Design and Total Quality Management

Design and Total Quality Management

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Design and Total Quality Management

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Total Quality Management is not total

Walter McGee writes this article to examine total quality management and contemporary quality assurance in the United States. The article talks about the Edward Deming’s creation of the core concept behind the implementation of total quality management. Edward Deming is credited with writing the book Out of the Crises and establishing the American Society for American Engineers. McGee’s article intends to add on to the intellection of total quality management. McGee achieved this objective by combining design with quality assurance system. From the author’s point of view, complete quality assurance cannot be attained unless design is incorporated in the quality process.

McGee uses four viewpoints to validate his argument. The first viewpoint is based on Deming’s book Out of the Crises. McGee acknowledges Deming for the contributions he made in rescuing American companies from quality dilemma. McGee achieved this through fourteen principles and set managerial principles designed to steer companies towards increased quality and productivity. However, McGee points out that Deming’s perspective on quality and management did not expose the root of the crisis. He reinforces this assertion through a paper he presented in Sacramento. The findings of his paper in Sacramento were augmented by a management dilemma that plagued Westinghouse facility in Sunnyvale, California.

The necessity of geometric dimensioning is the second viewpoint McGee uses to support his argument. America’s success in World War II was nearly compromised by weapon failure. As such, this situation prompted the formulation of conventions to curtail similar problems in future. McGee states that similar conventions are applied in other American industries such as the American National Standards Institute. He asserts that these conventions are essential for proper tolerance and dimensioning of mechanical hardware. These convections are centered on the design of mechanical hardware. As such, using these conventions allows engineers to make necessary alterations to the design of mechanical hardware without altering performance.

Intent and assessment of metrology dilemma is another viewpoint McGee uses to reinforce his argument. McGee states that the current management in design engineering rooms lacks fundamental knowledge and skills of running this industry. They lack the understanding interpreting drawings and geometric perception required to manage sophisticated mechanical hardware. The shortfalls are the reasons behind catastrophe in the field. McGhee attributes this lack of knowledge and skill to government policies by using the Department of Defense as an example. Previously, this department conducted document checkers on most of its programs. McGee acknowledges that these checkers strained the country’s budget. As such, the government formulated policies to change this criterion to cut down costs. Additionally, the government was looking to compete with other countries that run their defense departments with low budgets. Ultimately, the reduced budget ensured that the quality and management of the Department of Defense was compromised.

Document Integrity assurance is last viewpoint McGee uses to complement his stand. He talks about the Design Quality Management concept he presented in a conference in New Jersey. His employer, Raytheon SAS division, applied this concept to incorporate design into its quality assurance system. The division where design was integrated focuses on generating documents. Traditionally, check departments are charged with the responsibility of officiating document quality. This subjected the documents to risk of flaws. The concept McGee proposed worked to ensure design quality.

CRITIQUE

Total Quality Management is not total

In my view, McGee’s writes an elaborate article that shares his perspective on the features amiss in the US industry. The author achieves his objective on pointing out the crisis of contemporary quality assurance in the US. Total quality management is an efficient approach that ensures success in the public, services, and manufacturing sectors. However, McGee believes that most organizations fail to achieve their objectives due to lack of design in quality management. Every argument requires sufficient evidence to support. McGee offers four viewpoints to reinforce his stand. In my opinion, he presents well-structured evidence relevant to the topic of the article. All the examples presented in the article are centered on design and quality management.

He engages the reader in a positive and negative view of the implications of design. In other words, he uses examples where design is applied and others where it is absent. The US Department of Defense is an example where design is lacking. The consequence in this case is flawed quality and management in this department. On the other, the application of design in Raytheon SAS is a positive example. It signifies the benefits of incorporating design in a corporation’s management.

Nevertheless, I feel that McGee’s article is biased to a certain extent. Most of the evidence he provides is based on personal ideas rather than general ones. For example, he talks about articles he presented in Sacramento and New Jersey. Indeed, he proves concerned parties in those conferences approved his concepts. However, he does not offer a clear picture on the results of the applied design concepts. He only talks about the benefits of design concepts on quality and management. Conversely, he does not discuss any shortcomings if any, hence the biasness.