DBA 5206 - Quality Management
DBA 5206 - Quality Management
MASTER OF
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Printed by
COURSE OUTCOME:
• Enhanced Quality Products with higher customer Satisfaction. Better use of
different tools used to enhance Quality.
UNIT I INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY MANAGEMENT - Defi
nitions – TOM framework, benefits, awareness and obstacles. Quality – vision,
mission and policy statements.Customer Focus – customer perception of quality,
Translating needs into requirements, customer retention. Dimensions of product
and service quality. Cost of quality.
UNIT II PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHIES OF QUALITY
MANAGEMENT - Overview of the contributions of Deming, Juran Crosby,
Masaaki Imai, Feigenbaum, Ishikawa, Taguchi techniques – introduction, loss
function, parameter and tolerance design, signal to noise ratio. Concepts of Quality
circle, Japanese 5S principles and 8D methodology.
UNIT III STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL AND PROCESS
CAPABILITY - Meaning and signifi cance of statistical process control (SPC)
– construction of control charts for variables and attributed. Process capability
– meaning, signifi cance and measurement – Six sigma concepts of process
capability. Reliability concepts – defi nitions, reliability in series and parallel,
product life characteristics curve. Total productive maintenance (TMP) – relevance
to TQM, Terotechnology.Business process reengineering (BPR) – principles,
applications, reengineering process, benefits and limitations.
UNIT IV TOOLSAND TECHNIQUES FOR QUALITYMANAGEMENT
- Quality functions development (QFD) – Benefi ts, Voice of customer, information
organization, House of quality (HOQ), building a HOQ, QFD process. Failure
mode effect analysis (FMEA) – requirements of reliability, failure rate, FMEA
stages, design, process and documentation. Seven old (statistical) tools. Seven
new management tools. Bench marking and POKA YOKE.
UNIT V QUALITY SYSTEMS ORGANIZING AND
IMPLEMENTATION - Introduction to IS/ ISO 9004:2000 – quality management
systems – guidelines for performance improvements. Quality Audits. TQM culture,
Leadership – quality council, employee involvement, motivation, empowerment,
recognition and reward.
TEXT BOOKS:
1. Dale H.Besterfi eld et al, “Total Quality Management”, Third edition, Pearson
Education (First Indian Reprints 2004).
2. Shridhara Bhat K, “Total Quality Management – Text and Cases”, Himalaya
Publishing House, First Edition 2010.
REFERENCE BOOKS:
1. Douglas C. Montgomory, “Introduction to Statistical Quality Control”, Wiley
Student Edition, 7th Edition, Wiley India Pvt Limited, 2012.
2. James R. Evans and William M. Lindsay, “The Management and Control of
Quality”, Sixth Edition, Thomson, 2010.
3. Poornima M.Charantimath, “Total Quality Management”, Pearson Education,
2nd edition, 2012.
4. “Indian standard – quality management systems – Guidelines for performance
Improvement” Fifth Revision, Bureau of Indian standards, New Delhi.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
SCHEME OF LESSONS
UNIT I Notes
LESSON 1 - INTRODUCTION TO
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
CONTENTS
I Learning Objectives
II Learning Outcomes
III Overview
1. Definitions of TQM
1.1. TQM Benefits
1.2. TQM frame work
1.3. Awareness
1.4. Obstacles
2. Quality statements
2.1. Vision statement
2.2. Mission statement
2.3. Quality policy statements
3. Customer focus
4. Customer perception of quality
5. Translating needs into requirements
6. Customer retention
7. Dimensions of Product and Service quality
8. Cost of Quality
8.1 Quality Gurus
9. Deming’s contributions
9.1 Deming’s 14 points on
9.2 PDCA cycle
9.3 7 deadly diseases of management
9.4 System of profound knowledge
10. Quality Gurus and their contributions
IV Summary
V Keywords
VI Case Study
VII Self-Assessment Questions
VIII Further Readings
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II LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Evaluate the principles of quality management and to explain how
these principles can beapplied within quality management systems.
• Identify the key aspects of the quality improvement cycle and to select
and use appropriatetools and techniques for controlling, improving
and measuring quality.
• Critically appraise the organisational, communication and teamwork
requirements for effectivequality management
• Critically analyse the strategic issues in quality management, including
current issues anddevelopments, and to devise and evaluate quality
implementation plans
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1. Definitions of TQM:
What is TQM?
♣ TQM is the enhancement to the traditional way of doing business.
♣ It is a proven technique to guarantee survival in the world-class competition.
♣ TQM is for the most part common sense.
♣ Analyzing three words (TQM) we have:
• Total—Made up of the whole
• Quality—Degree of excellence a product or service provides
• Management—Act, art, or manner of handling, controlling, directing, etc.
♣ Therefore TQM is the art of managing the whole to achieve the excellence.
• As defined by the International Organization for Standardization: (ISO)
TQM is a management approach for an organization, centered on quality, based
on the participation of all its members and aiming at, long term success through
customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the organization and to the
society.
• As defined by American Society for Quality
Quality is a subjective term for which each person has his or her own definition. In
a technical usage, quality can have two meanings: The characteristic of a product
or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs and, a Product
or Service free of deficiencies.
• Definition by Besterfield: The art of managing the total organization to
achieve excellence in all spheres of activity.
• Definition by Omanchonu: The integration of all functions and processes
within an organization in order to achieve the continuous improvement
of the quality of goods and services.
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1.3.TQM Framework
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Notes
1.4. Obstacles
• Lack of management commitment
• Inability to change organizational culture
• Improper planning
• Lack of continuous training and education
• Incompatible organizational structure and isolated individuals and
departments
• Ineffective measurements techniques and lack of access to data and results
• Paying inadequate attention to internal and external customers
• Inadequate use of empowerment and team work
• Failure to continuously improve
Quality statements
Definition of Quality:
1. Predictable degree of uniformity and dependability at low cost and suited to
the market - Deming
2. Fitness for use-Juran
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2. QUALITY STATEMENTS
• Quality statements are established by the quality council to provide overall
direction for achieving the total quality culture.
• Three Elements of Quality statements are
1. Vision Statement
2. Mission Statement
3. Quality Policy Statements
2.1.Vision statement
A vision statement describes the desired future position of the company. Vision
may take 5 or even 10 years to achieve.
Guidelines for vision statement :-
Involve as many employees as possible in the formulation of vision statement
• The statement should project your growth and development.
• It should be short and realistic to the present situation.
Characteristics of vision statement:-
• Future oriented
• Creative
• Reflecting the uniqueness
• Very clear and challenging.
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Notes
3. Customer Focus
Internal customers are people working with the organization who have to be
served amotivating experience for them to replicate and carry out the same to the
external customers.Changing the business focus to a customer-centered paradigm
has a broad –reaching impactacross the organization. It gives many companies an
opportunity to revisit their company as awhole and improve business processes
and achieve significant returns on investment.
The individual who buys the products of any manufacturing organization is the
most important person. Without the buyer the whole manufacturing process
becomes meaningless.
Hence every organization should focus on
• Attracting more customers
• Making them happy
• Retaining them
Customer is said to be the king in any business transactions. He needs to be
treatedwith dignity. Satisfying or delighting the customer is a hard task, when
there are many types of customers in the market. However tough it may be, quality
warrants customer focus. How to deal with different types of customers may be
a nightmare for many. But simple solutions are available.
There are four types of customers
TYPE1:-
‘A customer who knows not what he wants and knows that he knows not what he
wants’. They are significant customers. Be gentle with him. It is relatively easy
to satisfy him.
TYPE 2:-
‘A customer who knows not what he wants and knows that he knows not what
he wants’. They are humble customers. Teaching and training will make them
knowledgeable. Then satisfying will be easy.
TYPE3:-
‘A customer who knows what he wants and knows not that he knows what he
wants‘They are sleeping customers. There may be only a few customers of this
type. However, to awake them, attractive, stunning advertisements will make
them understand the reality.
TYPE4:-
A customer who knows what he wants and knows that he knows what he wants’.
They are masters of themselves. They will be the demanding types. Large
percentage of customers falls in this category. The success of quality mainly
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Notes depends on making this category of people satisfied. They will even assume the
position of the king.
Key to customer focus:-
• The ability to anticipate the needs.
• Existing loyal customer.
• Potential customer
• Dissatisfied customer
• Competitor loyal customer.
3.1. Buyer-Supplier relationships:-
Deming realized and suggested that a long term relationship between the purchaser
and supplier is necessary for economy. Several guidelines will help both the
supplier and customer benefit from a long term partnering relationship:
• Implementation of TQM by both supplier and customer
• Long term commitment to TQM and to the partnering relationship between
the parties
• Reduction in the supplier base
• Get suppliers involved in the early stages of research, development and
design
• Bench marking
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3. Reacting: Customers will act based on the sensing and organizing stages, Notes
but also internal and external stimuli ranging from personal historyto
online reviews. Although each reaction and its contributing factors are
different, buyers tend to go through similar processes of evaluation before
making their decision.
Some tangible factors that influence customers perceptions include:
• Price: Price should always be part of a comprehensive marketing plan.
However, marketers must understand that context impacts customers’
perception of its value—lower is not always better, as often seen in luxury
markets where it’s reflective of the product’s true worth.
• Quality: Quality can apply to multiple attributes in a product—attributes
whose importance will differ from customer to customer. Marketers should
understand what feature most distinguishes their products or services,
and which are most desirable in target markets.
• Branding: Logos, artwork, and even packaging all deliver a message about
your company and your brand. Marketers should ensure these elements
meet and exceed customers’ expectations, helping your brand to stand
above others.
• Service: Service quality will make or break customer perception, where
even companies with superior products miss out if their service is poor.
Customers are more likely to write online reviews after highly positive
or highly negative service experiences, which can improve or exacerbate
brand awareness.
Some less-tangible factors that influence customers’ perceptions include:
• Advertising: What you say about your company, the mediums you choose,
and how you deliver your message can drive customers in both positive
and negative directions.
• Reputation: Brand reputations are built over time and can be quite durable.
They are formed from customer experiences with products and services,
but also secondary interactions from third-parties (e.g. media coverage).
While marketers attempt to measure their reputations online, sudden
events can impact reputation without warning.
• Influencers: Influencers are people whom customers trust, and are
among the biggest factors impacting customer perception aside from
the customer’s own personal experience. Customers who have firsthand
experience with your product, service, or brand are most likely to sway
other potential customers during the organizing stage.
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Notes
The higher the needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs
in the pyramid are met.
There are three key elements of quality: customer, process and employee.
Delighting Customers
Customers are the center of universe, they define quality. They expect performance,
reliability, competitive prices, on-time delivery, service, clear and correct
transaction processing and more. In every attribute that influences customer
perception, we know that just being good is not enough. Delighting our customers
is a necessity, because if we don’t do it, someone else will!
The process
Outside-In Thinking Quality requires us to look at our business from the customer’s
perspective, not ours. In other words, we must look at our processes from the
outside-in. By understanding the transaction lifecycle from the customer’s
needs and processes, we can discover what they are seeing and feeling. With
this knowledge, we can identify areas where we can add significant value or
improvement from their perspective.
The employee
Leadership Commitment People create results. Involving all employees is
essential to quality approach. We should be committed to providing opportunities
and incentives for employees to focus their talents and energies on satisfying
customers. All employees should be trained in the strategy, statistical tools and
techniques of Six Sigma quality. Training courses should be offered at various
levels:
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6. Customer retention
Customer retention refers to the activities and actions companies and organizations
take to reduce the number of customer defections. The goal of customer retention
programs is to help companies retain as many customers as possible, often through
cutomer loyalty and brand loyalty initiatives.
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7. Dimensions of Quality
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8. Cost of Quality
Cost of Quality includes all costs associated with the quality of a product from
preventive costs intended to reduce or eliminate failures, cost of process controls to
maintain quality levels and the costs related to failures both internal and external.
Cost of Quality = Prevention cost + Appraisal cost+ Internal failure cost +
External failure cost
• Appraisal costs are associated with measuring and monitoring activities
related to quality. These costs are associated with the suppliers’ and
customers’ evaluation of purchased materials, processes, products, and
services to ensure that they conform to specifications.
ex: inspection, testing, process or service audits, calibration of measuring
and test equipment.
• Internal failure costs are incurred to remedy defects discovered before the
product or service is delivered to the customer. These costs occur when
the results of work fail to reach design quality standards and are detected
before they are transferred to the customer.
ex: scrap, rework, re-inspection, re-testing, material review, material
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downgrades. Notes
• External failure costs are incurred to remedy defects discovered by
customers. These costs occur when products or services that fail to reach
design quality standards are not detected until after transfer to the customer.
ex: processing customer complaints, customer returns, warranty claims,
product recalls.
• Prevention costs are incurred to prevent or avoid quality problems. These
costs are associated with the design, implementation, and maintenance
of the quality management system. They are planned and incurred before
actual operation
ex: new product review, quality planning, supplier surveys, process reviews,
quality improvement teams, education and training.
How to reduce the cost of quality
• The total cost of quality can be minimized by observing the relationship
between cost of quality and the degree of conformance to customer
requirements. When the degree of conformance is very high (low
defects),the cost of failure are low but the costs of control are quite high.
When the degree of conformance is low(high defects), the opposite
situation exists. Thus there is, between the two extremes, an optimal level
of conformance where total quality costs are minimized.
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a. Nonconformance.
This area covers the price paid by not having quality systems or a quality product.
Examples of this are:
(1) Rework. Doing the job over again because it wasn’t right the first time.
(2) Scrap. Throwing away the results of your work because it is not up to the
required standard.
(3) Waiting. Time wasted whilst waiting for other people.
(4) Down Time. Not being able to do your job because a machine is broken.
b. Conformance.
