THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUALITY SYSTEMS BY HORTICULTURISTS

A poor quality product or service will usually have several consequences for a business including a decline in market performance and continuing high costs.
Businesses often do not realize what their quality costs are, and hence underestimate the likely benefits of a good quality system.

Efforts to improve quality are not fully successful if they do not go beyond setting quality/grade standards and monitoring production practices.
In many businesses throughout the world there is a need for more understanding of, and greater adoption of, effective quality management (QM) practices.
QM is about a staff quality culture, internal and external customers, a focus on processes, and teamwork.
It is concerned with skills and attitudes, personal responsibility and quality costs.
As in other businesses a case can be made for those in the fruit production industry to consider more widely embracing QM philosophies.
This would include a systematic consideration of all aspects of each business, including its internal and external relationships.
It is likely an action-learning approach would be helpful in developing unique solutions.
An enhanced quality management approach offers benefits to kiwifruit growers as well as to servicing industries, postharvest operators and exporters.

III International Symposium on Kiwifruit

G.S. Lawes

TQM, Kiwifruit, quality management

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1997.444.97