,
cost
control, safety control, environmental control and
purchase control. The importance of standardisation of work procedures and solution of chronic
routine work problems is stressed.
Establish and develop management
policies to
improve the control of daily activities.
The
policies are implemented with the participation
of all employees on a departmental basis. The
management policies are reviewed by the PDCA
cycle.
Establish the basis of TQC-related education and
publicity by encouraging Quality Control circle
(QC circles) activities and employee suggestion
plans.

The organisation has a wide range of education and

training programmes
to develop their employees.
Since the introduction of TQC, TQC-related education
has been added to the list of training modules; the
company said it is the most important.
The company regard QC circles as an important TQC
activity. There are currently
2306 activity circles
involving 18,223 participants. A committee, chaired by
the President,
was set-up to promote TQC. It is
responsible
for the establishment
of basic plans
concerning the promotion of TQC and keeping track
of progress. To audit the state of quality improvement
in each department and office, a quality audit department was established some three years after launch of
TQC. Some audits are carried out by the President.
The results of TQC activities during the first cycle has
been measured by factors such as: smoothing high
frequency start-up and shut-down periods, maintaining and improving heat efficiency, plant availability,
service interruptions, number of job-related accidents,
reduction of cost, improving equipment reliability,
activating employees in terms of number of suggestions and completed QC circle themes.
A number of problems have been experienced: in the
initial stages the enlightenment and diffusion activities
were confined to management, quality control-related
thinking and methods were not well applied in practical situations, QC circles were not well fostered,
interdepartmental
cooperation
and standardisation
were not well advanced.
Kobe Steel Ltd, Kakogawa

Works

Background
The Kakogawa Works, constructed in 1968, has the
capacity to produce 6 million tons of steel per year.
Including sub-contractors, 9,000 people are employed.
The plant has been built to pursue high productivity,
however,
a great deal of emphasis
is placed on
minimising energy waste and on environmental protection. For example, waste gases and steam are recirculated via an energy centre and 97% of the water
used in their manufacturing processes are re-cycled.
Clean fuel sources are used and anti-pollution devices
are employed to monitor pollution.
TQC High&h

ts

The basic policy for quality control is to manufacture

and market products to meet Quality (Q), Delivery (D),
Cost (C) requirements. Standardisation is promoted to
realise the policy and reflect product quality.
The long-term planning for quality improvement
covers a span of 10 years and the objectives, include:

TOTAL QUALITY

Increase the proportion of high quality steel

grades and steel with higher added values.
Produce top qualities
of steel for strategic
products and promote sales through attainment
of this goal.
For products identified as being of a lower quality
than those of competitors in the market place,
meet and then surpass these quality levels in the
shortest possible time.
For those products not prioritised for quality
improvement, aim to reduce manufacturing cost
while maintaining the present levels of quality.
Enhance the effectiveness of the quality assurance
system.
Based on these objectives, Kobe have identified specific
control items, targets have been set and are being
worked to. In line with Demings
(1) first point,
managements
short-term objectives are consistent
with their longer-term goals.
The works manager has overall responsibility
for
quality assurance. The quality system manager, who
reports to the manager of the technical department,
advice and co-ordination
on
provides instruction,
quality problems and their countermeasures,
standardisation and implementation of quality control methods.
It is the responsibility of the quality system department
to ensure that the products meet the customers quality
standards. The comment was made that customer
requirements are a moving target and increasing as a
faster rate than the available technology. It was said
that the electrical appliance industry was particularly
severe in relation to surface imperfections.
This was
Kobes main non-conformance
and considerable effort
was being employed
to reduce this. Operators,
between production runs, clean and paint the plant
(including the floor) in bright colours to reduce the
amount of dust and scale in the atmosphere and also
carr\r out preventive maintenance.
The company have an integrated flexible manufacturing control system employing off-line, on-line and
process computers. Width, flatness and thickness are
automatically measured through the rolling, finishing
and conditioning stages, the data is displayed on X and
R charts. Process computers carry out chemical analysis
and the product is checked, using ultrasonics,
for
flaws, other types of material testing is conducted via
on-line computers.
Quality-related
data is gathered
every day and analysed
using simple statistical
techniques.
Nippondenso

Co Ltd, Kota Plant

Background
Nippondenso
manufacturer

are the third largest automotive-related

in Japan specialising in components for

CONTROL:

