A new tool for assessing the presence of total quality

An objective, two‐tier quantitative model has been developed for assessing the presence of total quality in an organisation, and for determining the effectiveness of a company’s total quality management initiatives. This was based on the hypothesis that, since the necessary and sufficient conditions for just‐in‐time inventory management and total quality management are almost identical, inventory performance should be a good indicator of quality achievement. A stand‐alone inventory rating method was used initially, and was later combined with return on capital and employee value indicators to create a model for more detailed evaluation. The two methods were tested on 48 companies. It was found that the inventory performance rating is a reliable indicator of a total quality organisation, and that the multifactor method is useful in identifying areas of success or failure. Both indicators predicted changes in overall business performance.