Conformance is an aim of quality assurance. This aim is achieved at a price.
Examples of this are:
(1) Documentation. Writing work instructions, technical instructions and
producing paperwork.
(2) Training. On the job training, quality training, etc.
(3) Auditing. Internal, external and extrinsic.
(4) Planning. Prevention, do the right thing first time and poka yoke.
(5) Inspection. Vehicles, equipment, buildings and people.
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9. DEMING CONTRIBUTIONS:
1. Deming‘s 14 points on quality management
2. Deming (PDCA) cycle
3. Seven deadly diseases of management or Deming unforgivable sins or deadly
diseases
4. System of profound knowledge
9.1. Deming’s 14 points on quality management
1. Create constancy of purpose for improving products and services.
2. Adopt the new philosophy.
3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality.
4. End the practice of awarding business on price alone; instead, minimize total
cost by working with a single supplier.
5. Improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production and
service.
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Notes 5. Running a company on visible figures alone rather than ‗invisible‘ or non-
numerical data
6. Excessive medical costs
7. Excessive liability costs
9.4. SYSTEM OF PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE:
1. APPRECIATION FOR A SYSTEM:
The need for managers to understand the relationships between functions
and activities, and that the long term aim is for everyone to win-employees,
shareholders, customers, suppliers and the environment.
2.KNOWLEDGE OF STATISTICAL THEORY :
Knowledge and understanding of variation, process capability, control charts,
interactions and loss functions.
3.THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE:
As all plans require prediction based on historical information, the theory must
be understood before it can successfully be copied.
4.KNOWLEDGE OF PSYCHOLOGY :
The understanding of human interactions, how people are motivated and what
disillusions them.
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IV SUMMARY
The eight principle, which act as a base for defining Quality Management is
presented in detail. The Total Quality Management is presented in framework
that comprises of three paradigms and each one compliments the other .The
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process quality, involvement of leaders and employee, culture of the organization Notes
will all lead towards the establishment of TQM in organization, The benefits are
many and using an example of hotel, it is emphasized for the benefit of readers.
Vision, mission and policy statements on quality are presented using examples
of SAP, Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab, Department of Defence, USA to
give an idea. The indispensability of the customer and the focus required to be is
emphasized are presented in detail. The quality dimensions of product and service
are deliberated in detail. The cost of quality, its importance, application areas are
elaborated for the benefit of the learners.
V KEY WORDS
TQM, Vision, Mission, Customer Focus.
VI CASE STUDY
Case Study: Quality Indicator for a TV Company
A TV company branded ‘SS’ established in 80’s was selling its brand based on
‘price’ differentiation. With several MNC entering the market, SS started facing
stiff competition. The owner Mr. Nattan felt if he focuses his company’s image
as a quality company then he can beat the competition. Hence he shifted the
company’s focus from ‘price’ differentiation to ‘service’. He started concentrating
in finding what the customer wants. Prior to quality introduction, the performance
measures were in terms of number of new clients, total billing etc. While meeting
the customer, the sales talk was on ‘high service delivery’ without any regard to
customer’s needed level of service or on the satisfaction as in the minds of the
customer. There was hence a possibility of not meeting their own stated level
of service delivery which led to disappointment among customers. Quality goals
were now established which were felt to be the indicators of quality – assuring
the company in terms of tangible success.
Satisfaction of customer is indicated through
• Bills paid on time
• Retaining customer return at 70%
• Accounts receivable days outstanding is improved by 30% within the
next 6 months
• Customer satisfaction survey will indicate customer satisfaction to be
above 90%
Satisfaction of employee is indicated by
• Turnover rate brought down by 3% in 6 months time
• Absenteeism is lowered by 10%
• Employee satisfaction survey indicating a level above 95%
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Discuss:
1. Do you agree with the methodology adopted by the company for becoming
‘quality organization’?
2. Evaluate the firm’s ‘indicators of quality’ which is expected to measure
quality.
3. Identify a few quality indicators to measure quality effectiveness for a
company gearing towards TQM
4. Discuss the dimensions of quality for the Product “TV”
5. Discuss how SS can improve their quality?
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UNIT II Notes
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Notes
I LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this unit, you will be able to:
• Have an understanding of western and Japanese thinking on quality
• Appreciate the evolution process of various dominant techniques in quality
• Understand the process of evolution of various techniques
• The contributors profile and their contributions in particular
II LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Examining the philosophy and approaches to continuous improvement.
• Analyzing systematic improvement processes used by many organizations.
• Illustrating the application of a variety of tools for process improvement
such as the Seven
• QC Tools, Root Cause Analysis, and Lean Thinking, including those used
in Six Sigma, Lean
• Six Sigma, and Total Quality Management.
• Reviewing examples of organizations that have used various continuous
improvement
• approaches to improve their processes.
III OVERVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Different schools of thought on management dominate the minds of the
industrialists and practitioners. The western school of thought accelerates the
decision-making process but when it comes to the stages of implementation there
is a slowdown comparatively. On the other side, the Japanese Management spend
a lot more time in arriving at the particular decision and because of which the
implementation is faster. Many quality management principles and philosophies
have emerged from Japanese soil. The notable contributions and the profile of
the contributors are presented in this part. This unit deals with Overview of the
contributions of Walter Shewhart, Overview of the contributions of Deming,
Overview of the contributions of Juran, Overview of the contributions of Crosby,
Overview of the contributions of Masaaki Imai, Overview of the contributions
of Feigenbaum, Overview of the contributions of Ishikawa, Overview of the
contributions of Taguchi, Overview of the contributions of Shingeo, Concepts of
quality circle, Japanese 5S Principles, 8D Methodology.
2.1.1. Overview of the Contributions
DEMING’S CONTRIBUTIONS
Contributions:
• 14 Points of Quality management.
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4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag alone.
(Costs due to inferior materials/components increase costs in the later
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Notes stages of production. Suppliers themselves are part of the whole system
and hence should be treated as long-term partners).
Price and quality go hand in hand. Trying to drive down the price of anything
purchased without regard to quality and service can drive good suppliers and good
service out of business. Single-source suppliers are desirable for many reasons. For
example, a single-source supplier can become innovative and develop an economy
in the production process that can only result from a long-term relationship with
the purchaser. Lot-to-lot variability within a one-supplier process is often enough
to disrupt the purchaser’s process. Only additional variation can be expected
with two suppliers. To qualify a supplier as a source for parts in a manufacturing
process, perhaps it is better first to discard manuals that may have been used as
guidelines by unqualified examiners to rate suppliers. Instead, suppliers could be
asked to present evidence of active in¬volvement of management, encouraging
the application of many of the IEE concepts discussed in this volume. Special
note should be given to the methodology used for continual process improvement.
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know the work that they supervise. They must be empowered and directed to Notes
communicate and to act on conditions that need correction. They must learn to
fix the process, not react to every fault as if it were a special cause, which can
lead to a higher defect rate.
8. Drive out fear. (Fear in work manifests as fear of reprisal, fear of failure,
fear of change, fear of the unknown. Fear encourages short-term, selfish
thinking, not long-term improvement for the benefit of all).
No one can give his best performance unless he feels secure. Employees should
not be afraid to express their ideas or ask questions. Fear can take many forms,
resulting in impaired performance and padded figures. Industries should embrace
new knowledge because it can yield better job performance and should not be
fearful of this knowledge because it could disclose some of their failings.
9. Break down barriers between departments and individuals. (Promote
teamwork).
Teamwork is needed throughout the company. Everyone in design, sales,
manufacturing… can be doing superb work, and yet the company can be failing.
Why? Functional areas are sub-optimizing their own work and not working as a
team for the company. Many types of problems can occur when communication is
poor. For example, service personnel working with customers know a great deal
about their products, but there is often no routine procedure for disseminating
this information.
10. Eliminate the use of slogans and exhortations. (Workers cannot improve
solely through motivational methods when the system in which they work
constrains their performance. On the contrary, they will become frustrated,
and their performance will decrease further).
Such exhortations only create adversary relationships, as the bulk of the causes of
low quality and low productivity belongs to the system and thus lies beyond the
power of the work force. Exhortations, posters, targets, and slogans are directed
at the wrong people, causing general frustration and resentment. Posters and
charts do not consider the fact that most trouble comes from the basic process.
Management needs to learn that its main responsibility should be to improve the
process and remove any special causes for defects found by statistical methods.
Goals need to be set by an individual for the individual, but numerical goals set
for other people without a road map to reach the objective have an opposite effect.
11. Eliminate work standards, numerical quotas, and MBO. (Numerical
quotas reflect short-term perspectives and do not encourage long-term
improvement. Workers may shortcut quality to reach the goal. The typical
MBO system focuses on results, not processes, and encourages short-term
behaviour).
Never-ending improvement is incompatible with a quota. Work standards,
incentive pay, rates, and piecework are manifestations of management’s lack of
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As long as the focus is on short term thinking, management will fail to plan Notes
adequately. Without good long term planning, worker efforts will be irrelevant:
Total Quality Management (TQM) cannot be a fad, as long-term forward progress
should always be the ultimate goal for any organization.
[2] Emphasis on short-term profits:
Short-term thinking - the opposite of constancy of purpose - in order to stay in
business, fed by fear of the push from bankers and owners for dividends. Boosting
short-term profits is easier, at it typically involves the cutting of any expense
related to the long term: training, quality assurance management, maintenance, etc.
[3] Over-reliance on performance appraisals:
Management by objective, on a go / no-go basis, without a method for
accomplishment of the objective, is the same thing as management by fear.
The essential problem with merit systems is that they reward results rather than
process improvement-results will almost always have a lot of system luck mixed
in. Some managers want to reward people who cooperate more or who seem to
have better attitudes, and will insist that they can recognize the people who are
most cooperative and have the highest work ethic. Instead, managers should
understand that the best way to develop cooperation is by focusing on the nature
of work environment, not monetary rewards.
[4] Mobility of management:
The simplest and yet one of the most deadly of quality systems management
diseases, management mobility (or when top management changes organizations
every 3-4 years) means continuous improvement efforts will be broken and
disjointed as new leaders come on board. With changes in leadership, there is
a change in management philosophy. Managers who have an eye on the next
promotion want results - now - to gain the next rung on the ladder.
[5] Overemphasis on visible figures:
Use of visible figures only for management, with little or no consideration of
figures that are unknown or unknowable. Some facts are simply unknowable.
Knowing this, Deming insisted that leaders must still make decisions and manage
a situation.
[6] Excessive employee healthcare costs:
For the economy as a whole, health care as a percentage of overall expenditures
has steadily risen for decades, which gradually pushes numerous businesses into
a state of crisis. Potentially the only remedy for this disease would be a political
system attempting to reform health care.
[7] Excessive warranty and legal costs:
W. Edwards Deming blamed America’s lawyers in part for the problems of
American business. The US has more lawyers per capita than any other country
in the world, and they spend much of their professional time finding people to
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Notes sue. Like health care costs in No. 6, Deming believed the remedy to this disease
will probably have to come from the government.
Deming Cycle
The idea is to constantly improve, and thereby reduce the difference between the
requirements of the customer and the performance of the process. The cycle is
about learning and ongoing improvement, learning what works and what does not
in a systematic way ; and the cycle repeats; after one cycle is complete; another
is started.
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Notes Contributions:
• Defined Quality as “ Fitness to Use”
• Wrote Quality control hand book called “ Quality Trilogy” which includes
Quality Planning, Quality Control and Quality Improvement.
• 10 Steps for Quality Improvement.
• Categorized the Cost of Quality
Internal Customer
Juran realized that the customer was not just the end customer and that each
person along the chain has an internal customer. Each person along the chain,
from product designer to final user is a supplier and a customer.
Cost of Quality
Juran classified the cost of quality into three classes as:
• Failure cost : Scarp, rework, corrective actions, warranty claims
• Appraisal cost : Inspection, compliance auditing and investigations
• Prevention costs: Training, preventive auditing, and process improvement
implementation.
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Contributions:
In 1997, he published his second book, ‘Gemba Kaizen: A Common Sense, Low
Cost Approach to Management’. In it, he preached the 5 golden rules of Gemba:
(1) When a problem (abnormality) arises, go to Gemba (shop floor) first.
(2) Check with Gembutsu (relevant objects).
(3) Take temporary countermeasures on the spot.
(4) Find the root cause, and
(5) Standardize to prevent recurrence.
FEIGENBAUM’S CONTRIBUTIONS
Contributions:
• Originator of the concept of Total Quality Control (TQC).
• He was the first to identify the four costs of quality: prevention cost,
appraisal cost, internal failure cost, and external failure cost.
• He was the first to develop the concept of quality at source: the idea that
quality is the responsibility of the one who does the work.
• He developed a Cycle time reduction methodology which consists of the
following steps:
1. Define the process,
2. List all activities involved,
3. Flowchart the process,
4. Find the time for each activity,
5. Identify the non-value adding tasks, and
6. Eliminate all non-value adding tasks.
ISHIKAWA’S CONTRIBUTIONS
Contributions:
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should always have the best interest of the end user in the mind. Notes
TAGUCHI TECHNIQUES:
INTRODUCTION
Dr. Genichi Taguchi has played an important role in popularizing Design Of
Experiments (DOE). However, it would be wrong to think that the Taguchi
Methods are just another way of performing DOE. He has developed a complete
philosophy and the associated methods for “Quality Engineering”.
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Notes LOSS = Cost to operate, Failure to function, maintenance and repair cost, customer
satisfaction, poor design.
Product to be produced “being within specifications”.
The Taguchi loss function is graphical depiction of loss developed by the Japanese
business statistician Genichi Taguchi to describe a phenomenon affecting the value
of products produced by a company. This means that if the product dimension
goes out of the tolerance limit the quality of the product drops suddenly.
