The implementation of TQM in R&D

Abstract

In 1992, a survey of over 40 UK companies was conducted to identify the progress being made in the implementation of quality management principles within R&D environments. Subsequently two workshops were organised to identify and explore areas of concern. The companies involved were selected because of their known interest in the subject. A variety of means were used to identify the "sample", including information from previous communications and studies by the R&D Research Unit, membership of TQM in R&D study groups, or mention in journals such as Total Quality Management. A telephone survey was conducted and thirteen companies were visited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with R&D managers, quality managers and other employees. The companies visited were selected in order to illustrate a broad cross-section of experience in implementing quality management. The timing of their quality initiatives ranged from 1986 to embryonic stages in 1992. From the interviews and workshop discussions a model or framework was devised of the way in which TQM is implemented in R&D. This is presented in the paper with a recommendation that it be used to guide companies already in progress, or those companies still about to start.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 14 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.