On many occasions, businessmen and managers encounter the significant confusion that exists in relation to the terms of Total Quality, EFQM and ISO 9000. The objective of this article is to clarify each of these concepts, as well as their similarities, differences and relationship between they.
Basically, and by way of introduction, the definition of each of these concepts are:
- Total quality: A philosophy in which excellence is sought in the results of organizations EFQM: (European Foundation for Quality Model) is an organization that has dedicated itself to "making tangible" the principles of total quality so that they are applicable to organizations. To do this, it has developed a Total Quality or Excellence management model. ISO 9000: It is a regulation developed by the ISO (International Standard Organization) for the assurance of organizations' quality systems.
After these definitions, let us go on to develop what similarities and differences these concepts have. The similarities between all these concepts are:
1. All have been created for the improvement of business results
2. All are related to quality, although at different levels and with different meanings of the concept.
And what are the differences?
The most important difference is that total quality is a philosophy, the EFQM model is a Total Quality model and ISO 9000 is a standard that aims to manage / ensure the quality of systems.
If you want to define the relationships between the different concepts, the relationship between EFQM and Total Quality is that the EFQM model is a model developed to "make tangible" the principles of total quality. This is necessary since Total Quality is a philosophy and the model developed by EFQM helps to develop and make the concepts of Total Quality tangible.
In the relationship between ISO 9000 and EFQM, ISO 9000 can, and often is, a part of the EFQM Business Excellence Model. In the version of ISO 9000 of the year 94, the standard was basically focused on certain processes while the EFQM approach is much broader, looking at organizations from a much more comprehensive and comprehensive approach.
However, in the revision of the ISO 9000 of the year 2000, it tends much more towards the concept of Total Quality, delving further into the concepts of processes, customer focus, resource management, etc. bringing it much closer to the EFQM model.
In the following graph it can be seen in a clear way:
Let's continue delving into these concepts.
Total quality is a business philosophy born in Japan and that starts from the concept of "product quality", understanding compliance with specifications as such.
This concept has evolved towards the concept of Total Quality, which is much broader and is not focused on the product but on the quality of the entire organization.
However, this philosophy needed to be "tangible" in some way, and for this reason different models of total quality emerged such as the EFQM at the European level, the Malcolm Baldrige in the US and the "Deming Prize" in Japan, although the three models have many similar items.
Continuing with the EFQM concept, it must be made clear that this Model is not a standard and no third-party certificate is obtained. The EFQM model is a model made up of criteria and sub-criteria that are evaluated in the organization to obtain its strengths and weaknesses and define consequent action plans.
The EFQM model is basically used for the evaluation of organizations, either by internal or external personnel, getting to know their status regarding the ideal of Excellence as well as opportunities for improvement.
Possibly the most important problem of this model is that, although there are different methodologies for the development of the evaluation, it is as good as the evaluators.
However, quality systems according to ISO 9000 are developed using ISO 9000 and its family. This standard specifies a series of requirements that an organization must meet.
After adjusting the organization to regulations and developing its corresponding documentation that reflects the organization's "modus operandi" (quality and procedure manuals), a neutral certification organization analyzes whether the organization really meets the requirements of the normative. If the system is correctly developed, the certifying entity will issue the corresponding certificate indicating the conformity of the system.
The main characteristic (and advantage) of quality management systems (formerly assurance) according to ISO 9000 is that it serves to demonstrate to third parties the quality of the system with the corresponding commercial advantages that this entails.
The problem comes from the commercial importance of obtaining the certification of the system, since there are many organizations that turn to obtain this certificate without thinking about the concepts of quality. Many times ending with organizations with less quality than the initial, although yes, certified.
In conclusion, organizations should introduce the EFQM Excellence Model as it really improves business results and within it, due to its impact on various criteria, the development of the ISO 9000 standard of the year 2000.
