Deployment of a company wide quality strategy in the automotive business : executive summary

Abstract

Rover Group had began to address product quality in the 1980's, by collaborating with the Honda Motor Company, and commencing a "Total Quality Improvement - TQI" initiative. Whilst delivering initial improvement, it was not considered to be sufficient to sustain an organisational culture of ongoing improvement activity within the business. A five year quality strategy was created, which identified improvement milestones for each of the key business processes that drive Rover Group. A significant deployment of the quality strategy is represented by Rover's new product introduction process, which led to the creation of Project Management Policy (PMP), and a series of processes constructed as a framework known as Common Business Environment (CBE). Implementation of PMP is achieved by the mandatory requirement for new product teams to conform to the "six quality and reliability prescriptives", which are measured by adoption of a team-based self assessment process and senior management review. The Rover Group Quality Strategy demonstrates innovation in the conceptual model designed for its initial creation, and the deployment process by application of Group Judgement Theory, and the Japanese technique of "Hoshin Kanri" policy deployment. This represents a significant contribution towards the achievement of improved business results by Rover Group in aspects of product development lead time and quality