LESSONS

FROM JAPAN

495

the motor industry. In 1956 and 1964, respectively,

quality control and QC circles were introduced. They
were awarded the Deming Prize in 1961.
The plant produces
integrated
chips. It started
operations in 1987 and 2531 people are employed. They
were asked by Government to move to this location
to promote employment in the community; gas, water
and electricity is subsidised. The need for the company
to fulfil its social obligations and reduce environmental
pollution of water and air was emphasised. The company theme is cleanliness and quality. Manufacturing
is carried out in a clean air environment.
TQC Highlights
The quality assurance policy is to give first priority to
product quality, to apply intensive effort in assuring
product quality, in particular when new products are
launched, and promote, on a continuous basis, quality
control with the participation of all employees.
The responsibilities
include:
l
l
l
l

of the quality control department,

Quality assurance system improvement

Quality audits
Evaluation of quality measures
Promotion of QC circle activities and quality
control education
Product testing

The department is involved, through a design review,

at the product planning stage of a new product. This
involvement is continued in the product design stage
by activities such as quality audit, reliability test and
design review through to pre-production,
initial
samples approval and routine mass production.
Products designated safety critical and emission control
are singled out for special consideration
and subject
to more stringent management controls. The controls
(including
manufacturing
procedures,
process
operations, and drawings) are designated S or E
respectively. Safety analysis is carried out using failure
mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and fault tree
analysis (ETA), and to facilitate this measure such as
designating qualified worker status, a tighter inspection system, a detailed record system of manufacturing
conditions
and traceability,
and posting warning
notices on product operating manuals are employed.
Nippondenso
have a system for registering serious
quality troubles. The quality control department,
quality audit committee and other relevant departments are involved to: pursue speedy corrective action,
improve product and process designs, and prevent
problems reoccurring.
A quality audit of similar

496

BARRIE DALE and MIKE ASHER

processes
is also carried out to ensure that the
corrective action decided upon is employed on a
company-wide
basis. A report of the corrective
activities carried out is made to the Board of Directors.
Considerable
example:

use is made of statistical

Product development
and design

Manufacturing
process development
Manufacturing
control
Inspection

methods,

for

quality function deployment (QFD), design of

experiments (DOE), miltivariate analysis, Weibull
analysis and FMEA
QFD, DOE, multivariate
analysis, FMEA and
process capabiIity studies
control charts and
process capability studies
sampling inspection and
process capability studies

The seven quality control tools (Ishikawa (2)), are used

extensively at each stage of production.
Data is collected automatically from the manufacturing
processes and analysed. The presentation is displayed
outside the clean air manufacturing area. Quality control personnel watch for adverse trends and operators
are encouraged to consult the data on a regular basis.
Stringent tests are carried out at various stages of
manufacture. For example, each unit of final product
is subject to a burn-in test at +SOC and -30C and
a total of 200 parameters are checked. The units are
automatically connected and disconnected.
The nonconforming units are automatically rejected, collected
and fixed. The non-conforming
parts are subject to a
detailed laboratory analysis.
A total of 16000 different parts are purchased from 200
suppliers. Single and dual sourcing is employed. Any
incoming inspection only examines the appearance of
products.
The company have extensive QC circle activities. A
point worth noting is the participation of members in
events outside the company for their personal and
mutual education and to broaden their outlook, this
includes attendance at conferences,
QC circle study
and lecture meetings, circle information exchange,
meetings and plant tours.

lines, 2,900 passenger cars are produced each day in

5 different varieties. The cars comprise 30,000 parts
from some 250 suppliers (home and overseas). Dual
and single sourcing is employed. An example of the
famous Toyota Production System (Ohno (3)) was the
deIivery of engines every hour from Toyotas two
engine manufacturing plants. The journey time to the
assembly plant is 5 to 20 minutes, dependent
on
location. The company aim to continue to offer to their
customers throughout the world better and improved
quality. Their mottos are Good thinking,
Good
products and Cars to love, the world over.

The aims of TQC are each employee should: ensure

that the customer always comes first, understands the
fundamental
thinking underpinning
quality control
activities, puts that understanding
into practice, and
works to strengthen
and improve the company
structure so that it is flexible enough to respond to any
changes. The basic thi~ing
behind quality control is
to follow the PDCA cycle, make judgements
and
actions based on hard facts, product standards and
work to them, and each employee endeavours
to
continuousIy improve the work for which they are
responsible.
The activities of planning, improving,
maintaining and promoting are fundamental to this
basic thinking.
The TQC activities are divided into i) business
management activities - policy management and daily
administration, ii) quality assurance vitalised activities
at the job site - QC circle activies (Toyota have 6,700
circles) iii) the suggestion system (30 suggestions per
employee are received each year and it is claimed that
97% are adopted and managers respond within one
day to all suggestions made) and other small group
activities.
Toyota also promote TQC by providing advice and
assistance to Toyota group-related companies and to
suppliers and dealers.

