15 Total quality management D.J. Rose, Campden and chorleywood Food Research Association 15.1 Introduction Organisations looking to develop their business operations through the current volatile economic climates need to establish clear objectives as to how the various elements of the business need to perform to ensure continuing growth and viability. In order to achieve these objectives it is further imperative to have mechanisms in place to monitor performance and also to provide a process by which change can be implemented in those areas of activity which need strengthening. Total Quality Management(TQM) is a management tool which provides that opportunity In its broadest sense TQM provides a business system by which the whole organisation can be harnessed to meet the needs of customer requirements. It is important to emphasise that TQM is not merely a technical standard but encompasses both the technical and business operations. The fundamental requirement for a successful TQM system is to have good management practices, TQM alone cannot provide this and any systems implemented will only ever be as successful as the staff involved The purpose of this chapter is to describe the key elements that need to be considered when setting up a Total Quality Management system. It provides information on the typical range of quality systems that may already be in place within an organisation and looks at how these can be used to bring together all of the requirements necessary to achieve a TQM system. It further explains the ke steps necessary to begin development of the system and the implementation process required. Finally the key monitoring processes needed to confirm successful implementation and for continued improvement and devel the system are explained15.1 Introduction Organisations looking to develop their business operations through the current volatile economic climates need to establish clear objectives as to how the various elements of the business need to perform to ensure continuing growth and viability. In order to achieve these objectives it is further imperative to have mechanisms in place to monitor performance and also to provide a process by which change can be implemented in those areas of activity which need strengthening. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management tool which provides that opportunity. In its broadest sense TQM provides a business system by which the whole organisation can be harnessed to meet the needs of customer requirements. It is important to emphasise that TQM is not merely a technical standard but encompasses both the technical and business operations. The fundamental requirement for a successful TQM system is to have good management practices, TQM alone cannot provide this and any systems implemented will only ever be as successful as the staff involved. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the key elements that need to be considered when setting up a Total Quality Management system. It provides information on the typical range of quality systems that may already be in place within an organisation and looks at how these can be used to bring together all of the requirements necessary to achieve a TQM system. It further explains the key steps necessary to begin development of the system and the implementation process required. Finally the key monitoring processes needed to confirm successful implementation and for continued improvement and development of the system are explained. 15 Total quality management D. J. Rose, Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association