25 Knowledge Checklists for Quality Management

1. The higher the level of education and the more modern the production, the more important quality management becomes.

2. Quality management is a team effort; it cannot be achieved by individuals alone and should rely on teamwork or cooperative systems; if middle management's mindset is not addressed, quality management cannot be advanced.

3. Quality management starts from new product planning and extends to the consumer.

4. TQC is not like penicillin, a fast-acting medicine, but like traditional Chinese medicine that requires long-term use to gradually take effect and improve the quality of the enterprise; QC that shows no results is not QC—it must be quality management that makes money, makes money, and makes money without knowing how.

5. If top leaders do not truly understand quality management and do not personally promote it on the front lines, no results will be achieved; managers are responsible for determining methods and standards for evaluating quality.

6. 100% inspection seems to imply that there are defective products in our output; quality management focusing on inspection is outdated.

7. Quality needs to be "built in" during engineering; it must be created in design and engineering, not found through inspection.

8. Control charts are not used for inspectors but to assist operators in doing their jobs well.

9. Quality management can only succeed when team leaders and even operators take responsibility for engineering.

10. If quality management is well implemented, cost management will become quality management.

11. Without knowledge of statistical methods, good quality management cannot be achieved; without proper stratification, good management and analysis are impossible; variation exists in all work.

12. The foundation of management is accurate data and correct information; false data must be eliminated; the responsibility for false data at the workplace lies with superiors.

13. Data is collected for use and action; data that does not lead to action should stop being collected.

14. Without statistical techniques, good standards cannot be set, nor can good management be implemented.

15. 95% of problems in a company can be solved with simple statistical methods; using Pareto charts and cause-and-effect diagrams can solve most problems.

16. Only through engineering management can the actual situation on site be clarified, maximizing engineering effectiveness, establishing technology, improving technology, and realizing engineering and design.

17. The PDCA cycle must be continuously promoted in all work essentials.

18. Wherever there is management, there must be policies; correct policies are established based on correct information. Are policies and plans specific? Are evaluation criteria provided? Are the methods of policy deployment and communication correct? Is there sufficient integration between supervisors' and subordinates' policies? Does it reach the grassroots? Are policies thoroughly implemented at the grassroots? Do policies become more specific as they go downward?

19. Control charts and graphs should be tools observed and used by leaders at all levels.

20. It must be clear who inspects what; not inspecting plans, orders, and results of measures leads to lax management; measures must be constantly considered. Without measures, it is just a game. If accidents repeatedly occur for the same reasons, management cannot be said to have been done; management without inspection is ideal management.

21. When failures occur in general workplaces, the responsibility of the lowest-level workers is about 1/5 to 1/4, while managers bear 3/4 to 4/5; humans are prone to errors and subordinates' mistakes should not be blamed.

22. Important problems are few; many problems are of no value; only 2 to 3 causes have a significant impact on work (engineering).

23. Without thorough analysis and sufficient technical knowledge, improvements and standardization will not be done well, good management cannot be realized, and control charts used for management cannot be properly drawn.

24. If you think there are no problems, progress will stop or even regress; grasping the current situation is the first step of QC; after identifying important problems, everyone should focus on solving them.

25. Rather than eliminating symptoms, focus should be on eliminating causes, further eliminating root causes and preventing recurrence.