Manufacturing Quality and Control PROBLEMS MORE EFFICIENTLY, SAVING TIME

"QUALITY" MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT ANDMONEY

PEOPLE. WE USE THE TERM BUT THE CONCEPT AND
VOCABULARY OF QUALITY IS ELUSIVE. IF YOU ASK QUALITY ASSURANCE & QUALITY CONTROL
SOMEONE TO DEFINE THE WORD "QUALITY", YOU MAY QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) AND QUALITY CONTROL (QC)
GET AVARIETY OF ANSWERS. ARE TWO TERMS THAT ARE OFTEN USED
INTERCHANGEABLY. ALTHOUGH SIMILAR, THERE ARE
RECOGNIZING DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON QUALITY DISTINCT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO CONCEPTS.
1. TRANSCENDENT DEFINITION
QUALITY IS SOMETHING THAT IS INTUITIVELY Quality Assurance (QA) Quality Control (QC)
UNDERSTOOD BUT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO It is a procedure that focuses It is a procedure that focuses
COMMUNICATE SUCH AS BEAUTY OR LOVE. on providing assurance that on fulfilling the quality
quality requested will be requested.
2. PRODUCT-BASED DEFINITION achieved
QUALITY IS FOUND IN THE COMPONENTS AND It is a method to manage the It is a method to verify the
ATTRIBUTES OF A PRODUCT. quality- Verification quality-Validation
It does not involve executing It always involves executing a
3. USER-BASED DEFINITION the program program
IF THE CUSTOMER IS SATISFIED, THE PRODUCT QA aims to prevent the defect QC aims to identify and fix
HAS GOOD QUALITY. defects
It’s a Preventive technique It’s a Corrective technique
4. MANUFACTURING-BASED DEFINITION It’s a Proactive measure It’s a Reactive measure
IF THE PRODUCT CONFORMS TO DESIGN It is the procedure to create It is the procedure to verify
SPECIFICATIONS, IT HAS GOOD QUALITY. the deliverables that deliverables
The statistical technique The statistical technique
5. VALUE-BASED DEFINITION applied on QA is known as applied to QC is known as
IF THE PRODUCT IS PERCEIVED AS PROVIDING SPC or Statistical Process SQC or Statistical Quality
GOOD VALUE FOR THE PRICE, IT HAS GOOD Control (SPC) Control
QUALITY.
IN MANUFACTURING, QUALITY ASSURANCE
QUALITY CONTROL IN MANUFACTURING APPROACHES, LIKE ISO 9001 HELP MANAGE AND
IN MANUFACTURING, QUALITY CONTROL IS A PROCESS IMPROVE MANY PROCESSES, INCLUDING:
THAT ENSURES CUSTOMERS RECEIVE PRODUCTS FREE • ACQUIRING RAW MATERIALS
FROM DEFECTS AND MEET THEIR NEEDS. WHEN DONE
• PURCHASING THIRD-PARTY COMPONENTS AND SUB-
THE WRONG WAY, IT CAN PUT CONSUMERS AT RISK
ASSEMBLIES
COMMON TOOLS IN QC
• DESIGNING AND USING INSPECTION PROCEDURES
• STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL (SPC) MONITORS
• COMPLYING WITH PRODUCTION PROCESSES
AND CONTROLS QUALITY BY TRACKING PRODUCTION
• RESPONDING TO DEFECTS
METRICS. IT HELPS QUALITY MANAGERS IDENTIFY
AND SOLVE PROBLEMS BEFORE PRODUCTS LEAVE
QUALITY CONTROL, QA & LEAN MANUFACTURING
THE FACILITY.
The 3 TPM GOALS
• SIX SIGMA USES FIVE KEY PRINCIPLES TO ENSURE
• Zero accidents
PRODUCTS MEET CUSTOMERS’
• Zero product defects
NEEDSANDHAVEZERODEFECTS.
• Zero unplanned downtime
WHEN SUPPORTED BY LEAN TOOLS LIKE TOTAL
PRODUCTIVE MAINTENANCE (TPM), 5S, AND KAIZEN,
LEAN MANUFACTURING TOOLS
MOST IF NOT ALL DEFECTS CAN BE ELIMINATED
1. TPM IMPROVES PRODUCT QUALITY BY ELIMINATING
DOWNTIME, DEFECTS, AND ACCIDENTS. TPM
BENEFITS OF QUALITY CONTROL
ACCOMPLISHES THIS THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE
• Customer Loyalty
MAINTENANCE PROGRAM AND OPERATOR TRAINING.
• Repeat Business
• Customer Referrals
• Improved Safety
• Improved Market Position
• Reduced Liability Risk