background fnfu~ati~

The history of TQC at Toyota foflowed three phases,

i) quality control-inspection
and production, ii) quality
control for planning, design, purchasing, and production planning and control, and iii) quality control
encompassing departments and employees at all levels
of responsibility. In 1961, the motivation for developing
TQC was to attain the Deming Prize (achieved in 1963),
the Japan Quality Control Award (achieved in 1970)
and to develop a programme to strengthen and raise
the level of corporate management.

The assembly plant was established in 1966, and has

two assembly shops each comprising 3 production

The following are interesting

quality assurance system:

Toyota Motor Corporation,

Takaoka

Plant

features

of Toyotas

TOTAL QUALIlY
l

CONTROL:

LESSONS

FliOM

JAPAN

497

To help assure the necessary quality there is

feedback and/or feed forward of quality information in production planning, product design,
evaluation of prototype products, pre-production
planning, purchasing, quality audit, evaluation
of pre-production
products, mass production,
inspection, evaluation of the products from mass
production and sales and field service operations.
The objective is to build-in quality at each step
before sending work to the next process.

assess mid-year and at the end of each year whether

or not the objectives have been met. The two main
factors given for the success of TQC is that their
President is totally committed to the concept and the
contribution of their 200 or so major suppliers. The
most difficult factor said to inhibit improvement is the
size of the organisation.

In the development and design stage, engineers

from the quality assurance and inspection department take up residency in the development and
design department (this is termed the Quality
Resident Engineer
System).
The designs are
evaluated for potential difficulties in the mass
production stage. Consideration is given to the
preventive measures used for troubles experienced in the past and efficient means of production to ensure
the design quality.
In the
production preparation stage, engineers from the
development
and design department
take-up
residency
in the Production
and Inspection
Departments
(the Resident Engineer System).
This is to ensure design intent to previous
processes, to feed-in know-how obtained during
the design and development stage and promote
the implementation
of countermeasures
against
troubles, including mistake-proofing
(Shingeo
(4)).

Background

Toyota emphasis that to build in quality at each

production stage it is necessary for the operator
to: work in accordance with the work instruction
and drawing,
maintain
and preserve
the
manufacturing facilities and self-check work and
production quality. The self-check concept is
mainly used when changes have been made
which affect tools and shapes and sizes of
product. Detailed instructions are fixed to each
car so that the operator knows what parts to fit
and to ensure that they do not miss items which
are specific to certain models items; this is vital
in mixed production lines.

0 Any person can stop the production line using

the stopline.
Among typical reasons are an
operator who cannot keep up with the pace of
the production line or the discovery of nonconforming parts. When the line is stopped a
light flashes in the supervisors
office, the car
stops between two yellow markers to help the
supervisor
identify the car in question.
The
average stop time per day is 20 minutes and the
current
daily stop time is displayed
in a
prominent position.
Toyota sets its corporate quality objectives through
each functional division. Using the PDCA cycle, they

Minolta Mizuho

(No. 1 Plant)

The plant which produces copiers was opened in 1978

and employs 690 people, the average age of employee
is 25. The company has three main objectives: i) quality
first (the comment was made that naturally this is the
most important element), ii) the use of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) to meet market demands and
reduce stock (less than one day of stock is carried) and
iii) people and machines are in harmony.
The management
philosophy
is To contribute
meaningfully
to international
society, to strive for
stable business development,
and to ensure a wellrounded life for our workers and all people concerned
with our enterprise by offering products and service
in which our customers not only have full confidence
but also to which they look forward expectantly to
quality at all stages.
TQC flighlights
In order to meet worldwide business needs a variety
of copiers are produced. The company are continually
searching for new ways of increasing copy quality, new
imaging
processing
technologies
are evaluated
continuously as are other technologies and materials.
They believe there is always the opportunity
to
produce crisper and easier to read copies. This is the
starting point of their TQC activities.
The goal of TQC at Minolta is to procure profits by
providing high quality products and improve working
conditions so that each individual employee can make
the most effective use of their overall abilities.
All employees are encouraged to keep what they term
the 3Cs - tidiness, orderliness and cleanliness and
to remove
the 3Ms waste,
variability
and
unreasonableness.
The drive for this comes from on
the job training,
QC circles
and management
techniques.
The key quality issues are quality assurance in research
and development, process capability, standardisation
and to ensure that the product specification is met. At
each stage of production, targets are set and achievement against target is measured and displayed in a

