Maharaj said proudly, “We have a strong quality team.”
Tenali smiled, “That may be the problem, Maharaj.”
The room fell silent.
Tenali walked through the factory.
Production chasing speed.
Purchase negotiating cost.
Sales pushing volume.
Quality inspecting finished goods.
He asked, “When something goes wrong, who is blamed?”
“Quality department,” Maharaj replied.
Tenali asked,“And when quality is everyone’s job… who is blamed?”
Silence.
He reviewed the system.
100% final inspection.
Dedicated QC team.
Detailed checklists.
Yet customer complaints continued.
Tenali asked, “When do you check quality?”
“At the end,” Maharaj answered.
Tenali replied, “Then defects are discovered.
They are not prevented.
Inspection finds mistakes.
Culture prevents them.”
Tenali explained the shift.
From:
“Who checked this?”
To:
“How did the process allow this?”
“This is Total Quality Management Maharaj!.
Leadership commitment.
Process standardisation.
Employee ownership.
Continuous improvement.
Customer-first thinking.
Effects of TQM:
Reduced Rework.
Decreased Firefighting meetings.
Stabilised Processes.
Customer Retention.
Maharaj,
if your Quality Head goes on leave tomorrow…
will your quality leave with him?
If yes,
you have a department.
Not a culture.
WhatsApp