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 qualitydriven 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.