498

BARRIE DALE and MIKE ASHER

prominent position. Reliability levels are set at a very

early stage in the development of a product. Finished
copiers are selected at random and subject to detailed
reliability tests. The product is also tested and retested
at every stage of development. For example, robot and
computer controlled tests are used to ensure high and
consistent quality and machine performance and tests
and adjustments
for image quality are made on a
continuous basis. There is automated checking on the
production line for image reflection.
All process instructions are displayed at the eye level
of the assembly operator. Special instructions which
remind operatives of the key operations,
product
features and components to which they need to pay
particular attention are illuminated and displayed.
In each area there is a board on which operators are
encouraged to log their own mistakes and those of
peers. Minolta said that mistakes are not made any
more and the board is no longer in use.
The supplier
of packaging
was integrated
into
Minoltas manufacturing
system. The supplier had
operators within the plant operating the packaging
line.
Yamaha
Background
The plant visited engaged in the production of grand
pianos, 350 people are employed and 100 grand pianos
are produced
each
month.
The product
is
manufactured
to a Japanese Standard Association
(JSA) standard. Elements of FMS are in place and
Yamaha estimate it will be two years before it will be
fully developed. It is claimed that standardisation
is
very difficult in the industry.
TQC Highlights
Yamaha have a TQC slogan which they change every
year with different ideas incorporated into the slogan.
It was claimed this keeps employees
focused on
quality.
Customer satisfaction with the product is assessed by
Yamahas market share, warranty claims, feedback of
information
from professional
tuners and from
professional pianists-teams
are sent to assist pianists
at concerts. Yamaha have their own professional
pianist. After care of the product was emphasised and
it was said that the way the product is stored by the
dealer is crucial to performance.
Quality control is the responsibility of the operators
who carry out quality checks. The checks are not in

the form of a procedure and are based on operator

experience. The operators from each area prepare a
daily report on the non-conformances
they have
found. Detailed tests are carried out at each operation.
For example, measuring equipment is employed to
determine the correct height and depth of keys and
an automatic key striking machine is employed.
There is intensive competition between manufacturing
areas for the number and calibre of suggestions made
with the number of suggestions by a section displayed
in the area concerned.
The average number of
suggestions per person per year is 38 and it is claimed
that 84% are accepted. The area supervisor decides
whether or not a suggestion is accepted.
Taguchi design of experiments (Taguchi (5)) have been
in use since 1955, design and process FMEA, SK and
QC circles (700 live circles) are also used.

Toppan Printing

Services

Co Ltd, Itabash Plant

Background
The plant visited is 50 years old and 2000 people are
employed. Forty varieties of magazine are produced
in 150 million issues per month. Toppan have 100%
owned affiliated companies who carry out plating,
prototype setting and bookbinding
activities. The
bookbinding subsidiary also carries out work for other
companies. The subsidiaries are allowed to split-off
from the main company. A manager from Toppan is
made President of a subsidiary and at a later date they
often return to Toppan.
TQC Highlights
Each year, the quality control department publishes
a 3 year programme, this is cascaded down from the
corporate programme. Each department then sets their
objectives
on what is to be done to meet the
programme. This is cascaded down to each person in
relation
to controls
and targets.
The level of
achievement is compared to plan and is updated every
six months.
All employees are instructed in the use of statistical
methods. It is the responsibility of employees to collect
and analyse statistical data. The instructor carries out
an audit of how employees
put into practice the
statistical methods they have been taught.
In the manufacturing
areas, data is collected and
displayed on a noticeboard. The data, includes paying
attention to the 3Ms and 3Cs, instructions on what
parts of the machinery are to be lubricated and at what
frequency, and a monthly quality assurance report

TOTAL QUALITY

indicating to operators what characteristics

parameters they are required to pay attention.

and

The plant has 1.50 active QC circles. The General

Manager, each month, carries out an audit of the
circles. Each year, the President carries out a TQC audit
of one piant.

