Total Quality management (TQM)

Total quality management (TQM) is the continuous process of detecting and reducing or eliminating errors in production, streamlining supply chain management, improving the customer experience, and ensuring that employees are trained in a timely manner. 

The goal of total quality management is to hold all parties involved in the production process accountable for the overall quality of the final product or service. Total quality management is a structured approach to the overall management of an organization. The focus of the process is improving the quality of the organization’s outputs, including goods and services, through continuous improvement of internal procedures. 

Standards set as part of a TQM approach can reflect both internal priorities and any currently applicable industry standards. Industry standards can be defined at multiple levels and may include compliance with various laws and regulations governing the operation of a particular business. Industry standards can also involve making items according to an understandable standard, even if the standard is not supported by official regulations. The history of TQM often goes back to the early 20th century, when Walter A. Shewhart introduced modern quality control. In 1931, Shewhart presented a seminal piece of industrial work entitled Economic Control of Manufactured Product Quality. This exposure is considered one of the basic principles of production quality control.