STUDENT NAME: Huda Imdad

STUDENT ID. NO.: 20191132533

COURSE NAME: BEng AME
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FINAL EXAMCOVER SHEET

OUTCOMES (Please tick the relevant outcomes)

 LO1 Describe the principles and key themes of TQM and explain how these relate to the various quality management philosophies, tools and techniques.
Differentiate between Inspection, Quality Control, Quality Assurance and TQM, identify quality activities which can be used within each approach and use
 LO2
this to assess the maturity of an organisations quality.
Design a quality improvement program, select and identify suitable tools and techniques. Discuss the importance of performance measurement and
 LO3
explain how performance measurement system.
 LO4 Compare the different approaches to quality costing and evaluate the effectiveness of these methods.
 LO5 Describe a formal quality system and discuss the relationship it has with an environmental management system and TQM.
Recommend how marketing, design and manufacturing departments can contribute to a TQM program through the use of appropriate quality
 LO6
techniques.
 LO7 Explain variation, apply SPC to a simple example and calculate process capability. Plan the implementation of SPC in a manufacturing organisation.
Discuss the importance of performance measurement and explain how performance measurement system, benchmarking and other techniques can help
 LO8
a company achieve continuous improvement.

RESULT
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Student Date:19/04/202 Date:
Huda Imdad
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Assessor’s Name: Ms. Nour Qinawi Signature: Date:

BUSINESS DOCUMENT This document is intended for business use and should be distributed to intended recipients only.
Answer 1:

A) The top management’s commitment is important as they are the ones in charge of improving
quality and allotting costs for the same. They are the ones that take the initiative to improve
the processes by means such as benchmarking, etc. By looking at the top management and how
committed they are to the quality improvement process will the employees also want to do
their part and be involved. Top management’s commitment is also important as they will
choose the organization which is following the best practices in the industry and try to observe
and see how exactly the other organization carries out the processes and how their own
processes can be improved to achieve improvement in quality.

It is not enough to simply clone the partner’s process as the quality improvement process
should be customer-centric and the requirements of the customers increase every day. By
cloning a particular process, there is no room for improvement. Rather the organization which
is benchmarking should set the best practices as goals and once they are achieved, they should
continuously work to improve the same processes for continuous quality improvement.

B) It is highly essential for a company to maintain close ties with upstream and downstream
supply chain partners as they can truly control the quality this way and the whole of the supply
chain needs to be involved to achieve Total Quality Management. The supply chain partners
should be made aware of what exactly the organization requires from them depending on the
customer requirements. Working closely with them will help tailor the products/ services to
customer needs and will result in customer satisfaction. Working and communicating effectively
will also help cut costs by improving processes as the feedback from one partner will flow to the
other and continuous incremental improvement is made over time. This will ultimately help to
reduce overall costs that would previously be used for rework, scrap, waste. These reduced
costs will then result in competitive prices for the customer, better sales and hence higher
market share for the organization. A collaborative effort from all the corners of a supply chain is
required to achieve this.

C) Price cannot be qualified as a dimension of quality, rather it is a characteristic that customers

will look at when buying a product. Quality differs from customer to customer and is quite
simply meeting the requirements of the customer through the product/ service provided. If the
needs of the customer have been met, quality has been achieved. Some customers may
consider price before buying a product but the main aspect is how the product will satisfy the
requirements of the customer.

D) The indicators are poor as they are characteristics of the process of producing a product/
service. Product quality is extremely customer-focused and it is only the customer which can
truly judge the quality of the product/ service based on whether or not it has met the needs of
the customer. These indicators are all back-end characteristics and the customer is not
concerned with what these statistics look like, rather the responsibility of these falls upon the
organization itself.

Answer 2:

A) A Pareto diagram will help the manager to really pinpoint the majority of problems that the
customers complained about and solving those 20% or the “Vital Few” will help reduce the
number of complain drastically. As these 20% of the causes were contributing to almost 80% of
the complains. The other causes will also be neatly laid out depending on how often they occur
and how often they cause problems so the manager may work on them systematically, starting
with the ones that cause the most problems.

