Applications of quality improvement tools in Hong Kong: An empirical analysis

Abstract

A survey was conducted to examine the usage of quality improvement tools among companies in Hong Kong. Results show that, although 82% of the respondents reported using four or more quality improvement tools, usage was confined to relatively simple tools. The standard seven quality control tools were popular, but most of the sophisticated quality improvement tools were not used by any of the respondents. Quality improvement tools were used primarily for product and service design and performance monitoring. The lack of ability of quality improvement tools to solve existing quality problems was cited by respondents as the major barrier to their use. Other majors barriers cited were lack of top management understanding of the tools and lack of resources.