’’The Wave of the Future -- From the Past”I

Joseph G. Franco, CPPM

This article is to advise the reader on a cursory basis what some of ±e principles of TQMS are, some personal obser­vations, including experiences of TQM implementation in my company - McDonnell Douglas,, to provide some ref­erences for those desiring more in-depth knowledge of the subject and comments from other individuals.

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Because of the adoption of this management philosophy by the Department of Defense, particularly the Air Force, the Academia and Government Contractors as well as many other Industries, it certainly should be of interest to most NPMA members. TQM is not new. Dr. Deming introduced it successfully in Japan in 1950. He is the recipient of many distinguished awards from Japan and the United States.

I believe most of us have heard about TQMS, either from our work place, the workshop conducted by Air Force Colonel Gary Zura, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, at last National Seminar '89 or the "Deming's 14 Points" article reprinted from the Nova Chapter News in the January- February 1989 NPMA Magazine.

express their opinions and experiences concerning TQM through our Magazine and other sources throughout NPMA. The following includes extractions noted in quotations and bold face type- from what I consider the single most com­prehensive recently published article on TQM, by William B. Scott, titled TOM Expected to BOOST Productivity, Ensure Survival of U.S. Industry printed in the Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine dated December 4, 1989, along with other sources noted. My personal com­ments are in parentheses.

"The official Defense Department definition is Total Quality Management is both a philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a continuously improving organi­zation. TQM is the application of quantitative methods and human resources to improve the material and services supplied to an organiza­tion, all the processes within an organization, and the degree to which the needs of the cus­tomer are met, now and in the future."

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TQMS: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

"When asked for a simple definition of his cor­porations Total Quality Management System(TQMS), John F. McDonnell told

I sincerely believe in TQM and intend to support my compa­ny's TQM efforts. I certainly don't expect the reader to agree with all or any of my personal opinions or observations. My purpose is to create interest; I hope NPMA members will

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McDonnell is the chairman and chief executive officer of McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

"Reducing ’chronic waste' in material, people's time, lost sales and expended capital with no measurable return. TQM experts estimate that most organizations could save as much as 40% of today's cos4 by eliminating the waste associat-

overall objectives. Also, MDC made several, from my per­ception, critical implementation errors.

"Building-in" quality during the early phases of a job, rather than "inspecting-out" defects near the end. This precept concentrates on problem prevention instead of correction as a cost-saving, more efficient approach. For management or team leaders, building-in quality means provid­ing the resources and time to plan, design and produce products and services with high yields. They also must recognize the capabilities and limitations of the manufacturing or service pro­cess. Everybody in the organization strives to develop designs and plans that are "robust" - immune to variations in manufacturing or oper­ational use."

(Whatever implementation scheme a company uses, one of the problems they have to overcome is the "TRUST GAP" as Fortune Magazine coined it, between managers and employees at U.S. companies. "Cynicism pervades, says Phil Mirvis, author of "The Ethnical Americans." He found that the lion's share of the work force, 80%, doubts the truth of what management tells them.)

"The quality-program names and implementa­tion schemes adopted by companies and governmental agencies differ widely, but the generally accepted principles of Total Quality Management include:

Major General Charles Henry, Deputy Director Defense Logistics Agency, was quoted recently in the MDC December 1989 Spirit Magazine as saying: "It all boils down to attention to detail. Quality is meeting specification. What we have had in industry is this. The quality guy looks again and decides it is not really that bad, but it is a deviation from the contract. So what does he have to do to make it meet spec? Rework. They rework to meet the spec. Why not spend time and money on the first-time quality?"

A focus on the customer or user of a product or service, ensuring that his needs and expectations are consistently satisfied. Customers may be inside an organization or outside, but every per­son “ from the chief executive to the janitor — has customers who receive and depend upon that individual's 'product.' An important step in establishing a TQM philosophy is for every per­son to identify his or her personal customers, then determine what that recipient wants and needs. For example. Air Force Systems Command considers the contractor community as its customer for the proposal solicitations (RFPs) it sends out, and is trying to improve that 'product' through dialogue with industry repre­sentatives."

The program was implemented with minimal employee input, and initial communication between management and employees concerning TQM was very limited. They are striving to overcome this now. Also program initiation did not (and stiU does not) to my knowledge include a manage­ment committment to change any corporate or division policy or procedure which conflicts with the concept of TQM.

An example that reinforces this feeling at that at the time TQM was initiated in McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC) last year, an article in Fortune Magazine stated the purpose of the new policy was to eliminate 2,500 middle management positions with little comment of the systems

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employees, 'You can write your own definition to suit your particular job so long as you keep qual­ity “ that is, your customer's definition of quality — as your goal. With that goal in mind, put in place the right people, teams and partnerships, and the disciplined systems and processes so they can do their jobs. And at the same time, give them a supportive cultural environment. The sum of those three elements will give you a Total Quality Management System that will help you give your customer first-time quality at the low­est possible cost.'"