A Cause and Effect diagram, also known as the Ishikawa or the Fish Bone model can help the
manager pick an “effect” which is the problem that occurs in the complaints frequently. Upon
picking an effect, he can then branch out to see the relationship between what could have
caused it. Identifying all the causes and the sub causes will then help to rectify or work on
eliminating the causes completely to deal with the main effect/ problem.

Following is an example of the Fishbone diagram for problem of customer service:

Material Machine

Standardization of service
Computer hangs

Elevators take too long

No Inventory
Customer
Service
Lack of staff Lack of staff knowledge

Motivation New employees

Manpower Method

B) A quality improvement technique can be benchmarking where ABC enters an agreement with a
world-class organization from outside the industry to looks at their processes and see how their own can
be enhanced and improved. Benchmarking with an organization in an industry such as retail can help
show how the employees there carry out customer service, what are they doing differently that can also
be applied to achieve a better customer satisfaction level. The best practices from the retail organization
can be set as a goal of the ABC hotel and resources can be poured in such as training the staff to
properly greet customers, deal with inconveniences or what to do in a critical moment with a customer.
This is called a step change improvement and takes the organization a step forward from where they
were before. But it doesn’t stop at benchmarking. Once benchmarking is done, goals and targets are set
according to the best practice being carried out. It also involves several departments as they need to
come together to have their goals aligned to be able to bridge the gap that is between world class
operations and current performance. But to be able to increase performance improvement over time
and not fall back, continuous incremental improvements are extremely important to keep the organist
ion at the level it has achieved by benchmarking. Benchmarking can be a considered a snapshot, static
standards or processes that the world class organization does. Since the customer requirements and
needs are dynamic and continuously changing, it is important to go far and beyond benchmarking to
achieve a very high level of customer satisfaction along the time and continuously be regarded as world-
class.

Answer 3:

A) Six Sigma is a strategy which aims to continuously improve processes by reducing cost and improving
revenues. This strategy has no place for “good enough” and is always aiming for continuous
improvement as the customer’s expectations are always evolving and this continuous improvement is
what will keep the organization afloat in the highly competitive market. This strategy mainly focuses o
reducing variation in the products and hence decreasing the need and cost of rework, scrap and waste.
This is done by making sure the customer is kept at the centre and the product is designed around the
needs and wants of the same. Six Sigma approach also says that by focusing on the inputs will the
desirable outputs follow such as, good service, product quality and on time delivery will result naturally
in higher market share and higher profitability. Statistically, it aims to narrow the normal distribution
curve which is a feature of most process. The organization aims to narrow it such that what was
previously 3 sigma becomes 6 sigma after implementation of this strategy. The variation is then
controlled and almost 99.999% of the products are “good” products.

Organization requirement is to constantly monitor and measure the performance, work to improve the
processes, go for benchmarking, high level of commitment from top management in integrating the
“continuous quality improvement” culture and making sure the employees are all involved.

Training requirements include making sure every employee in the organization is aware of the ongoing
efforts to improve quality and they are all equally empowered to come forward and suggest ideas which
may help in the organization’s journey to achieving 6 sigma. Some specific people in the organization
will be termed as champions, black belts, green belts and resources should be used to make sure they
are trained properly as they will be the ones behind driving this intensive initiative.
B) A typical problem approach in 6 sigma is DMAIC which is also known as the breakthrough strategy
and is similar to Deming’s PDCA (plan, do, check, act) cycle. The DMAIC stands for:

Define: this is defining the customer’s requirements and understanding deliverables, allotting costs,
delegating responsibilities, budgets, etc. in the beginning of the process.

Measure: As is with any improvement and problem solving process, measuring the current performance
is extremely important as this is where the organizations will see where work needs to be done and will
also act as a reference to actually see if improvement are being made over-time and if problems are
being solved.