Taguchi’s reaction to the classical design of experiments methodology of R. A.
Fisher was that it was perfectly adapted in seeking to improve the mean outcome
of a process. As Fisher’s work had been largely motivated by programs to increase
agricultural production, this was hardly surprising. However, Taguchi realized that
in much industrial production, there is a need to produce an outcome on target,
for example, to machine a hole to a specified diameter or to manufacture a cell to
produce a given voltage. He also realized, as had Walter A. Shewhart and others
before him, that excessive variation lay at the root of poor manufactured quality
and that reacting to individual items inside and outside specification was counter-
productive. He therefore, argued that quality
engineering should start with an understanding of the cost of poor quality in various
situations. In much conventional industrial engineering the cost of poor quality
is simply represented by the number of items outside specification multiplied
by the cost of rework or scrap. However, Taguchi insisted that manufacturers
broaden their horizons to consider cost to society. Though the short-term costs may
simply be those of nonconformance, any item manufactured away from nominal
would result in some loss to the customer or the wider community through early
wear-out; difficulties in interfacing with other parts, themselves probably wide
of nominal; or the need to build-in safety margins. These losses are externalities
and are usually ignored by manufacturers.
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In the wider economy the Coase Theorem predicts that they prevent markets from Notes
operating efficiently. Taguchi argued that such losses would inevitably find their
way back to the originating corporation (in an effect similar to the tragedy of the
commons) and that by working to minimizethem, manufacturers would enhance
brand reputation, win markets and generate profits. Such losses are, of course,
very small when an item is near to nominal.
Donald J. Wheeler characterized the region within specification limits as where
we deny that losses exist. As we diverge from nominal, losses grow until the
point where losses are too great to deny and the specification limit is drawn. All
these losses are, as W. Edwards Deming would describe them, unknown and
unknowable, but Taguchi wanted to find a useful way of representing them within
statistics.
TAGUCHI QUADRATIC QUALITY LOSS FUNCTION:
Taguchi specified three situations:
1. Larger the better (for example, agricultural yield)
2. Smaller the better (for example, carbon dioxide emissions)
3. On-target, minimum-variation (for example, a mating part in an assembly).
The first two cases are represented by simple monotonic loss functions.In the third
case, Taguchi adopted a squared-error loss function on the grounds:
• It is the first symmetric term in the Taylor series expansion of any reasonable,
real-life lossfunction, and so is a “first-order” approximation;
• Total loss is measured by the variance. As variance is additive it is an attractive
model of cost; and
• There was an established body of statistical theory around the use of the least
squares principle. The squared-error loss function had been used by John
von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern in the 1930s.
Though much of this thinking is endorsed by statisticians and economists in
general, Taguchi extended the argument to insist that industrial experiments seek
to maximize an appropriate signal to noise ratio representing the magnitude of the
mean of a process, compared to its variation. Most statisticians believe Taguchi’s
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Notes signal to noise ratios to be effective over too narrow a range of applications and
they are generally deprecated.
Design of experiments
Taguchi developed much of his thinking in isolation from the school of R.
A. Fisher, only coming into direct contact in 1954. His framework for design
of experiments is idiosyncratic and often flawed but contains much that is of
enormous value. He made a number of innovations.
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Dr. Taguchi of Nippon Telephones and Telegraph Company, Japan has developed Notes
a method based on “ ORTHOGONAL ARRAY “ experiments which gives much
reduced “ variance “ for the experiment with “ optimum settings “ of control
parameters. Thus the marriage of Design of Experiments with optimization of
control parameters to obtain BEST results is achieved in the Taguchi Method.
“Orthogonal Arrays” (OA) provide a set of well balanced (minimum) experiments
and Dr. Taguchi’s Signal-to-Noise ratios (S/N), which are log functions of desired
output, serve as objective functions for optimization, help in data analysis and
prediction of optimum results.
Taguchi Method treats optimization problems in two categories,
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Notes
(II) LARGER-THE-BETTER :
n = -10 Log10 [mean of sum squares of reciprocal of measured data]
This case has been converted to SMALLER-THE-BETTER by taking the
reciprocals of measured data and then taking the S/N ratio as in the smaller-the-
better case.
(III) NOMINAL-THE-BEST :
square of mean
n = 10 Log10 -----------------
variance
This case arises when a specified value is MOST desired, meaning that neither a
smaller nor a larger value is desirable.
Examples are;
(i) most parts in mechanical fittings have dimensions which are nominal-
the-best type.
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(ii) Ratios of chemicals or mixtures are nominally the best type. Notes
e.g. Aqua regia 1:3 of HNO3:HCL
Ratio of Sulphur, KNO3 and Carbon in gun powder
(iii) Thickness should be uniform in deposition /growth /plating /etching..
[B] DYNAMIC PROBLEM (TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT) :
In dynamic problems, we come across many applications where the output is
supposed to follow input signal in a predetermined manner. Generally, a linear
relationship between “input” “output” is desirable.
For example : Accelerator peddle in cars,
volume control in audio amplifiers,
document copier (with magnification or reduction)
various types of moldings
etc.
There are 2 characteristics of common interest in “follow-the-leader” or
“Transformations” type of applications,
(i) Slope of the I/O characteristics
and
(ii) Linearity of the I/O characteristics
(minimum deviation from the best-fit straight line)
The Signal-to-Noise ratio for these 2 characteristics have been defined as;
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The concept of the Quality Circle is based on “respect for the human individual” Notes
as against the traditional assumption based on suspicion and mistrust between
management and its em¬ployees. Quality circles built mutual trust and create
greater understanding between the manage¬ment and the workers. Cooperation
and not confrontation is the key element in its operation. Quality Circles aims
at building people, developing them, arousing genuine interest and dedication to
their work to improve quality, productivity, cost reduction etc.
Thus we can say that 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.
The con¬cept is 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.
The Quality Circle concept provides an opportunity to the circle members to
use their wis¬dom, creativity and experience in bringing about improvements
in the work they are engaged in by converting the challenging problems into
opportunities and it contributes to the develop¬ment of the employees and in
turn benefits the organisation as well. The concept encourages the sense of
belongingness in circle members and they feel that they have an important role
to play in the organisation.
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Notes (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.
(vi) To improve the quality of work-life of employees.
Implementation of Quality Circles in an Organisation:
For the success of Quality Circle programme, following actions are necessary
in the Organisation:
(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. Facilita¬tor 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.
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2. With such a capable work force, any organisation can easily undertake more Notes
difficult and challenging assignments for its growth and profit.
3. As the employees gain experience they take more challenging projects, in due
course they undertake projects on cost reduction, material handling, quality
improvement, preventing wastage, improving delivery schedule, improving
customer service, im¬proving inspection and test methods, preventing
accidents improving design and pro¬cess etc.
4. Cost reduction.
5. Increased productivity.
6. Improved quality.
7. Better communication.
8. Better house-keeping.
9. Increased team work.
10. Smooth working.
11. Better mutual trust.
12. Greater sense of belongingness.
13. Increased safety.
14. Better human relations.
Launching of Quality Circle Programme:
The typical steps for launching programme are as under:
(i) Orientation Programme for Senior Management Personnel.
(ii) Orientation Programme for Managers and Executives.
(iii) Orientation Programme for Selected Supervisors.
(iv) Orientation Programme for Workers (selected area).
(v) Formation of Circles (Minimum 2 and Maximum 4).
(vi) Training of Facilitators.
(vii) Training of Leaders.
(viii) Q.C. meetings for projects.
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Notes The 5S practice is a house keeping technique used to establish and maintain a
productive and quality environment in an organisation.
• SEIRI
• SEITON
• SEISO
• SEIKETSU
• SHITSUKE
OBJECTIVES OF 5S:
• To create a neat and clean work place.
• To systemize day to day working.
• To improve work efficiency.
• To standardize work practices.
• To improve work discipline.
• To improve the quality of work and products.
• SEIRI – Organization/Sort out
• SEITON – Orderliness/Systemize
• SEISO – The Cleaning/Shining
• SEIKETSU – STANDARDIZE
• SHITSUKE - Sustain/Discipline
1. SEIRI:
• Decide what you need
• Remove unnecessary clutter ((a lot of objects in) a state of being untidy)
• All tools, gauges, materials, classified and then stored
• Remove items which are broken, unusable or only occasionally used
2. SEITON:
• Once you have eliminated all the unneeded items
• Now turn to the left-over items
3. SEISO:
• Create a spotless workplace
• Identify and eliminate causes of dirt and grime – remove the need to clean
• Sweep, dust, polish and paint
4. SEIKETSU:
• Generate a maintenance system for the first three
• Develop procedures, schedules, practices
• Continue to assess the use and disposal of items
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8D TECHNOLOGY:
The 8D process alternates inductive and deductive problem-solving tools to
relentlessly move forward toward a solution. The Quality-One approach uses a
core team of three individuals for inductive activities with data driven tools and
then a larger Subject Matter Expert (SME) group for the deductive activities
through brainstorming, data-gathering and experimentation.
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Notes documents and procedures / work instructions are expected at this step to improve
future use. Activities in D7 include:
• Review Similar Products and Processes for problem prevention
• Develop / Update Procedures and Work Instructions for Systems
Prevention
• Capture Standard Work / Practice and reuse
• Assure FMEA updates have been completed
• Assure Control Plans have been updated
D8: Closure and Team Celebration
Teams require feedback to allow for satisfactory closure. Recognizing both team
and individual efforts and allowing the team to see the previous and new state
solidifies the value of the 8D process. Activities in D8 include:
• Archive the 8D Documents for future reference
• Document Lessons Learned on how to make problem solving better
• Before and After Comparison of issue
• Celebrate Successful Completion
DEFINITION:
There is no universal definition of leadership and indeed many books have been
devoted to the topic of leadership. In his book Leadership, James MacGregor
Burns describes a leader as one who instills purposes and not one who controls by
brute force. A leader strengthens and inspires the followers to accomplish shared
goals. Leaders shape, promote, protect and exemplify the organization‘s values.
Ultimately, Burns says, ―Leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels
of motivation and morality… leadership becomes moral in that it raises the level
of human conduct and ethical aspiration of both the leader and the led and thus
has a transforming effect on both.
Similarly, Daimler Chrysler‘s CEO Bob Eaton defines a leader as someone who
can take a group of people to a place they don‘t think they can go.
Leadership is we, not me, mission, not my show, vision, not division and
community, not domicile. As can be understood, leadership is difficult to define
in anything other than lofty words.
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award has a more grounded definition of
leadership in its core values. As stated in its core values and concepts, visionary
leadership is as follows:
An organization‘s senior leaders should set directions and create a customer
focus, clear and visible values, and high expectations. The directions, values and
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expectations should balance the needs of all your stakeholders. Your leaders should Notes
ensure the creation of strategies, systems and methods for achieving excellence,
stimulating innovation and building knowledge and capabilities.
The values and strategies should help guide all activities and decisions of your
organization. Senior leaders should inspire and motivate your entire workforce
and should encourage all employees to contribute, to develop and learn, to be
innovative and to be creative.
Senior leaders should serve as role models through their ethical behavior and
their personal involvement in planning, communication, coaching, development
of future leaders, review of organizational performance and employee recognition
as role models, they can reinforce values and expectations while building
leadership, commitment and initiative throughout your organization. Leadership
can be difficult to define. However, successful quality leaders tend to have certain
characteristics.
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Notes 6. They train and coach, rather than direct and supervise. Leaders know that
the development of human resource is a necessity. As coaches, they help
their subordinates learn to do a better job.
7. They learn from problems. When a problem exists, it is treated as an
opportunity rather than something to be minimized or covered up. ―What
caused it? and ―How can we prevent it in the future? are the questions
quality leaders ask.
8. They continually try to improve communications. Leaders continually
disseminate information about the TQM effort. They make it evident
that TQM is not just a slogan. Communication is two way-- ideas will
be generated by people when leaders encourage them and act upon
them. For example, on the eve of Operation Desert Storm, General Colin
Powell solicited enlisted men and women for advice on winning the war.
Communication is the glue that holds a TQM organization together.
9. They continually demonstrate their commitment to quality. Leaders walk
their talk-- their actions, rather than their words, communicate their level
of commitment. They let the quality statements be their decision-making
guide.
10. They choose suppliers on the basis of quality, not price. Suppliers are
encouraged to participate in project teams and become involved. Leaders
know that quality begins with quality materials and the true measure is
the lifecycle cost.
11. They establish organizational systems to support the quality effort. At the
senior management level, a quality council is provided and at the first-line
supervisor level, work groups and project teams are organized to improve
the process.
12. They encourage and recognize team effort. They encourage, provide
recognition to and reward individuals and teams. Leaders know people
like to know that their contributions are appreciated and important. This
action is one of the leader‘s most powerful tools.
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8. To create a basic of trust, respect and open communication that ensures Notes
individual participation and continuous improvement.
9. To monitor whether quality improvement programs are conducted as planned.
LEADERSHIP STYLES:
1. Autocratic leadership style:
In this style of leadership, a leader has complete command and hold over their
employees/team. The team cannot put forward their views even if they are best
for the team’s or organizational interests. They cannot criticize or question the
leader’s way of getting things done. The leader himself gets the things done.
The advantage of this style is that it leads to speedy decision-making and greater
productivity under leader’s supervision. Drawbacks of this leadership style are that
it leads to greater employee absenteeism and turnover. This leadership style works
only when the leader is the best in performing or when the job is monotonous,
unskilled and routine in nature or where the project is short-term and risky.
4. Bureaucratic leadership:
Here the leaders strictly adhere to the organizational rules and policies. Also,
they make sure that the employees/team also strictly follows the rules and
procedures. Promotions take place on the basis of employees’ ability to adhere
to organizational rules. This leadership style gradually develops over time.
