Incorporating Quality Management in a Logistics Environment

The concepts of total quality management and continuous improvement have been around for decades. However, the concepts have only recently been applied successfully in logistics environments. Today, more and more companies are finding that they can control costs, improve visibility, increase speed to market and strengthen their businesses by making total quality management (TQM) part of their logistics operations.

A Closer Look at TQM
A TQM program is designed to help companies minimize waste and reduce the chance of errors in order to do things better, faster, and be more responsive to customers’ changing needs. Strategy, data, and effective communications help to integrate quality throughout the organization. Emphasis is on continuous improvement.

Quality management often is associated with the Japanese concept of poka-yoke (pronounced PO-ka yo-KAY) or “mistake proofing.” Simply put, companies must build in safeguards to prevent problems or catch them early on, so they can be addressed before they escalate. In the logistics arena, examples can include dock locks to prevent trucks from driving away while loading, shadow boards to visually identify which tools are in use or missing, or technology to prevent an RF hand-held from advancing a transaction unless each step is performed properly.