How to Measure Total Quality Management Success

Total Quality Management implementation is an initiative many organizations wanted to embark on. If you are a leader of this organization, a simple question you probably asked would be: “How do I know whether my organization is successful in implementing Total Quality Management?”

There is no doubt that measuring Total Quality Management implementation success rate is of interest with all if not most leaders. Otherwise, how would you as a leader know the effort put into implementing Total Quality Management is really worthwhile, more so when a lot of resources like money, manpower etc are deployed to support the initiative that is Total Quality Management implementation.

A way to evaluate the Total Quality Management success is to adopt a holistic approach of assessing your organization. One of the examples of such a holistic approach is the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award assessment approach. This is a national level award system in the United States to recognize organizations for achieving excellence in their respective business.

The Expansion of ISO 14001

The ISO 14001 Standard has demonstrated an evolution in registrations over the last 8 years, and is now considered well beyond the critical mass needed to sustain it as the primary Environmental Management System model for the next decade. When working with this Standard as we have, one of the great features one recognizes is its flexibility to fit a myriad of organizations. The same system model that is used by a global manufacturer of electronics components can also work for a local municipality or the U.S. Army. The proposed changes to the Standard due to be enacted won’t be a drastic departure from the elements we know today, but are only the next small step in the evolution of a global standard. There are many different forces coming forward that drive this evolution, so stay tuned, maybe the next 8 years will be an interesting ride.

What are your Obligations towards Temporary Holiday Staff?

Employers have the same duty of care obligations towards temporary holiday staff as their permanent employees – which is to ensure their health and safety.

Some temporary holiday staff, especially in the retail and hospitality industries, are young people who are recognized as especially vulnerable to workplace accidents during the festive season. It is the busiest time of year for some employers, who often forget to properly train recruits about safety procedures, especially if they are only temporary holiday staff.

Inexperience, lack of knowledge and an unwillingness to ask questions or query employer requests also contributes to the injury rate of young and inexperienced workers.

To prevent this, employers should be planning now for the inflow of new and young workers to their organizations and the consequent occupational health and safety implications over the holiday period.

Developing an appropriate, targeted induction program which encourages them to ask questions and providing extra supervision for the workers over the Christmas season are both recommended.