A case study of the typical issues involved in quality improvement

Work carried out to develop a quality improvement programme in a customised manufacturing situation is reported on. There were many influences on the host company that made quality improvement desirable. These included initiatives such as the United Kingdom’s National Quality Campaign, the ‘quality knock-on effect’ of companies which have made quality their number one priority, various examples of quality problems within the organisation, influences of other companies within the group of which the host company is part, and quality initiatives taken by individual managers. The main steps in developing the process are described along with the problems encountered.