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Outlines the main findings of a longitudinal study into the use and application of quality management tools and techniques in a speciality chemicals manufacturer. Finds that the use of a particular tool or technique is related to the stage of development of the organization’s improvement process and, in the early phase of the improvement process, tools and techniques were used in a haphazard manner, which improved with operating experience. Points out that those tools and techniques which were introduced in relation to a defined need were better understood and utilized than those which were applied company‐wide and without a specific use in mind at the time of the training. Highlights the fact that soundly based training delivered by credible trainers is vital to early success in the use of tools and techniques.

The main purpose of this study is to revisit Dr. Ishikawa's statement: “95% of problems in processes can be accomplished using the seven quality control (QC) tools” from his book “What is Quality Control?”. The authors are interested in critically investigating if this statement is still valid nowadays. It involves the analysis of the usage of the seven QC tools in the manufacturing and service sectors and the benefits, challenges and critical success factors (CSFs) for the application of the seven QC tools.

In order to evaluate Kaoru Ishikawa's statement and how valid his statement is for manufacturing and service industries nowadays, an online survey instrument was developed, and data collection was performed utilising a stratified random sampling strategy. The main strata/clusters were formed by senior quality professionals working in operational excellence, quality consultants, quality directors, quality engineers, quality managers and quality supervisors working in both manufacturing and service sectors from South American companies. A total of 97 participants from different countries in South America responded to the survey.

The main finding of this study is that only about 20% of respondents felt that the original seven basic tools of QC can solve above 80% of quality related problems in their businesses. This is quite different from the findings reported by Dr Ishikawa in his work in between 1970 and 1980s. Another relevant finding presented in this paper is that Pareto analysis, histograms and cause and effect analysis are the most used tools in both manufacturing and service sectors. This paper also revealed that the seven QC tools proposed by Dr. Ishikawa were least used by human resources (HR), information technology (IT) and finance functions. This work presents a list of critical success factors required for the proper application of the seven QC tools.

All data collected in the pilot survey came from professionals working for South American companies. So, this paper does present limitations in terms of generalisation of the results. Also, data were collected at an individual level, so parameters such as the inter reliability of judgements on a particular survey item could not be evaluated. It is important to highlight that n = 97 is a low sample size, enough for a preliminary survey but reinforcing the limitation in terms of generalisation of the results.

Authors understand that this is the very first research focused on challenging Dr. Ishikawa's statement: “95% of problems in processes can be accomplished using the seven quality control (QC) tools” from his book “What is Quality Control?”. The results of this study represent an important first step towards a full understanding of the applicability of these tools in manufacturing and service industries in a global scale.

The main purpose of this study is to revisit Ishikawa's statement: “95% of problems in processes can be accomplished using the original 7 Quality Control (QC) tools”. The paper critically investigates the validity of this statement in higher education institutions (HEIs). It involves analysis of the usage of the 7 QC tools and identifying the barriers, benefits, challenges and critical success factors (CSFs) for the application of the 7 QC tools in a HEI setting.

An online survey instrument was developed, and as this is a global study, survey participants were contacted via social networks such as LinkedIn. Target respondents were HEIs educators or professionals who are knowledgeable about the 7 QC tools promulgated by Dr Ishikawa. Professionals who work in administrative sectors, such as libraries, information technology and human resources were included in the study. A number of academics who teach the 7 basic tools of QC were also included in the study. The survey link was sent to over 200 educators and professionals and 76 complete responses were obtained.

The primary finding of this study shows that the diffusion of seven QC tools is not widespread in the context of HEIs. Less than 8% of the respondents believe that more than 90% of process problems can be solved by applying the 7 QC tools. These numbers show that modern-quality problems may need more than the 7 basic QC basic tools and there may be a need to revisit the role and contribution of these tools to solve problems in the higher education sector. Tools such as Pareto chart and cause and effect diagram have been widely used in the context of HEIs. The most important barriers highlighted are related to the lack of knowledge about the benefits and about how and when to apply these tools. Among the challenges are the “lack of knowledge of the tools and their applications” and “lack of training in the use of the tools”. The main benefits mentioned by the respondents were “the identification of areas for improvement, problem definition, measurement, and analysis”. According to this study, the most important factors critical for the success of the initiative were “management support”, “widespread training” and “having a continuous improvement program in place”.

