QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM – From the desk of TQM Manager, Sept 2000
GSL Water embarked on quality journey soon after the company was awarded with MS ISO 9002 certification by SIRIM QAS in November 1998 and 1999 at Gunung Semanggol and Taiping Headworks plants respectively. The present scope of certification is "Production of Potable Water at Gunung Semanggol and Taiping Headworks Water Treatment Plants".
What is ISO 9000? ISO 9000 is a widely accepted international standard for twenty aspects of a company’s quality management system to which certification is awarded and maintained based upon third party audit. It is easy to obtain and also easy to lose, but hard to maintain.
In the new millenium the company had achieved another milestone by introducing and implementing the company-wide Total Quality Management (TQM). TQM consists of continuous improvement activities involving everyone in the organization (from manager to general workers) in a totally integrated effort towards improving performance at every level. This improved performance is directed toward satisfying such cross-functional goals as quality, cost, schedule, mission needs, and suitability. TQM integrates fundamental management techniques, existing improvement efforts, and technical tools under a disciplined approach focused on continuous improvement. The activities are ultimately focused on increased customer/user satisfaction.
The company realized that ISO certification alone cannot be used as a vehicle to achieve excellence in quality. Modern quality management methodology and philosophy have to be adopted in order to compete with other global players.
In line with this the company had started with quality improvement projects managed by individual Quality Improvement Teams (QIT). The group proceedings and project status will be presented to the management on regular basis which pave the way to the annual in-house QIT presentation and subsequently to regional and national level competition organized by National Productivity Corporation (NPC).
The company’s next milestone in quality achievement is to obtain the prestigious "Quality Management Excellence Award" or "Prime Minister Award" by year 2003. To achieve this we must have a common goal and ready for the new paradigm shift.
Besides the quality improvement projects the company also conduct regular 5 ‘S’ management audit which is a part and parcel of the TQM. The 5 ‘S’ auditors will be nominated by the TQM Manager on quarterly basis and a thorough audit will be conducted at various areas and corrective action request will be forwarded to the respective asset custodian for improvements. Awards will be given away for the best 5 ‘S’ management practices in conjunction with World Quality Day which falls in month of November.
Quality management is an on-going process and there is no finish line. One of the most fundamental elements of total quality is continuous improvement. The concept applies to processes and the people who operate them. It also applies to products. However, a fundamental total quality philosophy is that the best way to improve a product is to continually improve the processes by which it is made.
What distinguishes the total quality approach from traditional ways of doing business can be found in how it is achieved. The distinctive characteristics of total quality are :
Quality is about doing things RIGHT THE FIRST TIME and about satisfying customers. But quality is also about costs, revenues, and profits. Quality plays a key role in keeping costs low, revenues high, and profit robust.
SO……QUALITY SHOULD BEGIN WITH YOU.
