Building Quality Management Systems: Selecting the Right Methods and Tools

Quality has quickly become one of the most important decision-making factors for consumers. And although organizations invest considerable resources into building the right quality management systems (QMSs), in many instances, the adoption of such quality improvement tools are just not enough. Building Quality Management Systems: Selecting the Right Methods and Tools explains exactly what directors, practitioners, consultants, and researchers must do to make better choices in the design, implementation, and improvement of their QMSs.

Based on the authors’ decades of industrial experience working on business improvement projects for multinationals looking to design or improve their QMSs, the book discusses building QMSs based on two important organizational elements: needs and resources. It begins with an overview of QMSs and systems thinking and the impact of QMSs on financial performance. Illustrating the process management approach, it reviews the most well-known business and quality improvement models, methods, and tools that support a major QMS.

The authors introduce their own time-tested methodology for designing, implementing, and enhancing your own QMS. Using their proven method, you will learn how to:

• Implement a strategic quality plan based on your specific needs, capabilities, cost–benefits, policies, and business strategies
• Select the right models, methods, and tools to be adopted as part of your QMS
• Understand the critical success factors and implementation challenges
• Evaluate the level of maturity of your QMS and your implementation efforts

Highlighting the importance of quality as a way of life, this book supplies the understanding you’ll need to make the right choices in the development and deployment of your QMS. With a clear focus on business performance and process management, it provides the basis for creating the quality management culture required to become a world-class organization.

About the Author

Dr. Luis Rocha-Lona has over 10 years of working experience in the public and private sectors. He holds a PhD in operations management from Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester in the UK, and an MSc in control systems with a major in information systems/manufacturing at the University of Sheffield, UK. Dr. Rocha-Lona graduated from the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico as an automation control systems engineer. He has led several research projects sponsored by private companies and the Mexican government through the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) and is actively involved in consulting activities to manufacturing and service organizations.

Dr. Rocha-Lona joined the Business School at the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico in 2007, where he is a senior lecturer in operations management and quality management systems. He has presented his works in several international venues and congresses and serves as a member of the scientific committees for multiple international conferences. He is a member of the Institute of Operations Management (IOM) and the American Society for Quality (ASQ). His current research interests are in the areas of performance measurement systems, business process improvement, and business strategy.

Dr. Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes is a senior lecturer in operations and supply chain management at the Centre for Supply Chain Improvement, Derby Business School, the University of Derby, UK. He holds a PhD in manufacturing systems and operations management from Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester (UK), an MBA from the University of Northampton (UK), an MSc in production and quality from the Autonoma de Nuevo Leon University (Mexico), a postgraduate certificate in teaching and learning in higher education from the University of Derby (UK), and a BSc in mechanical management engineering from the Autonoma de Nuevo Leon University (Mexico). He has published a number of articles in leading international journals and conferences as well as a book about manufacturing performance measurement systems.

Dr. Garza-Reyes has participated as a guest editor for special issues in the International Journal of Lean Enterprise Research (IJLER), the International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics (IJEME), and the International Journal of Engineering and Technology Innovation (IJETI).

He currently serves on the editorial board of several international journals and has contributed as a member of the scientific and organizing committees of several international conferences. His research interests include general aspects of operations and manufacturing management, operations and quality improvement, and supply chain improvement. Dr. Garza-Reyes is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a certified Six Sigma Green Belt, and has over six years of industrial experience working as production manager, production engineer, and operations manager for several international and local companies in both the UK and Mexico. He is also a member of the Institution of Engineering Technology (IET) and a fellow member of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Dr. Vikas Kumar has over six years of experience in area perations management. He holds a PhD in management studies from Exeter Business School, UK, and a bachelor of technology (first-class distinction) in metallurgy and materials engineering from the National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology (NIFFT, Ranchi) in India. He also holds the status of associate of the Higher Education Academy (AHEA). Dr. Kumar joined Dublin City University Business School as a lecturer in management in 2009. He has previously worked as a research assistant at the University of Hong Kong. He was a visiting scholar at the Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi, in India and at Khon Kaen University, Nong Khai campus, in Thailand. He has worked on a number of consultancy projects for many multinational firms, such as BT, EDF Energy, LTSB, and Vodafone. He is also actively involved in process improvement projects in Irish hospitals.

Dr. Kumar has contributed to many book chapters and has been published in leading journals such as the International Journal of Production Research, Expert Systems with Applications, Strategic Change, and Computers and Industrial Engineering. He serves on the editorial board of four international journals and has participated as a guest editor for special issues of Production Planning and Control, International Journal of Lean Enterprise Research (IJLER), International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics (IJEME), and International Journal of Engineering and Technology Innovation (IJETI). His current research interests include process modeling, healthcare management, supply chain management, service operations management, and operations strategy.