Health and safety – the new Quality

Published: Commercial Vehicle Workshop

Across the automotive retail and repair sector, quality is recognised and established as a crucial step to success. However, that wasn’t always the case. With health and safety another business critical area, Peter Purdom, director of health and safety specialists, xCenta Solutions, explores the similarities between quality and health & safety management.

Total Quality Management (TQM) first became big news in the automotive sector in the mid 1980s, following on from the tangible success of US quality guru, Edward Deming, in developing Japan’s reputation for innovative high quality products. Deming’s success was such that Ford saw its end-customers recognising the quality of Japanese workmanship by requesting models with Japanese transmission over the USA-made version. This quickly demonstrated the role that quality management could play in an automotive business to support long term growth and survival.

However, when it was first introduced as a business concept, TQM was received with an element of reticence and was viewed by many as an additional administrative burden. This perception was increased by the available systems being seller-branded, so appearing as an addition to, rather than an intrinsic part of the businesses’ operations moving forward. In addition, it was seen as an expensive investment and it took time for the return on this investment to be realised.

Over time TQM became the norm, but despite health and safety legislation predating quality by a decade, it is still yet to be become an intrinsic part of day-to-day operations. Similarly to when TQM was introduced, health and safety is still seen as red tape and an additional burden that is trying to get in the way of getting the job done. However, not only is compliance a legal requirement, it also helps improve business. With good health and safety management procedures in place, a business will benefit by reducing time lost through accidents, keeping insurance premiums to a minimum and demonstrating commitment to ‘mission’ statements that recognise the value and well-being of employees.

Accepting this, then why is health and safety not yet seen as critical a part of business success as quality? It’s important that a workshop’s senior management recognise the crucial distinction between the two – quality is voluntary, health and safety is compulsory. When the consequences of non-compliance are taken into consideration it far overtakes quality. If a business fails due to poor quality management, ultimately there are only the stakeholders to answer to. If a business is forced to close due to an accident caused by inadequate health and safety management, it can result in unlimited fines, a criminal record or even a jail sentence.

As we’ve seen, health and safety and quality offer many similarities in their development and business critical functions. And yet while many have realised the need to make health and safety a core business element, it’s still not unanimous across the sector. With tighter and harsher penalties for non-compliance, health and safety most certainly has the potential to transform the way the automotive sector operates in a similar way to TQM 20 years ago.

To find out more about health and safety in the automotive sector, visit www.xcenta.co.uk

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