Application of TQM at SCECO‐EAST: a case study

Abstract

SCECO‐EAST introduced total quality management (TQM) to achieve three main goals: increase customer satisfaction; reduce cycle time of the processes; and minimize total cost. Applying a TQM programme in service companies is very different from manufacturing in organizations since it involves subjective measures, while in manufacturing companies the end product is tangible and can easily be measured against preset standards. Explains in detail how TQM concepts can be applied to the process of “maintenance of medium voltage substations”. First, the team was formed to break down the process and assign actual time involved in each activity which helps to calculate the existing cycle time of the process. Second, value added and non‐value added activities were identified in order to eliminate/improve non‐necessary non‐value added activities. Third, the relationship value between customer needs and the work process was found by multiplying improvement ratio by the associated relationship weight to let the team focus on process activities which have the highest rating and biggest impact on customer satisfaction. Finally, the proposed recommendations/ improvements were evaluated and analysed. Concludes that applying TQM in a maintenance of S/S will reduce cycle time by 40 per cent which also results in a reduction of materials and manpower that correspond to more than one million Saudi Riyals per year.