Impact of quality improvement tools on the performance of firms using different quality management systems

Abstract

This study compares the impact of quality management tools on the performance of organisations utilising the ISO 9001:2000 standard as a basis for a quality-management system and those utilising the EFQM model for this purpose. A survey is conducted among 107 experienced and independent quality-management assessors. The study finds that organisations with qualitymanagement systems based on the ISO 9001:2000 standard tend to use general-purpose qualitative tools, and that these do have a relatively positive impact on their general performance. In contrast, organisations adopting the EFQM model tend to use more specialised quantitative tools, which produce significant improvements in specific aspects of their performance. The findings of the study will enable organisations to choose the most effective quality-improvement tools for their particular quality strategy.

Keywords

• Quality improvement tools
• quality management models and systems
• ISO 9001:2000
• EFQM