Implementation of Total Quality Leadership (TQL) at Long Beach Naval Shipyard and future perspectives for implementation by the Hellenic naval stations

Abstract

The Hellenic Navy, in a continuous effort to improve its maintenance capability, is seeking improved quality to handle both today's and future needs. Such a quality improvement could be realized by examining and implementing a Total Quality Leadership (TQL) process similar to that at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard (LBNSY). This thesis uses the framework of Dr. W. Edwards Deming's philosophy of management, highlighting his fourteen points to assess the implementation of TQL at LBNSY. Personal interviews were conducted and a climate questionnaire given to selected TQL-trained civilian senior and middle managers at LBNSY. The results were evaluated to assess the performance of TQL at LBNSY and to determine its possible applicability for the Hellenic Naval Stations.