Quality management: what it is and how to apply it in your company

Quality management is one of the most important concepts in a business. Even more so in a scenario as competitive as the one we are living in.

After all, there is a lot of talk today about putting the customer at the center of the business to ensure maximum satisfaction, a model known as “customer focus.” And you cannot talk about maximum customer satisfaction without giving quality management the value it deserves.

That is why you need to dig deep into organizational processes, understanding how unnecessary steps must be removed so that the product carries only what is needed to deliver the best user experience.

In this article we go deeper into quality management, how it works and the main pillars that support it. Enjoy the read!

The PDCA Cycleopens in a new tab is a tool that works directly on quality management, aiming at continuous process improvement. Download now the 100% free template Siteware prepared for you:

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What is quality management?

Quality management is the act of overseeing the tasks and processes of an organization directly tied to creating a product or service so that it meets users’ most demanding expectations.

It is worth saying that quality management is crucial for any company focused on the best customer experience. In addition, it acts as a pillar for more accurate strategic planning.

It is important to make clear that there is no rigid script for quality management. That is why any action aimed at improving the organization can be seen as such.

Read also: Project management software: 6 tips to achieve better resultsopens in a new tab (in Portuguese)

See some essential points for total quality management:

What makes up quality management?

Even though there is no magic formula for quality management, it is made up of four fundamental elements:

• strategic planning;opens in a new tab
• control;
• improvement;
• assurance.

When a company implements these four components, it is carrying out a process known as Total Quality Management (TQM).

The manager needs to stay alert, because quality management should not focus only on the outputs of products and services, but also on the inputs and on the processes through which the outputs were created.

Read also: BSC software: 5 essential features + tool tips

What are the objectives of quality management?

The main objective of quality management is to create a continuous improvement plan within the company so that the products and services offered not only meet but exceed customers’ expectations.

Therefore, you could say that quality itself is not a discipline, but something that must be pursued constantly in any business that wants to stay alive and competitive in the market.

In this context, quality ensures not only more customer satisfaction but also more well-being among employees, since it reduces rework inside the company.

It is important to make clear that, to have efficient quality management, you need to look beyond processes.

Organizational culture needs to carry the drive for quality and affect the whole corporate scenario from end to end, so that it can influence the entire production process.

That way, not only does the quality of the product or service go up, but the whole process it goes through gets better, which makes the product more consistent, with more cost optimizationopens in a new tab and, as a result, more competitive.

The DMAIC Cycleopens in a new tab is another methodology that can help with quality management. Download now the 100% free, automated spreadsheet that Siteware makes available to you:

What is the role of quality management?

The role of quality management is to use all available resources, such as technology, human capital and strategy, to deliver the best experience to the organization’s customer.

For it to really happen, it is essential that the manager understands its importance in making sure the whole team engages with the processes to make them even better.

In this sense, when quality management is built in, managers examine processes closely to choose tools and frameworks that standardize most executions.

Little by little, a quality yardstick is created for every micro and macro process, ensuring that bottlenecks disappear.

To work properly, it is crucial to choose a good technology system that makes it possible to control operations.

Good software makes it possible to view executions transparently, ensuring more accurate decision-making, even in real time.

See how the mind of a good quality manager should work:

What are the benefits of quality management?

Today, quality management has gone from a differentiator to a necessity inside the company. Even so, it still brings countless benefits to your business.

The main one is that it improves every aspect of your business, from hiring an employee to delivering the product to the customer. Among other advantages, we can mention:

• better efficiency;
• lower costs and fewer human errors;
• more consistent results;
• growth in the skills of the whole team;
• shorter training time for new employees.

Essential tools in quality management

Quality management is a crucial aspect of any organization’s success, and many toolsopens in a new tab have been developed over time to support this process. Here are some of the most common and effective quality management tools:

1- Ishikawa Diagram (Fishbone)

The Ishikawa Diagramopens in a new tab helps identify, explore and visualize all the possible causes of a problem, instead of only the most obvious ones. It is useful for defect analysis and for understanding the root of quality problems.

2- Check Sheet

Used to collect data in real time at the place where the data is generated. The check sheetopens in a new tab can be used to track the frequency of certain events, problems or defects.

3- Pareto Diagram (Pareto Analysis)

Based on the principle that most problems (80%) are caused by a few main causes (20%). The Pareto Diagramopens in a new tab is a graphical tool that helps identify and prioritize the causes of problems so improvement efforts can focus on them.

4- Flowchart (Process Flow Diagram)

Graphically represents the flow of processes, showing how the individual steps relate to each other. It is a fundamental tool for process analysis and improvement.

5- Control Charts

Used to monitor the variability of a process and to determine whether the process is under statistical control. They are essential for quality control and for the continuous improvement of processes.

6- Histogram

A type of bar chart that shows the frequency distribution of variable data. It is useful for understanding the variation and distribution of a process’s data.

What are the pillars of quality management?

