ABSTRACT
Total quality management (TQM) has become far more than a set of useful tools; it has become a new management philosophy leading to radical changes in the ways that people, companies, and even entire societies are working together. The spread of TQM philosophy across industries has been painfully slow. Companies have, for the most part, taken the lead in expanding TQM philosophies, concepts, methods, and tools across their many functions. One notable exception is the trailbreaking experiment carried out at Fordham University. The documentation from these presentations and interviews was a major contribution to TQM research. There is many years’ worth of interesting research in the areas of product design and process engineering. The American Statistical Association’s Quality and Productivity Research Conference, now in its tenth year, started to explore one specific area in process engineering and product design, that is, robust design..