This leadership style is more suitable when safe work conditions and quality
are required. But this leadership style discourages creativity and does not make
employees self-contented.
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Notes
2.5. STRATEGIC QUALITY PLANNING:
DEFINITION:
Strategic quality planning (SQP) is a systematic approach to defining long-term
business goals, including goals to improve quality and the means (i.e., the plans)
to achieve them. Many organizations have created a vision “to be the best,”
toward a goal of outperforming competitors. Many of these organizations fall
short in achieving this vision. Most do not align, or have difficulty aligning, their
performance excellence initiatives like lean and Six Sigma to the annual business
plan. This leads to lack of resources to complete projects, which in turn makes
them hard to justify.
To achieve a vision it is necessary to align the annual goals to your major change
initiatives or quality programs and integrate them into the strategic plan. This will
ensure the new focus becomes part of the plan and sustainable.
Japanese quality leaders refer to this process as hoshin kanri or “policy deployment.
Ho, shin, kan, and ri are actually four words that loosely translate to “focus,
direction, alignment, and reason.”
Focus by creating goals that provide direction and alignment of the resources
needed from the organization to meet those goals and the reasons for selection
them. The reasons force management to understand why it is selecting these goals.
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strategic deployment process requires incorporating the customer focus. The Notes
elements needed are generally alike for all organizations. The ones in most
widespread use tend to be:
• Mission
• Vision
• Values
• Policy
The mission is the reason for the organization’s existence. The vision is the desired
future state of the organization. Values are what the organization stands for, and
they tie into strategies, which are the means to achieve the vision. Policies represent
a guide to managerial action, guiding day-to-day decision-making. And finally,
the deployment plan is what turns vision into action.
Developing the plan
Strategic deployment begins with a customer-focused vision, which should define
the benefits that can be expected. Good vision statements should be compelling
and shared throughout the organization. But vision statements are only words—a
reminder of what the organization is pursuing, which must be carried out
through actions. When forming a vision, it’s important not to focus exclusively
on shareholders, to properly explain the vision to everyone involved, and not to
create a vision too easy or difficult to achieve.
A mission is often confused with a vision, but a mission statement should clarify
an organization’s purpose. Together, a vision and mission provide an agreed-upon
direction, which can be used as a basis for decision-making.
To convert the vision into an achievable plan, it must be broken into key strategies.
Responsibility for them must be distributed to key executives. To determine what
the strategies should be, five areas must be assessed
• Customer loyalty and satisfaction
• Costs related to poor quality of products or processes
• Organization’s culture
• Business processes
• Competitive benchmarking
Each of these areas can form the basis for a balanced business scorecard. The key
strategies can be modified to reflect long-term goals. An organization must set
specific strategic goals that must be achieved for the broad strategy to be a success.
Seven areas must be addressed to ensure that the proper goals are established:
• Product performance
• Competitive performance
• Business improvement
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Measuring progress
There are several reasons why an organized approach to measuring performance
is necessary:
• Performance measures indicate the degree of accomplishment of
objectives
• Performance measures are needed to monitor the improvement process
• Performance measures are required for periodic reviews by management
Once goals have been broken down into sub-goals, key measures need to be
established. The best measures of the strategic planning process are simple,
quantitative, and graphic. As goals are set and deployed, the means to achieve
them must be analyzed to ensure they satisfy the objective they support. Once
the system is in place, it must be reviewed periodically to ensure that goals are
being met.
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A formal, efficient review process will increase the probability of reaching the Notes
goals. The review process looks at gaps between what has been achieved and
the target. Frequent measurements of progress displayed in graphic form help
identify the gaps in need of attention. Success in closing those gaps depends on a
formal feedback loop with clear responsibility and authority for acting on those
differences.
Pursuing too many objectives at the same time will dilute the results. Trying to
plan without adequate data can create an unachievable plan. If leaders delegate too
much, there will be a lack of direction. The biggest disruption caused by strategic
planning is created by imposing a structured approach on those who prefer not
to have it. Resistance will be evident at the outset. Therefore, the most important
prerequisite is the creation of an environment conducive to change.
SEVEN STEPS TO STRATEGIC QUALITY PLANNING
In order to integrate quality with the strategic planning process, a systematic and
sequential procedure has to be adopted. There are seven basic steps to strategic
process planning. They are
Step 1. Customer Needs
The basic step is the identification of customers and their wants and needs. An
organization must seek its customers’ requirements, expectations and assess future
trends before developing a strategic plan.
Step 2. Customer Position
The second step requires the planners to determine its positioning with regards to
its customers. Various alternatives such as whether the organization should give
up, maintain or expand market position should be considered. In order to become
successful, the organization should concentrate and consolidate its position in its
areas of excellence.
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council on team progress. In addition, the coordinator will ensure that the teams Notes
are empowered and know their responsibilities. The coordinator’s activities are
to assist the team leaders, share lessons learned among teams, and have regular
leader’s meetings.
In smaller organizations where managers may be responsible for more than one
functional area, the number of members will be smaller. Also, a consultant would
most likely be employed rather than a coordinator.
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Notes Eventually, within three to five years, the quality council activities will become so
ingrained in the culture of the organization that they will become a regular part of
the executive meetings. When this state is achieved, a separate quality council is
no longer needed. Quality becomes the first item on the executive meeting agenda.
Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation means that an individual is motivated from within. He/she has
the desire to perform well at the workplace because the results are in accordance
with his/her belief system.
An individual’s deep-rooted beliefs are usually the strongest motivational factors.
Such individuals show common qualities like acceptance, curiosity, honor, desire
to achieve success.
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Research has shown that praise increases intrinsic motivation, so does positive Notes
employee feedback. But it should all be done in moderation. If you overdo any
of these, there are high chances that the individual loses motivation.
It is well observed in children and I am using this as an example here if children
are overpraised for the little things they are expected to do on a daily basis, their
motivation level decreases. Now if you are reading this blog, there are good
chances you are not a child, although we encourage children to read good content,
the purpose of writing this blog is to still focus on adults.
So if you are a manager, supervisor or in a leadership role, please be intentional
with your feedback or praise. Make sure it is empowering and your employees
understand your expectations.
Extrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation means an individual’s motivation is stimulated by external
factors- rewards and recognition. Some people may never be motivated internally
and only external motivation would work with them to get the tasks done.
Research says extrinsic rewards can sometimes promote the willingness in a person
to learn a new skillset. Rewards like bonuses, perks, awards, etc. can motivate
people or provide tangible feedback.
But you need to be careful with extrinsic rewards too! Too much of anything can
be harmful and as a manager or a supervisor, you need to be clear to what extent
are you going to motivate your employees to accomplish organizational goals.
Top 10 ways to motivate employees
If you are looking for ways to motivate your employees at work, here are the 5
simple ways of making it work:
1. Employee motivation surveys: Use an online survey software or platform to
conduct employee motivation surveys. Let them give candid and genuine
feedback about their experience, ideas, and suggestions. This will help you
identify areas that need your attention.
2. Employee satisfaction surveys: Employee satisfaction depends on a ton of
factors such as work environment, infrastructure, roles and responsibilities,
etc. Conducting employee satisfaction surveys will help Managers understand
dissatisfaction factors and act on them. Frequent surveys will help addressing
dissatisfaction issues faster.
3. Job well done- recognize it! Recognition plays a huge role in increasing the
motivation levels of the employees. It helps create a healthy bond between
the employer and employees. It not only fulfills our basic need of esteem but
also facilitates belonging.
4. Focus on intrinsic rewards: It is true some people need rewards to get tasks
done, but extrinsic rewards fade very quickly. Focus on motivating your
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Notes employees from within. Some may even say, “yeah this is all good but we
gotta eat and pay rent”… well, that’s true, for that you compensate your
employees well, but make sure you create values for your organization that
are long-lasting.
5. Autonomy not bureaucracy: Micromanagement is the worst thing you can do
as a manager. It is not only time consuming, but also really unwanted. If you
have hired people with certain skillset let them do their job, be a facilitator,
not a dictator. Human beings value autonomy, give them the freedom to get
things done in ways acceptable and see the changes.
6. Create an amazing work environment: No, it’s not Fussball, or free snacks or
a coffee machine. According to a study conducted by Ohio State University,
your work environment seriously impacts your mood. So it does make sense
to invest in the work environment where people actually spend 60 hours a
week. Creating a good atmosphere will motivate your staff. Just go ahead
and do it.
7. Be a visionary: Lead with vision. Employees need to know their efforts are
driving something important. They need to know their destination and more
importantly the path that will take them there. If as a leader you lack the
vision for your own organization, how do you expect them to own up to your
vision? Make a visual reminder of your organization’s road map, encourage
your employees to add to that. You will be surprised how innovative they
can get.
8. Solicit ideas and suggestions, act on them: Now that you have conducted
surveys, you have received feedback from your employees. Ensure that the
ideas, suggestions, grievances that they have put forth will looked into and
addressed in a timely fashion.
9. Career-pathing: Having a career growth plan with clearly mentioned
roles and responsibilities is crucial to employees. It helps them focus, and
direct their efforts to an achievable goal. Make sure that you sit down with
every employee and come up with a career plan that is transparent and
communicated clearly.
10. Provide flexibility: Not all employees are alike. Some prefer 9-5, others not
much; some like coming to work daily, others not much. For some, commuting
to work might be long and challenging. Allow some flexibility within reason
and your employees will be happy and motivated.
What is the importance of employee motivation?
According to psychologists, self-realization is a very human thing. It is our basic
nature to nurture something and see it flourish, it is applicable to most things we
do in our day-to-day life. This is true for both social and societal spaces.
Motivation plays a very important factor in a human’s life. Whether it is about
improving ourselves or our organization’s performance. Motivated employees
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don’t need to be told how to get things done, they take initiatives, are eager to Notes
take up additional responsibilities, are innovative and go-getters.
Motivated employees ensure:
• There is a positive atmosphere within the organization
• Co-workers are happy and feel safe at work
• Make sure clients are happy
• They always achieve better results than their counterparts
Motivation, therefore, plays a very important factor and ensures employees remain
active and contribute their best towards their organization. Furthermore, a high
level of motivation leads to a lower level of employee turnover. In the next section,
you will learn about the 5 simple ways to motivate your employees.
MOTIVATION THEORY
• Herzberg’s Motivation Theory
HERZBERG’S MOTIVATION THEORY
Herzberg’s motivation theory or two-factor theory says there are two factors
to which an organization can adjust to influence the levels of motivation at the
workplace.
The two factors identified by Herzberg are:
Motivators Hygiene Factors
Recognition Security
Growth Company policies
Achievements Salary
The work itself Work conditions
Responsibility Manager/supervisor
1. Motivating factors: The presence of motivating factors encourages employees
to work harder. They are the factors found in the workplace.
2. Hygiene factors: Hygiene factor if not present will discourage employees
from doing their best at work. Hygiene factors are the surrounding factors
that facilitate employees behavior.
Here are some of the examples of motivators and hygiene factor
There are 4 statistics that are involved here:
1. High hygiene & high motivation
This is an ideal situation any manager or supervisor would want to achieve. Here
all the employees are happily motivated and have very few grievances.
2. High hygiene & low motivation
In this situation, employees have very few grievances but are also not highly
motivated. A very good example of this situation is employees are paid well but
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Notes the work is not very interesting. Employees simply collect their pay cheques and
leave.
3. Low hygiene and high motivation
This is a tricky one, here employees are highly motivated but also have numerous
grievances. A typical example of a situation like this is when the work is extremely
interesting but the employees are not paid as per the market standard.
PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS
Physiological needs are the lowest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. They
are the most essential things a person needs to survive. They include the need for
shelter, water, food, warmth, rest, and health. A person’s motivation at this level
derives from their instinct to survive.
SAFETY NEEDS
The second level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs consists of safety needs. Safety,
or security needs, relate to a person’s need to feel safe and secure in their life and
surroundings. Motivation comes from the need for law, order, and protection from
unpredictable and dangerous conditions.
There are many examples of safety needs in modern society. To find stability
and security, a person must consider their physical safety. This means seeking
protection from the elements, violent conditions, or health threats and sickness.
Additionally, an individual needs economic safety to live and thrive in modern
societies. This refers to the need for job security, stable income, and savings. One
method of achieving economic safety is to learn proper investment strategies.
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SELF-ACTUALIZATION NEEDS
The fifth and final level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is self-actualization needs.
Self-actualization relates to the realization of an individual’s full potential. At this
level, people strive to become the best that they possibly can be.
The need for self-actualization can manifest in different ways, such as:
• Obtaining skills (e.g., financial modeling skills)
• Continued education (e.g., online training courses)
• Utilizing skills, knowledge, and talents
• Pursuing life dreams
• Seeking happiness
One person may strive to become the best parent and everyone’s best friend.
Another person might aim to become a millionaire and philanthropist. Others
may work toward becoming a famous athlete. In general, self-actualization is the
pursuit of personal growth.
How to use this theory in practice?
1. First and foremost rectify and change bureaucratic company policies. Make
sure your Human Resources is in line with what other organizations are
offering and they know what are the leadership’s expectations. Keeping both
in mind draft policies that is a win-win with everyone.
2. Ensure your managers are also mentors and not just bosses. Each employee
should be respected and supported.
3. Organizational culture plays a very crucial role here. No cliches here.
4. Make sure the compensation, perks, and bonuses are as per the market
standards. If you don’t compensate your employees well, why would they
show interest in taking any initiatives?
5. To increase job satisfaction make sure the jobs are constructed well and
employees find their jobs meaningful.
6. Delegate your employees’ responsibilities, make them feel valued. Respect
their individuality, listen to their feedback seriously and take action wherever
necessary.
