Re: ISO or TQM

>This firm then went the ISO route. Result :- more errors, higher
>labour turnover, more administration, concentration went from
>preventing errors and making improvements to measuring
>non-conformances.
>
>An non-conformance may be the fact that a measuring tape may not be
>calibrated. In an industry where the general manufacturing tolerance
>may be +/- 2mm what difference does it make to product quality that a
>measuring tape is not calibrated.
>
>Coming up to an ISO audit it was noticeable that the production
>manager was more interested in making sure that systems were working
>rather than making sure the work going out the door was correct.
>
>I have since left this firm to start my own business and am going the
>TQM route. Its customer satisfaction that counts not the systems you
>have in place.
>
>Any other opinions on this,
>
>Regards,
>Seamus Weatherhead

Be careful in making judgement of a system unless you are certain that there
were no other underlying causes for the shift.

While I am not familiar with the specifics of the company you described, it
seems that something else changed at the some time as the quality system
philosophy.

ISO and TQM are not mutually exclusive philosophies. They become so when the
management puts more emphasis on compliance and less on sensible management.

ISO in its purest form is a management system philosophy. TQM is basically a
management type philosophy. They can and have worked in conjunction at a number
of companies.

Given the choice between a good TQM system and a "compliance only" ISO system,
I agree with your choice.

Steve Devlin