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TQM self-assessment template
A TQM self-assessment is a structured look at how far a plant works by the principles of total quality management, so the weakest principle and the biggest gaps are found from evidence rather than opinion. This template uses the eight principles in the order the TQM principles guide on this site lists them: customer focus, total employee involvement, process approach, integrated system, strategic and systematic approach, continuous improvement, fact-based decision making and communication. Each has three statements describing things you can see, such as defects recorded during the shift or quality targets in the annual plan. Several people score every statement from 0 (not in place) to 4 (sustained, reviewed and improved) on their own and write the evidence. Page 1 is one assessor's sheet; page 2 has the summary across assessors (each principle's average, the lowest and highest assessor, the spread and a rank), the action plan for the top 3 gaps and a worked example. The Excel version takes up to 8 assessors, works out the averages, spread and rank, finds the weakest principle and the three lowest statements, draws a radar chart and carries the gaps into an action plan. The scale is an example made for this template, not an award model or a validated instrument.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Fields for site, role, date and period, the 0 to 4 score key, and 24 statements under the eight TQM principles from customer focus to communication, each with score circles, an evidence column and a gap or action column, and a principle average cell.8 TQM principles24 statementsScore 0 to 4Evidence columnPrinciple averagesSpread between assessorsTop 3 gapsAction plan
When to use it
When to use a TQM self-assessment
- Before a quality improvement program, to see which TQM principle is weakest and where to start.
- When quality tools such as SPC, FMEA or CAPA are in place but the same defects keep coming back.
- To compare how leaders, quality staff and operators see the plant's quality practice, and talk about the differences.
- Once or twice a year, scored the same way, to track whether the gaps found last time have closed.
How to fill it in
- 1
Choose the assessors
Four to eight people from different levels and functions: plant leadership, quality, production supervisors, operators, maintenance and engineering. Include people who will disagree.
- 2
Score alone, with evidence
Each person scores the 24 statements from 0 to 4 from what they have seen in the last few months, not from what the plant intends, and writes the evidence. A blank is better than a guess.
- 3
Work out the principle averages
Each assessor's average per principle, then for each principle the average of all scores given, the lowest and highest assessor's average, the spread between them and a rank, where 1 is the weakest.
- 4
Talk about the spread
Where the spread reaches the example flag of 1.5, people see the principle very differently. Ask the lowest and highest scorers what they have seen before deciding anything.
- 5
Pick the top 3 gaps
The three statements with the lowest average across assessors. For each, write what the evidence shows, one action, an owner and a date.
- 6
Assess again
Score the same statements again in 6 to 12 months with the same people where possible, and compare by principle and by statement.
What's on the assessment
The 24 TQM statements, three for each of the eight principles
Each assessor scores every statement on their own from 0 (not in place) to 4 (sustained, reviewed and improved) and writes the evidence. The eight principles are the ones in the TQM principles guide on this site, in the same order.
Customer focus
The customer defines quality, not internal specs alone
- 1Customer requirements for the main products are written down and turned into checks or settings at the line
- 2Complaints, returns and field data are reviewed on a set schedule and reach the people who run the process
- 3Operators can say what matters most to the customer about the part they are making
Total employee involvement
Quality is everyone's job, not only the quality team's
- 4Operators record defects and process deviations themselves, through a simple channel they use
- 5Operators and technicians take part in solving quality problems, not only engineers and quality staff
- 6Anyone can stop or flag work that looks wrong, and their supervisor backs them when they do
Process approach
Quality comes from the process, not end-of-line inspection
- 7Each main process step has documented standard work that matches how the job is done
- 8Quality checks are defined at each stage of the process, not only at final inspection
- 9Key process settings are checked against their limits during the run, with gauges known to be reliable
Integrated system
Functions work as one connected system, not as silos
- 10Quality data is shared with purchasing, engineering and maintenance, not kept in the quality department
- 11Each recurring quality problem has a cross-functional owner or team
- 12Corrective actions fix the cause where it starts, even when that is in another department
Strategic and systematic approach
Quality objectives set at the top and deployed on purpose
- 13Quality targets are in the plant's annual plan, next to output and cost targets
- 14People and time for improvement are assigned against those targets on purpose
- 15Plant leadership reviews quality progress on a fixed schedule, with an owner for each action
Continuous improvement
The engine that keeps defects and variation going down
- 16Quality problems are worked with one set method, such as PDCA, at every level
- 17Improvement happens at several levels: daily small fixes, kaizen events and larger projects
- 18Defect and variation trends for the main processes went down over the last year, and the gains held
Fact-based decision making
Decisions come from data, not intuition or rank
- 19Defect rate, first pass yield and cost of poor quality are measured for the main processes
- 20Improvement priorities are chosen from data, such as a Pareto of defects, not from opinion or rank
- 21Defects are recorded during the shift, when they happen, not written up at the end of the day
Communication
Quality targets and results visible at every level
- 22Quality metrics are displayed in each production area and are up to date
- 23Each shift or day has a short review where quality deviations are discussed and acted on
- 24Unresolved quality problems are escalated to management by a set route and within a set time
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: five assessors at a plastics molding plant (plant manager, quality manager, production supervisor, operator and process engineer) scored the 24 statements on their own (illustrative numbers).
