QUALITY CIRCLE

Historia- Alberto

Were originally described by W. Edwards Deming in the 1950s, Deming praised Toyota as
an example of the practice. The idea was later formalized across Japan in 1962 and
expanded by others such as Kaoru Ishikawa. The Japanese Union of Scientists and
Engineers (JUSE) coordinated the movement in Japan.

¿Qué es? - Alberto

Is a participatory management technique that enlists the help of employees in solving

problems related to their own Jobs

 can be described as a small group of employees of the same work area, doing similar work
that meets voluntarily and regularly to identify, analyse and resolve work related problems.

a quality circle is a group of 5 to 8 employees performing similar work, who volunteer

themselves to meet regularly, to identify the cause of their on-the-job problems, employ
advanced problem-solving techniques to reach solutions and implement them.

¿Qué se hace? - Alberto

This small group with every member of the circle participating to the full carries on the
activities, utilising problem solving techniques to achieve control or improvement in the
work area and also help self and mutual development in the process.

Bases - juan
The concept of the Quality Circle is based on “respect for the human individual” as against
the traditional assumption based on suspicion and mistrust between management and its
employees.

based on the premise that the people who do a job everyday know more about it than
anyone else and hence their voluntary involvement is the best way to solve their work
related problems.

Beneficios - Juan

provides an opportunity to the circle members to use their wisdom, creativity and
experience in bringing about improvements in the work they are engaged

(1) improved communication; (2) management awareness of employee job-related

concerns; (3) personal growth and development; (4) enhanced decision making skills; (5)
increased individual power; (6) improved motivation; and (7) opportunities for recognition
of individual improvement.

Characteristics -Juan

The atmosphere should be informal, comfortable and relaxed. The members should feel
involved and interested.

2. Everyone should participate.

3. The objectives should be clear to the members.

 The members should listen to each other.

5. The group should feel comfortable even when there are disagreements.

6. The decisions should generally be taken by a kind of consensus and voting should be
minimum.

7. When an action is required to be taken, clear assignments should be made and accepted
by all the members.
 OBJETIVOS - Zamora

To improve quality, productivity, safety and cost reduction.

ii) To give chance to the employees to use their wisdom and creativity.

(iii) To encourage team spirit, cohesive culture among different levels and sections of the
employees.

(iv) To promote self and mutual development including leadership quality,

(v) To fulfill the self-esteem and motivational needs of employees.

IF YOU WANT TO IMPLEMENT THE QUALITY CIRCLE TECHNIQUE, THEN YOU

MUST: - Zamora

a) Few managers representing production, quality control, design, process planning form
the Quality Circle (Q.C.) steering committee. This acts as a policy making body and will
monitor the Q.C. in the Organisation.

(b) Top management must attend the orientation courses designed for them.

(c) A committed top and middle management is necessary.

(d) A facilitator must be appointed, who serves as a link between top management, Q.C.,
steering committee, middle management circle leaders and circle members. Facilitator will
coordinate training courses; get the support from all concerned including top management
Q.C., steering committee, circle leader and circle members to help the circle leader in
conducting the meetings, and to provide necessary resources.
 EXAMPLES - Zamora

Many companies today use quality circles, especially when it comes to manufacturing. The
most well-known example would be Toyota, which helped to pioneer the concept decades
ago. These circles continue to meet on a regular basis to identify potential problems and get
them resolved as efficiently as possible.

Another example would be Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin began using quality circles
in their manufacturing facilities back in 1974. Executives from this company learned of
quality circles when visiting Japanese manufacturing plants, and saw how beneficial they
could be. Soon after Lockheed Martin, a number of other US companies added them to
their workplaces, including GM, Northrop, and Westinghouse.

These are good examples of large corporations using quality circles on a broad scope.
Looking some of the ways a quality circle can work in an average manufacturing facility
can be just as effective. The following are some examples of how a typical quality can
provide benefits to the workplace.

 Discussing Best Practices - In many workplaces, there are multiple shifts of people
who do the same or similar work. By getting everyone together in one place, it is
possible to identify which shift is working most efficiently, and use that to create
best practices that can be followed across all shifts.

 Pointing Out Issues - Employees often know of lots of minor (or even major)
issues, but they assume that someone else is working on getting them fixed. When a
quality circle meets, they can discuss these types of issues, and take ownership of
them to actually move forward with a positive result.

 Collaborating on Solutions - One of the biggest examples of how a quality circle

can help is that it is the actual employees who are working to come up with
solutions to problems. Those who have to deal with the problems are typically the
best people to fix it. Since they are also working on the issue themselves, there will
be far less pushback on a proposed solution.
 Brainstorming Ideas - When a circle meets, everyone will be familiar with the
position so they can more easily bounce ideas off of each other. Brainstorming ideas
is a very effective way to arrive at the best possible solution to a problem.

 Streamlined Problem Solving - If management or another outside group tries to

come up with solutions to a known problem, it will take a lot longer to learn about
how things are done, and how a problem can be fixed. Those with experience in the
department won't need to waste time learning about the problem before proposing
solutions.