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Notes
2.8. EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT AND EMPLOYEE
INVOLVEMENT
2.8.1 EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT
What is employee empowerment?
When someone is empowered, they have the ability to accomplish something
- and they know it, giving them the confidence needed to succeed. Employee
empowerment refers to the manner in which companies provide their employees
with anything and everything they need to succeed. This involves far more than
simple resource allocation, however. Companies that are interested in empowering
employees should act on the following:
• Give employees a voice by regularly soliciting and acting on their feedback.
• Provide opportunities for employees to grow through more autonomy,
additional responsibilities, or even an entirely new role.
• Recognize employees frequently to increase their engagement and
confidence in their own abilities.
• And, of course, provide employees with the tools, training, and authority
they need to excel.
A company’s leaders, HR professionals, and fellow employees all play key roles
in establishing a supportive, empowered environment. All parties need to establish
mutual trust, feel comfortable taking risks, and establish clear expectations and
guidelines. Without this collaboration, truly empowering employees is impossible.
The benefits of employee empowerment
Employee empowerment can instill greater trust in leadership, encourage employee
motivation, lead to greater creativity, and improve employee retention - all of
which ultimately results in a better bottom line.
Motivated employees
Empowering employees through greater autonomy has been directly linked to
increased employee motivation. Experts agree that employees who have more
control over how, when, and where they do their job will work harder and find
their work more engaging. And given the chance to show off what they can do,
employees will put their best foot forward and feel more satisfied at the end of
the day.
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coaches, pushing their employees to do their best work and supporting them along Notes
the way. Empowered employees felt that their leaders would not take advantage
of their hard work - instead, they would recognize and celebrate their wins.
Improved creativity
In the same Harvard meta analysis, leaders who were perceived as empowering
had direct reports who were more likely to be rated by their colleagues as being
highly creative. Unsurprisingly, subordinates who allowed their employees to
think for themselves and collaborate across teams generated more novel ideas.
Not only that, direct reports who felt empowered were more likely to volunteer
for extra assignments and support their organizations outside of their day-to-day
job function. Psychologists suspected that empowered individuals were more
committed to meaningful goals, and used their creativity to achieve them.
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Notes of ways for existing employees to guide new employees through orientation, set
up mentoring circles or idea exchanges, and brainstorm new and exciting ways
for employees to engage with other departments.
Empowering employees produces a culture of continuity that can handle any
changes thrown the organization’s way - even a global pandemic.
DEFINITIONS:
Involving employees, empowering them, and bringing them into decision making
process provides the opportunity for continuous process improvement. The
untapped ideas, innovations, and creative thoughts of employees can make the
difference between success and failure. Competition is so fierce that it would be
unwise not use every available tool.
BENEFITS:
Employee involvement improves quality and increases productivity, because:
• Employees make better
• Employees make better decisions using their expert knowledge of the
process.
• Employees are more likely to implement and support decisions they had
a part in making.
• Employees are better able to spot and pinpoint areas of for improvement.
• Employees are better able to take immediate corrective actions.
• Employee involvement reduces labor/management friction by encouraging
more effective communication and cooperation.
• Employee involvement increases morale by creating feeling of belonging
to the organization.
• Employees are better able to accept change because they control the work
environment.
• Employees have an increased commitment to unit goals because they are
involved.
• Employees involvement should not be looked at as a fad that will go away
soon.
It is a way of life, crucial to TQM, and it can mean difference between being
competitive and going out of business. Employees not senior management, hold
future in their hands. The sign over the plant entrance that says, “Through these
doors pass our most important asset, our employees” does not ring true when
employees have a feeling that no one really cares. More involvement might be
encouraged by the sign “No one of us knows as much as all of us.”
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As organizational culture begins the process change, resistance to this change will Notes
certainly be present. Keeping people informed will reduce resistance, especially
when they see the benefits. Change is an ongoing process that must occur if an
organization is to continue to exist in competitive world. People do not necessarily
resist change; they resist being changed, and problems arise when a person’s
comfort zone is disturbed.
Empowering employees starts with listening and recognition
Companies need to find ways to empower employees in order to encourage
and excite them. This makes employees feel as though they are meaningfully
contributing to the company’s success and improves their emotional well-being.
Two of the main factors in empowerment are an openness to employee input
and recognizing employees. Achievers Listen and Achievers Recognize can help
jumpstart your company’s efforts towards employee empowerment. Achievers
Listen allows your employees to provide feedback on their terms through frequent,
anonymous pulse surveys and an always-on feedback channel. And it empowers
managers as well by accelerating the feedback loop and providing them with
the insights they need to take real-time action. Achievers Recognize empowers
everyone in your organization to easily send monetary and social recognition to
team members who exemplify your company values.
Both Achievers Listen and Achievers Recognize include detailed reports on KPIs
that can be shared across the organization and provide critical guidance so you
can take the right actions quickly.
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Notes reports to them. This is the typical top-down management approach that you’ll see
in most organisations. Across all organisational teams, it’s important to prioritise
workplace culture; the foundations of which are communication and trust.
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS
Cross-functional teams are made up of individuals from various departments.
These teams tackle specific tasks that require different inputs and expertise. This
can happen when various teams need to work on a project together to get the
best outcome. This can be a difficult dynamic to navigate if teams have been
operating in a ‘silo’ approach up until the point of collaboration. It’s crucial that
the different personalities and perspectives are embraced, and that everyone in
the cross-functional team are working to their strengths.
SELF-MANAGED TEAMS
Generally, individuals in self-managed teams are employees of the same
organisation who work together. Even though they may have a wide array of
objectives, their aim is to reach a common goal. They operate without managers
and are relatively autonomous, sharing responsibility and leadership. High-
performing teams can often fall into this category.
People working in startups or small businesses may also find themselves in this
type of team dynamic. It can be difficult for people who have worked in other
types of teams for most of their career to adjust to this way of working, so there
will likely be an adjustment period of sorts. It’s crucial that self-managed teams
know how to deliver feedback and have tough conversations with tact. Without
high levels of communication, trust, autonomy and mutual respect, self-managed
teams will find it difficult to thrive.
VIRTUAL TEAMS
Virtual teams are made up of individuals who work in different physical locations
and who use technology and collaboration tools to achieve a common goal.
With more employees looking for work from home opportunities, virtual teams
will become much more common in the future of work. You may even have a few
remote team members in your organisation right now who need to collaborate
within a functional or cross-functional team.
It’s important for virtual team members to be involved from a cultural perspective
within your organisation. Having face to face video calls and giving your team
members the opportunity to connect on a personal relationship level will help to
improve rapport and moral. We’ve already shared a bunch of info on creating a
strong remote team culture, so give that a look when you have a moment.
TEAMWORK IMPORTANTS
Teamwork is a crucial aspect of Quality Management, while individuals are very
important, most of the work undertaken in an organization will be undertaken in
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teams, whether they are manufacturing teams, management teams or improvement Notes
teams. Teams are important for several reasons:
Task Complexity: Most tasks in organizations are multi-faceted and complex.The
likelihood that the knowledge and expertise of one individual will be sufficient
to complete the task is limited.
Synergy: Working together, teams can become much more than the sum of the
individuals within them -think about great sports teams; although there may be
outstanding individuals within the team, it is those that work best together who
maximize their potential and win more often than not.
Communication and Understanding: Working together in a team (especially a
cross-functional team) allows for individuals to better understand the issues they
and others face as part of their working lives. Communication will be enhanced
and a broader understanding of processes and their problems generated.
Social Interaction: Humans are social animals, working in isolation is not normal
for us; being in teams helps with the sense of belonging which Maslow (1987)
identified on his Hierarchy of Needs.
Building and Leading Teams
Although working in teams can be seen to be natural’, the work situation can
create stresses which mean that they require care and effort to set up and lead.
They are essentially a microcosm of the organization as a whole and so present
similar issues to leaders: Team leaders need to act as coaches and mentors rather
than controllers and drivers; it is important to have clear vision and goals for the
team to which the team are bought-in; support, challenge and trust are also
important within the team and between the leader and the team; teams need to be
environments where learning occurs and is stimulated .
An effective team must have the following (Adapted from Goetsch and Davis,
2010 and Lencioni 2003):
• A strong team identity and purpose.
• Clear goals, strong commitment and effective accountability.
• Healthy levels of challenge and conflict.
• Trust and integrity.
• Mutual support and participation towards team results.
The principal use of teams in the Quality Management environment is in process
improvement:
1. Quality Circles (sometimes called Quality Control Circles)
2. Quality Improvement Teams (which have been given many different names
in different organizations).
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RECOGNITION
MEANING:
Recognition is a process whereby management shows acknowledgement of an
employee’s outstanding performance. Recognition is a form of employee positive
motivation. Recognition of employees is highly essential as people find themselves
in a accepted and winning role. To sustain employee’s interest and to propel them
towards continuous improvement, it is essential to recognize the people. This
acknowledgement may be of financial, psychological or both in nature.
Ways to recognize people
Send letters to improve team members when they establish a team thanking them
for their involvement.
1. Develop a behind the scenes awards specifically for those whose actions
are not usually in the lime light, make sure such awards are in the lime
light.
2. Create best ideas of the year booklet and include everyone’s picture name
and description of their best ideas.
3. Feature the quality team of the month and put their picture in a prominent
place.
4. Honor peers who have helped you by recognizing them at your staff
meetings.
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Notes 5. Let people attend meetings, committees etc; in your place when you are
not available.
6. Involve teams with external customers and suppliers, sending them on
appropriate visits to solve problems and look for opportunities.
7. Invite a team for coffee or lunch at any time, not necessarily when you
need them for something.
8. Create a visibility wall to display information, posters, and pictures,
thanking individual employees and their teams, and describing their
contributions.
9. When you are discussing an individual or group ideas with other people,
peers, or higher management make sure that you give them credit.
WHY SHOULD ONE RECOGNISE PEOPLE?
1. improve employees morale
2. show the company’s appreciation for better performance
3. create satisfied workplace
4. Create highly motivated workplace.
5. Reinforce behavioral patterns.
6. Stimulate creative efforts.
REWARD
MEANING:
Reward is a tangible one, such as increased salaries, commissions, cash bonus,
gain sharing, etc; to promote desirable behavior.
TYPES OF REWARDS:
1. Intrinsic rewards
2. Extrinsic rewards
Intrinsic rewards are related to feelings of accomplishment of self-worth.
INTRINSIC REWARDS
1. Non-monetary forms of recognition to acknowledge achievement of quality
improvement goals.
2. Celebration to acknowledge achievement of quality improvement goals.
3. Regular expressions of appreciation by managers and leaders to employees
to acknowledge achievement of quality improvement goals.
4. 360 degree performance appraisals feedback from co-workers subordinates
to customers is incorporated into performance appraisals
EXTRINSIC REWARDS:
1. Profit sharing
2. gain sharing
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2.11PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
1. Meaning of Performance Appraisal:
Appraisal means evaluation about the worth of an object or person and performance
appraisal means evaluation of employees’ worth in terms of organisational
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(v) Determining and re-allocating employees’ territories and work assignments. Notes
(vi) Determining sound compensation and incentives plans for the employees.
2. Objectives of Performance Appraisal:
Performance appraisal has the following objectives:
1. Appraisal is a judgment which requires definite standards. Actual performance
is compared with standards and goals. Such standards should be worked out
by organisations and conveyed to all the employees, otherwise, judgment
will be one way only. In a sound appraisal system, goal setting must be high;
and accordingly high performance is expected.
Goal setting must be a mutual process and appraisal system should be
transparent and known to employees. If there is no system of appraisal,
superiors will waste time in making decisions. Also, in absence of specific
knowledge, they will depend upon chance. To avoid this situation, there
should be high goals and high performance appraisal system.
2. To judge means to apply a set of values. Value judgments without clear, sharp
and public standards are irrational and arbitrary. Such judgment or appraisal
will demotivate the manager and subordinates. It should, thus, be based on
sound and objective appraisal standards.
3. Performance appraisal depends on “Merit Rating”. Merit rating refers to
what the employee is. Performance appraisal refers to what the employee
does. Appraisal records what is done by the employee. Merit rating gives
information about “Potential”, “Personality” and “Promise” but appraisal
tells about performance. It, thus, helps in deciding employees worthy of
promotion or transfer to work areas that meet their skills and capabilities.
4. Standards consider what work was assigned, what resources were granted
and what promises were given regarding salary/rewards. They, thus, provide
a measure of evaluation.
5. One can only build in strength. One can only achieve by doing. One cannot
achieve anything with what one does not do. Appraisal must, therefore, aim
at bringing out what a man can do. Only when a man’s strengths are known
and understood, it makes some sense. Weaknesses, by themselves, are of no
interest.
Appraisal should refer to knowing more, doing better and behaving differently.
If these three things are accomplished, the manager will be better, stronger
and effective in managing people.
6. Appraisal should be an integral part of the system of managing. It is an
essential element in the whole system of managing and in the sub-system of
managerial staffing. Knowing how well a manager plans, organises, staffs,
directs, leads and controls is the only way to assure that those occupying
managerial positions are actually managing effectively. If a business is to
reach its goals effectively and efficiently, there should be ways of accurately
measuring and implementing management performance.
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Notes 7. It is human tendency to recall only the latest events or achievements. Similarly
only latest failures are remembered. Appraisals should cover some specific
periods where an employee was involved fully, or even in his absence, how
the deputy was doing, to what extent there was delegation of authority and
responsibility. It should reflect a whole picture so that corrective measures
can be taken.
8. It provides feedback to employees about their performance. Feedback helps
in overcoming deficiencies in the work, promoting performance and relating
his work to organisational objectives.
9. It helps in designing personal improvement plans to overcome the weaknesses
of employees on the job and devising training and development programmes
to strengthen their capabilities.
