What is the Management Subdivision of
Total Quality Control?
TQC provides a very powerful and flexible
system for producing natural enemies
because it encompasses all of the necessary
elements that must be considered (Fig. 2.2).
The manager’s role is to establish policies,
plan the production effort, provide adminis-
tration and exercise design control. A produc-
tion system is designed by applying TQC to
determine priorities and assign resources.
This framework helps the manager avoid
common errors of omission, such as adequate
storage of materials or the health and safety
of employees. Moreover, it indicates subdivi-
sions that can be combined or split. Examples
of amalgamation include research and meth-
ods development, production and material,
and management and personnel. Utilization
and quality control are often stand-alone
activities. In addition to visualizing and
defining the entire system, the design-control
function of TQC enables the manager to
make informed decisions. The feedback loop
from planning to evaluation also provides for
the involvement and education of the cus-
tomer (Penn et al., 1998). TQC can assist in
carefully evaluating trade-offs in the system
and judiciously investing resources, critical
functions for commercial biological control.
A typical example of decision making by
the managers of an arthropod production
system is whether or not to change a colo-
nized strain, formerly based on time, intu-
ition or weight of opinion. This question is
central to the production of natural enemies
but has probably been deliberated in the
greatest detail during nearly 50 years of
mass-rearing the screw-worm fly, Cochliomyia
hominivorax (Coquerel). Initially, a strain from
Texas was used to conduct tests of the sterile-
insect technique on the Caribbean island of
Curaçao and in Florida. Eradication was
achieved on Curaçao with the Texas strain in
1954 but, for Florida, a new strain was estab-
lished by collecting from 12 locations in
Florida and one in Georgia. This Florida
strain was used to eradicate the screw-worm
from both the south-east and the south-west
by 1966. Between 1966 and 1975, five strains
from Texas and Mexico were mass-reared in
succession at the Mission, Texas, facility
(Meyer, 1987). It became apparent during
these years that strains differed greatly in
their ability to adapt to production and that
their establishment and maintenance
depended on the quality of the rearing sys-
tem. Screw-worm production was moved to
a new facility at Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, in
1976 and seven Mexican strains were reared
during the next 8 years (Marroquin, 1985).
Unpredictably, some strains performed well
in the rearing facility and field while others
failed, so a strain-development programme
was initiated to collect, rear and test new
strains in advance of their use for eradication.
Managers obtained feedback on the produc-
tion and field performance of the current
strain to compare with rearing and field-test-
ing data on potential replacement strains.
Generally, as strain development and mass-
rearing capabilities improved, strains were
retained and remained effective in the field
for longer periods of time. Annual strain
replacement is no longer automatic.Conclusion
TQC for the production of natural enemies
accounts for the major variables in planning,
implementing, managing and improving the
system. It helps to increase production effi-
ciency and cost-effectiveness, rapidly identify
and correct the causes of rearing problems,
ensure the effectiveness of natural enemies in
the field and have the information necessary
to optimize their use in pest management.
SOPs are established with reasonable specifi-
cations (what result is expected) and stan-
dards (what quality is expected) for
arthropod products. These standards can be
achieved by carefully controlling production
(SOPs, facilities and equipment), processes
(indicated by insect stages) and products
(stage that is delivered and used). TQC is a
means of planning, organizing and managing
the subdivisions and functions of natural-
enemy production systems.Total Quality Control for Biocontrol Agents 23