Contributing Scholar - Mary Besterfield-Sacre, University of Pittsburgh

3 Semester Credit Hours

Course Description

Total Quality Mangement (TQM) is the art and science of managing the whole of an organization to achieve excellence. TQM is defined as both a philosophy and set of guilding principles that provide a foundation for continuous improvement in an organization. This course covers the theory and application of total quality management and quality control topics that are applicable in industrial and general business systems. Methods for product and process quality improvement will be covered. Specifically, the course will cover four areas.

• Principles and Philosophies – History and Gurus, Leadership Concepts, Employee Empowerment and Teamwork, Continuous Process Improvement, Costs and Performance Measures, 5S, TPM, etc.
• Product/Service Development – Benchmarking, Quality Function Deployment, FMEA, DOE, Taguchi, etc.
• Manufacturing of Product/Providing Service – Control Charts, Process Capability, 6-Sigma, etc.
• Inspection of Raw Materials/Outgoing Product – Supplier Partnership, ISO 9000, etc.

• A probability and statistics course for engineers is a pre-requisite for this course.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Gain an understanding of Total Quality Management as applied to products and processes
• Develop a knowledge of criteria designed to help companies enhance their competitiveness through (1) delivery of ever-improving value to customers; and (2) improvement of overall company performance and capabilities.
• Understand and be knowledgeable about the values and beliefs of key quality thought leaders, worldwide.
• Acquire a working knowledge of the core concepts, guidelines, and tools underlying the successful and continuous improvement of quality and competitiveness.

Course Topics

The following topics will be covered in the order given.

• Introduction to TQM
• TQM Guru's Deming
• TQM Gurus The Many Others
• Leadership Concepts
• Employee Empowerment and Teams
• Quality Costs and Performance Measurement
• Continuous Quality Improvement Approaches Part A
• Continuous Quality Improvement Approaches Part B
• The 7 Old Tools (The Magnificent 7)
• SPC-1 Variation and Root Causes Part A
• SPC-1 Variation and Root Cause Part B
• SPC-2 Variable Control Charts Part A
• SPC-2 Variable Control Charts Part B
• Exam 1-No Lecture
• SPC 3-Process Capability
• SPC 4-Attribute Control Charts
• Six Sigma Concepts Part A
• Six Sigma Concepts Part B
• Supplier Management
• Acceptance Sampling Concepts
• Quality Management Systems and ISO 9000
• 7 "New" Tools to Total Quality Management
• Benchmarking
• Process FMEA
• Quality Function Deployment Part A
• Quality Function Deployment Part B and Design FMEA
• 5S
• Total Productive Manufacturing
• Exam 2-No Lecture