3. Merit Rating and Performance Appraisal:
Performance appraisal is an extension of merit rating. Merit rating emphasises
on personal attributes of a person regarding what the person is. It determines
qualification and skills of a person on the job to identify his chances for promotion,
demotion or transfer.
It is more of a one-to-one comparison amongst people based on rating scales. Each
employee is rated in comparison to others. Superiors communicate the rating to
employees which helps in determining the wage structure. A higher wage rate is
determined for those who stand high on merit and vice-versa.
Rather than merely rating employees to determine their wage structure,
performance appraisal aims at overall appraisal of performance in terms of what
he does in order to promote his performance on the job and develop him to exploit
his future potential.
While initially, appraisal was in the form of merit rating only (based on personal
attributes), it developed to a much larger area where factors like performance,
behaviour, skills etc. are also taken into consideration. There are mutual goal-
setting processes, comparison and conformance of actual performance to standard
performance targets and promoting desirable behaviour in line with organisational
objectives.
Merit rating, thus, refers to what a person is and performance appraisal refers to
what the employee does with his merit skills. Merit rating identifies the potential
of a person and performance appraisal appraises the extent to which the potential
has been exploited to convert it into performance.
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The key concept is productivity which means contribution to profits and sales. Notes
Productivity should be greater than the cost incurred by the company on their
work efforts. Managers should “make the events happen” and not “let the events
happen”. Every management activity has to be planned, otherwise it will be left
to chance. Managers cannot rely on chance element.
The following reasons explain the need for making appraisals:
1. To know the quality of managers:
Every organisation sets high goals and objectives for which it needs competent
managers. When an employee is recruited, he appears to be very promising
and enthusiastic. He is called “a potential candidate”. This potential has to be
converted into performance. Just to have potential is theory, but converting it
into performance is practice.
If a candidate is theoretically strong but weak in execution, the organisation may
not get a competent manager. Hence, the foremost advantage of appraisals is that
the organisation gets to know the level of competence of managers. It enables
the managers to know ‘where we are’ and ‘where we would like to go’. If an
executive has proved his potential, the organisation can focus on it and en-cash
his best merit points.
2. To put right man on the right job:
Every position has a job design or description. There should be a man to fit the
position. There must be right man for the right job. This is possible by an appraisal
method. What will happen if the organisation gets a wrong man?
For example, in the design department, there is a wonderful design engineer. He
is expert in making designs, and is well versed with his work. Over a period, he
attains specialisation in his work. He is now senior most in the department. The
organisation is in need of a dynamic person to head the design department.
This design engineer does not have managerial skills. However, he is a competent
engineer. If he is promoted as Head of design department, when he is not
competent, what will be the result? The organisation will miss a good designer
and get a bad manager to head the department. Hence, appraisal helps in getting
right man for the right job.
3. To re-structure the organisation:
Basic advantage of appraisals is to know the innermost merit point of every
employee. With the help of appraisal system, it is possible to rotate executives
in a scientific way. The advantage of job rotation is that the organisation gets a
good General Manager. Every organisation has a chart.
There are slots in the organisation which should be filled by the most competent
person. When this is known, it would be possible to re-structure the organisation.
Organisations today are flexible and dynamic. There is need to re-structure the
organisations and have changing roles for the managers. This is possible only
through competent appraisal systems.
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Notes factors that need to be rated like quality or quantity of work, technical knowledge,
punctuality, integrity, cooperativeness, initiative, creativity, analytical ability,
decisiveness etc., supervisors prepare a graphic scale with different grades and
employees are rated on the basis of their performance on that scale. The appraiser
goes through these set of factors on the rating scale where highest grade (A or 1)
would denote the best rating.
The usual dimensions of a graphic scale are:
Grade A = Outstanding
Grade B = Above average
Grade C = Average
Grade D = Below average
Grade E = Unsatisfactory
The advantage of this scale is that grading of employee on the scale highlights the
need for improvement in his abilities to perform the job. If an employee is placed
at Grade D, his performance is below average and he needs to improve upon it.
The limitation of this method is that every manager does not follow the same
method of rating people at a particular grade. An employee who is assigned Grade
A by one manager may be assigned Grade B or C by another manager. This method
is, thus, sensitive to errors.
Different types of rating errors are:
(i) Halo effect:
This is a presumption by managers that a person doing well in one area will be
doing well in other areas also. This is not always the case. A person good at sales
may not be good in production or vice versa.
(ii) Horns effect:
It is the opposite of halo effect. Managers presume that employees who do not
perform well in one area are poor performers in other areas too. They tend to give
such employees a low grade if they have performed badly on one job while they
may have actually performed better on other jobs.
(iii) Contrast error:
Managers rate the subordinates by comparing their individual performances rather
than measuring their performance against the standards. When two sub-standard
employees are rated on this basis, manager will give Grade A to one and B to
another while both of them may actually fall in Grade E.
(iv) Recency error:
The employees are rated on the basis of their latest or recent performance. The
earlier performance is ignored. An outstanding employee who, for some reason,
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has not been able to do well in the latest assignment, shall be placed in Grade D Notes
or E. This is not a satisfactory method of rating.
(v) Leniency error:
Supervisors give lenient rating to all the employees without measuring their actual
performance. The results are, thus, likely to be biased.
(vi) Severity error:
This is the opposite of leniency error. The supervisor gives low rating to all the
employees, without appraising their actual performance. The results would,
therefore, be again inaccurate.
(vii) Central tendency error:
An average rating or grade is given to everyone, disregarding their actual
performance. The rater marks all the people as average without discriminating as
superiors or inferiors. This may happen because the rater does not have sufficient
knowledge about employees or because he is indifferent towards employees.
(viii) Constant errors:
Some raters have the habit of rating people as high or low. They either rate everyone
high or everyone low. Some rate on the basis of present performance while others
on the basis of potential to perform in future. The results of two raters are, thus,
not comparable.
How to make rating effective:
The graphic scale is a simple and effective method to rank performance against
standards but it is highly sensitive to a wide range of errors. Steps must, therefore,
be taken to make this programme effective. The rater training programmes are
organised to train the raters who hold biased opinion about rating the subordinates.
These programmes develop general consensus among the raters to rate the
subordinates according to a common standard and improve their perceptions
about rating their performance.
2. Behaviourally anchored rating scales:
This method of performance appraisal is an extension of graphic scale method.
These rating scales are used in situations where number of employees are
performing similar work and high degree of precision is required in their job
behaviours. Rather than assessing the performance as above average or below
average, a range of levels of performance, from very high to very low is specified
on the rating scale.
Unsatisfactory performance, for example, can further be labelled as very
unsatisfactory or marginally unsatisfactory. Above average can also be ranked as
slightly above average or much above average.
Five grades in the graphic scale can be developed as:
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Notes
A wide range of performance is specified on the graphic scale and the raters are
much less sensitive to bias by the range of errors that inhibit their rating capacity
on the graphic scale. Though this method is more accurate and scientific than the
graphic scale, it is more time consuming and expensive.
It also needs high precision on the part of raters to rate the subordinates as different
rating levels form part of the same grade. Managers, therefore, often seek assistance
of experts in preparing this scale.
3. Essay evaluation:
This is an unstructured form of performance appraisal where grades are not
assigned to performance parameters. As the employees perform their jobs, the
evaluators or raters keep track of the performance and note their positive and
negative job attributes like quality and quantity of performance, knowledge about
the job skills and organisational policies, employees’ strengths and weaknesses,
their potential to work, need for training etc.
At the end of the period, they analyse all these points and give brief description
of their performance in the form of an essay. This method has the merit of rating
the employees purely on the basis of their actual performance. It reduces personal
bias of the raters. However, different raters have styles and perception about rating
the qualities of a person and this method, thus, may not be totally error free.
II. Employee behaviour-oriented methods:
These methods are also known as comparative methods of evaluation. They
compare performance of employees against each other and rank them accordingly.
1. Straight ranking:
This is the simplest method of ranking where employees are rated as rank 1, 2, 3, 4
or 5. Where an employer has to consider one of his subordinates for promotion to
higher job; he would simply see each person’s performance in the respective area
of operation, say production, and the one having produced the maximum number
of units would be given rank 1 followed by ranks 2 through 5, and accordingly
considered for promotion.
People are, thus, given ranks on the basis of their traits. This method is effective Notes
when few number of persons have to be ranked as some of the traits for ranking
cannot be quantified. For less number of people, however, personal observations
can also be used for ranking.
Ranking method does not indicate differences in ranks as equal to differences in
ability of people being ranked. This is only a comparative method of ranking where
one is better than the other; how much better is not indicated through rankings.
2. Alternation ranking:
Rather than ranking the employees in ascending order of performance, the raters
first pick up the best and give him rank 1, then the worst and rank him 5, then
they pick up workers to be ranked as 2 and 4 and proceed this way until all the
employees are ranked. This method is similar to straight ranking method with the
difference in the approach towards picking up different ranks.
3. Paired comparison:
In this method of ranking, each person is compared with others in the group on the
basis of specific traits, usually one trait as otherwise huge number of comparisons
have to be made which can make rating a time-consuming process. A list is
prepared containing the names of persons to be ranked in pairs. The rater puts a
tick mark against the person who is better between the two.
The person who is ticked marked as better for maximum number of times is given
the highest rank. The number of comparisons to be made is calculated by using
the formula n(n – l)/2 where n is the total number of persons to be compared.
For instance, paired comparison has to be made amongst 5 people. This requires
10 comparisons [5(5 – 1)/2] to rank who gets the highest rank in terms of being
better than the others.
The comparisons are as follows:
Notes point on the rating scale, one employee is not given one rank; but a group of
employees are placed in one rank.
For example, the manager might place 5% of the employees in rank 1.10% in
rank 2, 20% in rank 3, 30% in rank 4 and remaining 35% in rank 5. In case of
ranking 100 employees, therefore, 5 employees will be placed in rank 1 and 35
in rank 5. This method is suitable where supervisor has to rank a large number of
employees and individual ranking is not possible.
5. Forced choice method:
This method of rating involves appraising the performance of employees by
choosing between two or more statements that describe the characteristics of the
employees. The statements may be positive or negative. They are closely similar to
each other but the rater has to choose the most appropriate statement that describes
the employee. Many sets of such statements (positive and negative) are prepared
to analyse the performance of employees and the final rating is done on the basis
of results of all the statements.
These statements could be as follows:
One Set of Statement:
1. He is an honest employee.
2. He is always fair in his dealings (financial and non-financial) with others.
Second Set
1. He is very hard working.
2. He completes his assignments in scheduled time even if he has to work overtime.
Third Set
1. He has leadership qualities that help him guide his peer group of friends.
2. People come to him for guidance to which he always gives the right advice.
The statements in each set describe characteristics like honesty, hard working and
leadership which are very close in meaning to each other. The rater is forced to
choose the most effective statement that describes the individual. This statement
is most descriptive of the employee. Thus, one statement is chosen from different
sets for final analysis. The final rating is done on the basis of statement chosen
from all sets of statements.
This method avoids subjectivity in rating as the rater chooses the most appropriate
statement out of those which closely describe the positive or negative behaviour
of the employees.
8. Essentials of a Good Appraisal System:
Depending on the need to carry out performance appraisal of employees, i.e.,
whether work performance has to be evaluated or behaviour is to be evaluated
or inter-employee comparisons have to be made, the appropriate method of
performance appraisal should be selected.
In the performance evaluation system, manager should not just perform his Notes
role theoretically but really look forward to apply fundamentals to practice i.e.
implementation. In addition to basic managerial functions, he should focus on
other areas of concern like personality, co¬operation, maturity, intelligence,
loyalty, a good trainer etc.
These areas should be used in conjunction with appraisal of plans and goals.
Appraisal system is a continuous and sequential activity performed by managers
to institute a sound reward system for its personnel and also promote market
share for its products.
11. Performance Appraisal for Promotion:
Though performance appraisal is usually related to measuring present performance
of employees, it is not necessarily so. Employees of the organisation are trained
and developed to perform present jobs and assume jobs of higher importance in
future. The appraisal system should measure not only their present performance
but also future performance on higher- order jobs.
Thus, a potential appraisal is carried to know the potential of employee’s success
on future jobs. These are largely promotions which involve better status and
responsibilities on the future jobs. The appraisal carried for this purpose is called
potential appraisal. While performance appraisal is related to the present job,
potential appraisal is related to future jobs. It discovers future talent of a person’s
attributes to perform future jobs.
Promotion can take two forms:
1. Horizontal promotion:
It increases the position of a person with no change in the type of work performed
by him. Promotion of a lecturer to senior lecturer has no added job assignment
to the post. A lower division clerk promoted to an upper division clerk also has,
by and large, same responsibilities to discharge.
2. Vertical promotion:
It increases the position and status of a person along with job assignment and
responsibilities. A worker promoted as foreman or a foreman as superintendent
performs jobs of higher importance.
Promotion is necessary as it provides satisfaction to employees in terms of jobs,
morale and economic status. It increases organisational productivity and provides
people from within the organisation who are familiar with its policies, procedures
and structure.
The organisation, thus, saves time and money in conducting orientation
programmes to acquaint new people to the organisation structure.
Promotion is, beneficial for both organisation and the members:
(a) It allows people to satisfy their growth needs within the organisation. Though
people move from one organisation to the other for higher scales, promotions
Notes within the organisation reduce the labour turnover rate and thus, costs for
the organisation.
(b) It motivates people to work hard as they know they will step up the
organisational ladder and earn better financial and non-financial rewards.
Promotion is, thus, an incentive to improve one’s work performance. If
organisational policies allow for higher positions to be filled through outside
recruitments only, members within the organisation will have no motivation
to work hard.
