The state of quality management in the Irish manufacturing industry

This study is part of a research programme on the implementation and implication of quality management in the Irish manufacturing industry. One of its main objectives is to identify an implementation order concerning tools and techniques. Data from survey show there has been continuous decline in the number of new ISO 9000 registrations in the manufacturing industry since reaching its peak some 4-5 years (up to and including survey year, 1996) ago. Statistically significant relationships exist between firms with ISO and those without ISO registration. The survey shows that a majority of the firms have ISO 9000 registration before successfully embracing and implementing total quality management (TQM). Empirical results show that there would be a marginal increase in performance over a 4-year and 6-year period, respectively, upon installing ISO and TQM programmes. This means that unless firms maintain and sustain the TQM drives continuously, there will be a decline in competitiveness. This paper concludes that the level of quality as practised by the Irish manufacturing industry is on average at the ISO quality system stage. Also, the best group of firms in the industry are in the good part of the humanism stage in the total quality picture.