International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management: Volume 34 Issue 2

Guest editorial

Paulo Sampaio

A standard proposal for biological resources centres

Anabela Martins, Nelson Lima, Paulo Sampaio

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to develop a standard providing requirements for managing the quality and competence of the biological resource centres (BRC).

Gastronomy management: A comparative analysis of the existing management system standards

Merce Bernardo, Raúl Escalante, Joan Roca, Anna Arbussà

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare the existing management system standards in the gastronomy sector.

Supply chain management practices and firms’ operational performance

Huy Quang Truong, Maria Sameiro, Ana Cristina Fernandes, Paulo Sampaio, Binh An Thi Duong, Hiep Hoang Duong, Estela Vilhenac

The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical evidence about the relationship between practices of supply chain management (SCM) and operational performance (OP).

Food integrated management systems: dairy industry insights

Maria Gianni, Katerina Gotzamani, Fotis Vouzas

The purpose of this paper is to study the management systems integration from both sector and size perspectives.

Analysis of training programs related to quality management system: the Spanish case

Luc Honore Petnji Yaya, Frederic Marimon, Josep Llach, Merce Bernardo, Marti Casadesus

The purpose of this paper is to identifying, discussing and analyzing the existing education and training programs related to quality management system (QMS) in Spain.

ISO 9001 certification and corporate performance of Italian companies

Maurizio Galetto, Fiorenzo Franceschini, Luca Mastrogiacomo

The purpose of this paper is to verify a possible relationship between quality management system certification according to ISO 9001 standard and risk of failure of Italian…

Portuguese primary healthcare – sustainability through quality management

Sónia Duarte Silva, Ana Fonseca

The purpose of this paper is to apply quality management tools and practices in the design of an integrated accreditation model for Local Health Trusts, in order to contribute to…

Failure modes effects analysis (FMEA) for review of a diagnostic genetic laboratory process

Karen Claxton, Nicola Marie Campbell-Allen

For any improvement tool to be successfully integrated into an organizations’ quality improvement or risk management programme, it needs to be relatively easy-to-use and proven to…

A comprehensive internal quality assurance system at University of Minho

Isabel M. Santos, Graciete Dias

The European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) for quality assurance (QA) adopted at the Bergen Ministerial Meeting in 2005 in the scope of the Bologna process call upon higher…

Z and W charts for controlling service processes

José Gomes Requeijo, Rogério Puga-Leal, Ana Sofia Matos

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the causes for the discrepancy between the utilization of statistical process control (SPC) in services and manufacturing. Furthermore, an…

Six Sigma DMAIC project to improve the performance of an aluminum die casting operation in Portugal

Pedro Alexandre de Albuquerque Marques, Robert Matthé

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an application of the Six Sigma define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) problem-solving methodology in a Portuguese…