TQM and ISO standards (ISO 9001, ISO 22000)
TQM makes quality everyone's job, through customer focus and continual improvement. ISO 9001 is the standard for a quality system; ISO 22000 for a food safety system.
Total Quality Management (TQM)
TQM is a way of managing in which every person in the organisation, from the owner to the cleaner, works to improve quality, aiming at customer satisfaction and long-term success. Quality is not left to the QC laboratory; it is built into every process. Its ideas come from the quality pioneers: Deming (the PDCA cycle and his 14 points), Juran (quality as fitness for use; the quality trilogy of planning, control and improvement), Crosby (zero defects; 'quality is free'), Ishikawa (the fishbone diagram and quality circles) and Feigenbaum (who coined the term total quality control).
Principles of TQM
| Principle | Meaning | Food industry example |
|---|---|---|
| Customer focus | The customer decides what quality is | Less sugar in a biscuit after customer feedback |
| Total employee involvement | Everyone is trained and responsible; quality circles | Packing staff suggest a better seal check |
| Process approach | Work is managed as linked processes | Receiving, storage and production linked by clear SOPs |
| Continual improvement (Kaizen) | Small, steady improvements by everyone | Cutting dough waste a little every month |
| Fact-based decisions | Decide from data: control charts, Pareto charts | A Pareto chart shows most complaints are about broken biscuits |
| Leadership and communication | Management sets the policy and supports staff | A monthly quality meeting with all departments |
| Supplier partnership | Work closely with suppliers | Training milk farmers in clean milking |
The PDCA (Deming) cycle
- back to Plan: find the problem and plan a change
Example: a bakery plans a new cooling rack to stop moisture forming in bread bags, tries it on one line, checks mould complaints, then uses it on all lines.
ISO 9001 vs ISO 22000
FSSC 22000 is a certification scheme built on ISO 22000 plus sector prerequisite programmes and some extra requirements; it is recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
ISO: basics, other standards, benefits and certification
- ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental body in Geneva, set up in 1947. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) represents India in ISO.
- ISO writes the standards; independent certification bodies audit a company and issue the certificate, which is kept up by regular surveillance audits.
- Other ISO standards used in the food sector: ISO 14001 (environmental management) and ISO/IEC 17025 (competence of testing laboratories; NABL accredits Indian laboratories to it).
- Benefits: consistent quality, fewer complaints, international recognition, export access, clear responsibilities, better records, continual improvement.
- Steps to certification: management decision → gap study → staff training → write the system (policy, procedures, records) → put it into practice → internal audit and management review → certification audit → certificate → surveillance audits.
Large hospital food services and flight kitchens often hold ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000. A dietitian working there takes part in audits, keeps records of special-diet preparation and joins quality circles to cut errors on therapeutic trays.
2 marks: “Expand TQM and PDCA.” Total Quality Management; Plan, Do, Check, Act (the Deming cycle of continual improvement).
5 marks: “Distinguish between ISO 9001 and ISO 22000.” Scope (any organisation vs the food chain); focus (quality vs food safety); basis (seven quality principles vs HACCP, PRPs, communication, system management); both use PDCA and third-party certification; FSSC 22000 in one line.
10 marks: “Explain the principles of TQM and its application in the food industry.” Define; the pioneers; principles table with food examples; PDCA diagram; tools (fishbone, Pareto chart, quality circles, 5S, Kaizen); link to ISO certification; benefits; close.
TQM = every person, every process, every day. PDCA = Plan, Do, Check, Act. ISO 9001 = quality, for any firm; ISO 22000 = food safety, for the food chain.