Total quality management 437 together to achieve a smooth and profitable relationship between vendor and purchaser. The objective must be to build a confident partnership between the two so that the purchaser can rely on the vendor as much as on"in-house departments There are a number of stages to go through in achieving this objective. It should be noted that all purchased materials which can affect product or service quality should be included in this programme. Often capital and services items (e.g. motors, pumps etc. )are omitted, and faults are only detected after installation. Clearly this does have an impact on the overall efficiency and uality of the operation and should be included Supplier quality policy There should be a stated and preferably written policy. This usually takes the form of a summary of the principles involved mutual co-operation, the partnership prior contractual understanding; agreeing specifications methods of evaluation inspection on receipt( the policy is to accept only material meeting the requirements plans for settling disputes feedback on performance vendor responsible for delivery to standard Contractual understanding There is little point in trying to develop a partnership with suppliers unless there is a clear understanding about the objectives to be achieved. This usually takes the form of a contract covering for example, material specifications, delivery parameters, responsibilities for quality including those for verification, access to supplier, procedures for settling disputes. It is important that all these parameters are agreed and verified prior to signing the contract and entering a supplier onto an approved list List of approved suppliers The purchaser should maintain a list of approved suppliers. Lying behind this should be a set of procedures which describe the stages of approval. There are wo main criteria to be considered here 1. financial capability and stability 2. ability to meet specification The latter can be assessed in a number of ways auditing suppliers quality systemtogether to achieve a smooth and profitable relationship between vendor and purchaser. The objective must be to build a confident partnership between the two so that the purchaser can rely on the vendor as much as on ‘in-house’ departments. There are a number of stages to go through in achieving this objective. It should be noted that all purchased materials which can affect product or service quality should be included in this programme. Often capital and services items (e.g. motors, pumps etc.) are omitted, and faults are only detected after installation. Clearly this does have an impact on the overall efficiency and quality of the operation and should be included. Supplier quality policy There should be a stated and preferably written policy. This usually takes the form of a summary of the principles involved: • mutual co-operation; the partnership • prior contractual understanding; agreeing specifications • methods of evaluation – audit – inspection at source – inspection on receipt (the policy is to accept only material meeting the requirements) • plans for settling disputes • feedback on performance • vendor responsible for delivery to standard. Contractual understanding There is little point in trying to develop a partnership with suppliers unless there is a clear understanding about the objectives to be achieved. This usually takes the form of a contract covering for example, material specifications, delivery parameters, responsibilities for quality including those for verification, access to supplier, procedures for settling disputes. It is important that all these parameters are agreed and verified prior to signing the contract and entering a supplier onto an approved list. List of approved suppliers The purchaser should maintain a list of approved suppliers. Lying behind this should be a set of procedures which describe the stages of approval. There are two main criteria to be considered here: 1. financial capability and stability 2. ability to meet specification. The latter can be assessed in a number of ways: • auditing supplier’s quality system • vendor’s previous performance Total quality management 437