According to the International Standard for Quality Management (ISO 9001), there are some pillars that guide organizations and support management, namely:

1. customer focus;
2. leadershipopens in a new tab;
3. relationship management;
4. continuous improvementopens in a new tab;
5. team involvement;
6. process management;
7. systemic approach;
8. positive relationships.

1. Customer focus

To ensure maximum quality, it is crucial that the company keeps the customer at the center of the business. That is why all activities need to converge on delighting the customer.

In this sense, the company has to deliver beyond what the customer is looking for, paying attention to their pain points and needs, leading them to exceed the expectations they have about the delivery of the product or service.

2. Leadership

For quality to happen, you must above all develop leadership. This applies to any department within the organization. After all, leaders are responsible for motivating the whole team.

In addition, it is up to them to ensure that processes are carried out in the best possible way and that no bottleneck keeps production from running at the speed planned.

3. Relationship management

Another pillar that supports quality management is relationship management. This means managers need to involve everyone, from employees to suppliers, with a focus on total quality.

You should constantly invest in training so the organization succeeds in its entire mission. When this harmony exists, the customer’s success in their buying journey is inevitable.

4. Continuous improvement

No company reaches perfection overnight. That is why processes need constant improvement. And that means working so that customers’ pain points are resolved with ever greater efficiency.

The culture of improvement needs to reach every member of the team. In other words, all employees must understand that they do not know everything and need to keep improving their skills.

When everyone involved understands the need for constant improvement, the company becomes even more competitive and stays one step ahead of the competition.

5. Team involvement

The involvement of the whole team is another fundamental pillar that supports good quality management. That is why every employee should engage in this process.

And this covers not only those directly tied to production, but also employees from many different departments.

Only with full engagement will managers be able to constantly improve the products and services offered.

In this sense, the Human Resourcesopens in a new tab departmentopens in a new tab is essential. It will be responsible for keeping all employees engaged.

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6. Process management

Even if the team is highly motivated and engaged, you cannot improve quality without good process management.

In this sense, it is essential to map the methods and resources used so you can extract metrics and indicators from every stage of production.

Only through metrics and indicators will you be able to know whether your actions are producing results, and how far along the right path you are.

7. Systemic approach

Quality managers need a systemic view of the company’s processes in order to apply quality to all of them.

Only then will you be able to understand how they relate to one another and improve whatever is needed.

Therefore, the company itself needs to invest in training managers so they have this systemic view of the processes in question.

8. Positive relationships

Finally, it is essential to say that the relationship with the ecosystem is crucial to ensuring more quality in the product and service.

Some say that relationships are the soul of business, so CEOs and managers need to have good connections, finding strategic partnerships for the business.

This will deliver greater value to customers, ensuring greater competitiveness.

Want to know how to implement a quality management system in your business? Then be sure to check out this video (in Portuguese):

Why is it important to apply quality management?

When a company implements quality management guidelines, it avoids rework in the business’s operational routine, making everything more efficient.

With strict quality control, you can manage projects more effectively, making every production stage follow the guidelines we have discussed. In addition, it also helps with other matters such as:

• productivity gainsopens in a new tab;
• statistical process controlopens in a new tab;
• resource optimization;
• customer satisfaction.

1- Productivity gains

Productivity goes up because the company stops losing time on rework, which makes the day to day more agile.

In addition, through systemic management, the manager collects metrics at each stage, quickly correcting any errors.

The result is a huge impact on the whole team, whether in the back or front office, as well as on the factory floor itself.

2- Process control

Another positive effect of quality management is that the team gains a deeper view of each stage of the process.

In this sense, it becomes easier and more accessible to see problems in real time, which ensures that each delivery stays within the quality standards set by the company.

3- Resource optimization

Beyond processes, quality management affects all other areas of the company, such as inventory management itself, ensuring better resource optimization.

After all, with preestablished processes and well-defined guidelines, the team makes efficient use of the resources at its disposal, avoiding waste.

Naturally, when waste is avoided on a production line, fewer raw materials are used to make a product or service, reducing costs.

4- Customer satisfaction

With optimized resources and no rework, the product reaches the customer faster, ensuring a better consumer experience with your brand.

In addition, you avoid a big problem: the product arriving non-conforming to the end consumer. When that happens, the company loses time and money fixing the problem.

On top of that, the time the customer spends contacting the organization to return the product or have the service redone causes dissatisfaction.

When quality management is applied, this no longer happens, and the result is that the customer becomes a true advocate for your business.

How does technology make a difference in quality management?

For quality management to be implemented correctly in your business, it is essential to have good software for a better view of the status of all processes.

And good project management software for your company is Stratwsopens in a new tab. With it, you track processes, standardize the management method and follow your team’s development at every stage.

The result is that bottlenecks are corrected and there is continuous improvement in every phase, from the arrival of raw material at the company to the delivery of the finished product to the consumer. Liked it? Then talk to an expert: