Total Quality Control lean manufacturing necessarily carries with it a much stronger emphasis on managing quality. A defective part brings production to a grinding halt. Poor quality simply cannot be tolerated in a manufacturing environment that operates without inventories. Simply put, lean manafacturing cannot be implemented without a commitment to total quality control total quality control. Total quality control is essentially a never-ending quest for perfect quality: the striving for a defect-free product design and manufacturing process. Quality cost management is discussed extensively in chapter 15