Evolution of Laboratory Quality Management Systems Assignment

Evolution of Laboratory Quality Management Systems - Assignment Example The origin of Quality Management Systems (QMS) as coordinated activities aimed at directing and controlling an organization about quality can be traced back to 1920s. During this period, Walter Shewhart developed a statistical process control (SPC) as a method of controlling quality in the manufacturing process. With time, quality has become an issue for only not the manufacturing sector, but also to the service delivery players such as laboratories. The concept of quality has gone numerous transformations with the input of different people like Edwards Deming who developed Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and Phillip Crosby with his Quality by Requirement. The theoretical constructs of QMS included the Continuous Quality Improvement, the Six Sigma, and the Lean methods. In the 1980s, many laboratories adopted the laboratory information systems (LIS) with the necessary QC Softwares. Quality Control (QC) formed the basis of the first models of ensuring quality in these facilities. It depended on the statistical information and trend analysis of the of the QC results of the instrument used for the testing process. In addition, the performance measurement of the test method was critical to this course. Since QC depended only on the results, it could not meet the objective of quality management of detecting errors that may occur and preventing them from reoccurring rather than guaranteeing an error-free laboratory. As a result, the second model of quality management that involves the systems and processes was introduced. QA as a quality measurement system identifies the key components of the testing process as well as the established laboratory systems. These first two models formed the basis upon which other quality management systems such as cost qual ity management and total quality management were developed.