Journal of Operations Management

Journal of Operations Management 19 (2001) 675–694

Relationships between implementation of TQM, JIT, and TPM and manufacturing performance
Kristy O. Cua a,1 , Kathleen E. McKone a,∗ , Roger G. Schroeder b
b a Babson College, Babson Park, MA 02457, USA Operations and Management Science Department, Donaldson Chair in Operations Management, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota,321, 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

Received 26 January 2001; accepted 20 June 2001

Abstract Research on Total Quality Management (TQM), Just-in-Time (JIT) and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) generally investigates the implementation and impact of these manufacturing programs in isolation. However, many researchers believe and argue conceptually the value of understandingthe joint implementation and effect of manufacturing programs. This study investigates the practices of the three programs simultaneously. We find that there is evidence supporting the compatibility of the practices in these programs and that manufacturing performance is associated with the level of implementation of both socially- and technically-oriented practices of the three programs. © 2001Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Empirical research; Just-in-Time; Maintenance; Quality

1. Introduction Since the 1980s there has been an increasing awareness and implementation of practices associated with Total Quality Management (TQM), Just-in-Time (JIT), and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). Nevertheless, there has not been a careful examination of the common and uniquepractices associated with these programs. We develop a framework for TQM, JIT and TPM and examine the relationships between the use of these practices and manufacturing performance. TQM, JIT and TPM have similar fundamental goals of continuous improvement and waste reduction (Schonberger, 1986; Nakajima, 1988; Ohno, 1988;
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-781-239-4245; fax: +1-781-239-5272.E-mail address: kmckone@babson.edu (K.E. McKone). 1 Deceased.

Powell, 1995). Together the practices of TQM, JIT, and TPM form a comprehensive and consistent set of manufacturing practices directed towards improved performance. Therefore, manufacturing plants are likely to combine the implementation of TQM, JIT, and TPM practices. However, most of the studies on TQM, JIT, and TPM investigate theseprograms separately. Only a few studies have tried to explore the relationship between TQM and JIT empirically (e.g. Flynn et al., 1995; Sriparavastu and Gupta, 1997). Also, some studies indirectly consider all three programs while focusing on only one of them. For example, McKone et al. (2001) indirectly examines the relationship of TPM with JIT and TQM when investigating the implementation andimpact of TPM. They find that TPM has a positive and significant direct relationship as well as an indirect relationship through JIT with low cost, high levels of quality and strong delivery performance.

0272-6963/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 2 7 2 - 6 9 6 3 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 6 6 - 3

676

K.O. Cua et al. / Journal of Operations Management 19(2001) 675–694

On the other hand, many researchers believe and argue conceptually the value of understanding the simultaneous use of different manufacturing programs. For instance, Roth and Miller (1992) contend that maintenance management may well be the biggest challenge facing companies that implement TQM, JIT, and computer-aided manufacturing. Similarly, Huang (1991) discusses the importanceof considering the integration of JIT, TPM, quality control, and factory automation with worker participation. Furthermore, Imai (1998) believes that TQM and TPM are the two pillars supporting the JIT production system. The conceptual research cited above provides evidence of a renewed interest in the study of manufacturing programs with an emphasis on their simultaneous investigation. While...