Introduction
One of the most important industries overall is the food industry. The
food industry consists of everything from food processing plants to fast
food restaurants. The food industry affects nearly every living person.
Most people don't realize how important this industry is and how it affects
their everyday lives. That is why it is so critical that the products of
this industry are at their highest quality, are free of bacteria and ensure
that the consumer will not face any detrimental consequences. Total Quality
Management (TQM) plays a big role in promising these results.
Total Quality Management seems to be a confusing term for the layman. TQM
is a philosophy advocated by Dr. Edward Deming, a world renowned quality
guru. It was widely accepted by Japan from 1950 onward. They used this
principle for continuous refinement of an organization-wide quality system.
Since then many organizations around the world have adopted TQM or similar
methodologies. There have been many successes and many reported failures.
Success of the system depends on the total commitment of the people to
quality from top to bottom within the organization. TQM implementation is
based on team work and the philosophy of continuous improvement. Statistics
need to be used extensively to analyze and reduce the variation in the process.
In the food industry, continuous improvement is vital to the survival of a
specific company or restaurant. The customer is constantly purchasing the
products of competitors and any decline in quality will equal a decrease in
gross profits. There are several areas that ...