The example plant's three named principles (0 to 4)
- Integrated system (19 ÷ 15)Lowest1.27
- Total employee involvement1.93
- Process approach2.60
Integrated system 1.27, total employee involvement 1.93, process approach 2.60. Overall 2.07.
- Integrated system was the weakest principle: 19 points ÷ 15 scores = 1.27. Process approach was the strongest at 2.60.
- Total employee involvement averaged 1.93, but the plant manager's average was 3.00 and the operator's 1.00, a spread of 2.00, so views differ. The operator said defects go on a sheet nobody reads.
- Top 3 gaps: statement 12, corrective actions fix the cause where it starts (0.80); statement 21, defects recorded during the shift (1.20); statement 10, quality data shared with purchasing, engineering and maintenance (1.40).
- Overall: 248 points ÷ 120 scores = 2.07.
The plant set up a weekly review of recurring defects with purchasing and maintenance, an hourly defect tally at each press checked at the shift huddle, and a scrap Pareto sent to every function each week.
Common mistakes
Scoring intentions instead of evidence
A procedure that exists but is not followed is not a 3. If nobody can point to the evidence for a score, score it lower.
Only the quality department scores it
TQM is about the whole organization. Operators, supervisors and other functions see different things, and the differences between their scores are often the most useful finding.
Reading the total as a grade
The 0 to 4 scale is an example made for this template, not a certification or an award score. Use it to compare principles, people and the next assessment.
Fixing everything at once
Twenty-four statements produce many gaps. Work the top three to closure, then assess again, rather than starting a long list that never finishes.
Download the template
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Run this template in LeanSuite
In LeanSuite defects are logged as tags from the floor, ranked in the QA Matrix and traced to their root cause, and systemic ones become CAPA projects with approvals, root cause analysis and an action plan.
See it in a 45-minute demoIn the lean glossary
Free tools
Guides
- Total Quality Management: Principles and Manufacturing Application
- Quality Circles: Team-Based Problem Solving in Manufacturing
- Quality at the Source: Building Quality Into the Production Process
- Cost of Poor Quality: Calculation and Reduction Framework
- PDCA Cycle: The Foundation of Continuous Improvement
FAQ
TQM self-assessment template: common questions
A structured check of how far an organization works by the principles of total quality management. Several people score statements under each principle from what they have seen, and the averages, the spread between them and the lowest statements show where to act first.
Customer focus, total employee involvement, process approach, integrated system, strategic and systematic approach, continuous improvement, fact-based decision making and communication. This template has three observable statements for each.
Each statement is scored 0 (not in place), 1 (started, informal or in one area), 2 (in some areas or some of the time), 3 (site-wide, with evidence) or 4 (sustained, reviewed and improved). A principle's average is all its scores divided by the number given; the spread is the highest assessor's average minus the lowest. The scale and the spread flag of 1.5 are examples made for this template.
No. ISO 9001, the Baldrige criteria and the EFQM model are separate frameworks with their own requirements and scoring. This is a self-assessment against the eight TQM principles, made for internal use to find gaps and track them over time.