CONTROL:

The brewery employs 282 people and produces keg,

bottled and canned beers. They trade in a highly
competitive market place. Suntory firmly believe that
the beer they supply must be what consumers think
is good. There is total dedication to putting customers
first and focusing on the mind of the market. The
brewery were awarded the Deming Prize in 1988, the
first time it had been awarded to a food processing
company.
The main themes of the brewery are to shorten the time
for new product development, construct and develop
the quality assurance system to ensure customer
satisfaction, reduce the cost of production and to
facilitate technical innovation.
TQC Highlights

Suntory started the process of TQC in 1981. Their

approach to TQC is based on three principles
l
l
l

Deployment of the quality policy

Daily control of product quality assurance
Quality control activities

The plant managers policy for the year is decided after

taking into account the objectives and targets of the
companys five year plan, the brewerys medium term
plan, evaluation of the brewers activities for the
previous year and the production schedule. The plant
manager then makes a presentation of his policy to
section managers who in turn develop their policy and
present it to supervisors who likewise formulate their
policy and present it to operators. This procedure is
repeated at each stage using the PDCA cycle. The
activity starts on 1 January and is targetted for
completion at the end of March. From this tree of
deployment, objectives, role and targets are set at each
level. The typical target set for improvement was 10%.
An inspection is carried out every three months by the
plant manager to check that the policies are being
deployed by the section managers, who in turn carry
out a 3 monthly inspection of supervisors policies. The
operators carry out self-evaluation of their achievement
against target and this is also reviewed in personal

FROM lAPAN

499

interviews with a foreman. In addition, a quarterly

evaluation of the activities involved in deployment of
the quality policy is carried out via a study meeting
held with a university Professor. This meeting involves
around 40 people and is of one days duration. There
is also an audit at the end of the year by top
management from the head office.
The quality assurance

Suntory Limited, Mushashino Brewery

LESSONS

activities involve extensive

use

of QFD (termed quality assurance tables). All levels of

the organisation are involved and contribute to this
activity. Diagrams of the process (Kanren-Zu) quality
assurance and relationships diagrams are used for daily
control of jobs as an aid to consumers.

The effect of TQC is measured by quality (score of

sensory test by internal panel), cost (production cost
per case of bottles) and delivery (ratio of accomplished/
planned quality).
It is interesting to note that QC circles were in place
before TQC and it took around 12 months to educate
the circle members about the need to change to TQC.

Discussion
The discussion of findings is structured under the
broad headings of customer satisfaction and long-term
planning, organising and planning for quality,
evaluation of quality, involvement of people, quality
education and training, and the wider scene.
Customer satisfaction and long-term planning
In Japan, the internal marketplace is dominant and
competition is fierce. This means that organisations
have got to be dedicated totally to satisfying customers
and this effort must be long-term and continuous or
they will be overtaken by the competition. The market
is saturated and demands ever increasing product
diversification
and attractiveness,
faster response to
changing market needs, rigorous reliability and quality
to conformance, and shorter product life cycles. The
customer always comes first was a term used by many
organisations to describe their market-orientated spirit.
They are forever looking at the market. Organ~sations
commented that their customer quality requirements
are becoming increasingly
rigorous and that these
requirements
are a moving target. Organisations
believe that launching new products to the marketplace
is the means by which they can sustain their
competitive edge.
There is a total belief that business operations can be
improved by reflecting the customer needs and/or
requirements
and all organisations
have a system,
procedure or mechanism by which they can properly

500

BARRIE DALE and MIKE ASHER

identify these needs and keep focused on the market.

To assist this, detailed information is developed on
customer profiles, their needs and expectations. The
databanks which Japanese organisations have built-up
on this are far in excess of anything witnessed in
Western companies.
The theme of Quality, Cost, Delivery (QCD) was
mentioned on a number of occasions and organisations
strive to become the best in relation to QCD. Extensive
use is made of mottos expressing some appropriate
message on QCD. This assists in keeping the theme
in the forefront of employees minds. The mottos,
which are often suggested by employees, are changed
at least once a year. They believe that their corporate
strength is built-up through TQC and quality must be
foremost in every aspect of corporate policy. In mission
statements, Quality First is always emphasised. This
view is encapsulated
in the point made by one
organisation
that even if only one out of 10,000
products failed, the failure rate for that customer would
be 100%.
Planning, feedback and decision making on TQC is
long-term, often extending some 10 years into the
future. A mid-range management plan of 3 to 5 years
duration is developed from the long-range management vision and this is cascaded down to the plant
manager who formulates an annual plan. The deployment of policy is carried out through all organisational
levels with appropriate
targets and improvement
objectives agreed amongst all concerned. This ensures
the penetration of policies on a step by step basis
throughout the organisation.
The total commitment and leadership of top management was a point always stressed as being a key point
for successful TQC activities. The role of top management includes:
Ensure that the entire organisation is committed
to TQC and establish corporate quality systems
Promote TQC activities on a continuous basis
Participate in activities such as:
l

membership
of the committee
for quality
planning
quality assurance meetings for design and
manufacture of quality into the product
quality audit and quality improvement
and
corrective action meetings
quality audits

