Can TQM be Quantified?

Total quality management is a team-based approach to the improvement of processes for the continual satisfaction of customers. Thus, three core values are common to TQM efforts: continuous improvement, customer satisfaction and teamwork. There have been some broad attempts to quantify the effects of continuous improvement, customer satisfaction and teamwork. However, we have argued previously that many TQM efforts start too late and end too soon. Starting late means that TQM is often not given strategic thought, for example in deciding strategically, which processes to improve. TQM often ends too soon in the sense that it stops at the process level and does not proceed to the human-machine interface (i.e., ergonomic) level. It is argued that participatory ergonomics, a staple method in macroergonomics, can benefit TQM efforts by bringing such efforts “down to” the ergonomic level. This paper presents our recent attempts to quantify the effects of participation.