The lean readiness assessment asks whether an organization is ready to start a lean rollout. An audit checklist checks one area against set requirements on the day. The TQM self-assessment rates quality management practice across the plant against the eight TQM principles, and turns the lowest statements into an action plan.
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- Continuous improvement software evaluation scorecardCompare CI software vendors: a must-have gate, eight weighted criteria scored 1 to 5, points out of 100 and a rank, with a demo script and reference questions.
- Lean principles assessment templateThe five lean principles as 25 things you can see on one value stream, answered yes, partly or no on a walk, with a score per principle, the next step and a trend over walks.
- Employee engagement survey templateA short anonymous pulse survey for shop floor staff: 14 statements in six drivers, two open questions, results by driver and team, and the actions.
- Hansei reflection sheet (lessons learned)A written look back at one finished project, event or launch: goals against results in numbers, causes rather than blame, lessons to keep or change, and where else they apply.
- Safety cross calendarA month drawn as the green cross, colored each day by the most serious safety event, with totals and days since the last injury.
- Daily kaizen routine boardA team's 10 to 15 minute daily routine at the board: one problem from each person, small fixes with one owner, counted every week.
- Weekly maintenance schedule templateNext week's maintenance jobs, scheduled only when ready, loaded against each craft's hours by day, with schedule compliance and break-ins at week end.
- Operational excellence assessment templateThe ten principles of operational excellence as 30 behaviors and practices you can see, scored 1 to 5 by several people, with the spread, the three lowest principles and an action plan.
- Scrum meeting agenda templateTimed agendas for the five scrum meetings, a sprint planning sheet, a retrospective sheet, and an Excel sprint backlog with a burndown.
- Toyota Production System (TPS) house templateThe TPS house for one plant or value stream: roof, two pillars and foundation, with what you do today, the evidence, a status and the next step for each element.
- EPEI and batch size calculatorHow often each part can come round on a shared machine (EPEI) and how big each batch must be, from demand, cycle times and changeovers, now and after SMED.
- People, process, technology (PPT) assessmentCheck one change before go-live: 18 people, process and technology statements scored 1 to 4 by the people who will use it, the lowest element and the actions.
- Process capacity sheet templateEach machine in a part's routing with manual, auto and tool change time, its capacity per shift, and the step that limits the cell against demand.
- Team charter templateA one-page charter for a standing team: purpose, scope, roles, the KPIs it owns, which decisions it makes itself, norms and cadence.
- Chaku-chaku line plannerPlan a load-load cell: time each machine, load and walk, check that every machine is ready when the operator comes back, compare the cell cycle with takt and size the crew.
- Standard operating procedure (SOP) templateA full SOP in the hierarchical step format, from purpose and scope to the steps, records, revision history and approvals, with review checks and an SOP register.
- Process improvement method selectorEight questions about one problem, an example rule that suggests a method and a matrix of nine methods: when each fits, the usual team and time, and the template to start with.
- Safety pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the incident pyramid to safety standards on one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Autonomous maintenance 90-day model area planAM steps 0 to 3 on one model machine in 13 weeks, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves for months 4 to 12.
- Professional maintenance (PM) 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from breakdown analysis to a running PM calendar on one model machine, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Environment and energy pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from waste and energy maps to area standards on one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Focused improvement 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the loss Pareto to standardized fixes on one model line, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Logistics and customer service pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the current-state map to pull on one model value stream, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- People development pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the skills matrix to trained cover on critical tasks in one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Early equipment management 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from lessons on current machines to a tracked start-up on one model equipment project, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Cost deployment pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the loss map to costed, ranked projects in one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Moving from Excel to one system checklistA 34-point checklist and a file inventory for moving trackers from spreadsheets to one system: keep, move, connect or retire, clean, pilot, run both, retire.
- Prioritization matrix templateScore up to 20 improvement ideas on weighted criteria, rank them, test the ranking with equal weights and place each one on an effort and benefit grid.
- Cost per unit worksheet (manufacturing cost per good unit)One product's cost per good unit by materials, labor, machine and overhead, the gap to target, and which cost lever is worth most a year.