Basis for Promotion:
Promotion can be done on two basis — Merit and Seniority:
(a) Promotion on the basis of merit:
It gives promotion on the basis of performance of employees. The best performing
employee is promoted to the higher post. Competence of a person is, thus, the basis
for promotion and ensures efficiency in the organisation as the person promoted
can understand and perform the job of higher order based on his potential. Merit,
thus, promotes people on the basis of their competence and potential to perform
higher-order jobs.
Limitations:
Promotion on merit basis suffers from the following weaknesses:
(i) There is no objective criterion to measure merit. Though performance
measures like test scores, skills and attitudes of a person can be used, they
are not free from errors. They may involve biased judgment in favour of a
person,
(ii) Though a person may be good at his present post, he may not be able to
perform well at higher positions. Present knowledge may not necessarily be
the criterion to judge a person’s future potential.
(b) Promotion on the basis of seniority:
It is a widely recognised basis of promotion where a person is promoted on the
basis of his length of service. It is an objective method of promotion as people
cannot be biased on the basis of non-measurable performance parameters.
Those who have served the organisation longest are considered for promotion
followed by the chain of tenure. Most of the government organisations follow
this basis of promotion though, however, it is a matter of dispute in business
organisations between management and employees’ union.
While deciding seniority as the basis for promotion, the following points must
be taken into consideration:
1. The basis of seniority should be clearly defined.
2. It should follow a defined set of rules to avoid conflicts amongst members.
For example, if an employee goes on leave with pay and another employee
goes on leave without pay, whether both the leave periods are counted for Notes
considering seniority or not should be clearly defined.
3. Seniority list should be maintained in the office and employees should have
access to it. Transparency avoids conflicts amongst members while deciding
about promotions.
4. Responsibilities at each level of seniority should be clearly laid down.
Some senior positions have frequent touring or overtime without additional
allowance, loss of vacation etc. People moving to higher positions should
know the privileges or otherwise of the positions they are moving to. It is
heard that some people do not move to managerial positions in banks as this
position has transferable posts. People thus, refuse seniority and maintain
their status quo for family or other considerations.
Merits:
This system of promotion has the following merits:
(i) It is an objective basis of judgment as promotion depends upon the length
of service which can be measured.
(ii) Since biased judgment is not involved, it does not affect employees’ morale
and organisation’s productivity.
(iii) It reduces the labour turnover rate as employees are promoted on the basis
of years of service in the organisation. People prefer to work in the same
organisation rather than moving to other organisation. Long serving years
also promote loyalty amongst employees and organisations save money on
conducting orientation and training programmes for new employees.
Limitations:
Promotion on seniority suffers from the following limitations:
(i) After a specific point, length of service is not the criterion for promotions.
Continued service does not bring much gain to employees and, therefore,
they look for other jobs.
(ii) It promotes lethargy as employees are assured of promotion after a specific
period of time.
Merit Versus Seniority:
Both merit and seniority have benefits and limitations. Neither of the two should be
the sole criterion for promotion. Organisations maintain balance between seniority
and merit and generally follow the practice of promoting people at lower levels
on the basis of seniority and at higher levels on the basis of merit.
This assures people at lower levels of time-bound promotions and provides them
the satisfaction of assured promotion. At higher levels, however, only those who are
worthy of assuming positions of higher importance are considered for promotion.
Length of service or merit should not be the sole factor affecting promotion. From
Notes the most able, the senior most should be selected and minimum specific length of
service should be considered before recommending a case for promotion.
A combined ladder based on both merit and seniority at different levels can
be analysed as follows:
1. Consider promotion on the basis of length of service (seniority).
2. After a particular level, ignore promotions for those who do not prove on
the merit standards (merit).
3. Amongst those selected, consider those who have served for the longest time
period (seniority).
4. Consider further promotion only on the basis of merit (merit).
12. Barriers to Performance Appraisal:
The following barriers may arise in making appraisals:
1. Despite best efforts to be objective in making appraisals, appraisers’ may
become subjective in their judgment.
2. Appraisals based on the assumption that appraisal system is perfect
cannot give accurate results. Targets and techniques of appraisal cannot be
standardized forever.
3. Holding personal opinion about appraises can make appraisals a mere
formality. Appraisers do not spend sufficient time in designing the appraisal
system and completing the appraisal forms. This lacks a systematic review
of performance, both present and potential.
4. Appraisal is like a check on employees’ performance. Therefore, they may
be resistant to appraisals. They often tend to provide faulty or disguised
information about their performance. This makes appraisal ineffective in
nature.
5. Sometimes, appraisals are affected by psychological blocks to appraisals.
They may:
(a) Take appraisals as an added burden on them
(b) Dislike to find faults with appraises’ performance
(c) Dislike that employees’ promotions are withheld or deferred because of their
rating.
(d) Be afraid of becoming unpopular amongst employees, etc.
These fears are a hindrance to effective appraisals resulting in subjective
appraisals.
Appraisers tend to give high ratings to those whom they want to favour
irrespective of their performance. This defeats the very purpose of appraisals.
6. Appraisals are done by comparing actual performance with standard
performance as stated in the appraisal form. If these forms are not properly
designed, the desired information cannot be extracted from the appraises. Notes
Performance criteria may be non-measurable (honesty, politeness etc.) or
ambiguous (contribution to output or number of hours worked). When
performance traits are not exactly measurable, they can be interpreted
differently by different people. This fails to give effective ratings to
employees’ performance.
7. Despite the best efforts in making performance appraisal error free, errors
may occur, consciously or otherwise.
Notes software solution that can showcase real-time data and analytics as processes run
their cycles.
Act:
If the change proves successful based on the data, then it’s time to implement
it on a broader scale. If it wasn’t as effective as hoped for, later only, try again!
Continual or Continuous Improvement
It’s common for the word continuous and continuous to be used interchangeably.
However, they do have a slight variation in meaning, as defined here:
• Continual: Of frequent recurrence, with breaks in between.
• Continuous: Without interruption, or in an entire-time or space.
Why It’s Important & Providing Value
The main goal of continuous process improvement is to provide higher value
overall for a business. While it’s always desirable to achieve efficiency, that could
come at the cost of decreased quality, if the change is implemented without a close
eye or too quickly. One of the main benefits of continuous process improvement
is that it happens incrementally.
For any organisation, there will be a need to improve processes across departments.
But, there are always going to be constraints, whether it be in the form of time,
money or resources. That’s why many companies approach continuous process
improvement across events and use Value Stream Mapping to do so.
Value Stream Mapping helps to identify what is happening, what changes can
feasibly occur and how you’ll be able to measure outcomes. When businesses break
up their inner workings by events, it’s noticeable how interconnected processes
are within the overarching system. This way, when one process is altered, it often
necessitates change for the next and so on.
Creating a Culture for Continuous Process Improvement in Practice
Continuous improvement doesn’t come from one person per se. Yet, it does call for
executives and managers to support a culture of continuous process improvement
and empower employees to take the initiative.
In this way, those “on the ground” can point out where improvements can be made
and feel supported to make suggestions.
To engrain these sentiments within the company culture, management can direct
the team to:
Ask the Right Questions
• Questions that need to be asked relate to workflows and processes. Some
right items include:
• How many people are involved in the process?
• What will teams be affected by changing any step along the process? Notes
• Is the potential benefit of the change worth impacting the overall process
workflow?
• How much time and money is spent on the workflow?
2. Ways to Approach Change
• Flowchart or Kanban board: Use a visual display to break down
processes and outline who is responsible for each step. In this way, the
whole team can better understand where the responsibility lies.
• Analysis: Use a data automation tool to quantify resources and results.
With an automation tool, you can run various types of reports to gauge
efficiency and find gaps that can be improved.
• Recommendations: The team is part of strategising solutions, as well as
implementing the changes. Actionable steps here may include training
sessions and the use of automation to increase the efficiency of a process.
Automation tools can help to alleviate bottlenecks and remove critical
person dependencies as the software system can carry out a procedure with
little to no human intervention. It also removes low-value manual tasks, so
the team can instead focus on high-value tasks such as trying new things
for continuous improvement.
CPI Techniques & Applying Them
Continuous process improvement can be applied to various techniques. Here’s a
look at some of the most common methods to consider:
Business Process Mapping: A business process map, or flowchart, is used to
represent how and why your processes exist visually. When you outline a business
process by using a diagram or business process mapping solution within an
automation tool, you can quickly pinpoint the steps that are not working as well
as they could be. Then, you can apply continuous process improvement to make
necessary changes.
PDCA: As outlined above, the PDCA cycle stands for Plan, Do, Check, Act. It was
first created for quality control, but it’s become one of the most popular methods
for continuous process improvement.
DMAIC: DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control. It
happens as follows:
• Define: Define the problem or activity that needs improvement. This may
require feedback from customers or using a value stream map.
• Measure: Review how big of an issue or impact the problem may be
creating.
• Analyse: Use root cause analysis or measurement of data to determine
how and why problems are occurring.
Notes • Improve: Address and eliminate root causes by isolating the many factors
involved in an event to find what’s causing the problem.
• Control: Implement an improved process and measure performance over
time.
Root Cause Analysis: Gather a small team to conduct root cause analysis, or to
identify where problems are occurring within a process. This requires creating
the right side, performing analysis, and assigning roles to each team member to
make sure that analysis moves forward. Once the solution has been designed, it
will take time to implement the new process.
Principles of Continuous Process Improvement
No matter what methodology you choose to implement to practice continuous
process improvement, the overall principles remain unchanged.
• These values exist at the core of CPI:
• Small changes: Improvements happen with small, incremental changes.
With minor changes that occur continuously, there’s no need for significant
paradigm shifts.
• Employees matter: Employees are critical to continuous process
improvement. Employees should feel empowered to identify opportunities
for development. This involves engaging with your staff and allowing their
voices to not only be heard but also to create change through actionable
steps.
• Incremental = inexpensive: This principle also stems from an engaged
employee base. Most employees work within processes every day, and
that’s why it’s easier for them to see where inefficiencies lie. More often
than not, they may find ways to eliminate steps instead of adding more to
increase efficiency. Small incremental changes are naturally less expensive.
• Employee ownership: When your staff is involved in coming up with
changes, they are more likely to see the value of differences and be open
to rolling them out. This consists of the idea of ownership and leads
to sustainable improvement. Automation tools can also play a role in
sustaining change as processes that are automated become standardised
and ingrained within the organisation.
• Improvement is reflective: Everyone within an organisation is busy with
the many tasks on their plates. By implementing solutions that involve
increased collaboration or visibility, it’s easier for team members to see
how their actions impact positive results. Organisations that use continuous
improvement software/data automation solutions can allow all stakeholders
to stay abreast of changes and positive impacts in real-time with dashboards
and reports.
The Wrap Up
If you look at organisations like a car, then the engine can be considered its
processes. How you position the engine within the hood of the vehicle will
impact its performance. Continuous process improvement is the framework in
which all your organisation’s processes and people reside. It involves creating
an environment in which employees feel engaged, empowered and enthusiastic
about suggesting ideas that will make the car perform better.
These changes are not a one and done deal, but rather, they rely on the consistent
oversight of an organisation’s processes. With small, incremental and measurable
improvements, the overall business will lean towards outcomes that can provide
the most significant possible value to all stakeholders.
Based on the thinking of such experts as W. Edward Demings, QI principles were Notes
developed in manufacturing in the 1940s. In the last two decades, QI processes
have also become popular in healthcare and education.
Although organizations take many approaches, QI at its foundation concerns
process management. If organizations operate according to many processes, by
reviewing and improving one process at a time and leveraging the Pareto principle,
they can more easily and gradually improve their entire system.
Quality improvement processes share these characteristics:
• Quality improvement is data driven and regards the quantitative approach
as the only reliable means to influence the qualitative elements. This
principle is expressed in the following saying of quality improvement
guru W. Edwards Deming: “The right data in the right format in the right
hands at the right time.”
• QI focuses on processes, not people. In other words, the individual is never
at fault.
• QI involves people as part of the improvement solution and looks for what
is attributed to Deming as “the smart cogs,” the employees who are directly
involved in and best understand the processes in an organization
exchange of information, and acknowledgement of the risks and rewards of the Notes
relationship.
SUPPLIER PARTNERING & SOURCING:
What is Supplier Partnering?
Partnering is a defined as a continuing relationship, between a buying firm
and supplying firm, involving a commitment over an extended time period, an
exchange of information, and acknowledgement of the risks and rewards of the
relationship. The relationship between customer and supplier should be based
upon trust, dedication to common goals and objectives, and an understanding of
each party’s expectations and values.
Benefits of Partnering
The benefits of partnering include:
(i) Improved quality;
(ii) reduced cost;
(iii) Increased productivity;
(iv) Increased efficiency;
(v) Increased market share;
(vi) Increased opportunity for innovation; and
(vii) Continuous improvement of products / services
Key Elements to Partnering
The three important elements to achieve the customer / supplier partnering
relationship are :
1. Long-term commitment: Long-term commitment provides both customer and
supplier the much needed environment to achieve the planned objectives. Because
to set up and solve the problem of continuous improvement, both parties may
require the sufficient time.
2. Trust : Mutual trust between two parties forms the basis for a strong working
relationship. Trust enables the partners to effectively combine their resources and
knowledge. It results in a ‘win-win’ situation for both partners.
3. Shared vision : Both the customers and suppliers have the common goal i.e.,
to satisfy the end user. In order to ensure this goal, both particles should share
and understand their goals and objectives.
Three types of supplier sourcing are:
Sole sourcing;
Multiple sourcing, and
Single sourcing.
1. Sole Sourcing
Sole sourcing is the use of only one supplier for the organization. The organization
does not have any choice. It is forced to use only one supplier.This forced situation
Notes is because of the following factors : patents, technical specifications, raw material
location, only one organization producing the item, etc.
