If quality is to be maintained and → improved in the production process, care must be taken to build cohesion throughout every stage of work. There must be smooth communication and cooperation among all the people at every stage of the manufacturing process.

Customer-oriented TQM means that one should always satisfy and never inconvenience the people in the next process because they are customers. TQM concept rests on the premise that assuring quality to each customer at each stage will assure quality of the finished product.

The concept “The next process is the customer” led to the formal commitment never to send defective parts to those in the following process and was later institutionalized as the kamban system.

Design engineers treat manufacturing people as their customers and try to satisfy them when they work on a new product.  >>>

Komatsu, a world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, defines its TQM goal as “Satisfying Komatsu’s worldwide customers through rational, cost-conscious research, development, sales, and servicing.” At Komatsu, cross-functional management committees are placed under the TQM committee and divided into the three areas: → profit management; quality assurance; and → quality management. The quality assurance committee is intended to improve the system of quality assurance from product planning to sales and services.

People in the next process are your customers. If you stick to the product-out concept, our company's name will not even be listed in the phone book after a while.  >>>