One of the least publicized factors used by many companies as a part of putting TQM in effect is the deletion of a line of management. At MDC, the bottom line "leads" were delet­ed. This removed the "Sergeants" from the supervisory/management ladder. The company is striving to compensate for this action by establishing "team leaders," etc. which will not be in the management chain and will probably be expected to assume many of the responsibilities of the former leads without direct compensation. This is an ongoing problem that has not been solved.

• DESTRUCTION OF PEOPLE AND COMPANY

• ANNUAL APPRAISAL OF PEOPLE/MERIT SYSTEM

• EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH/YEAR

• GRADING SYSTEMS

• EMPHASIS ON THE QUARTERLY DIVIDEND

• SHORT-TERM PLANNING

• CREATIVE ACCOUNTING

• MANIPULATION AND MANEUVERING OF ASSETS

• MOBILITY OF MANAGEMENT

• MANAGEMENT BY THE NUMBERS

• UNFRIENDLY TAKEOVER

• MULTIPLE VENDORS OR SUPPLIERS

• POOR WORKING ENVIRONMENT

• FOCUS ON THE END PRODUCT

• MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVE-22-

• BUSINESS ON PRICE TAG WITH SHORT-TERM RELATIONSHIPS

• DETAILED ACTION ON EVERY CUSTOMERCOMPLAINT

• MORE PEOPLE STUDY REPORT ON PRODUCTIONRATHER THAN ACTUALLY ENGAGE INPRODUCTION

’’Pursuing a strategy of steady, continuous improvement by focusing on and understanding all the elements of existing tasks. Ideally, every person in an organization is always looking for a better way to do a job. The Japanese call this process "Kaizen" and place a high priority on it. Over time, a series of incremental but continu­ous advances and improvements in products, processes and services will enable an organiza­tion to leapfrog competitors who rely on periodic break-throughs to keep them in the game. As one symposium speaker noted, "always depend­ing on home runs will not win every game. But a consistent series of singles will"

(The danger to this strategy was observed by Ralph H. Kilmann in his book, "Beyond the Quick Fix.")

(Time will tell if the DOD (seven year) or corporate short term implementation approach for TQM was correct. I woidd have liked to see something in the middle.)

"It is time to stop perpetuating the myth of sim­plicity. The system of organization invented by mankind generates complex problems that can­not be solved by simple solutions... Essentially, it is not the single approach of culture, strategy, or restructuring that is inherently ineffective. Rather, each is ineffective only if it applied by itself “ as a quick fix... The only alternative is to develop a truly integrated approach."

ed with items and activities that do not add value to the end product. Obvious examples include scrap material, excess inventory, inspection equipment, over and under-specification, and wasted energy resources. However, less appar­ent chronic waste — often accepted as the normal cost of doing business - can include inefficient meetings, reworking failed components, poor customer service and deficient engineering. Capital is wasted through poor investments, the cost of warranties and liability claims, idle equipment and depreciation."

(John Hadjilogiou, Ph.D., P.E., Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, in a TQM presentation to the Space Coast Chapter of the Society of Logistics Engineers (SOLE) on October 25,1989, identi­fied the following non-productive work (retroactive management factors):

"Establishing structured problem-solving methodologies that can identify opportunities for improvement. These are applied to every work activity input, output and critical point within the process. Measurements at these points help pick out the most serious problems to be resolved. Brainstorming, experimentation or cause-and-effect analysis techniques are used to find solutions or alternatives. Once corrective actions are implemented to resolve the problem or improve a process, the cycle is repeated, always striving for improvement."

oped.

(I don't believe this concept can be accomplished without statistical analysis training of lower and middle manage­ment personnel, one of the best sources of TQM statistical analysis is "The Deming route to quality and productivity road maps and road blocks" by William W. Scherkbach.)

(This type of problem solving requires a change from super­vision to leadership and a "follow me" mentality instead of "I'm behind you aU the way.")

(This is the most difficult factor that new TQM organiza­tions must accomplish. It includes a total new philosophy on how to treat people. My concern is that I don't believe it can be accomplished to the level it must for TQM to be effective without a considerable dollar investment in this part of the program. I'm not sure organizations are prepared to meet this requirement. I think most organizations wiU during this period of budgetary constraints and poor eco­nomic forecast, try to put TQM into effect within, for the most part, their existing budgets hoping for a "quick fix" or "instant pudding".)

motivates its people through positive incentives rather than fear. The successful organization creates an envH-onment (or culture) that values every employee and ensures all members volun­tarily cooperate to achieve the group's objectives. Management generates ideas and goals and actively encourages the flow of ideas up through the organization."

