ISSUES AND DIFFICULTIES ASSOCIATED WITH QUALITY

MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS: IMPLICATIONS

FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING

R. E. McQUATER, M. WILCOX, B. G. DALE AND R. J. BOADEN

Manchester School of Management, UMIST, UK

SUMMARY

Quality Management Techniques and Tools are used with varying degrees of success in manufacturing
industries. Empirical evidence suggests that many of the difficulties arise from misdirected training,
with organisations failing consider their needs, as well as those of the trainers and of the individual.
Failure to do so may be one of the reasons encountered in sustaining Total Quality Management or any
other manufacturing strategy or initiative. Once all needs are assessed, this paper advocates training
should be specific, targeted and implemented when the need arises, rather than the nonspecific "sheep
dipping" that generally takes place

INTRODUCTION investigation of the selection, use and application of

There is a need for greater industrial efficiency and
competitiveness if the UK's manufacturing industries
are to participate in the open markets not just of Europe
but in global markets also, [ 1]. However, an increase
in efficiency alone will not automatically provide the
means for greater competitiveness, since it requires that
the product must satisfy the customer's requirements.
This implies that the organisation must be constantly
improving both the quality of its products and its
processes. To this end many organisations follow the
principles and philosophies of Total Quality
Management (TQM). Intrinsic to TQM is the use of
quality management techniques and tools. This entails
educating and training the workforce in order that the
techniques or tools be used effectively, thereby
enhancing the continuous improvement process.
Quality Management Techniques and Tools (QMT&T)
are generic terms that refer to methods that can be
applied to both product and process quality. They are
a cornerstone of continuous improvement. Having both
specialist and universal applications, [2],[3], they are
as many and varied as the people and organisations
that use them. However, if they are not used in a
systematic manner, improvements are likely to be
random and spontaneous rather than consistent and
comprehensive [4]. The use of quality tools and
techniques by organisations is by no means problem
free. There are many techniques that may be applied
to many different situations and for many different
reasons. It is this variety and by their very nature
complexity, that often creates difficulties in their
selection, application and effective use.
This paper will discuss the findings to date from the
quality techniques and tools in manufacturing
industries. This strand of research is part of an
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
funded project being undertaken by a team at the
Manchester School of Management, UMIST, looking
at Total Quality Management: Integration and
Development. It will also discuss the rationale behind
current quality training policies and their relationship
to workforce skills and will include a discussion on
the learning needs of the organisation as opposed to
those of the individual.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Initial work showed that the broad influences which
affect QMT&T fall into the five categories of
experience, management, resources, education and
training [5]. Within each of these are sub categories
that may not have much of an effect in isolation, but
it is their accumulation that causes a cascade which
then exerts a profound influence over the effectiveness
of any given technique or tool. For further discussion
of these influences and their effects see McQuater et
a/, [6].
Preliminary field work and literature reviews showed
the importance of determining organisation and
workforce profiles, as these in their own right may
have a profound effect on the utilisation ofQMT&T.
Therefore an audit methodology was designed to elicit
as much background information as possible without
detracting from the purpose of the study - the
investigation of the use, selection and application of
QMT &T and which incorporated a cascade of
influences framework. With the result a three pronged
strategy was devised, using a semi-structured

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A. K. Kochhar (ed.), Proceedings of the Thirty-First International Matador Conference

© Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology 1995
160 ISSUES AND DIFFICULTIES ASSOCIATED WITH QUALITY MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS
questionnaire that incorporated a simple assessment
grid, face to face interviews to validate the quantitative
information and finally observation in order to
appraise the practical use ofQMT&T. The assessment
grid was designed to question an individual's attitudes
to techniques and tools and their usage of them, by
giving a score out of 10 for the techniques and tools
they were familiar with.
In order to validate the accuracy of the questionnaire
and assessment grid, a series of pilot studies were
undertaken in several manufacturing organisations in
the Midlands and the Northwest of England. Little
statistical relevance may be placed on the results, due
to the small sample sizes and the changes made to
each pilot, however several trends were highlighted.
These were particularly related to perceived benefits,
usage, training and by omission, understanding. For
example the use (and understanding) of any given
technique or tool very much depended on the
individuals job, where it is more likely that someone
in a technical position uses charts and graphs than say
maintenance or stores personnel.
The results obtained from the pilot studies determined
the structure of a detailed investigation in two plants:
one in the UK and its German sister plant. The
rationale for the investigation was two fold. Firstly,
to determine if the issues and difficulties encountered
in the use and application of QMT&T apparent in the
UK manufacturing organisations were unique or if
they were similar in a German plant. Extrapolation
of the data from such a small study is only possible
because of the large volume of literature of
comparative studies conducted by the National
Institute of Economic and Social Research, (eg [7])
and other institutions (eg [8]). Secondly, a complex
mixture oftrying to determine if there was a difference
in the understanding of the more mathematically
complex techniques between the two plants and to
compare the effect of the change in post-compulsory
education and training over the last generation. It was
thought that this too affected the use of not just the
more mathematically based quality techniques but also
ofthe simpler tools requiring basic levels of numeracy
and literacy. The implications of this are significant
not least for the multinational organisation that are
applying policies at corporate level. They have to
consider very carefully the education and training
needs of the organisation and the individuals in each
country.
It must be noted that at the time of writing the full
statistical analysis had still to be completed and that
what is now examined are the preliminary findings.
TQM AND TRAINING
Education and training is a basic tenet of TQM.
Although it ought to continually develop an
individual's skills and therefore enhance workforce
skills, it should be specific, targeted and have a defined
purpose. At an individual level education and training
is important to employee development and job
satisfaction [9]. If due consideration of those needs
are not given all at levels (ie, organisations training
needs and the individual members of the workforce)
meeting the needs of one may neglect the needs of
the others. Not only does this have important
repercussions at an organisational level but it should
also be considered paramount at national workforce
levels, with Britain competing with its higher skilled
European neighbours.
Simple TQM Training Model
Train
L _ Personnel
Figure 1. A Simple TQM Training Model.
Empirical evidence from different strands of this
project suggest that many organisations follow a very
simple training philosophy as outlined in Figure 1.
What the model suggests is that once organisations
recognise a TQM training need the usual strategy is
to train all members of the workforce regardless of
the previous knowledge and skills in basic TQM
philosophy and how it applies to that particular
organisation's strategies, objectives and quality targets.
Leading from this initial awareness programme it is
then usual to offer education and training in the seven
basic tools and other techniques such as SPC. The
outcome of such training should be that every member
of the workforce becomes aware ofTQM and should
be able (and encouraged) to apply the philosophies
and training to their own working environment. The
cycle is continuous to cover new employees and
changing training requirements. Consequently
processes should become improved, problems solved
permanently, leading to increased efficiency and
ultimately providing a more flexible environment to
meet the challenges of a global market. The theory of