INCORRECT IMPLEMENTATION OF QC
• QUALITY CONTROL IN MANUFACTURING CAN BE A
LITTLE TRICKY. OFTEN, IT IS DONE AT THE END OF THE
PRODUCTION PROCESS, ONLY CATCHING DEFECTS
AFTER THE FACT.
• EFFECTIVE QUALITY CONTROLIS MORE INVOLVED AND
SHOULDI NCLUDE TWO LEVELS:
- OPERATORS MONITOR THE MANUFACTURING
PROCESS AND ENSURE THAT THERE IS LITTLE
VARIATION.
- ENGINEERS ROUTINELY MONITOR THE PRODUCT 2. KAIZEN HELPS ELIMINATE PROBLEMS AT THEIR
DESIGN FOR ISSUES. WHEN A PROBLEM IS FOUND, SOURCE BY EMPOWERING WORKERS TO FIND AND
IT IS IMMEDIATELY FIXED. SOLVE PROBLEMS ONADAILYBASIS.
• BY MONITORING PRODUCTS AT THE END OF
PRODUCTION AS WELL AS REVIEWING THE AS A PHILOSOPHY, KAIZEN PROMOTES A MINDSET
PRODUCTS’ DESIGN, COMPANIES CAN SOLVE WHERE SMALL INCREMENTAL CHANGES CREATE AN
 IMPACT OVER TIME. AS A METHODOLOGY, KAIZEN • WILL PRODUCTION BE HALTED TO ENSURE THAT
ENHANCES SPECIFIC AREAS IN A COMPANY BY THERE ARE NO MORE DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS
INVOLVING TOP MANAGEMENT AND RANK-AND-FILE CREATED?
EMPLOYEES TO INITIATE EVERYDAY CHANGES, KNOWING • HOW WILL NEW PRODUCT VERSIONS BE HANDLED?
THAT MANY TINY IMPROVEMENTS CANYIELD BIG •
RESULTS. STEP 3: USE A METHOD LIKE 5-WHY TO IDENTIFY THE
ROOT CAUSE OF THE DEFECT, MAKE ANY NEEDED
CHANGES, AND ENSURE YOUR PRODUCTS ARE DEFECT
FREE

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM)

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM) IS AN
ENHANCEMENT TO THE TRADITIONAL WAY OF DOING
BUSINESS. IT IS A PROVEN TECHNIQUE TO GUARANTEE
SURVIVAL IN WORLD CLASS COMPETITION. ONLY BY
CHANGING THE ACTIONS OF MANAGEMENT WILL THE
CULTURE AND ACTIONS OF AN ENTIRE ORGANIZATION BE
TRANSFORMED.

TOTAL — MADE UP OF THE WHOLE.

QUALITY — DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE A PRODUCT OR
SERVICE PROVIDES. MANAGEMENT — ACT, ART, OR
MANNER OF HANDLING.
3. 5S HELPS ORGANIZE AND STANDARDIZE THE
WORKPLACE. IMPROVE PROCEDURES AND ELIMINATE
*THEREFORE, TQM IS THE ART OF MANAGING THE
ERRORS IN YOURFACILITY.
WHOLE TO ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE.
• 5S is a structured program to implement workplace organization
and standardization
• TQM IS DEFINED AS BOTH A PHILOSOPHY AND A SET
• 5S represents five disciplines for maintaining a visual workplace
OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT REPRESENT THE
• 5S is a foundation to Kaizen and Lean implementation, e.g.,
FOUNDATION OF A CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING
TPM
ORGANIZATION.
• IT IS THE APPLICATION OF QUANTITATIVE METHODS
AND HUMAN RESOURCES TO IMPROVE ALL THE
PROCESSES WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION AND EXCEED
CUSTOMERNEEDSNOWANDINTHEFUTURE.
• TQM INTEGRATES FUNDAMENTAL MANAGEMENT
TECHNIQUES, EXISTING IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS, AND
TECHNICAL TOOLS UNDER A DISCIPLINED APPROACH.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF TQM

• A COMMITTED AND INVOLVED MANAGEMENT TO
PROVIDE LONG-TERM TOP-TO BOTTOM
ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT.
• AN UNWAVERING FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER, BOTH
INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY.
• EFFECTIVE INVOLVEMENT AND UTILIZATION OF THE
ENTIRE WORKFORCE.
• TREATING SUPPLIERS AS PARTNERS.
• CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF THE BUSINESS AND
PRODUCTION PROCESS.
QC CONTROL IN MANUFACTURING IMPLEMENTATION • ESTABLISH PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR THE
STEP 1: CREATE AND DOCUMENT THE APPROACH TO PROCESSES
QUALITY CONTROL
• DEFINING THE QUALITY NEW AND OLD QUALITY CULTURE
STANDARDSFOREACHPRODUCT
• SELECTING THEQUALITY CONTROLMETHOD
• DEFINING THE NUMBEROFPRODUCTS/BATCH
THATWILLBETESTED
• CREATINGANDTRAINING
EMPLOYEESFORQUALITYCONTROL
• CREATING A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR
REPORTING DEFECTS OR POTENTIAL ISSUES

STEP 2: YOU WILL NEED TO CREATE PROCEDURES FOR

HANDLING DEFECTS. CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:
• WILL BATCHES BE REJECTED IF DEFECTED ITEMS ARE QUALITY EXPERT GURUS
FOUND? • SHEWHART
• WILL THERE BE FURTHER TESTING AND POTENTIAL WALTER A. SHEWHART, PHD, SPENT HIS PROFESSIONAL
REPAIR WORK INVOLVED? CAREER AT WESTERN ELECTRIC AND BELL TELEPHONE
LABORATORIES, BOTH DIVISIONS OF AT&T. HE
DEVELOPED CONTROL CHART THEORY WITH CONTROL
LIMITS, ASSIGNABLE AND CHANCE CAUSES OF QUALITY CONTROL CONCEPT AND ADAPTED IT FOR THE
VARIATION, AND RATIONAL SUBGROUPS IN 1931, HE JAPANESE. IN ADDITION, HE AUTHORED SPC TEXTS IN
AUTHORED ECONOMIC CONTROL OF QUALITY OF JAPANESE AND IN ENGLISH. ISHIKAWA IS BEST KNOWN
MANUFACTURED PRODUCT, WHICH IS REGARDED AS A FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CAUSE AND-EFFECT
COMPLETE AND THOROUGH WORK OF THE BASIC DIAGRAM, WHICH IS SOMETIMES CALLED AN ISHIKAWA
PRINCIPLES OF QUALITY CONTROL. HE ALSO DIAGRAM. HE DEVELOPED THE QUALITY CIRCLE
DEVELOPED THE PDSA CYCLE FOR LEARNING AND CONCEPT IN JAPAN, WHEREBY WORK GROUPS,
IMPROVEMENT. INCLUDING THEIR SUPERVISOR, WERE TRAINED IN SPC
CONCEPTS. THE GROUPS THEN MET TO IDENTIFY AND
• RONALD FISHER SOLVE QUALITY PROBLEMS IN THEIR WORK
IN THE CONVENTIONAL SENSE, FISHER IS NOT KNOWN ENVIRONMENT
AS A QUALITY GURU. HOWEVER, HE CREATED A SOLID
FOUNDATION OF STATISTICAL METHODS, SUCH AS • CROSBY
DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS (DOE) AND ANALYSIS OF PHILLIP B. CROSBY AUTHORED HIS FIRST BOOK, QUALITY
VARIANCE (ANOVA) IN THE 1930S. DOE IS ONE OF THE IS FREE, IN 1979, WHICH WAS TRANSLATED INTO 15
MOST POWERFUL TOOLS USED BY MANY LANGUAGES. IT SOLD 1.5 MILLION COPIES AND CHANGED
ORGANIZATIONS IN PROBLEM SOLVING AND PROCESS THE WAY MANAGEMENT LOOKED AT QUALITY. HE
IMPROVEMENTS. ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE BECAME ARGUED THAT “DOING IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME” IS LESS
