$2\mathrm{.}11$ CASE STUDY: TQM $-$ A CASE STUDY

OF SUNDARAM CLAYTON

Sundaram Clayton, based in Chennai, India, has been hailed and internationally

recognised for setting global quality standards. Sundaram Clayton, the world$-$

class flag bearer. A pneumatic brake systems and foundries manufacturer, it

became the first Asian company to win the Deming Prize for foreign companies.

The Deming Prize is the last word in the world of quality. Japan created this

award $40$ years ago to pay tribute to W$.$ Edwards Deming, the man who gave

quality to the world.

The Deming Prize defines quality as 'a system of activities designed to ensure

the quality of products and services, in which the products and services required by

customers are produced and delivered economically.$\text{'}$

Policies, People, Processes, and Products: the four pillars of Sundaram Clayton's

TQM model integrated Deming's ten metrics to guarantee full employee participa$-$

tion, policy deployment, standardisation, kaizen, and training, as well as the promo$-$

tion of employer$-$employee relations. All members of the company are turned into

quality guardians.

Sundaram Clayton, led by its CEO, Venu Srinivasan, $45,$ has surpassed the

national level in terms of total quality, to become part of a small group of global

elites, who have integrated the ten parameters of Deming in their flow of practices.

This small elite group consists of Florida Power and Light $($ $$6\mathrm{.}51$ billion$)($Deming

Award winner of $1989)$; AT&T power systems division $($ $$53\mathrm{.}26$ billion$)$; and the

Phillips Taiwan Unit $($$$8\mathrm{.}05$ billion$).$

On November $14,1998,$ Venu Srinivasan became one of the $163$ executive

directors$/$leaders to whom the coveted prize has been awarded since its inception.

Sundaram Clayton executives were successively exposed to the best quality prac$-$

tices of world leaders, trained in modern manufacturing techniques, and learned

Total Quality Control $($TQC$),$ first from Yoshio Kondo at a workshop held at the

Institute.