Total Quality Management

In realization of the company guidelines, projects and processes OAO Severstal follows the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM), considering it a governing success factor.
The high quality can yield better profit, high-quality products and services can be priced higher - this is an axiom, which became the basis for introducing TQM at OAO Severstal (2001).
The main target set within TQM is continuous improvement of each employee's performance and realization by all employees that prompt response to the new requirements of customers affects the overall performance of the entire company.

The result of introducing TQM is creation of such a system, where quality control is not the prerogative of outside supervisory bodies but is the focus of a person. The responsibility for quality and self-control of performance must rest on the employee or the team doing the actual work.

The essence of TQM is as follows: Based on activity of employees with regard to their products' quality, the company management must be able to elaborate the strategic view on the quality and focus on prevention of problems rather than on their detection and elimination.

The prime elements of TQM implementation at OAO Severstal, giving rise to the upward initiative are quality teams. The quality teams select the processes to be improved, define improvement targets and methods of their achievement. If the targets are achieved, the improved process becomes a standard procedure for all its participants.

Other elements of TQM implementation at OAO Severstal include creation of quality teams on all management levels. In 2003 the entire staff of production units was involved into the activities of quality teams and quality councils which were mostly dealing with several concurrent tasks.

Problem solving activity is supported by the motivation system developed at OAO Severstal. According to the polls, out of four motivating factors (implementation of ideas, material motivation, moral motivation, and management attention) the employees assign priority to implementation of the quality teams' ideas on improvement of production processes.

In 2003 for the purpose of expediting implementation of quality teams' ideas the implementation mechanism was developed providing simplified sign-off procedure for low cost ideas and a separate budget was created to finance implementation of ideas.

Analysis and improvement of production and management processes in the core business units of OAO Severstal is a continuing work within the framework the process approach in company management.

One of the tools to promote TQM principles at the plant is self-assessment according to European Fund of Quality Management (EFQM) in production divisions. Self-assessment is biannual. It allows to assess strengths and weaknesses of the shop activities and to develop measures to remove the revealed demerits and develop the most successful aspects of work.