WIDELY KNOWN AFTER BEING INCLUDED IN HIS BOOK EXPENSIVE THAN THE COSTS OF DETECTING AND
STATISTICAL METHODS FOR RESEARCH WORKERS IN CORRECTING NONCONFORMITIES. IN 1984, HE
1925. FISHER ALSO PUBLISHED THE DESIGN OF AUTHORED QUALITY WITHOUT TEARS, WHICH
EXPERIMENTS IN 1935 AND STATISTICAL TABLES IN 1947. CONTAINED HIS FOUR ABSOLUTES OF QUALITY
MANAGEMENT. THESE ABSOLUTES ARE: QUALITY IS
• DEMING CONFORMANCE TO REQUIREMENTS, PREVENTION OF
W. EDWARDS DEMING, PHD, WAS A PROTÉGÉ OF NONCONFORMANCE IS THE OBJECTIVE NOT APPRAISAL,
SHEWHART. IN 1950, HE TAUGHT STATISTICAL PROCESS THE PERFORMANCE STANDARD IS ZERO DEFECTS NOT
CONTROL AND THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY TO THE “THAT’S CLOSE ENOUGH,” AND THE MEASUREMENT OF
LEADING CEOS OF JAPANESE INDUSTRY. HE IS CREDITED QUALITY IS THE COST OF NONCONFORMANCE.
WITH PROVIDING THE FOUNDATION FOR THE JAPANESE
QUALITY MIRACLE AND RESURGENCE AS AN ECONOMIC • TAGUCHI
POWER. DEMING IS THE BESTKNOWN QUALITY EXPERT GENICHI TAGUCHI, PHD, DEVELOPED HIS LOSS FUNCTION
IN THE WORLD. HIS 14 POINTS PROVIDE A THEORY FOR CONCEPT THAT COMBINES COST, TARGET, AND
MANAGEMENTTO IMPROVEQUALITY, PRODUCTIVITY, AND VARIATION INTO ONE METRIC. BECAUSE THE LOSS
COMPETITIVE POSITION (SEE CHAPTER 2). HE HAS FUNCTION IS REACTIVE, HE DEVELOPED THE SIGNAL TO
AUTHORED A NUMBER OF BOOKS INCLUDING OUT OF NOISE RATIO AS A PROACTIVE EQUIVALENT. THE
THE CRISIS AND QUALITY, PRODUCTIVITY, AND CORNERSTONE OF TAGUCHI’S PHILOSOPHY IS THE
COMPETITIVE POSITION AS WELL AS 161 SCHOLARLY ROBUST DESIGN OF PARAMETERS AND TOLERANCES. IT
STUDIES. IS BUILT ON THE SIMPLIFICATION AND USE OF
TRADITIONAL DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS.
• JURAN
JOSEPH M. JURAN, PHD WORKED AT WESTERN ELECTRIC TQM AWARENESS
FROM 1924 TO 1941. THERE HE WAS EXPOSED TO THE DEFINING QUALITY Q=P/E, WHERE:
CONCEPTS OF SHEWHART. JURAN TRAVELED TO JAPAN Q=QUALITY
IN 1954 TO TEACH QUALITY MANAGEMENT. HE P =PERFORMANCE
EMPHASIZED THE NECESSITY FOR MANAGEMENT AT ALL E =EXPECTATIONS
LEVELS TO BE COMMITTED TO THE QUALITY EFFORT
WITH HANDS-ON INVOLVEMENT. HE RECOMMENDED ACCORDING TO ISO 9000:2015, “THE QUALITY OF AN
PROJECT IMPROVEMENTS BASED ON RETURN ON ORGANIZATION’S PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IS
INVESTMENT TO ACHIEVE BREAKTHROUGH RESULTS. DETERMINED BY THE ABILITY TO SATISFY CUSTOMERS
THE JURAN TRILOGY FOR MANAGING QUALITY IS AND THE INTENDED AND UNINTENDED IMPACT ON
CARRIED OUT BY THE THREE INTERRELATED RELEVANT INTERESTED PARTIES. THE QUALITY OF
PROCESSES OF PLANNING, CONTROL, AND PRODUCTS AND SERVICES INCLUDES NOT ONLY THEIR
IMPROVEMENT. IN 1951, THE FIRST EDITION OF JURAN’ S INTENDED FUNCTION AND PERFORMANCE BUT ALSO
QUALITY CONTROLHANDBOOKWASPUBLISHED THEIR PERCEIVED VALUE AND BENEFIT TO CUSTOMER.”

