Total Quality Management

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

In each of the topics, a combination of expository methodologies and interactive and participatory methodologies is used, based on the critical analysis of a set of cases and exercises, many of them real. Students are expected to engage in various activities and take on the presentation of some cases.

Within the scope of each topic addressed, in addition to the key bibliographic references, opinion articles are suggested and testimonies published in professional journals or available in audiovisual formats are analysed.

Learning Outcomes

Looking at Quality as a management philosophy supported by a set of methodologies, the aim is to provide students with the fundamental knowledge and skills so that they correctly use the terminology of the area, understand the nature of operational problems that threaten the quality of products and services, and apply some techniques and tools to improve processes and systems.

In particular, students are expected to:

• Develop a multidimensional and interdisciplinary perspective on Quality;

• Identify organisational principles and practices that support the organisation's commitment to Quality;

• Be aware of the main requirements and steps to be followed in the design and implementation of Integrated Quality, Environment and Safety Management Systems

• Be capable of selecting and applying tools and methodologies appropriate to the characteristics of the problems;

Understand the impacts of quality (and non-quality) on sustainability at different levels.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

(1) Quality Movement. Origins and evolution of the concept. From product quality to organizational quality.

(2) Quality Principles. Customer focus, people involvement and improvement.

(3) Quality in Services: specificities and determinants.

(4) Quality Assurance. International standards for the implementation of Quality, Environment and Safety Management Systems. Structure and requirements of ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001. The certification phenomenon on an international scale.

(5) Problem solving and the PDCA cycle. The 7 Basic Tools.

(6) Fundamentals of Statistical Process Control. Control charts for attributes and variables.

(6) Integrated approaches to fighting waste: 5S, Lean and Six Sigma.

(7) Challenges and motivations for implementing Total Quality in different contexts.

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Periodic or by final exam as given in the course information: 100.0%

Bibliography

EVANS, James R. ; LINDSAY, William M. - Managing for quality and performance excellence. Eleven ed.. Mason : South-Western/Cengage Learning, 2019.

PIRES, António Ramos – Sistemas de gestão da qualidade : ambiente, segurança, responsabilidade social, indústria, serviços, administração pública e educação. Lisboa : Edições Sílabo, 2ª edição, 2016.

ROSA, Maria João; SÁ, Patrícia Moura e & SARRICO, Cláudia (Org.) – Qualidade em Ação. Lisboa: Sílabo 2014.