Analyze: This involves analyzing the raw numerical data collected and trying to trace the root cause of
the problem.

Improve: after analysis is done, it is now time to improve the process by eliminating the defects, apply
design improvements to the process and testing it out.

Control: This step makes sure the improvements that have been made to the process actually stays in
the process and that all the requirements of the process are being met every time in every cycle.

Like the PDCA cycle, DMAIC is also a cycle that doesn’t stop and once control; stage is reached, it starts
again with defining new problems in the system and aiming to eliminate and lessen them with every
cycle to ultimately give rise to higher customer satisfaction.

Answer 4:

Employee Involvement, motivation theories, empowerment, recognition and rewarding is of utmost

importance in TQM. Total Quality Management is inclusive of many principles such as leadership,
involvement of people, etc. The inclusion of employees is thus a very important point as the dedication
of each and every employee is what will propel the company towards TQM. To gain the dedication and
build motivation in the employees is very important as this is what will result in the mindset of continual
improvement, fixing the cause and not blaming others, etc. There are two theories for motivation which
are Herzberg theory and the Mc Gregor theory.

Herzberg talks about the hygiene factors such as salary, work environment, work relationships etc, going
hand in hand with the motivator factors which are responsibility, recognition, and such. One cannot be
without the other because that will not result in motivation. Thus the importance of recognition can be
viewed here as it is one of the motivator factors without which there will be no motivation.

The Mc Gregor theory tells us about the two approaches that managers take. One is negative (theory X)
and the other is positive (theory Y). With the negative approach, they assume that the employees are
unwilling to take responsibility and are inherently demotivated. Whereas, with the positive approach,
the managers include the employees and try to solve problems together. Theory X works to demotivate
employees in the long run instead of motivating them.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs also serves as a good guide to know the importance of employee
involvement as one of the psychological needs is to feel a part of something or feel like you belong
somewhere. Once these needs are met, the individual then goes on to next stages and desires for
recognition, rewards, etc. In this way the individual works of self-development and yearns to improve
which directly results in active contribution in the company he works in. therefore these humane
characteristics are very important for TQM to be successfully achieved as humans are involved in each
and every aspect of this and keeping them happy, satisfied and motivated yields the best results when
coupled with other technological principles of TQM.

Section 2
Answer 1:

There are 10 principles of TQM and they are all very important to achieve TQM within an organization.
Agreeing to Customer Requirements is the first one and doesn’t come as a surprise because quality in
essence revolves around the customer and the requirements and needs of the customer. Understanding
truly what the customer wants can then help make products that are truly suited to the customer needs.
Understanding and improving supply chains can help reduce variation, in turn reducing losses, cost, and
giving better sales, higher customer satisfaction which leads to higher market share. Doing the right
things and doing them effectively is another principle which aims to achieve customer satisfaction as
only the right things is what will appeal to the customer and this will only come when an organization
understands what the customer wants. Doing things right the first time is a mantra that the
organizations should religiously abide by as this will drastically reduce their costs that are wasted in
rework, scrap and waste. Using and integrating measuring tools in their processes is also of utmost
importance as I provident cannot happen until and unless the company doesn’t know where they stand
in terms of defect, losses, problems, etc. Measurement should be a continuous part of any process if
continuous quality improvement is to be achieved. Which brings us to the next principle of TQM which is
striving for continuous improvement? Never settling for “good enough’ and always aiming to go far and
beyond customer expectations will help delight the customer and make them loyal which is ultimately
good for the company. It is a management- led program and the management should always be heading
and directing this process. Training the employees and making them aware of TQM and what it truly is
will help the company achieve its goal. Communicating more effectively across the company, across the
supply chain will all help to achieve TQM. And finally, recognizing successful and active involvement of
employees to keep them on their toes and motivated.