• FEIGENBAUM PRODUCT QUALITY DIMENSIONS

ARMAND V. FEIGENBAUM, PHD, ARGUES THAT TOTAL Source: David Garvin’s Product Quality Dimensions
QUALITY CONTROL IS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE 1. Performance
PRODUCTIVITY, MARKET PENETRATION, AND 2. Features
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. QUALITY BEGINS BY 3. Reliability
IDENTIFYING THE CUSTOMER’S REQUIREMENTS AND 4. Conformance
ENDS WITH A PRODUCT OR SERVICE IN THE HANDS OF A 5. Durability
SATISFIED CUSTOMER. IN ADDITION TO CUSTOMER 6. Serviceability
SATISFACTION, SOME OF FEIGENBAUM’S QUALITY 7. Aesthetics
PRINCIPLES ARE GENUINE MANAGEMENT INVOLVEMENT, 8. Perceived Quality
EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT, FIRST-LINE SUPERVISION,
LEADERSHIP, AND COMPANY-WIDE QUALITY CONTROL. IN DIMENSIONS OF QUALITY
1951, HE AUTHORED TOTAL QUALITY CONTROL. Performance - Primary product characteristics, such as the
brightness of the picture
• ISHIKAWA Features – Secondary characteristics, added features, such as
KAORU ISHIKAWA, PHD, STUDIED UNDER DEMING, remote control
JURAN, AND FEIGENBAUM. HE BORROWED THE TOTAL
Conformance – Meeting expectations or industry standards, • TEAMWORK, WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
workmanship • CUSTOMERSATISFACTION
Reliability – Consistency of performance overtime, average • EMPLOYEESATISFACTION
time for the unit to fail • PRODUCTIVITY
Durability - Useful life, include repair • COMMUNICATION
Service – Resolution of problems and complaints, ease of • PROFITABILITY
repair • MARKETSHARE
Response – Human to human interface, such as the courtesy of
the dealer OBSTACLES IN TQM IMPLEMENTATION
Aesthetics – Sensory characteristics, such as exterior finish
• LACK OFMANAGEMENT COMMITMENT
Reputation – Past performance and other intangibles, such as
• INABILITY TO CHANGE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
being ranked first
• LACK OFCONTINUOUSTRAINING
• INCOMPATIBLE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND
SERVICE QUALITY DIMENSIONS
ISOLATED INDIVIDUALS AND DEPARTMENTS
1. Tangibles
• INEFFECTIVE MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES AND LACK
2. Service Reliability
TO ACCESS DATA AND RESULTS
3. Responsiveness
4. Assurance • PAYING INADEQUATE ATTENTION TO INTERNAL AND
5. Empathy EXTERNAL CUSTOMERS
6. Availability • INADEQUATE USE OF EMPOWERMENT AND
7. Professionalism TEAMWORK
8. Timeliness • FAILURE TO CONTINUALLY IMPROVE
9. Completeness
10. Pleasantness QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
CUSTOMER FOCUS
SERVICE QUALITY DIMENSIONS Customer focus is a business philosophy that places the
TANGIBLES customer at the center of all business development and
INCLUDE THE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE OF THE SERVICE management decisions. It is a marketing approach also, that
FACILITY, THE EQUIPMENT, THE PERSONNEL, AND THE involves products and services to be developed around
COMMUNICATION MATERIAL. consumer’s preferences.