Another concern is the need for using an up front approach in promoting the system. As an example, rather than pub­lish in all organizational media nothing but glaring TQM success stories also include, similar to current safety and quality documentation, failures (which will certainly occur) to include cause, effect and solutions. Another realism is the special management problem of convincing the "me" gener­ation younger employees and some of the older middle and senior management personnel, from the old Autocratic man­agement school, of the need for teamwork and other individual commitments needed for a successful program. The solution to this problem will have to be interwoven with magic threads with the need to accept the fact that American workers are not totally like Japanese workers. American organizations wiU never establish a cradle-to-the- grave benefits foundation similar to Japanese companies and for this reason American TQM organizations will prob­ably resemble Japanese TQM companies in basic management philosophy only without the total individual employee commitment that the Japanese firms have devel-

MDC is planning and has in place a new compensation policy which wiU hopefuUy link pay with per­formance, provide competitive and fair salaries, and increase understanding of compensation policies. They have also initiated a "People Policies" program to create an environment and opportunity to grow in their career fields. These may be steps in the right direction.

"Using statistical tools to reduce variations in a process. This approach avoids chronic top-level problems where all components or subassem­blies comprising a major assembly are manufactured within their individual tolerances, yet the entire system does not work. If there are numerous components, their individual toler­ance variations can 'stack' to the point where, together, the entire unit falls out of its system­level tolerance. Tools such as statistical process control (SPC) and computer-assisted design, engineering and manufacturing(CAD/CAE/CAM) can identify and remove the cause of variations, whether they are inherent in the original design or the production process. 'Robust' designs that reduce the number of parts, for example, eliminate opportunities for tolerance stacking and make the system less sen­sitive to manufacturing variations.

"Recognizing the importance of people in the total process. Improved quality and high pro­ductivity can be achieved by tapping the inherent potential of a workforce, enabling each employee to do his or her job right the first time. Autocratic aerospace and defense companies traditionally have focussed on technology to improve their processes - new computers, auto­mated machines and innovative techniques -- and overlooked the benefits of investing in their workforce. A TQM-oriented organization strives to create a positive, pleasant and safe working environment, emphasizes teamwork over individual efforts and provides an abun­dance of training. Workers' ideas and expertise are actively sought and rewarded through extrinsic (salary, bonuses and job security) and intrinsic (meaningful work, responsibility for results and feedback) methods. Management

Following are extracts from several articles I authored that were published in the McDonnell Douglas Florida Chapter of the National Management Association (NMA) newsletter concerning TQM:

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"Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for effi­cient citizenship as the ability to read and write". H.G. Wells.

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Employees must have a right to information without censorship from above.

NPMA MEMBERSHIP GROWTH BY REGION

We cannot, in the need for competitiveness, mangle people and create worse workplaces. Over a half­million people have been "restructured" out of their jobs in the past few years.

There must be restraints of the organization's power over the individual. The employee must have the ability to confront those in authority.

In summary, as a part of TQMS, the basic work environment needs must be satisfied. If we hope to be No. 1 in terms of the products that we create, we must be NO. 1 in providing the quality of life for the people who make them.

If, at this point, I've failed to pique your interest about TQM and you still feel it's just another management philosophy how about a system where subordinates rate managers and managers are also rated by their peers as well as superiors.

We in property management are not exempt from TQM involvement. We must be prepared to make a supportive commitment to our organizations. I have not gone into aU the TQM need factors such as reduced D.O.D. Budgets, World Wide Industrial competition. International Political and Economic changes, etc. Because I'm certain that they are readily accepted by a majority of those concerned.

TQM is "the wave of the future-from the past" — you must not wait for your boss, your government, your industry, or your company. The change begins right now, with you.

A full comprehensive understanding of total quality man­agement carmot be obtained without reading Dr. Deming's book, "Out of the Crisis," and its predecessor, "Quality, Productivity and Competitive Position."

Joe Franco is currently the Assistant Property Administrator at McDonnell Douglas at the Kennedy Space Center. He is an Air Force retiree, has been in Industrial Contract Property Management since 1967 and is a mem­ber of the Shuttle Chapter. He holds CPPM #780.

How about a system where replacement managers are selected by committee comprising other peer managers, a higher level manager and at least one subordinate employee from the activity having the manager position vacancy. MDC is doing this now and this is a change from most per­spectives.

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Along with the emphasis on everybody to be a part of a team, employees must be given the right not to be part of the team. Many people simply want to just do a good job, put in eight hours, and go home. It is a failure not to recognize and accept this real­ism.

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