Assessment Task 1 1. Define and explain the purpose of TQM :
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach that originated in the 1950s and has steadily become more popular since the early 1980s. Total quality is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs.
The primary goal of a quality management system is to beat the competition. It does this by adding value at each stage of production. It defines long term plans for your company while at the same time providing a framework for it. Quality management systems make every employee the owner of customer satisfaction. Internally, it generates a sense of collaboration and motivation. You might set yearly objectives for sales growth or product innovation, but every objective will be methodically driven on the basis of quality product, care and service. Initiation of a quality management system in your business can identify waste, straighten out processes and hence reduce costs by decreasing inefficiencies. It, therefore, improves customer satisfaction, increases sales and furthers the goodwill of your business.

2. What elements within a manufacturing environment need to be reduced or eliminated as part of Lean Manufacturing focus?
The element of manufacturing environment that need to be reduced is waste. Waste is anything that doesn't add value to the end product. There are eight categories* of waste that you should monitor: 1. Overproduction – Are you producing more than consumers demand? 2. Waiting – How much lag time is there between production steps? 3. Inventory (work in progress) – Are your supply levels and work in progress inventories too high? 4. Transportation – Do you move materials efficiently? 5. Over-processing – Do you work on the product too many