Motivate

employees

Org~nisjng and Plff~ning for Qualify ~~pr~ve~e~t

The manufacturing
department are responsible for
maintaining quality and the quality assurance department are responsible for evaluation of product quality

performance,
product inspection and promotion of
quality assurance activities. In large organisations there
is usually a corporate quality assurance department.
In order to reach a consensus on the promotion of TQC
activities, increase the level of corporate awareness of
TQC and exchange quality i~ormation,
a monthly
liaison meeting is held between corporate and plant
quality assurance departments. Ownership of quality
resides with everyone in the organisation
and the
special features
and characteristics
of Japanese
organisations (Okada and Goalstone (6)) ensures that
cooperation between departments is first class. The
rotation of people between different jobs helps to
diffuse new technologies, approaches and systems to
every comer of an organisation.
At the conclusion of each phase in a new product
programme it is usual to hold a quality assurance
meeting to determine whether or not the programme
can move to the next phase. Use is made of the resident
engineers
approach in the design and production
preparation phases and major suppliers also join in at
the design stage (guest designers). This latter activity
helps to ensure that there is adequate space for the
suppliers product in the final assembly/product
and
it was also mentioned that suppliers can suggest cost
levels for their products. The resident engineer and
guest designer concepts could be adopted by Western
organisations.
In order to identify defects early on in the design
process and to assure the quality of design it is usual
to use techniques such as design reviews, DOE, quality
assurance meetings, QFD, FMEA, FTA, quality audits
and reliability tests. In the production preparation
phase the production engineers endeavour to predict
failures for the process and to take collective action
before machine and process sequences are finalised.
FMEA and process capability studies are employed to
assist with this. It is usual to carry out a process
capability study every time new production facilities
are used, when a new design is produced on existing
facilities and in the mass production of established
products. All the necessary preparations are made in
advance
of actual production
and considerable
resources are committed to this activity. A note of the
problems found in production is kept and in the launch
of future products countermeasures
are put into place
so that these problems do not reoccur. In most Western
organisations even if notes were made of problems
they are filed and forgotten and there is little learning
from previous mistakes. Considerable emphasis was
placed on the mistake-proofing
of operations and a
number of examples were seen during the factory
visits. Production
engineers
are deployed on the
shopfloor to deal with problems as and when they
arise.
The

foreman

is heavily

involved

in the

quality

TOTAL QUALITY

assurance planning process. For example, one of their

responsibilities is to prepare work procedure standards
for each process. The impression was given that every
level in the organisational hierarchy was involved in
the quality planning process.
In all the organisations visited, their housekeeping was
immaculate. For example, the visit around a steel mill
involved the mission members wearing white gloves,
which when discarded were hardly discoloured. When
touring the photosetting
department
of a printing
company, members had to tie plastic covers over their
shoes. Little dust was found on window ledges in any
of the organisations
visited.
The discipline
of
cleanliness
and housekeeping
is a prerequisite
for
effective quality assurance and this should be pursued
more vigorously by Western companies. The general
theme was a working environment which was clean
and comfortable and in harmony with employees.
Evaluation

of Product Qualify

Products, processes, job activities and systems are

continuously evaluated, tested, retested and improved
in pursuit of perfection
and efficiency.
Japanese
organisations are always searching for new ways to test
their products to ensure they fulfil requirements for
reliability and safety, to give hints on how the product
may be improved and to establish manufacturing
control points. Tests are carried out at all stages in the
manufacturing process. In most cases, product life tests
are carried out. Any data obtained from testing was
subject to detailed analysis (no data was discarded as
too trivial) as were quality control indicators, quality
assurance reports and product quality information
collected by the sales and service department from the
in-service performance of the product.
The solution of quality troubles and the putting into
place of countermeasures
to prevent reoccurrence is
pursued aggressively, mistake-proofing,
check sheets,
process instructions, work standards, standardisation,
in general and visual prompts are used to assist with
this. In this respect, the quality assurance systems were
very much proactive and measured improvement not
paperwork.
The assessment
by customers of their
suppliers quality assurance systems did not appear to
be a regular occurrence. Quality audit and improvement meetings were often chaired by top management.
Some organisations
have a committee to promote
standardisation
and the observations of standards is
checked by section managers and foremen through
control of daily work activities.
It is accepted practice in most Japanese organisations
that top management carry out an annual audit of the
TQC activities. The purpose of the audit, includes
giving advice concerning
TQC, assessing how the

