Quality circles and application in forest products enterprise: A case study of panel door painting line

The main philosophy of TQM is to continuously improve and improve the process with the participation of everyone working in any institution. With this approach, the search for excellence and zero error results are achieved. One of the most used applications of TQM is quality circles. Quality circles are formed by bringing together 4-12 people from the same workplace. It is purely voluntary and meets regularly and tries to identify problems and find solutions for them. This practice is a management approach that started in Japan in the 1950s and became widespread in the 1990s. The goal of this approach is to ensure that everyone does their job right the first time and on time. The aim of this study is to reveal the importance of quality circles among TQM applications for enterprises. For this purpose, a medium density fiberboard (MDF) enterprise in which quality circle applications were made was included in the study. In the MDF enterprise, the quality circle application example performed at the panel door facility was examined and the benefits, success and failure situations were evaluated. As a result of this study, 11.27% reduction in paint weight was achieved. Furthermore through rehabilitation made, a reduction in the amount of 2nd quality has been achieved.