Revolutionary New Approaches Carry TQMS to the Top
By Line Abrahamian
Originally Published in West Island Business Magazine
Download the original published article PDF scan
Last year, the West Island Business Magazine introduced you to TQMS and offered you a first glance into this seven-year-old company which provides consulting and training services to corporations that wish to embark on an ISO 9000 project. ISO 9000 is the international standard for quality management and features a complete set of easy-to-use and dependable documentation ready for your company to implement.
Since this article, TQMS has implemented some changes in its methodology and has expanded its operations to the internet, which has attracted over forty-five clients throughout the United States and Canada to the company.
TQMS boasts of a revolutionary new method of consulting which can be applied to groups of companies which perform the same scope of operations. This approach calls for TQMS representatives to meet with these groups of companies, whether they are located in Chicago, Boston or Los Angeles, and to offer an introduction seminar, which details TQMS’s methods, approach and history of ISO Certification.
The representatives then train the groups on how to use the internet and how to work with the TQMS ISO System. Each group is then given a pass code and a company code with which to access the TQMS internet site and to start embarking on their ISO. TQMS then provides the documentation designed for their companies (i.e., groups) via the internet and helps them edit and implement it by use of workbooks and a revolutionary chat line and e-mail. TQMS quality professionals are always there to answer the companies’ questions and guide them through this entire process.
“This approach is revolutionary since, firstly, no one else is doing it,” points out Peter Sanderson, President of TQMS, “and secondly, it can be applied to any type of industry.”
By implementing this approach, TQMS has already certified its first two clients, both in the United States, as of the end of 1997, which leads Sanderson to believe that the concept is logical and practical.
“This proves that the system works. We are proud of it, we are moving forward and expect to have over $300,000 worth of business just on the internet alone this year,” he boasts.
In addition, TQMS is proud to announce the opening of a new office in Ottawa, increasing the number of offices across Canada to five.
Furthermore, in 1997, TQMS created a virtual team, with each member owning his or her own notebook computer and portable printer, allowing them to efficiently communicate and manage as a team without being constrained to one particular office.
Another innovative approach to the TQMS ISO 9000 System is called the Bow Tie Approach to Quality. Incidentally, the Bow Tie Approach apparently calls for the matching outfit accessorized with a bow tie, much like the unique yellow bow tie outfit worn by Mr. Sanderson himself. A method cannot just bear such an original name and not have a story behind it. So, here goes…
Mr. Sanderson purchased a bow tie, as opposed to a clip-on, two years ago in order to attend a client event. The bow tie came fully equipped with what were misleadingly called simple tying instructions, which featured six easy steps, occasional diagrams and pictures.
After many futile attempts at tying the bow tie using these instructions, Mr. Sanderson brought it to work the following day and challenged his engineers and his Masters Degrees to step up to the plate. Once again, after many futile attempts at dressing up door knobs, Mr. Sanderson took the bow tie back home, where his 10-year-old daughter was able to, in less than a minute, solve the mystery which baffled great minds. Tying a bow tie is identical to tying one’s shoelaces, which led Mr. Sanderson to make an observation.
“Instead of being called a bow tie, it should be called tie-a-bow.”
“Well, he also realized that there is a direct link between this exercise and quality management, that work instructions pose the same difficulty with ISO 9000.”
“We tend to write instructions for all the little jobs, details and processes within an organization and then expect and rely on these instructions to make the company work,” explains Sanderson. “And if we give out these procedures to employees and we expect that they will follow them. Well, the fact is that I could not tie a simple bow tie using bow tie instructions, which leads me to question what the purpose of instructions are in the first place.”
This leads to the realization that companies spend huge amounts of money writing detailed complicated work instructions which will not greatly benefit the employees. Therefore, TQMS prefers to focus on simple demonstrations or proper hands-on training. This approach concentrates on employee performance evaluations, identifying employee training requirements and ensuring that all employees have the required skills for their job functions.
By using this approach, we have a much smoother implementation process of ISO management requirements and, at the same time, we find it is a more effective system for the customer,” explains Sanderson.
TQMS has extended this philosophy into its environmental management system ISO 14000. A company that is ISO 14000 certified takes the necessary steps to ensure that environmental regulations are being respected. This includes reducing environmental waste and increasing the management of hazardous materials and anything else that has to do with the environment.
Finally, TQMS is very excited for its latest innovation for 1998: the company catalogue will feature management tools ranging from motivational posters, stickers and books to videos, banners and signs, all at competitive prices and first-rate quality. This catalogue will be offered in both French and English, in Canada and the United States, on paper, back and internet where orders will be taken directly by e-mail.
The benefits of these improvements are visible in the figures recorded in fiscal ’97, with an increase of 15% over fiscal ’96. The forecast for fiscal ’98 calls for a revenue growth of 15% and a higher profit margin than ’97.
All these remarkable accomplishments cannot be mentioned without acknowledging the outstanding contribution of Peter LeMay and Mr. Keith Hutchison, who unexpectedly passed away in December ’97. Keith Hutchison earlier was Mr. Sanderson’s business partner.
“The death of Keith has forced us to restructure a little and to move, stronger than ever; our business in the right direction,” comments Sanderson, on a sad note.
The right direction for TQMS seems to be global expansion in the years ’98–’99 and advancement in the technical field.
“We know from experience that the future consulting lies in offering our services to as large a market as possible rather than restricting them to one area,” advises Sanderson.
“We are always developing our internet consulting and hope that, in the next 3 years, we will be doing business with clients from Europe and South America. We have come a long way in a year and a half, so we firmly believe that hard work and dedication can take you all around the world.”