The exploratory study provides an initial understanding about the 7 QC tools application in HEIs, and their benefits, challenges and critical success factors, which can act as guidelines for implementation in HEIs. Surveys alone cannot provide deeper insights into the status of the application of 7 QC tools in HEIs, and therefore qualitative studies in the form of semi-structured interviews should be carried out in the future.

This article contributes with an exploratory empirical study on the extent of the use of 7 QC tools in the university processes. The authors claim that this is the first empirical study looking into the use of the 7 QC tools in the university sector.

Organisational change, as a general topic, has been extensively researched since the 1950s, as evidenced by the proliferation of papers in the last five decades. As a research topic within operations management, it offers fascinating insights into the way manufacturing organisations function and adapt in reality. This paper evaluates what has worked, and what has not been effective, within a UK‐based manufacturing company, tracking multiple change initiatives over several years across two company sites. The core research focused on the implementation of change initiatives based on common constructs, such as planned change, as defined by management writers and consultants. From the research it emerged that a realistic interpretation of the change process had to take into account multiple and varied forces, such as: customers and suppliers; the economic environment; national and international legislation; the history of the organisation; etc. The research underpinning this paper enabled an identification of the specific influences on changes in the organisation and the way these interacted over time. A model of organisational change, developed from the research, is presented. The contribution of this paper lies mainly in deepening operations managers’ understanding of organisational change. It also uncovers the underlying rationales that steer change initiatives (planned or emergent) and identifies the key influences on organisational change. It provides and renews the necessary vocabulary, allowing managers to understand better and act on the multiple dimensions of organisational change. Furthermore, the provision of key learning points through a number of management “guidelines”, provides specific advice on how to effect sustainable change within organisations.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate Ishikawa’s statement that “95% of problems in processes can be accomplished using the 7 Quality Control (QC) tools” and explore its validity within the health-care sector. The study will analyze the usage of the 7 QC tools in the health-care service sector and the benefits, challenges and critical success factors (CSFs) for the application of the 7 QC tools in this sector.

In order to evaluate Ishikawa’s statement and how valid his statement is for the health-care sector, an online survey instrument was developed, and data collection was performed utilizing a stratified random sampling strategy. The main strata/clusters were formed by health-care professionals working in all aspects of health-care organizations and functions. A total of 168 participants from European health-care facilities responded to the survey.

The main finding of this study is that 62% of respondents were trained in the 7 QC tools. Only 3% of participants in the health-care sector perceived that the seven tools of QC can solve above 90% of quality problems as originally claimed by Dr Ishikawa. Another relevant finding presented in this paper is that Histograms, Cause and Effect diagrams and check sheets are the most used tools in the health-care sector. The least used tools are Stratification and Scatter diagrams. This paper also revealed that the 7 QC tools proposed by Dr Ishikawa were most used in hospital wards and in administration functions. This work also presents a list of CSFs required for the proper application of the 7 QC tools in healthcare.

This research was carried out in European health-care facilities – and there is an opportunity to expand the study across global health-care facilities. There is also an opportunity to study the use of the tools and their impact on hospital performance using the Action Research methodology in a health-care organization.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the very first research within the health-care sector that focused on investigating the usage of all the 7 basic tools and challenging Dr Ishikawa’s statement: “95% of problems in processes can be accomplished using the 7 Quality Control (QC) tools” from his book “What is Quality Control?” The results of this study represent an important first step toward a full understanding of the applicability of these tools in the health-care sector.

This paper reports the main findings arising from carrying out three benchmarking projects in the areas of customer services, operations and laboratory services in the North West Water part of the Regulated Utility Division of United Utilities PLC. The study has pinpointed a number of success factors including the fact that each of the benchmarking projects related to key business processes and this ensured that they had a strategic focus. Considerable time was spent in mapping and understanding internal processes before external partners were contacted. A great degree of professionalism was devoted to the manner in which potential benchmarking partners were approached and key performance indicators for the projects were identified. The paper also examines the difficulties and pitfalls which have been encountered, including, inadequate project definition, the scope of the benchmarking project being too large, unrealistic assumptions of senior managers, failure to communicate the benchmarking plan, the lack of an effective contingency plan and the benchmarking team failing to draw on resources outside of the team.