SERVICE RELIABILITY TYPES OF CUSTOMERS

DIFFERS FROM PRODUCT RELIABILITY IN THAT IT External Customer– traditional customers
RELATES TO THE ABILITY OF THE SERVICE PROVIDER TO • Take our products and services and pay for them
PERFORM THE PROMISED SERVICE DEPENDABLY AND • Exist outside the confines of our own organization
ACCURATELY. • Open to approach from our competitors
• May not be always dependent upon us for products and
RESPONSIVENESS services may switch away to our competitors
THE WILLINGNESS OF THE SERVICE PROVIDER TO BE Internal Customer – are the people in our own organization
HELPFUL ANDPROMPTINPROVIDINGSERVICE. who are dependent on us for:
• Materials
ASSURANCE • Information
THE KNOWLEDGE AND COURTESY OF EMPLOYEES AND • Instruction
THEIR ABILITY TO INSPIRE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE. • Participation
• Assistance
EMPATHY
THE CUSTOMER DESIRES CARING, INDIVIDUAL There are also some important core differences between
ATTENTION PAID TO CUSTOMERSBY THESERVICE FIRM. internal and external customers. Here are some examples of
differences to note:
AVAILABILITY • Company activities: A person becomes an external
THE CONDITION OF BEING AVAILABLE, ESPECIALLY OF customer when they pay for a service or product a company
BEING EASILY ACCESSIBLE OR OBTAINABLE. offers. Internal customers, however, exchange information or
objects within one company's internal workflow.
PROFESSIONALISM • Titles or classifications: External customers are typically
CONFORMING TO PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS– THE clients, including individuals who buy a product or service
SKILLS, COMPETENCE OR CHARACTER EXPECTED OF A one time or a long-term clientele. Depending on the context,
MEMBEROFAHIGHLYTRAINEDPROFESSION. multiple people acting within an organization might represent
an internal customer.
TIMELINESS • Customer service goals: When addressing the needs of
OCCURRING AT GOOD TIME– HAPPENING OR DONE AT external customers, your goal might be to increase the
THE RIGHT TIME OR ANAPPROPRIATE TIME. number of purchases, referrals or positive reviews. A
customer service goal regarding internal customers might be
COMPLETENESS to increase employee satisfaction and overall productivity in
HAVING REACHED THE NORMAL OR EXPECTED END. the workplace.
• Types of interactions: External customer interactions are
PLESANTNESS
typically more straightforward while internal customer
BRINGING FEELINGS OF PLEASURE, ENJOYMENT, OR
relationships are often reciprocal. For example, you might
SATISFACTION.
describe a marketing associate writing blog copy and a
social media manager posting it on an online platform as
BENEFITS OF TQM
internal customers for each other.
• IMPROVEDQUALITY
• EMPLOYEEPARTICIPATION
CUSTOMER PERCEPTION OF QUALITY Communication is two ways—ideas will be generated by
1. Performance – fitness for use people when leaders encourage them and act upon them.
2. Features – secondary characteristics of the product • They choose suppliers on the basis of quality, not price.
3. Service – Intangible characteristics but contribute greatly to Suppliers are encouraged to participate on project teams
customer satisfaction and become involved. Leaders know that quality begins with
4. Warranty – public promise of a quality product backed up by quality materials and the true measure is the life- cycle cost.
guarantee of customer satisfaction • They establish organizational systems to support the quality
5. Price – value effort. At the senior management level, a quality council is
6. Reputation – entire customer experience provided, and at the first-line supervisor level, work groups
and project teams are organized to improve the process
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK • They encourage and recognize team effort. They encourage,
Feedback enables organizations to: provide recognition, and reward individuals and teams.
• Discover customer dissatisfaction Leaders know that people like to know that their
• Discover relative priorities of quality contributions are appreciated and important. This action is
• Compare performance with the competition one of the leader’s most powerful tools
• Identify customer’s needs
• Determine opportunities for improvement 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE
Habit 1: Be Proactive -means taking responsibility for your
CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR life
Complex buying behavior – buying an expensive product
Dissonance-reducing buying behavior – low availability of
choices
Habitual buying behavior – just go for it and no brand loyalty
Variety seeking behavior – often brand switching

LEADERSHIP IN QUALITY MOVEMENT

The role of leadership in quality management forms the
backbone of any improvement strategy.
►Leaders provide a unity of purpose, while also establishing Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
the direction of the organization. • Never compromise with honesty.
►The responsibility of leaders consists of creating and • Remember the people involved.
maintaining the internal environment.
• Maintain a positive attitude.
• Exercise daily.
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITY LEADERS
• Keep a sense of humor.
• They give priority attention to external and internal
• Do not fear mistakes.
customers and their needs. Leaders place themselves in the
• Facilitate the success of subordinates.
customers’ shoes and service their needs from that
• Seek divine help.
perspective. They continually evaluate the customers’
changing requirements. • Read a leadership book monthly
• They empower, rather than control, subordinates. Leaders
Habit 3: Put First things First
have trust and confidence in the performance of their
Putting first things first means doing the most important things in
subordinates. They provide the resources, training, and work
life. It means being clear about your priorities and acting on
environment to help subordinates do their jobs. However, the
them. That sounds pretty easy and intuitive, but many people
decision to accept responsibility lies with the individual.
fall into the trap of getting caught up in non-important things.
• They emphasize improvement rather than maintenance.
They neglect the larger life priorities until it becomes too late to
Leaders use the phrase “If it isn’t perfect, improve it” rather
act on them.
than “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” There is always room for
improvement, even if the improvement is small. Major
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
breakthroughs sometimes happen, but it’s the little ones that
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Than to be Understood
keep the continuous process improvement on a positive
Habit 6: Synergy
track. • They emphasize prevention. “An ounce of prevention
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
is worth a pound of cure” is certainly true. It is also true that
perfection can be the enemy of creativity. We can’t always
SUPPLIER FOCUS
wait until we have created the perfect process or product.
PARTNERING
There must be a balance between preventing problems and
Partnering is a long-term commitment between two or more
developing better, but not perfect, processes.
organizations for the purpose of achieving specific business
• They encourage collaboration rather than competition. When
goals and objectives by maximizing the effectiveness of each
functional areas, departments, or work groups are in
participant’s resources.
competition, they may find subtle ways of working against
1. Long Term Commitment
each other or withholding information. Instead, there must be
2. Trust
collaboration among and within units. • They train and coach,
3. Shared Vision
rather than direct and supervise. Leaders know that the
development of the human resource is a necessity. As
SOURCING
coaches, they help their subordinates learn to do a better
1. Sole–forced to use only one supplier due to patents, technical
job.
specifications, raw material location, etc.
• They learn from problems. When a problem exists, it is
2. Multiple – use of two or more suppliers
treated as an opportunity rather than something to be
3. Single– planned decision to select one supplier as a result of
minimized or covered up. “What caused it?” and “How can
large contracts and partnering relationships
we prevent it in the future?” are the questions quality leaders
ask. • They continually try to improve communications.
SUPPLIER SELECTION
Leaders continually disseminate information about the TQM
effort. They make it evident that TQM is not just a slogan.
1. How critical is the item to the design of the product or 11. Team is too large
service? 12. Trapped in groupthink
2. Does the organization have the technical knowledge to
produce the items internally? If not, should that knowledge CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
be developed? CIP (continuous improvement process) is an active method by
3. Are there suppliers who specialize in producing the item? If which teams continuously improve processes, especially in the
not, is the organization willing to develop such a specialized area of production. Idea management refers to a general
supplier? procedure by which the ideas of employees from the entire
company are collected, evaluated and rewarded.
EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT
Employee involvement is not a replacement for management PRINCIPLES OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
nor is it the final word in quality improvement. It is a means to Principle 1.
better meet the organization’s goals for quality and productivity Improvements are based on small changes, not only on major
at all levels of an organization paradigm shifts or new inventions
Principle 2.
MOTIVATION Employee ideas are valuable
Principle 3.
Incremental improvements are typically inexpensive to
implement
Principle 4.
Employees take ownership and are involved in improvement
Principle 5.
Improvement is reflective
Principle 6.
Improvement is measurable and potentially repeatable