CONTROL:

LESSONS

FROM JAPAN

501

quality improvement plan is progressing, disseminating top managements

point of view on TQC to each
department, and providing an opportunity for direct
dialogue with a variety of employees. This and other
audits ensure that quality plans are continuously
reviewed and renewed at each level in the organisational hierarchy.
The quality indicators which are measured on a regular
basis, include in-house losses and scrap rates, number
of quality non-conformances
found in deliveries to
customers, number of serious quality problems which
are registered and the number and rate of warranty
claims.
Involvement

of People

The mission statement of all the organisations visited

stressed that their greatest asset was manpower and
all employees are encouraged to participate in quality
improvement. In more than one company it was said
that because of the lifetime employment situation they
were always searching for ways to motivate and
revitalise their staff. The usual means was through QC
circles,
suggestion
schemes,
other small group
activities, a variety of presentations,
job rotation and
education and training.
Without exception all the organisations
visited had
thriving QC circle programmes
involving a large
proportion
of the total workforce and suggestion
schemes through which a considerable
number of
suggestions were obtained and most of which were
implemented.
The following are typical of the objectives of QC circles
and suggestion
schemes
respectively
in the
organisations visited:
l

l
l

to provide opportunities for self-improvement

of
knowledge and skills through cooperative team
efforts
to create a rewarding work environment
to create a workplace where total participation in
quality control is a reality

Suggestion
l

Schemes

to improve the power

abilities
to promote friendly and
amongst all employees
to improve the company

to work and individual

healthy human relations
and to vitalise activities
structure and operations

Other small group activities, include social activities

at the work site and recreational and cultural activities.
Surprisingly,
little mention was made of quality
improvement
teams, quality improvement
groups,
problem solving groups and the like.

502

BARRIE DALE and MIKE ASHER

The presentations include circle effectiveness presentations, presentations by circles to supervisors, research
presentations by engineers, and sales staff presentations.

people they have trained. It is also worth noting that

there appears to be closer links in Japan between
industry and higher education establishments.
The Wider Scezc

Because of lifetime employment

it is possible for a
Japanese organisation to invest heavily in a programme
of training and retraining to develop their employees
capabilities. In the West, people are trained by one
company then they will move to another company
who benefits from the training and development
carried out. In most Japanese organisations, education
and training commences with employees following an
off-line training course for one year. The course
prepares them for work with the respective organisation in terms of company philosophy,
company
mission, long-range management
vision, structure,
systems and job skills. All new employees from junior
and senior high school and university commence
employment once a year at the same time and this
facilitates the training and helps build relationships
which are beneficial for a long time into the future.
Every person in the organisation is educated about
variation and losses. They are encouraged to reduce
process variation and to target product characteristics
on the centre of the normal distribution. In this respect,
it is interesting
to report that whilst company
documents gave minimum values for the Cp process
capability index (which measures process spread) the
Cpk index (which measures
process spread and
setting) was not mentioned.
The Japanese
use
statistical methods extensively, however, little mention
was made of SK and few control charts were seen
during the factory tours, apart from those used by QC
circles. Control charts tend to be used by the Japanese
to prove process capability and when there is a
problem with the process.
Everyone in an organisation was trained to use the
seven quality control tools and there was ample
evidence, as displayed on quality noticeboards, to see
that these tools were well employed during all stages
of production.
A variety of training was given in
techniques and presentation and leadership skills to
deepen TQC consciousness
amongst employees and
to improve their problem solving ability. The most
intensive training was given to design and production
engineers.
The quality training programme is typically carried out
by staff from corporate
and divisional
quality
departments, engineers, invited lecturers from outside
and by Institutions such as JUSE and JSA. Almost
without exception the instructors carry out an audit to
assess the effective use of newly acquired skills by the

The Japanese approach to business is not just focused

on product and service quality it encompasses topics
such as JIT, total productivity maintenance,
flexible
factory automation, computer integrated manufacturing, energy control and environmental
control.
It is clear that Japanese manufacturing organisations
go to considerable lengths to ensure that they are in
harmony with the natural environment
and social
surroundings.
Terms such as total pollution control,
environmental
improvement,
preservation
of the
environment, environmental assessment and improvement of the environment were used frequently.
Concluding

