TQM and Ford Motor Company

written by: Jean Scheid edited by: Michele McDonough updated: 5/25/2011
Ford Motor Company total quality management or TQM practices started in the 1980s when Quality Is
Job 1 was their slogan. How did TQM work at Ford and are they still standing behind this process? Jean
Scheid, a Ford Dealer talks with Ford management along with some insights of her own.

TQM at Ford Motor Company

Today at Ford Motor Company, their most popular slogan is Ford Has a Better
Idea. Back in the 1980s when Ford Motor Company total quality management practices were vast, the
slogan of Quality Is Job 1 made more sense.
In a conversation with Dan Dobbs, a Six Sigma Master Black Belt at Ford, it was noted that TQM may
have worked in the 1980s, but Six Sigma is the project management methodology of choice these
days.
When TQM, a process improvement methodology based on a customer satisfaction quality-driven
process with guidelines set by management was first utilized, it started through a joint venture.
Through a partnership with ChemFil, a division of PPG Industries, Ford wanted to produce better quality
products, a stable work environment for the workforce, effective management, and profitability; all by
the 1990s, Quality is Job 1 became Quality People, Quality Products.
Through this partnership with paint supplier ChemFil, paint process were developed to ensure that a
quality product that meets customers needs translates into financial success, according to an
insider press release obtained from the Ford Media Room. TQM was forefront in their painting design as
the process of preparation (based on customer quality standards) was implemented by ChemFil with
Ford management and workers informed of all steps needed to follow the application of paint to a
quality outcome.
Gone were the days of guessing, and TQM meant processes at all levels of production were strictly
followed, constantly developed upon, and improved mostly through customer quality satisfaction
surveys.

TQM is Revisited
In 1999, Terry Chenault joined Ford, a risk management specialist who along with Phong Vu, helped to
further the TQM methodology through a Consumer Driven Six Sigma Process. Says Dan Dobbs today of
TQM and Ford, It may have been newsworthy in the 1980s but Ford Motor Company Total Quality
Management practices really began with Henry Ford.

Thats true if you look at Toyotas 5S Best Practices in the production of their vehicles, a methodology
decided upon after visiting Henry Fords assembly lines. While TQM at the Ford assembly lines looked
good to Toyota, they found too much waste and went on to develop their own quality process or 5S.

What Changed TQM at Ford?

According to Dan Dobbs, the Six Sigma Master Black Belt who runs Six Sigma
practices at Ford, Waste and lack of quality on many levels. This is true especially when you look at
the far superior Ford Warranty claim system. As of 2008, the warranty repair rate for Ford by utilizing
Six Sigma decreased by 60%.
Ford Chief Engineer Art Hyde takes the now implemented Six Sigma a step further saying, The design
and engineering analysis process makes it possible for problems, that previously may not have
surfaced until (product) launch, to be caught and corrected in the virtual world through the DMAIC
process.
The DMAIC process, or define, measure, analyze, improve, and control has built an overall strategy for
consistency in our teams, continues Hyde.
Of their Six Sigma implementation for 2010 product launches, Dobbs told me, The Companys Quality
Operating System or (QOS) is crucial for identifying and correcting problems within the manufacturing
facilities. He goes on to say, Six Sigma and QOS implemented in each plant includes cross-functional
groups of engineers, plant management, and production specialistsall skilled problem solvers whove
been trained through Six Sigma.
Ford seems to be sticking with Six Sigma roles and has 60,000 Six Sigma Green Belts, over 7,000 Black
Belts and 400 Master Black Belts worldwide. To make the process work even better, Ford is working
with Wayne State University in Detroit to aid all UAW Ford reps in becoming Six Sigma Black Belts.

Six Sigma and Fords Future

Perhaps the newest slogan, Ford Has a Better Idea, is on its way according
to Louise Goeser, VP of Quality, In fact, one and a half points of customer satisfaction drives about
one point more in loyalty and our data shows that customers who are highly satisfied remain loyal.
Upon obtaining our new Ford dealership, last year, my husband and I traveled to Fords headquarters
in Dearborn Michigan to drink the Ford Kool-aid and Six Sigma was everywhere from production to
teams to management to consumer suggestions.

Whether switching methodologies from TQM to Six Sigma will work for Ford remains to be seen,
especially in a tough economy. However, way back when, as a Chrysler dealer, I do remember Lee
Iaccoca telling us dealers that Ford was richer and GM was bigger, but both needed to Lead, follow,
or get out of the way. Perhaps this is a way for Ford Motor Company Total Quality Management to
improve to a process such as Six Sigma that will involve everyone from the consumer to top
management.
As Quality is Job 1 fades to the background at Ford, dont be fooled, they still want that as any
automaker, but through Six Sigma practices, they feel theyve got a grand hold on the industry's
market share.
In fact, upon the end of our Ford Dealer Conference, we were handed a book, Ford Racing Century: A
Photographic History of Ford Motorsports, by Larry Edsall and Mike Teske. The inside inscription?
Welcome to the Ford Family, signed by CEO Bill Ford. No more Quality is Job 1 but instead, through
Six Sigma and what we were shown, it really is more like a family with a bunch of kids to satisfy.