Modelos de calidad total en la industria. Situación y perspectivas de futuro en la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco

Since in the fifties Armand V. Feigenbaum coined the expression TQC (Total Quality Control) to name a quality management system that would involved not just the Quality Control department but also Marketing, Design, Engineering, Purchasing and Manufacturing, in order to guarantee the quality of the product along its life, different concepts and interpretations of its significance have been named TQC, which nowadays is called TQM (Total Quality Management).

The researching work has been carried out based upon the different Total Quality models used at present in the Industry all over the world in order to: clarify the "Total Quality" term, classify those models, determine characteristics and principles held in common between all of them, establish its relationship with the business management and systematize different implantation alternatives of these models among the organizations, particularizing finally this study in the Basque Country industry.

During the five years devoted to this investigation, in which more than 10 researchers of LABEIN have collaborated, several sources were used. Among them can be cited the following ones: bibliographical analysis (books, articles from specialized magazines, doctoral research thesis, communications, seminars, web pages, etc.); meetings with more than 500 professionals and combined works carried out with prestigious international organizations such as JUSE (Japan), GOAL/QPC (USA) or ITESM (Mexico).

The work starts from a historical walk through the evolution of the quality concept where it is clear the need to distinguish three levels or stages on which Companies tackle this subject: product level or service level concerning quality control; process level or system level associated to quality assurance and, the management level, associated to Total Quality. For the two first levels the standard offers a common language accepted by the Industry, being in the third level where an endless list of models everyone presented as the Total Quality panacea, has caused certain confusion and controversy.

The detailed analysis of more than a hundred different models has allowed to carry out a first classification of these Total Quality models into two big groups attending to their purpose: "reference models" (which indicate what but no how) and "introduction models" (they are centred on how), thinking also in other classifications depending on their sources and contents. In addition it is established the existence of nine characteristics or elements in common to all of them: customers focus; leadership; decision based upon the analysis of facts and data; process management; people"s participation and development; product and service quality assurance; integration of suppliers into the chain of value; analysis of results at short, medium and long term and, philosophy of continuous improvement in every activity of the Organization. Concerning this aspect it is deduced the convenience of taking as reference model, so much for analysis and investigation as for promotion, diffusion or evaluation, any of the three best quality awards which are the following: Deming (Japan) Baldrige (USA), EFQM (EU), and more specifically for the Basque Country the last one.

The researching work gives a comparative study between the Total Quality models, represented by the EFQM, and the "7s" business management model of Waterman & Peters, confirming that Total Quality models named of second generation against partial models or of first generation, form real distinguished strategies of business management being able to consider the EQFM model as a model for "quality evaluation of business management". This work also includes the problems arising when implementing these models into the Industry where, besides the most traditional lines of ISO 9000 or constant improvement, other ways are proposed such as the poor structured self evaluation way, and others better structured such as the JUSE methodology used in Japan and its area of influence.

Finally, the situation and future prospects in the Basque Country are analyzed taking into account several action programmes, basically from the Basque Government, through out drive Enterprises and Associations and from the Diputación Foral de Bizkaia (local administation) more approached to the SMEs (Small & Midum Enterprise) and micro-SMEs of this historical territory, as well as from different organizations acting within the framework of quality promotion and diffusion