Damon Richards
Your customer doesn’t care how much you know until they know
how much you care

EMPOWERMENT QUALITY SERVICE CULTURE

Empowerment is an environment in which people have the A place where employees love to come to work and customers
ability, the confidence, and the commitment to take the love doing business with you.
responsibility and ownership to improve the process and initiate
the necessary steps to satisfy customer requirements within WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MEET CUSTOMER
well-designed boundaries in order to achieve organizational SATISFACTION?
values and goals. Empowerment should not be confused with EXCELLENT PRODUCT
delegation or job 28 enrichment. Delegation refers to distributing EXCELLENT DELIVERY
and entrusting work to others. EXCELLENT SERVICE

Examples of employee empowerment: A quality-focused culture creates a healthy work environment

1. Stop work in progress and leads to satisfied customers. Organizational Culture is
2. Intervene on customer’s behalf defined as the shared beliefs, values, attitudes, and behavior
3. Make exception to procedures patterns that characterize the members of an organization.
4. Rework product or service
5. Replace merchandise CREATING A SERVICE CULTURE
6. Refund money / authorize credit “SERVICE CULTURES START WITH YOU, THE EXECUTIVE,
AND TRICKLE DOWN TO EVERY ASPECT OF THE
TEAMS BUSINESS.”
A team is designed as a group of people working together to
achieve common objectives or goals. Teamwork is the Strategies For Creating A Successful Service Culture
cumulative actions of the team during which each member of 1. Understand (really understand) your client’s objectives
the team subordinates his individual interests and opinions to 2. Be consistent in how the culture is communicated
fulfill the objectives or goals of the group. 3. Train and develop your employees to execute on core values
You are only as strong as your weakest link. 4. Reward and recognize your employees

WHY DO TEAMS WORK FIVE (5) MAIN INGREDIENTS FOR QUALITY CULTURE
1. Many heads are more knowledgeable than one. Ingredient 1: A mentality of "we're all in this together" (the
2. The whole is greater than the sum of its members company, suppliers, and customers)
3. Teams provide vehicle for improved communication Ingredient 2: Open, honest communication is vital
Ingredient 3: Information is accessible
BARRIERS TO TEAM PROGRESS Ingredient 4: Focused on processes
1. Insufficient Training Ingredient 5: There are no successes or failures, just learning
2. Incompatible rewards and compensation experiences.
3. First line supervisor’s resistance
4. Lack of planning CUSTOMER
5. Lack of management support The customer gap is the difference between customer’s
6. Access to information systems expectations and perception.
7. Project scope is too large
8. Project objectives are not significant
9. No clear measures of success
10. No time to do improvement work
 ’

PROVIDER GAP
GAP 1: The listening gap
GAP 2: The service design and standards gap
GAP 3: The service performance gap GAP4: The communication gap
GAP4: The communication gap When over-promising in advertising does not match the actual
service delivery, it creates a communication gap.
GAP 1: The listening gap
It is the difference between customer expectation of services
and company understanding of those expectation

CLOSING THE GAP

The diagram shows a clear message to managers wishing to
GAP 2: The service design and standards gap improve their services: the key to closing the customer gap is
This gap reflects management’s incorrect translation of the to close provider gaps 1 through 4 and keep them closed.
service policy into rules and guidelines for employees. To the extent that one or more of provider gaps 1 through 4
exist, customers perceive service quality shortfall. The gaps
model of service quality serves as framework for service
organizations attempting to improve quality service and services
marketing.

