Tosco Marketing Company Quality Control :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Tosco Marketing Company Quality Control TOSCO MARKETING COMPANY Quality control comes in many forms. For some it is following a specific philosophy, such as those developed by Demming or Juran. For others it is achieving a specific degree of merit as that established by the Malcolm Baldridge Awards, or International Standard Organizations (ISO). However, the petroleum industry as a whole has compromised, shifted, and remained adaptable to an ever-changing world filled with government regulations and restrictions. The negative environmental impact of the petroleum industry is either not understood, grossly downplayed, or it is blatantly ignored. Government agencies have amended and abolished amendments in many of their policies so quickly that establishing best practices is nearly impossible. However, one thing in the petroleum industry remains the same. Safety is a key quality concept that must be adhered to. Tosco Corporation made a bad name for itself by ignoring certain safety issues. Quality control in the safety department was ineffective, and people died because of their neglect. Only recently have they outsourced the development of their safety program to Dupont. Introduction to Government Standards The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) require an insurmountable amount of data, reports, testing, and auditing to ensure the compliance of all U.S. Oil Companies around the world. The most recent concern regarding the petroleum industry is that of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE’s) that are put in our fuel. Early on it was believed that adding MTBE’s to fuel would result in cleaner burning gasoline. However, according to the â€Å"Ground Water Monitor† small amounts seeped into the ground water and caused an unacceptable amount of contamination. The conception of MTBE’s was in 1967 with the passage of the Clean Air Act. This is the primary statute governing air quality in the United States. It assigns responsibilities to government and industry to reduce emissions from pollution sources such as automobiles, refineries, chemical plants, and power plants. However, it seems as though every solution to meet the stringent requirements poses another problem. The Clean Air Act has been amended several times, and most recently it is to be amended to ban MTBE’s by the year 2002.