Evolution of Quality Management System

Introduction

Before the concepts and ideas of quality management system were formalized, much work had taken place over the centuries to reach this stage. This section charts the evolution, from inspection through to the present day concepts of total quality.
During the early days of manufacturing, an operative’s work was inspected and a decision made whether to accept or reject it. The quality was tested after the production activities have been completed. These were mainly segregation activities where "good" and "bad" products are segregated and "bad" products are either thrown away or repaired, if possible. There was absolutely no control over the production activities to reduce the rejections.

Quality has many definitions and the true definition is valid at a point in time from customer's perspective. There are many aspects of quality and they fall into categories such as consumer's point of view, producer's point of view, personal quality, behavioural quality etc....

As businesses became larger, so too did this role and full time inspection jobs were created.
Accompanying the creation of inspection functions, other problems arose:

• 
  
  More technical problems occurred, requiring specialized skills, often not possessed by
  production workers


• 
  
  The inspectors lacked training


• 
  
  Inspectors were ordered to accept defective goods, to increase output


• 
  
  Skilled workers were promoted into other roles, leaving less skilled workers to perform the operational jobs, such as manufacturing

These changes led to the birth of the separate inspection department with a “chief inspector”, reporting to either the person in charge of manufacturing or the works manager. With the creation of this new
department, there came new services and issues, e.g., standards, training, recording of data and the
accuracy of measuring equipment. It became clear that the responsibilities of the “chief inspector” were
more than just product acceptance, and a need to address defect prevention emerged.
Hence the quality control department evolved, in charge of which was a “quality control manager”, with
responsibility for the inspection services and quality control engineering.
In the 1920’s statistical theory began to be applied effectively to quality control, and in 1924 Shewhart
made the first sketch of a modern control chart. His work was later developed by Deming and the early
work of Shewhart, Deming, Dodge and Romig constitutes much of what today comprises the theory of
statistical process control (SPC). However, there was little use of these techniques in manufacturing
companies until the late 1940’s.

In the post-world war II era "Quality Assurance" (Verification prior to production) activities started and a Defence Standard (DEFSTAN 05 - 21) _ Audit for military purchase came in to existence.
The objective of this standard was to evaluate and select the suppliers based on their ability to produce quality products. During this period production control, in-process inspection etc. started. 

At that time, Japan’s industrial system was virtually destroyed, and it had a reputation for cheap imitation products and an illiterate workforce. The Japanese recognized these problems and set about solving them with the help of some notable quality gurus – Juran, Deming and Feigenbaum.
In the early 1950’s, quality management practices developed rapidly in Japanese plants, and become a major theme in Japanese management philosophy, such that, by 1960, quality control and management had become a national preoccupation.
By the late 1960’s/early 1970’s Japan’s imports into the USA and Europe increased significantly, due to its cheaper, higher quality products, compared to the Western counterparts.
In 1969 the first international conference on quality control, sponsored by Japan, America and Europe, was held in Tokyo. In a paper given by Feigenbaum, the term “total quality” was used for the first time, and referred to wider issues such as planning, organization and management responsibility. Ishikawa gave a paper explaining how “total quality control” in Japan was different, it meaning “company wide quality control”, and describing how all employees, from top management to the workers, must study and participate in quality control. Company wide quality management was common in Japanese companies by the late 1970’s.

The first Quality Assurance Standard was published in 1979 by British Standards Institution (BSI) BS 5750: 1979.
BS 5750: 1979 Part 1: Certification Requirements for companies having design, manufacturing (including inspection and testing) and supply capabilities
BS 5750: 1979 Part 2: Certification Requirements for companies having manufacturing (including inspection and testing) and supply capabilities but not design capabilities, and,
BS 5750: 1979 Part 3: Certification Requirements for companies having inspection and testing capabilities only. 