GAP 3: The service performance gap

This gap exposes the weakness in employee performance.
5 DIMENSIONS OF SERVICE QUALITY
1. Reliability,
2. Responsiveness,
3. Assurance,
4. Empathy,
5. Tangibles

RELIABILITY
Reliability refers to the organizations ability to perform the
service accurately and dependably.
There are 3 basic components to this dimension, the ability to
complete the service;
1) on time, Follow-up surveys allow you to question your customers
2) consistently (routine tasks should be completed in a regarding your service quality. They are better and more
consistent manner) and effective than post-service ratings and one-time surveys when it
3) error free, every time. An example of this is a public bus comes to capturing valuable customer insights.
schedule.
How to get the most out of a follow-up survey?
RESPONSIVENESS • Start with creating an attractive subject line for the
This characterization is based on the ability of the organization survey; this is the most crucial factor for the success of a
to be responsive to customer needs, with an emphasis on a survey.
willingness to respond promptly. Keeping a customer waiting, • Invest in some smart and intuitive online survey maker
especially when there is no clear, obvious reason, generates a that comes with survey question examples to compile
negative perception. smart surveys.
“QUICKEST REACTION TIME” • Incentivize the survey if you wish your customers to
spend 5 or 10 minutes on answering questions that are
ASSURANCE all about the services you offer.
Assurance relies on the employee’s ability to establish • Motivated customers are the most vital assets of a brand.
trust, as well as their ability to instill confidence, with the So, let them know that they matter if you wish them to be
customer. responsive to your questions and involved with your
This aspect is heavily based upon the employee’s knowledge brand.
and their ability to maintain courteous communication. This
dimension is characterized by 4 components; 3. In-app Survey
1) competence (the ability to perform the service), The in-app survey lets you ask questions to your website visitors
2) respect for the customer, while they are logged-on to your website or using your app. This
3) effective communication and is one of the most direct ways to collect customer data and
4) the basic attitude conveyed to the customer. doesn’t rely on emails for collecting responses. You can either
keep the in-app survey crisp and short with one or two questions
EMPATHY or add a couple of questions in it.
An employee’s ability to convey care and genuine concern
for the customer establishes the dimension of empathy. Some of the key benefits of in-app surveys related to
There are 3 main components that a customer evaluates, even service quality metrics are:
unconsciously, when gauging the level of empathy; • Customer validation for specific offerings, services, and
1) is the customer service representative approachable, features
2) does s/he seem sensitive and • Direct outlining of pain points and on-point insights into
3) is the representative trying to understand my needs. your users
• Understanding app-usage stats and reducing churn by
TANGIBLES directly addressing customer feedback.
This dimension refers to the company aesthetics.
Does it physically appeal to the customer, at least in line with 4. Customer Effort Score (CES)
what the customer may expect for the specific industry; you Instead of focusing on “delighting” your customers, you must
wouldn’t expect a dentist office to look like the waiting room of a make it as easy as possible for them to get their problems
service station that changes oil. This area is broad and covers resolved.
everything from the signage to cleanliness of the floor (and
everything in between).

NOT ALL DIMENSIONS ARE EQUAL

5. Social Media Monitoring

Social media has emerged as a powerful tool to be available to
your customers 24X7. For a generation that is always online, it
is critical for a brand to be online as well. So, mere responses to
direct social media mentions are not enough. One has to
WAYS TO MEASURE SERVICE QUALITY monitor and consider indirect mentions and casual tags as well.
1. SERVQUAL While social media is the source of highly unstructured blocks of
SERVQUAL is a service quality framework that was developed data, it is also where you can learn everything and anything that
in 1977 by Zethaml, Parasuraman, and Berry. Since then, it is is wrong when it comes to customer satisfaction.
considered as the most holistic framework for measuring service
quality. Remember that quality begins with you but ends with your
R – RELIABILTIY customers.
A – ASSURANCE
T – TANGIBLES
E – EMPATHY
R - RESPONSIVENESS

2. Follow-up Survey