Human Factors and TQM - Fundamentals and Assessment Tools for Occupational Ergonomics - page 117

TABLE 6.1 Tenets of TQM
Assumptions 1. Good quality is less costly to an organization than is poor workmanship.

2. Employees naturally care about quality and will take initiatives to improve it.
3. Organizations are systems of highly interdependent parts: problems cross functional lines.
4. Quality is viewed as ultimately the responsibility of top management.

Change Principles 1. Focus on the work processes.

2. Uncontrolled variability is the primary cause of quality problems: it must be analyzed and
controlled.
3. Management by fact: use systematically collected data throughout the problem-solving cycle.
4. The long-term health of the organization depends upon learning and continuous improvement.

Interventions 1. Explicit identification and measurement of customer requirements.

2. Creation of supplier partnerships.
3. Use of cross-functional teams to identify and solve quality problems.
4. Use scientific methods to monitor performance and identify points for process improvement.
5. Use process-management heuristics to enhance team effectiveness.

Source: Adapted from Hackman, J. R. and Wageman, R. 1995. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40: 308-342.

its basic beliefs. Thus, societies within the International Ergonomics Association have their own defi-
nitions of ergonomics, as do textbooks and journals. Although some authors have begun to consider
the underpinnings of the discipline (e.g., Karwowski, Marek, and Noworol, 1988; Meister, 1996), there
is no simple list of tenets similar to Table 6.1. As a working list, Table 6.2 is proposed, keeping the struc-
ture of the equivalent TQM list to facilitate comparison. Note that this listing is biased toward design
ergonomics, rather than more overtly sociotechnical systems approaches (e.g., Taylor and Felten, 1993).
As is obvious from Table 6.2, ergonomics is a human-oriented process, using detailed knowledge of
human functioning as a basis for designing high-performance, safe systems. Indeed, the current topic

TABLE 6.2 Tenets of Ergonomics Human Factors

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Assumptions 1. Errors and stress arise when task demands are mismatched.

2. In any complex system, start with human needs and system needs, and allocate functions to
meet these needs.
3. Honor thy user: use measurements and models to provide the detailed technical understanding
of how people interact with systems.
4. Changing the system to fit the operator is usually preferable to changing the operator to fit the
system. At least develop personnel criteria and training systems in parallel with equipment,
environment, and interface.
5. Design for a range of operators rather than an average; accommodate those beyond the design
range by custom modifications to equipment.
6. Operators are typically trying to do a good job within the limitations of their equipment,
environment, instructions, and interfaces. When errors occur, look beyond the operator for root
causes.

Change Principles 1. Begin design with an analysis of system and human needs using function and task analysis.

2. Use the task analyses to discover potential as well as existing human system mismatches.

3. Operators have an essential role in designing their own jobs and equipment, and are capable of
contributing to the design process on equal terms with professional designers.
4. Optimize the job via equipment, environment, and procedures design before optimizing the
operator through selection, placement, motivation, and training.
5. Use valid ergonomic techniques to measure human performance and well-being before and after
the job change process.

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Interventions 1. Prepare well for any technical change, especially at the organizational level.

2. Involve operators throughout the change process, even those in identical jobs and on other
shifts.
3. Use teams comprising operators, managers, and ergonomists (at least) to implement the change
process.