Godrej Industries embarked on its total quality management (TQM) journey in April 1995. Every employee of the company was exposed to the principles of TQM during a series of awareness programmes held over a nine-month period. We have extended the TQM's scope in the last two years to cover our business partners, suppliers, carrying and forwarding agents, distributors, etc.

TQM principles
Customer satisfaction
Plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle
Management by 'fact' -- 5Ws (what, why, who, when, and where) + 1H (how) approach
Respect for people

TQM elements
Total employee involvement (TEI)
Total waste elimination (TWE)
Total quality control (TQC)

TQM activities / initiatives
CII-EXIM business excellence model: A self-assessment model to understand the strengths and weaknesses of a business in parameters such as leadership, policy and strategy, people satisfaction, customer satisfaction, processes, resources and partnerships, impact on society, business results, etc. A feedback report sent by assessors helps identify areas for improvement in all areas of the business.
Departmental purpose analysis (DPA): A workshop that identifies the critical tasks that have to be performed by supplier departments for internal customers.
Key business process (KBP): Cross-functional teams that work on improvement of processes that have the maximum impact on achieving the strategic objectives of the business.
Small-group activity (SGA): Teams appointed by the management to solve critical and recurring problems in a scientific and structured manner by using the seven-step problem-solving methodology.
Task force (TF): Small teams assigned well-defined tasks for implementation within a short and specified time-frame.
Quality circle (QC): Voluntary teams composed of shop-floor employees solve problems in a structured manner in their own work area.
Kaizen: The process of making continuous improvements in everything we do.
5S (housekeeping): A set of five actions that help in maintaining a neat, clean, and organised workplace -- seiri (sorting out), seiton (systematic arrangement), seiso (spic and span), seiketsu (standardising), shitsuke (self-discipline).

Total productive maintenance (TPM)
TPM is a highly structured system that helps maximise equipment efficiency and set up a preventive maintenance system to increase the life of the equipment. The goals of TPM can be summarised very simply as follows: ultimate attainment of zero defects, zero breakdowns, and zero accidents. The benefits to the company are increased plant efficiency, lower manufacturing costs and a better quality product to the customer.

Six sigma
In the context of a business or manufacturing function, sigma is a measurement that indicates how a process is performing. It involves using a structured methodology to understand the reasons which cause variations in processes, and the measures that can control them. The higher the sigma, the lesser the number of defects and vice versa. Six sigma, the highest level, corresponds to a defect rate of 3.4 per million.

TQM focus areas
Customer satisfaction
Product quality
Plant reliability
Waste elimination

Benefits achieved through TQM
Increased focus on the customer
Mindset of 'continuous improvement'
Better product quality
Better systems and procedures
Better cross-functional teamwork
Increased plant reliability
Waste elimination in offices and factories.