Quality started with Deming after the Japanese war and he is also known as the father of quality. He
introduced different definitions of quality and also different improvement cycles such as the PDCA which
is widely used still wherever quality is concerned. Deming’s seven Deadly Diseases was also one of the
cycles introduced by him. Juran was also of the same era and he put forward the idea of using statistics
as a total for improving quality. His Juran Trilogy which is Quality planning, Quality control and Quality
improvement is also widely recognized to date and is integrated in quality improvement strategies.
Philip Crosby is responsible for driving the Zero defect movement, (zero defects, zero losses, zero energy
losses, etc) and these are now an essential part of TPM. He also focused on prevention of losses rather
than the reactive approach which was being followed before.

Then came the Japanese Gurus ishikawa and taguchi. Ishikawa’s Fishbone tool is highly praised and used
widely as an important tool for improvement of quality. He also emphasized the need for the quality
control to be a company-wide activity rather than just being focused on a department. Taguchi is known
for his quality definition where he states that a product which does not meet the customer
requirements is not only a loss to the company but also to the society as a whole. His Quality Loss
Function says if the variation is high, so will be the losses incurred. Minimizing variation will minimize
the cost of quality and this is how profitability will increase.

L(y) =kc (y−τ) 2 is the equation taguchi gave for his quality loss function.

ISO 90001 also follows similar principles to those of TQM and is a certification for standardization of the
companies required by customers.

Answer 2:

To understand how an increase in quality can reduce costs to improve quality, the company must be
able to know how and why an insufficient quality level can increase its costs. This is a method known as
the PAF “Prevention-appraisal-failure” model and it is one of the three models to reduce costs. These
costs can be classified into four main groups:

1. Prevention cost
2. Appraisal cost
3. Internal failure cost
4. External failure cost

Prevention cost is the cost of any action that is taken to investigate, prevent or reduce the risk of non
conformity. Examples include, Product or service requirements, Quality planning, Quality assurance,
Inspection equipment, Training, etc

Improving Quality is to apply industry’s best practices and through the process of quality control
prevention cost can be greatly minimized. This reduces the labor costs involved during inspection
because of higher quality control in the processes

Appraisal cost is the Cost of evaluating the achievement of quality requirements, Supplier, customer
evaluation of purchased material and Verification, Quality audits, Inspection equipment, Vendor rating,
etc.

Improving Quality is the Cost of evaluating the current processes in place and is a part of audit that helps
the organization to see where its position towards a quality and how the materials and processes help
each other towards meeting or exceeding customer satisfaction. The cost spent towards this is
important to know where the organization is and how close it is to its commitment to quality. A
successful analysis can prevent future costs linked to appraisal. Internal failure cost are the costs arising
within the company due to non-conformities and defects such as costs from Waste, scrap, rework,
inspection, downgrading, failure analysis, etc. Internal costs are the costs that are incurred due to
variation which happens because of defective products. This contributes to additional costs that occur in
rework and scrap. A good quality control system in place can minimize these incidents and help save
costs. Other internal costs include waste and scrap that are usually redundant because of lower quality
and variation that adds up to increased costs. A good practice is to follow “Get it right the first time” and
make sure every process is effective and right the first time. Reduction of manufacturing processes (due
to failure in the system) can lead to additional internal costs to the loss of efficiency and eventually
drives the cost up.

EXTERNAL FAILURE COST:

Costs arising after delivery to customer due to non-conformities and defects are the external failure
costs. Repair and servicing, warranty claims, complaints, returns, liability, loss of good will all are
included and make the company lose a lot of money.

Quality can be improved when the external cost is managed carefully. This is because the external cost is
driven by the customer and can lead to costs such as reputation loss which is harder to recover from
than that of the product itself.

Warranty claims can really bring a company down, as the finished product in the hands of a dissatisfied
customer and can lead to a loss of goodwill which can lead to loss of customers and customer loyalty.
The cost of repair/servicing can lead to a factor of higher costs which needs to be minimized if not
preventable. A good way of reducing warranty claims is by producing a higher quality of goods that
exceed customer satisfaction. The PAF model is a well-known and widely used for quality costing. This
model encourages collection and monitoring of both data and processes in order to improve quality.