Survey and case investigations on application of quality management tools and techniques in SMIs

TLDR

Quality management requires objective assessments, yet most tools are product‑specific, with only a few basic techniques commonly used in manufacturing firms. The study examines how QM tools and techniques are applied in small and medium industries. The authors conducted a literature review, surveyed SMIs, and performed case studies. SMIs largely rely on rule‑of‑thumb and subjective observations rather than methodical analysis, a weakness confirmed by case studies.

Abstract

Quality management (QM) cannot be assured unless some objective assessments are undertaken. A number of tools and techniques are available to conduct such analysis. Although some of them are product or service specific, however, a few basic tools and techniques are commonly used in manufacturing firms. This study focuses on the state of application of QM tools and techniques in small and medium industries (SMIs). The findings reveal that by‐and‐large, lack of methodical analysis is a major weakness of SMIs. Still some rule‐of‐thumb and subjective observations are dominating over objective evaluation in the process of quality control decisions. A few case studies which have been conducted, and one that has been briefly reported here, also support this conclusion. The methodology of the study has three folds: literature review, survey in SMIs and case studies.