TOTAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME.

Abstract

In 1980, IBM's Manufacturing Facility at Havant embarked upon an ambitious and fundamental programme to establish a new cultural attitude to quality across the whole workforce, at the same time introducing techniques, processes and management systems to facilitate the change. The programme, called EXCEL, has now been running for four years, and the results are dramatic. The workforce are demonstrably committed to 100% defect free operations. Suppliers of parts and assemblies are achieving quality levels well in excess of 99% defect free, and the quality and reliability of Havant produced computers and peripheral equipment in Customer's offices has improved by a factor of five times over the past three years. Refs.