Any exploration of lean management would be incomplete without examining its vital companion, total quality management (TQM). Philip Crosby gained fame with his belief that organizations that establish a quality program will see savings returns more than offset the cost of the quality program.1 He referred to this as “quality is free.” Although there are increased prevention costs, well-executed TQM programs pay for themselves in the form of decreased internal and external failure costs. Numerous research reports have shown that quality can enhance return on sales and investment and can lower total system costs.2
Like lean management, TQM possesses a customer-driven philosophy for organizationwide continuous ...
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