Question Asked:

"Please explain to me Total Quality Management (TQM) and its relationship with Just-In- Time (JIT) and Lean Management."

Answer Provided:

Total means everything and everybody in the organisation and extends to suppliers. It puts the onus on each individual and group to take responsibility for quality. Quality has five basic tenets: right first time, zero defects, customer satisfaction, continuous improvement and fit for purpose.

Management is about planning, control and decision-making. If an organisation uses these principles as a basis for planning and control then it is "lean" in the sense that it eradicateswaste from all operations and systems.

In applying this to JIT the eradication of inventory is a "waste-saving" lean aspect ofmanufacturing. Inventory costs money to store and ties up working capital that may be used elsewhere. This applies at both the input and output stage of the process as JIT is a pull-through system triggered by a customer order. Everyone in that system must take responsibility for fulfilling that customer order on time and at the specification required

REQUIRED:

Based on the above article, justify the use of Just in Time, Total Quality Management and Lean Management in achieving longer term sustainability. Your analysis should include an in-depth explanation of the key terms and components, as well the application in real life

scenarios.