The cultural awareness of quality, its importance to the business and its customer’s must be led and supported by senior management who also has the duty to set an environment which fosters a customer oriented culture and the importance of quality in everyday business operations.
A company culture which has a big focus on quality can be attained through active engagement with customers and their needs, tracking quality performance not only through the sales and marketing department but also throughout all levels of the organization. Activities and initiatives that can enhance the quality culture of a firm’s employees are listed below:
-Regular customer visits to the company’s operations including site tours, product presentations, and meeting staff at all levels.
-Regular visits of not only sales reps, but managers and staff to customer plants, job sites or operations in order to understand their operations and uses for the products and services they buy.
-Continuous improvement initiatives and programs relating to product and service quality.
-Education and continuous up-skilling of the workforce in quality standards, customer requirements and industry best practices.
-Management support from all levels for the pursuit of quality, continuous improvement, and customer satisfaction.
These are only a few activities and guidelines in promoting a quality oriented culture within a business. They will vary from business to business, but the objectives should always be the same, to deliver the products and services fit for customer use and that meets or exceeds their expectations. This can be achieved through the application of a variety of frameworks such as: total quality management, quality at the source, statistical quality control, continuous improvement and cultural change.
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