The Thai foundation quality system standard

Reports on the Thai Foundation Quality System Standard (TFQSS) project which aimed to develop a basic quality management system standard for small Thai manufacturing businesses to assist them in increasing awareness of quality and develop towards the ISO 9000 series standards, without introducing unnecessary complexity or cost. The project involved five small Thai companies who were assisted by a project facilitator in the development of quality systems to meet the requirements of the TFQSS. The choice of companies was representative of typical Thai small manufacturing businesses, and covered a number of significant industry types. The five companies, all made considerable progress in quality management and have achieved the requirements of the standard at audit. The standard was initially seen by most collaborating companies as a significant challenge, and yet was achieved by all in about one half of the average implementation period for ISO 9002. Most of the companies, after having achieved TFQSS were confidently planning to move further in quality management, towards either ISO 9000 or TQM. Describes the TFQSS project, outlines the contents of the standard, and compares it with another basic national quality standard, Q‐Base Code from New Zealand, and with ISO 9001.