Remarks

The majority of Western companies are well aware of

the philosophy, techniques and systems of TQC and
the training that is required to foster understanding,
but there is often a failure to practice the knowledge
which has been assimilated. In Japan, organisations
and people do not talk about TQC, they live quality
and apply basic principles in an effective manner. This
is assisted by their modesty, sincerity, consideration
and willingness to please. Some questions asked by
members of the Study Mission, even allowing for the
problem of interpretation,
did not appear to make
much sense to the Japanese hosts. One can speculate
that the reason for this is most Japanese organisations
are at least ten years ahead of Western competition in
their process of TQC and the questions asked about
some activity, procedure or system was something
they take for granted as part of their normal routine
operations.
The aspects of Japanese TQC activities
particularly impressive, include:

which

are

the obsession with customer satisfaction,

top management leadership and commitment to
preventing errors,
attention to detail at every stage of the process,
the resources
committed
to the production
preparation
stage in a bid to prevent nonconformances occurring in manufacture and the
ability to learn from their mistakes,
the deployment of policy through each level of
the organisational hierarchy with improvement
objectives and targets set at each level,
the unflagging
efforts of all employees
in
performing and improving jobs and measuring
achievement against target using the PDCA cycle,

TOTAL QUALITY

the obsession with measuring and testing and

analysis of data in pursuit of never-ending
improvement,
a unified and motivated workforce
working
together in a common direction to assure quality
and to achieve world class status,
a long-term commitment to quality education and
training,
immaculate housekeeping.
To compete effectively with countries from the Pacific
Basin these are typical of the aspects which Western
organisations
need to get embedded into company
culture.
It must be pointed out that the companies visited were
amongst the best of class and as Professor Yamashina
pointed
out, Japan has also some second rate
companies. The much talked about Japanese culture
and business
environment
and practices
have
obviously been of influence in helping the companies
visited to achieve world class status but the effect of
the aggressive market situation as exists in Japan has
also been a key motivating factor and should not be
underestimated.
It is clear from their long term
planning horizons and the time taken to deploy the
quality policy that they are under much less short-term
cost pressure
than most Western
organisations.
How ever, it should be pointed out that they did appear
to adhere to Demings
(1) point that short-term
objectives are consistent with long-term objectives.
In the West, we use the words Total Quality
Management (TQM) to describe what is required of a
total quality organisation.
The word management
is
employed to indicate that TQM has to be led by top
management. In Japan, the management commitment
and leadership is taken for granted and total quality
control or company-wide quality control best describes
their planning, testing, measurement,
evaluation and
problem solving activities.
A visit to Japan is a necessity for any organisation
serious about quality improvement.
It enables European executives to obtain a clear picture of the total
dedication to quality which the Japanese undoubtedly
have. Observing and assimilating knowledge from a
Study Mission of the kind described in this paper
would stop organisations
falling into the trap of

CONTROL:

LESSONS

FROM JAPAN

503

becoming preoccupied with one or two techniques and

treating them in isolation. They would also obtain a
clear indication of the quality objectives,
strategy,
techniques,
procedures
and systems
which are
deployed by Japanese companies and their long-range
management vision. It should be virtually impossible
for any person visiting Japan and on their return focus
on the use of one or two quality techniques,
but
unfortunately
it does happen.
The only quality
technique emphasised during the Mission was that of
QC circles.

References

1. Deming

2.
3.

4.

5.

6.

W E, 1982, Quality, Productivity and

Competitive Position, Massachusetts
Institute of
Technology,
Center for Advanced Engineering
Study, Cambridge, MA.
Ishikawa K, 1976, Guide to Quality Control,
Asian Productivity Organisation,
Tokyo.
Ohno T, 1988, Toyotu Producfion System Beyond Large
Scale Production, Productivity Press, Cambridge,
MA.
Shingeo,
S, 1986, Zero Qualify Control: Source
lnspecfion and the Poka-Yoke System, Productivity
Press, Cambridge, MA.
Taguchi,
G, 1986, Introduction
to Quality
Engineering,
Asian Productivity
Organisation,
Tokyo.
Okada H and Goalstone C, 1984, How Japanese
Companies Work, 3034-8533-5825,
Tokyo.

Acknowledgements
In preparing this paper the authors have drawn on the
notes taken during the company visits and from
documentation provided by host companies and from
the introductory lecture given by Professor Yamashina
of Kyoto University. They acknowledge these sources
of information.
Barrie Dale wishes to thank John Moulton of Status
Meetings and Kay Gibbs of IFS for inviting him to lead
the Study Mission. Details of future TQM Study
Missions can be obtained from John Moulton (tel: 0730
66544).