The quality revolution in the West was slow to follow, and did not begin until the early 1980’s, when companies introduced their own quality programmes and initiatives to counter the Japanese success. Total quality management (TQM) became the centre of these drives in most cases.
In a Department of Trade & Industry publication in 1982 it was stated that Britain’s world trade share was declining and this was having a dramatic effect on the standard of living in the country. There was intense global competition and any country’s economic performance and reputation for quality was made up of the reputations and performances of its individual companies and products/services.
The British Standard (BS) 5750 for quality systems had been published in 1979, and in 1983 the National Quality Campaign was launched, using BS5750 as its main theme. The aim was to bring to the attention of industry the importance of quality for competitiveness and survival in the world market place.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standard bodies (ISO member bodies).
ISO 9000 series of standards are developed by Technical Committee ISO/TC 176, Quality management and quality assurance, Subcommittee SC 2, Quality Systems.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) adopted BS 5750: 1979 standard in 1987 as ISO 9000 series of standards having three certification standards ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003. These standards were appropriately amended in 1994 (second edition).
In 1994 (and 1987), ISO 9000 series consisted of standard:
ISO 8402: Vocabulary: Terms and definitions
ISO 9000: Guidance for selection of certification standard (ISO 9001/ 9002 / 9003) and Guidance on implementation in Parts for various industry segments like services.
ISO 9001: Certification Requirements for companies having design, manufacturing (including inspection and testing) and supply capabilities
ISO 9002: Certification Requirements for companies having manufacturing (including inspection and testing) and supply capabilities but not design capabilities, and,
ISO 9003: Certification Requirements for companies having inspection and testing capabilities only.
ISO 9004: Guidelines for Improvement
The requirements of the quality management system were defined in 20 sub clauses in 1987 edition. New requirements were added in 1994 retaining the 20 clause structure of the standard.

Since then the International Standardization Organization (ISO) 9000 has become the internationally recognized standard for quality management systems. It comprises a number of standards that specify the requirements for the documentation, implementation and maintenance of a quality system.
TQM is now part of a much wider concept that addresses overall organizational performance and recognizes the importance of processes. There is also extensive research evidence that demonstrates the benefits from the approach.
As we move into the 21st century, TQM has developed in many countries into holistic frameworks, aimed at helping organizations achieve excellent performance, particularly in customer and business results. In Europe, a widely adopted framework is the so-called “Business Excellence” or “Excellence” Model, promoted by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), and in the UK by the British Quality Foundation (BQF).”

New Millennium

In the beginning of new millennium, third edition of ISO 9000 series was released on 15th December 2000. The year 2000 revision no longer followed the 20 clause structure and has only one standard, ISO 9001:2000, for certification.
The ISO 9000 family of standards, revised in year 2000 consisted of:

1. ISO 9000 Quality Management systems _ Fundamentals and vocabulary. (Revised in 2005)
2. ISO 9001 Quality Management systems _ Requirements.  (Revised in 2008)
3. ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems _ Guidelines on performance improvements

ISO 9000 is an International Standard aimed at enhancing customer satisfaction. To achieve excellence in customer satisfaction one has to understand the needs and requirements of the customer and fulfil these requirements. ISO 9001 standard provides guidelines for enhancing customer satisfaction in a structured manner.
There is difference between achieving customers' satisfaction and achieving sales targets. One can achieve sales targets by various ways such as keeping product price lower than competitors, advertisements, innovative marketing schemes, giving away free gifts etc. but none of these can lead to achieving or enhancing customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction can only be enhanced by understanding and fulfilling the customer needs and that is what precisely ISO 9001 standard deals with.

Summary of Evolution of Management Concepts

Phase 1: 1900 to 1940

"Quality Control" (or Inspection after production) 

Phase 2: 1942 - 1970

"Quality Assurance" (Verification prior to production)

1942 - 1952

US Military develop requirements for contractors for shell, aircraft, missile suppliers (Quality without 100% inspection)
Defence Standard (DEFSTAN 05 - 21) _ Audit for military purchase

1959

US Department of Defence established MIL-Q-9858 quality management

1963

MIL-Q-9858 is internationalized as an ABCA standard

1968

NATO adopts MIL-Q-9858A as Allied Quality Assurance Publication 1 (AQAP-1)

Phase 3: 1970 - 1979

"Total Quality Assurance" (or Company Wide Quality Assurance)
British Standards Institute (BSI) developed
BS 4891 & BS 5179: 1975 

Phase 4: 1979 - 1987

"Quality Management System"
First Quality Management Standard
British Standards Institute (BSI) developed AQAP-1 for civilian use BS 5750
BS 5750: 1979 

Phase 5: 1987 -2000

ISO 9000 Series: 1987 (First Edition)
ISO 9000 Series: 1994 (Second Edition) 

Phase 6: 2001 on wards

ISO 9000 Series: 2000 (Third Edition; amended in December 2000)
Amendments in 2005 and 2008

External Document Reference (download)

The Evolution of Quality: Different Perspective
The Original Quality Gurus: Management Theories by from Leading Consultants