About Us & Our Implementation Approach

Since 1989, Quality Management Systems (QMS) has been - imparting Practical Education (nationally internationally), - doing Research (and Publishing it) to enable implementation in the areas of:

1. LEAN Management, Kaizen Management, World Class Manufacturing, Total Quality Management (TQM) and its inter-phasing with DEMING AWARD as also statutory standards such as TS/ISO/QS,

2. Organization-wide Transformation, Behavior Modulation, Team Building and Leadership Development,

3. Strategy Planning and Execution, Organisational and Operational Restructuring,

4. Business Process Innovation and Redesign to deliver Value Just-In-Time (JIT) to the Customer and Consumer,

5. Value-Chain (or call it a Supply-Chain) up-gradation and education to be a JIT supplier to end consumer.

Organization-wide Transformation has become a survival strategy. This is particularly due to competitive pressures unleashed by the globalization of economies and exposure to world-class products and services.

 

In this context, QMS focuses not only on 'What-n-Why' of Quality but also more importantly on 'How' to form habit of delivering Value to customer. QMS transitions 'Naming-n-Blaming' culture into all around Continual-Improvement (Total Quality) Culture. It involves top to grass-root level employees (from Marketing, R&D, Manufacturing, Commercial discipline) with a focus on human behavior. This is done under single-umbrella Kaizen-concept by integrating time-tested LEAN management tools. Our Resource includes experienced senior faculties, back-office administrators and need-based interface with multiple partners.

Our Differentiating Approach

Our approach is hands-on, participative Education, acting as a navigator as against merely 'tell-and-go' type consultant. We believe in creating internal trainers (capable of taking all disciplines across an organization through various implementation stages). This helps you to reduce future dependence on outside consultants. You shall find this approach is not only consistent with Dr. Demings' teachings but also with the original TOYOTA way in practice, right in the midst of the Gemba (be it a workplace inside a factory, office or market).

USP: A customer friendly (straight, direct, transparent, professional) approach! USP - Unique Selling Proposition

How do we do it?

Phase-wise Steps that we take to make a workplace LEAN (both for Shop floor and Office of Manufacturing/Service set up) are elaborated in our publication/s in the book 'World Of Kaizen' in particular. Our approach is based on TOYOTA model. It has all the facets of (the current rage) ‘Six-Sigma’ proactively built-in-it in common sense day-to-day language rather than statistical jargons and Tools-per-se. 

(Communication language - Primarily English, Hindi, Marathi).

Lean tools used strategically in various phases are essentially 5-S, TQC, TPM, JIT in that order. 

Together, these tools become a lean business management system that is radically different from traditional management. These tools are logically sequenced as directed by the diagnosed strategic need rather than tool-focus per-se. Each of these tools has inherent steps that interlink with other applicable Kaizen-tool ultimately aiming at zero-targets for QCD.

Lean implementation requires a lot of commitment and efforts from Top Management evident in their Kaizen actions. To prevent any abortive implementation attempt we recommend ‘management led Kaizen' i.e. beginning Kaizen with senior management team first. This team as ‘Kaizen leaders' thereafter leads the Kaizen process while it advances through 5-phases

The 2-stage approach that we recommend in each of the implementation phases can be summarized as follows.

Stage-1 in each Kaizen phase involves core leadership (HODs/Top Decision Maker) team in piloting the implementation process

Concurrently in stage-1, we create an internal pool of capable facilitator/trainer/auditors especially from among the core team.

Stage-2 in each phase involves day-to-day implementers (The Associate Officers, Staff and Operatives).

During the process, we not only create internal trainers but also undertake external assessment and certification audits periodically in addition to training your auditors to carry out on-going internal audits.

Strategic action is the very essence of the successful lean implementation process. 

Our approach is to do it in two ways in order to suit needs of various customers. 

1)       Our proven Gemba-approach is that of handholding action-packed (bottom-up) Gemba (workplace) Kaizen with (top-down) strategic focus on a chosen few key bottleneck processes. It involves both the managers in stage-1 and the operatives in stage-2 as indicated earlier. 

It’s more a hands-on coaching rather than classroom-theory-models that most consultants follow. In order to help the company to be independent of consultants, we create an internal pool of capable facilitator/trainer/auditors especially from among the core team of managers while training them in stage-1.

2)   We also undertake Demo-classroom-based Gemba learning approach restricting our involvement to train core team (i.e. the stage-1) in a strategically chosen Gemba pilot. The core team is trained to act as facilitator/trainers to train/involve next level employees (i.e. stage-2).

In order that the facilitators trained by Demo-classroom-approach can be more effective internal faculties, it is recommended that this approach is followed concurrently with our proven Gemba approach at least in a few key bottleneck processes. Otherwise, if practiced stand alone, Demo-classroom-approach may suit some companies’ needs, especially under certain circumstances. 

Although Demo-approach may suit some companies’ needs especially under certain circumstances, the Gemba-approach is highly recommended to make the implementation effective company-wide. 

In either of the cases, we do try to create an internal team of facilitator/trainers (Kaizen leaders) to be quickly able to spread the movement across the company. The timeline required for Gemba-approach shall be judged after diagnostic need assessment.

The emphasis in our approach is on - realigning existing change initiatives if any, creating - robust processes and - performance oriented success stories in logically sequenced steps.

Our Vision (What we aspire to be and Why?: The Purpose Of Our Existence!)

To be a much sought-after participatory educational repository that strives for environment-friendly Performance, Productivity and Profits for stakeholders through People-engagement.

Our Mission (How or through what means we want to head towards our vision currently?: The Driver!)

Be sought-after experts in helping organizations to improve their Performance, Productivity, and Profits for stakeholders by adopting and adapting world-class environment-friendly management practices to be LEANER through People-engagement and propagate the same, inter-alia, through 1. Hands-on, Participatory Implementation Education on `Do-Why-n-How' 2. Need-based In-house Training Programme, Workshops 3. Open courses, Continuing Education Programme 4. Promotion of Education, Research, Knowledge Building, and Publications.

Our Quality Policy (What shall guide us en-route?)

In line with our vision and mission statement, we are driven by the quality policy that states our goals as: 

1. Provide education of a quality that meets initial and continuing customer needs, expectations; 

2. Achieve profitable and sustainable growth through leadership in quality education; and 

3. Provide an environment & education in which every participant is committed to & actively involved in striving for error-free performance.

The Impact that we target in terms of Goals & objectives (How much of What will be accomplished by When?) 

This shall be mutually aligned with your expected Stakeholder-level outcome objectives and the Behavioral & Process objectives that you target!

Our Focus (What shall be our Focus?) 

Organisations are expected to delight their stakeholders in general and customers & end-consumers in particular. It is your people (the internal customer) who can do so only if they so wish and stay engaged! The key is in empowering them without losing control. Towards these goals, our focus is building quality in people through Teamwork. We help them taking challenges of changing environment head-on through strategy (Hoshin-Kanri) & day-to-day  (Nichijo-Kanri) actions in order to achieve your organizational Vision, Mission & Strategic Goals. We shall primarily focus on those organizations who commit themselves with a sense-of-urgency to the structured rigor of doing so.

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