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The objective of an effective quality assurance system should be to assist a company to satisfy customer needs and expectations while, at the same time, helping to protect the company’s interests, ultimately “bottom line” profit. Customer demands and expectations, however, tend to be changeable and manufacturing companies have to be flexible so that they can respond to these changes and continuously satisfy customer demands. Therefore a quality assurance system, as a sub‐system of the manufacturing system, must also be designed to cope with these issues of change. A knowledge‐based decision system having appropriate decision criteria and rules to recommend modules of a quality assurance system appropriate to specific company profiles will therefore be a valuable tool for executives and managers of manufacturing businesses. This paper summarises the results of a study conducted on more than 500 UK companies. The main results are in the form of an algorithm that can be used in the formulation of the knowledge‐based decision system.

In many industries (e.g. cars and clothing) manufacturing complexity and unpredictability have increased over the last couple of years because of an increasing variety of products and shortening product life cycles. At the same time the manufacturers in these industries appear to have more problems with maintaining high quality levels. This paper aims to develop a methodology to study the effects of these developments on quality management systems.

At three European automotive manufacturers the two trends have been studied by means of a case study approach. Simons' four levers of control model is utilised to categorise and interpret the results of the case studies.

The application of a management control model in the field of quality management is found to be useful in explaining what changes are necessary to maintain high quality levels. From the case studies in the automotive sector it is concluded that there is a shift in quality management systems from a diagnostic towards a more interactive approach. This is in line with what can be expected as a result of the increasing uncertainty in the automotive sector, caused by shortening life cycles of car models and smaller batch sizes.

This research presents a novel application of Simons' four levers of control model to the field of quality management. Based on the experience with three case studies at European automotive manufacturers, this approach seems to have potential.

Outlines, with the aid of diagrams, the core concepts of systems theory as a basis for understanding the applications of systems thinking in organizations. Explains ideas like waste, outcomes and feedback in systems terms, and links systems thinking with quality thinking. Once systems thinking is understood, understanding organizational systems and quality management becomes easy. The diagrams and summarized principles are useful for anyone wanting to teach the concepts to others.

Assesses the latest revisions to the ISO 9000 quality system, which seek to embrace the principles of total quality management (TQM) more closely. Highlights some of the TQM elements introduced into the system, such as: quality improvement; management commitment with a greater emphasis on executive roles; operational processes showing linkages to the overall system; and customer satisfaction. Compares the advantages and disadvantages of the two systems and discusses the practicality of the revised ISO 9000 system as a highway to TQM.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the implementation activities involved in certifying a quality management system to the ISO 9000 quality management system standard. This includes developing the best business performance measures that will serve as indicators of an effective quality management system. This paper aims to establish a relationship between implementation activities involved in the quality system and specific business performance measures that can be used to assess the system's effectiveness.

Data were collected using an online survey combined with publicly available financial reporting information. Regression and other statistical techniques along with text clustering and association of the survey comments were used to analyze the data.

Emphasis on implementing a documentation system were found to be linked to business performance as measured by the return on assets financial measure.

Future research should explore various documentation system aspects such as knowledge management and information sharing in greater detail. A larger sample focused on a specific industry might provide useful information for industry appropriate performance indicators.

The practical implications of this research focus on the design and implementation of an organization's quality management system in areas that will provide the most benefit to organizations seeking ISO 9000 certification. A baseline measurement can be used prior to implementing the system to strategically manage the implementation process. By understanding how best to implement the quality management system, fewer resources are wasted on ineffective quality management system certification projects and some of the skepticism around the implemention of an ISO 9000 certified quality management system is eliminated.

Few quality system researchers target the implementation process for analysis. Combining survey data and publicly held financial represents is a new method for studying ISO 9000 implementation.

Quality is a fundamental assurance of enterprises’ survival and development. The design and development of a quality system in the environment of CIMS are a very important task in the process of CIM implementation. This paper addresses the development of a quality system and its implementation methodology in the environment of CIMS in China. The quality system is one of the subsystems in CIMS which generally includes a management information subsystem (MIS), an engineering information subsystem (EIS), a production information subsystem (PIS), a quality information subsystem (QIS), and database and network support subsystems (DNSS). This paper first introduces a model of the quality system and its detailed functions, then expounds the methodology and strategy of implementing it in a CIMS factory of China, and lastly examines the commonly encountered problems in its implementation and suggests ways to resolve these problems.

The development of a quality database is central to effective automation of the operational activities of quality control. The importance of automation to quality data management is stated and a quality database structure outlined. The analysis and specification phase for a prototype system is discussed, with the functional requirements identified, and the choices of software, hardware and communications strategy described. Integration requirements with other computer systems are considered.

Examines an approach for introducing total quality management (TQM) in a small safety, engineering and management consultancy. The assessment of the organizational climate using a questionnaire survey followed by a series of meetings with staff to explain the results was found to be an effective means for highlighting problems and stimulating debate. On the other hand, the formulation of TQM strategy was found to be time consuming and complex, quality costing was considered by senior management to be too involved and complex, and there was resistance from middle management. Points out that a rigid approach to TQM cannot be taken in small professional service companies and the approach needs to develop in response to internal needs. Covers the basic introduction and the issue of quality costing.

Discusses quality and environmental management systems integration. Concepts of a system and a “system of systems” are addressed, followed by a description of different management systems, and their interrelations and integration. Subsequently, strategies for integration of the quality system based on the ISO 9001 standard and the ISO 14001 environmental management system are presented. The harmonization of related audit sub‐systems, namely ISO 10011 and ISO 14010/11/12 is also addressed. Finally, a discussion on the development of a generic performance management system is provided.

After current trends towards establishing standards for information systems have been explored a de facto standard for production control is discussed. The article then goes on to consider a potential quality information system standard based on the widely accepted requirements of BS 5750. Next it is shown that production control software can be modified to alleviate the present lack of information systems support for quality systems. The article concludes with a functional specification for an integrated production and quality information system.