- Digital manufacturing readiness assessmentScore 24 statements on process, technology and people from 0 to 4, check the balance between them and rank the gaps by what matters in your plant.
- Manufacturing KPI dashboard templateWeekly plant numbers in, 14 KPIs out: OEE and its parts, first pass yield, scrap, on-time delivery, recordable rate, cost and absence, each against a target.
- RCM worksheet (failure mode and task selection)Failure modes classed as hidden, safety, operational or non-operational, then a task chosen for each: condition-based, discard, failure-finding, redesign or run to failure.
- Training matrix template with expiry datesPeople by required trainings with expiry dates, OK, due, expired and missing flags, compliance by person and area, cover per training and a renewal list.
- Downtime reason codes template26 starter codes mapped to the six big losses, a log with drop-downs, a Pareto by code and by loss, and a code card for the line.
- Kaizen event preparation checklistEverything that has to be ready before a kaizen event and done after it: 44 items with owners and due dates from 6 weeks before day 1 to 30 days after, five go or no-go gates and a day-by-day agenda.
- Critical spare parts list and stocking levelsAssets ranked by consequence, each part classed and given a stocking policy, and min and max worked out from usage and lead time, with the downtime each stock-out would cost.
- Tier 2 meeting agenda and escalation sheetA 15-minute tier 2 agenda in ten timed blocks, fixed roles and rules, escalation triggers with time limits, and a log that ages every escalation and sends the answer back down.
- Forklift operator training and evaluation recordPer-operator training and evaluation record, a register with three-year due dates and refresher triggers, and a weighted practical evaluation scoresheet.
- REBA worksheet (Rapid Entire Body Assessment)Score up to six postures with REBA: body-part drop-downs, Tables A, B and C as lookups, final score and action level, and a before and after comparison.
- Plan for every part (PFEP) templateOne row per part: supplier, pack, container, usage, lead time and locations, with ABC classes, market and line kanban counts and a lineside space check.
- Changeover matrix templateA from-to matrix of changeover minutes with the clean each transition needs (allergen, colour, format), and a weekly planner that totals the order and suggests a shorter one.
- Overhead crane inspection checklist: frequent and periodic34 crane checks tied to OSHA 1910.179: an operator's pre-shift card, frequent and periodic inspections with signed records, a deficiency and tag-out log, and a register of next due dates.
- Maintenance job plan templateOne job planned on one sheet: steps and craft hours, parts checked against stock, tools, lockout and permits, documents, a ready check for the schedule, and technician feedback.
- Video time study filming checklistA pre-shoot checklist and shot log for filming a time study on video: camera, light, people, settings, power and review.
- Reorder point and safety stock sheet (many parts)Safety stock, reorder point, order quantity and an order list for up to 500 parts, worked out from each part's own demand and lead time history.
- TRIR and DART rate trackerMonthly hours, OSHA 300 case counts and near misses in; rolling 12-month TRIR and DART rate, a case budget against your target and a trend chart out.
- Energy use and EnPI trackerMonthly electricity, gas and fuel in one unit, a 12-month regression baseline, expected against actual energy for each month, an EnPI ratio, the running saving and the tests that say whether the model can be trusted.
- FIFO lane sizing sheetThe maximum for a FIFO lane from the stop it must cover, in whole containers, with length, refill and wait checks for up to eight lanes.
- Pugh matrix templateCompare up to 8 concepts with a datum as better, same or worse on up to 12 criteria, flag must-haves, and carry the strongest into a second round.
- Machine guarding inspection sheetA machine register with due dates and a status per machine, 21 checks tied to OSHA 1910.212, .219 and .147, a guard opening check against Table O-10, and an action log.
- Condition monitoring route sheetA route of measuring points with baselines, alert and alarm limits, a check interval from the P-F interval, readings with rising and overdue flags, and an exceptions list worst first.
- Fire extinguisher inspection logOne row for every portable extinguisher: hydro test interval from OSHA Table L-1, annual and 6-year due dates, a 12-month check grid and open issues.
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A shift handover sheet, a red tag log, a changeover checklist for one machine: if your team uses it on the floor, ask.