The main objective of this study is to investigate the 7 new quality control or the 7 new management tools and their use in manufacturing organisations. This research investigates the understanding, knowledge of the tools and the level of application of the tools within the manufacturing sector. In addition, this paper aims to identify the benefits, challenges and critical success factors (CSFs) for the application of the 7 new quality control (QC) tools.

An online survey instrument was developed, and data collection was performed utilising a stratified random sampling strategy. The primary strata/clusters were formed by quality professionals working in all aspects of manufacturing organisations and functions. A total of 86 participants from different countries responded to the survey.

The main finding of this study is that 10% of participants within the manufacturing sector perceived that the 7 new QC tools could solve above 80% of organisational problems. Another relevant finding presented in this paper is that tree diagrams were the most utilised of the 7 new QC tools within the manufacturing sector. The least utilised tools are arrow diagrams. The common benefits of using 7 new QC tools in the manufacturing sector are helping people define, measure and analyse the problem areas or even prioritises them and providing some form of structure to the problem-solving efforts. This paper also revealed that the 7 new QC tools were most used in the manufacturing area but least utilised in the new products and research and development (R&D) functions. This work also presents a list of CSFs and challenges required to properly apply the 7 new QC tools in the manufacturing sector.

This study was just carried out in manufacturing organisations. It would be interesting to try and expand to services sectors and compare use within the services sector.

Authors understand that this is the very first empirical study analysing the use and understanding of the 7 new QC or management tools within the manufacturing sector. The results of this study represent an important first step towards a complete understanding of the applicability of these tools in continuous improvement programs on a global scale and the context in which they can be utilized.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the use of quality management tools and techniques and their integration into the ISO 9001:2008 standard in a wind power (WP) sector supply chain (SC).

The research project was carried out in 119 WP sector SC companies (i.e. component suppliers, wind turbine assemblers and wind farm operation and maintenance services) using the questionnaire method. The companies selected employ quality management systems (QMSs) which conform to the ISO 9001:2008 standard.

The survey findings reveal that the degree to which quality tools and techniques are used in the WP companies can be characterised as “high”. The results show that internal audits, flowchart diagrams and cost of poor quality are the most-commonly applied tools and techniques, although they also indicate some areas for further improvement, for instance, when using advanced and complex quality techniques such as design of experiments, quality function deployment or business process management. In addition to this, the findings reveal that ISO 9001:2008 establishes a favourable environment for the use of quality tools and techniques.

The study was based on the perceptions of quality managers, quality engineers and company managers (subjective data) and did not examine the reasons for either not implementing and/or the difficulties encountered while implementing quality tools and techniques.

The specific findings indicate that employing quality tools and techniques is useful for managers, not only when implementing a QMS, but also when suggesting recommendations for improvement.

A change of developing a framework integrating the main QT&T procedures into the main ISO 9001 processes.

Benchmarking of best practices has proved useful in the business and manufacturing sectors. However, benchmarking is not established in the construction industry in general and in government organizations in particular. A study of the contractor selection methodologies used by various clients confirms the multiplicity of approaches in practice. This paper aims at identifying some relevant ‘best’ practices and highlighting ‘innovative’ contractor selection approaches that have been used by large public clients. A ‘co‐operative’ and ‘non‐competitive’ conceptual benchmarking model is formulated and presented with a view to encouraging continuous improvement in contractor selection for construction projects.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of use of quality management tools and techniques as well as employees' training in ISO 9001:2000 certified companies.

A research project was carried out in 370 Greek companies, using the questionnaire method. The selected companies have been implementing a quality management system in accordance with the ISO 9001:2000 standard. Independent Samples t‐tests and One‐Way ANOVA tests were used to identify significant differences between selected companies.

The level of quality tools and techniques used in the ISO 9001:2000 certified companies can be characterised as low. The majority of companies use the easiest to understand and implement quality tools. However, the more complex quality tools and techniques are barely used. As far as employees' training is concerned, it mostly addressed specialized issues, while training on quality tools and techniques was not highly performed.

The study was based on the quality manager's perceptions (subjective data) and it did not examine the reasons for not implementing and the difficulties encountered while implementing quality tools and techniques. These constitute research limitations but also future research orientations.

Given the increased rate of companies adopting a quality management system, continuous improvement through a Total Quality programme can be achieved through the implementation of quality tools and techniques.

This paper describes the implementation status of the quality tools and techniques in companies with a four‐year experience in ISO 9001:2000 standard.