Top 7 Organizational Trends in Quality Management

Today, trends targeted towards acquiring profound knowledge with respect to quality management in organizations is on the rise, and how. Yes, there exists an increased requirement for quality in all industry sectors. Professionals and organizations are contemplating on the tools and techniques of QM, and like never before. Here, we take a quick look at the key trends that are offering the much needed competitive edge to organizations and impacting all quality initiatives to make them gain further momentum in future.

1. Supplier-Specific Quality Standards of the Highest Levels

The processes and tools linked to supply chain management are known to face the brunt of many problems and higher-than-expected costs. These issues can be skillfully resolved by identifying the problems in time and implementing supplier-specific quality standards that are stringent but easily applicable. These standards promise to go a long way in reducing the risks linked with the uncertainties in an organization’s supply chain management.

2. Change Management for Higher Consistency in Work Processes

Companies across the globe have now understood the importance of replacing redundant and ad hoc work practices. They are integrating newer and more consistent processes for ensuring reliable and accurate knowledge transfer. The act ensures that the knowledge gained from a specific resource, that influences a measurable quality metric positively, is being transferred to all other existing/ new resources that may be taking over the ultimate responsibility. These work processes and well-conceived changes in an organization’s quality management system are increasing the levels of customer satisfaction, along with creating positive impacts for their bottom-line. However, as these work processes involve changes across the structure, culture, system, and resources of any setup, they usually take a long time to showcase their benefits.

3. Consistent and Continuous Evolutions in Quality Management

Quality management is influencing all departments, designations and positions alike. Its processes and resources are in a state of constant evolution and are being radically integrated into various modules of project management for the effective development of novel and innovative ideas. Now, clear tools, processes, and quality templates are forming the backbone of different projects and leading them forward on the path to success.

4. Six Sigma for Continuous Business Growth

Six Sigma (a key factor for improvement in business processes) is fast complementing the impact of Lean principles. More often than not, the time and costs required for supporting Six Sigma is much lower than the values produced, thereby making it a comparatively less expensive quality metric to implement. Six Sigma delivers measurable, instant improvements and is surely the right way to go.

5. Quality Departments are Opting for Strategic Quality Planning

Quality departments and professionals are integrating many quality-related initiatives such as Lean, Kaizen, ISO registration, Six Sigma, and others in their strategy planning processes. Being totally accountable for all results, Six Sigma and lean professionals are spending good time in developing the right quality initiatives and linking each one of them to chief strategic imperatives developed by their QM teams.

6. Value to Supply—Quality Management is everywhere
The ideas behind quality management are being extended much beyond manufacturing floors; they are spilling into the entire value chain. So, from finance to warehousing, and all the processes that linger in between, supply chain management tasks and processes are being built upon quality management principles and are becoming an expectation, rather than an exception. With customers increasingly demanding that their suppliers implement effective quality management processes and systems, companies are striving hard to meet QM demands for retaining their competitive edge.

7. Social Equity and Environmental Sustainability
With quality management taking over like never before and the business world pushing for improvements with respect to social equity and environmental sustainability; ISO is taking notice too. In the current scene, ISO is continually reviewing and updating its standards for aligning with evolving market expectations and addressing the results of all ongoing research. The current strategies existing within ISO encompass smart quality management systems that are likely to play a significant role in economic growth; with specific focus on social and environmental impacts too.

Quality management is being positively impacted by many latest organizational trends and is well set to dominate the future economy too. It’s expected that all industry sectors will be governed by this combination of project management and quality principles in the years to come. This said, organizations applying innovative project management approaches, especially with regards to their structuring, processing, implementation and management of Six Sigma, are likely to reap maximum benefits.

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