Quality Management

Quality Management

W. Edwards Deming, a trained statistician, is regarded by many as the leading quality guru in the United States. In the 1950s, Japan championed many of Deming’s ideas as the cornerstone of their transition from a manufacturer of goods synonymous with cheapness and low quality, to wide recognition for the highest standards of quality and total quality management by the 1970s. KTA has embraced a similar emphasis on quality throughout its history.

KTA was founded in 1949 to provide an independent, unbiased assessment of the quality and performance of protective coatings used in corrosive environments. In the early 1960s KTA created the first of its kind, independent quality assurance (QA) service dedicated to field inspection of surface preparation and coatings application, and refined those services under rigorous NRC standards during construction of nuclear power plants in the 1970s. Coatings consultants pioneered the art and science of coating failure investigations and KTA’s complementary forensic laboratory quickly became the benchmark for the industry. In response to landmark federal funding of highway projects, KTA developed project management capabilities for large bridge rehabilitation projects. Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) services were developed, initially to respond to concerns over lead and paint, but now encompass the broad spectrum workplace safety concerns. KTA has also taken its expertise in independent QA observations of coating operations and applied the body of knowledge to steel and concrete fabrication and erection.

The common factor of every KTA milestone event is a strong focus and core competency fundamentally rooted in Quality Management. The quality management processes necessary to pioneer and develop each of our core services are directly transferable to many seemingly unrelated services and markets. KTA has drawn upon its historic roots in Quality Management in order to provide assistance to public agencies and private companies in addressing their broader quality initiatives.