2. Multiple Sourcing
Multiple sourcing is the use of two or more suppliers for an item.The basic concept
of multiple sourcing is that competition will result in better quality, lower costs,
and better service. (The selection of suppliers from various alternatives is based
on their performance in terms of prices, quality and delivery.
3. Single Sourcing
Single sourcing is the use of one supplier for an item when several sources are
available. It leads to long-term partnering relationship. The suppliers should
be treated as partners to achieve the same quality level as attained within the
organization.
The following forces need Supplier Partnership to improve quality, reduce costs
and increase market share.
Ø Deming Philosophy (Deming’s 4th point)
Ø Just-in-time
Ø Continuous process improvement
Ø ISO 9000
PRINCIPLES OF CUSTOMER – SUPPLIER RELATIONS
Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa has given ten principles of customer-supplier relations. They are
1. Both the customer and supplier are fully responsible for the control of quality.
2. Both the customer and supplier should be independent of each other.
3. The customer is responsible for providing the supplier with clear and sufficient
requirements so that the customer can know precisely what to produce.
4. Both the customer and supplier should enter into a non-adversarial contract.
5. The supplier is responsible for providing the quality that will satisfy the
customer.
6. Both the customer and supplier should decide the method to evaluate the
quality of the product or services.
7. Both the customer and supplier should establish in the contract the method
by which they can reach an amicable settlement in case of any dispute.
8. Both the customers and supplier should continually exchange information.
9. Both the customer and supplier should perform business activities.
10. Both the customer and supplier should have the best interest of the end user
in mind.
SUPPLIER CERTIFICATION AND SUPPLIER RATING:
SUPPLIER RATING
Supplier Rating is done
Ø To obtain an overall rating of supplier performance.
SUPPLIER SELECTION
The suppliers should be selected with the following ten conditions
1. The supplier should understand clearly the management philosophy of the
organization.
2. The supplier should have stable management system.
3. The supplier should maintain high technical standards.
Notes 4. The supplier should provide the raw materials and parts which meet quality
specifications required by the purchaser.
5. The supplier should have the required capability in terms of production.
6. The supplier should not leak out the corporate secrets.
7. The supplier should quote right price and should meet the delivery schedule.
The supplier should be accessible with respect to transportation and
communication.
8. The supplier should be sincere in implementing the contract provisions.
9. The supplier should have an effective quality system such as ISO / QS 9000.
10. The supplier should be renowned for customer satisfaction.
RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT:
Supplier relationship management is a part of vendor management where
organizations segment their suppliers and determine important supply categories
to devise a strategy that manages all their suppliers and supplies efficiently.
Supplier relationship management comprises of three important steps: supplier
segmentation, supplier strategy development, and supplier strategy execution.
1. Supplier segmentation: Differentiate suppliers to identify opportunities and
risks.
2. Supplier strategy development: Devise an optimal way to interact with
suppliers based on business needs.
3. Supplier strategy execution: Execute the designed strategy in an effective
way to obtain desired results.
Supplier relationship management strategies
Although most businesses have a process in place to manage their supplier
relationships, most often there is still room for improvement. Here are three steps
to develop and establish a solid supplier relationship management strategy:
1. Value mapping
Most organizations still focus primarily on cost-cutting initiatives when it comes to
SRM. Through value mapping, businesses can think beyond cost-cutting initiatives
and focus on value drivers such as revenue growth, asset utilization, and risk
reduction. Value mapping enables organizations to identify where intervention
is necessary or beneficial.
Establishing a minimum amount of mutual trust, understanding, and respect
with suppliers through open communication is a minimum requirement to derive
tangible business values. A structured and strong supplier relationship management
strategy will extract the best value for everyone.
2. Top-down approach
Often, the responsibility of supplier relationship management falls on the shoulders
of procurement teams alone. Supplier relationship management strategy is all about
craftsmanship; it can never be achieved without onboarding internal stakeholders.
Just one rogue individual can collapse the whole process.
Implementation starts at the top and moves down through the ranks of managers Notes
and staff. This top-down approach ensures that every stakeholder has a clear
understanding of potential benefits that can be derived. An effective SRM strategy
aligns seamlessly with process, people, paperwork, and the overall business
strategy.
3. Spend optimization
Strategic sourcing has reached a saturation point where the returns are diminishing
steadily for specific categories. Nearly, all ‘low-hanging fruits’ have been picked
and so extracting value through consolidation and bidding is becoming challenging.
Supplier relationship management practices like collaborative supply chain
analysis, process re-engineering, joint demand management, reduced inventory,
and total cost modeling delivers cost savings and optimizes organizational spend.
4. Risk mitigation
Organizations of all sizes experience supply chain disruption of some magnitude
due to product or service quality issues, dependency, price volatility, and more.
However, businesses that have an adequate SRM program in place can better
predict and manage those disruptions.
The types of supply risks that an organization faces depends on the corporate and
procurement frameworks used. Supplier risk segmentation can help organizations
identify risk and mitigate them effectively. Strategic tools like Kraljic Matrix and
Deloitte Priority Model can be used to segment supplier based on risks they pose
and profitability they offer.
5. Positive ROI
Most procurement teams face difficulties in securing the commitment and funding
for their SRM strategy. The major reason is that they have trouble in building a
business case that establishes the financial benefits of SRM.
Procurement teams can start calculating benefits by estimating the impact of risk
mitigation, value leakage due to non-compliant contracts, and narrating compelling
customer stories through case studies. By involving the finance team from day
one, procurement teams can capture the impact SRM makes on the organization’s
balance sheet.
2.15. KAIZEN
“Kaizen” refers to a Japanese word which means “improvement” or “change
for the better”. Kaizen is defined as a continuous effort by each and every
employee (from the CEO to field staff) to ensure improvement of all processes
and systems of a particular organization. Work for a Japanese company and
you would soon realize how much importance they give to the process of Kaizen.
The process of Kaizen helps Japanese companies to outshine all other competitors
by adhering to certain set policies and rules to eliminate defects and ensure long
term superior quality and eventually customer satisfaction.
2. SEITION - Seition means to Organize. Research says that employees waste Notes
half of their precious time searching for items and important documents.
Every item should have its own space and must be kept at its place only.
3. SEISO - The word “SEISO” means shine the workplace. The workplace
ought to be kept clean. De-clutter your workstation. Necessary documents
should be kept in proper folders and files. Use cabinets and drawers to
store your items.
4. SEIKETSU-SEIKETSU refers to Standardization. Every organization
needs to have certain standard rules and set policies to ensure superior
quality.
5. SHITSUKE or Self Discipline - Employees need to respect organization’s
policies and adhere to rules and regulations. Self discipline is essential. Do
not attend office in casuals. Follow work procedures and do not forget to
carry your identity cards to work. It gives you a sense of pride and respect
for the organization.
Notes CHECK
Typically, there should be two checks throughout the project. First, checks should
be done alongside implementation to make sure that the project’s objectives are
being met. Second, a more comprehensive review of the project should be done
upon completion to allow for successes and failures to be addressed, and for future
adjustments to be made.
ACTION
Corrective actions are made in the final step. Once past mistakes have been
identified and accounted for, the PDCA Cycle can be redefined and repeated anew
in the future, perhaps to better results under new guidelines.
IV SUMMARY
The principles and philosophies behind the evolution of various quality
management techniques are elaborated in this unit. Walter A. Shewhart focused
his work on ensuring control in industrial quality process. He laid the foundation
for evolutionary thinking on quality and its management. William Edwards
Deming, a contemporary to Shewhart has developed PDSA cycle and named
it as Shewhart cycle. Later, it was changed as PDCA cycle. Deming has made
an attempt to balance the standardized changes and continuous improvement of
things in the organization.
Joseph Juran’s contribution is Quality Trilogy. While emphasizing quality
planning during design of a product, he laid more stress on quality control
during operations. The famous Cost of quality curve to identify the optimum
conformance level was developed by Juran . The road –map for quality planning
and the steps to continuous quality improvement are amongst the contributions
of Juran. Philip B.Crosby has identified five absolutes of quality management and
he has prescribed a quality vaccine. To achieve zero defects in organization he
has spelt out fourteen Step Quality Programme and firmly believes that the zero
defect is an achievable goal. Masaaki Imai introduced Kaizen to the world. He
has established “Kaizen Institute” which is propagating his ideas throughout the
world. Mitchell Jay Feigenbaum pioneered studies in Chaos theory. Through his
publications, he was able to disseminate the logistic maps developed by him. Kaoru Notes
Ishikawa suggested the diagram to identify the root cause of a problem. The fish
bone diagram also known as cause and effect diagram is predominantly used in
fixing quality related problems. The construction methodology is also presented.
Dr.Genich Taguchi has popularized the concept design of experiments. He has
also developed a complete philosophy of off-line quality control and innovations
in the design on experiments are deliberated in detail. Shingeo introduced “Zero
Defects Model” to the production community. Poke-Yoke is advocated by him.
The concepts of quality circle was introduced by Deming. The requirements for
successful quality circles and its evolution are presented. Japanese 5S principles,
namely Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke and the 8 disciplines to be focused
in the new era are deliberated.
V KEY WORDS
5S, Rewards, Recognition, Continuous Process Improvement, Kaizen, PDCA
VI CASE STUDY
Case Study: Implementing TQM for an institution
Chennai is famous for housing many prestigious and old colleges. SS College
situated in the suburbs of Chennai, recently celebrated 50th anniversary. It offers
BE degree programme in eight different descriptions. About 4000 students are
studying in the college. The principal of the college is in the verge of retirement.
He has served the college for 35 years. The teaching staff strength is 55; in addition
25 non-teaching staff are also working. Most of them are there for more than 25
years.
Recently there has been a series of complaints from students that the facilities they
get is in no way comparable to the fees paid by them. All the hostel students went
on a day fasting strike to express their dissatisfaction. The college management
was disturbed by this. They appointed a one man committee to looking to the
affairs of the college and offer remedies.
The one man committee, during the interrogation with students and staff found
that there are many problems in the college which have not come out earlier. The
students were unhappy with the teaching offered at the college. It was found that
the results are also poor and the pass percentage has been decreasing over the
years. When enquired about the reason for this the staff and students were blaming
each other. It was noticed that even among staff there is no co-ordination. The
committee noticed that the age old practices are being followed both in teaching
and administration. In the meanwhile one of the parents wrote a strong letter to
management, expressing his displeasure about the treatment he got during his
last visit to the college. Already the government issued a notice to the college to
improve the library facilities.
Notes With all these, the management is perplexed and looking for a direction to move.
Discuss:
1. What would be your recommendation to the college management?
2. Highlight five critical areas wherein focus is needed. Give reasons also.
3. What would be the best suited TQM model for this college?
4. What are the problems you anticipate while implementing TQM and how
will you tackle them?
Notes
3.5 Business Process Reengineering
3.5.1 Principlesofbusinessprocessreengineering
3.5.2 Stepsfor BPR
3.5.3 Applications of Reengineering
3.5.4 Benefitsand Limitations ofBPR
IV Summary
V Key words
VI Case Study
VII Review Questions
VIII Reference books
I LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this unit, you will be able to:
• Assess the importance and need for process control.
• Develop and use various charts and techniques for SPC
• Analyze the evolution of six sigma
• Understand the reliability variants and their applications • Get a scenario
about BPR and its usage.
• Apply various process control techniques in real life situation.
II LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Describing quality control systems and key issues in manufacturing and
service.
2. Analyzing the concept of Statistical Process Control(SPC) and the types
of variation.
3. Describing how to construct and interpret simple process control charts
for continuous anddiscrete data.
4. Analyzing and calculating process capability indexes.
5. Analyzing process reengineering and process improvement.
6. Describing practical issues in the implementation of SPC.
III OVERVIEW
Meaning and significance of statistical process control (SPC) – construction
of control charts for variables and attributed. Process capability – meaning,
significance and measurement – Six sigma - concepts of process capability.
Reliability concepts – definitions, reliability in series and parallel, product life Notes
characteristics curve. Total productive maintenance (TMP), Terotechnology.
Business process Improvement (BPI) – principles, applications, reengineering
process, benefits and limitations.
INTRODUCTION
The application of the principles and philosophies of quality management calls
for capability assessment. This has to be undertaken by the professionals through
the process of re-engineering. There are specific control tools like SPC, to be
adopted in various industries at various stages. To achieve TQM, every aspect
of it whether it is reliability, maintenance, micro level technology assimilation
has to be re-looked into. This comprehensive exercise will bring out the best part
of organizational capabilities. This unit deals with Meaning and significance of
Statistical Process Control (SPC), Construction of Control Charts for variables
and attributes, Process Capability – Meaning, Significance and Measurement,
Six Sigma Concepts of Process Capability, Reliability Concepts – Definitions,
Reliability in Series and Parallel, Product Life Characteristics Curve, Total
Productive Maintenance (TMP), Relevance to TQM, Terotechnology, Business
Process Re-engineering (BPR), Principles, Applications, Reengineering Process,
Benefits and Limitations.
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Statistical process control (SPC) is a method of quality control
whichuses statistical methods.SPCisappliedinordertomonitorandcontrol a process.
Monitoringand controllingthe processensuresthat it operates at itsfull potential.
Meaningof SPC
Statistical process control (SPC) may be defined as the application of statistical
methods tothe measurement and analysis of variation in any process. SPC is the
application of appropriatestatistical tools to processes for continuous improvement
in quality of products and services, andproductivityin the workforce.
Statisticalprocesscontrol(SPC)istheapplicationofstatisticaltechniquestodetermine
whether the output of a process conforms to the product or service design. In
SPC,control charts are used primarily to detect production of defective products
or services or toindicate that the production process has changed and that products
or services will deviate fromtheirdesign specificationsunlesssomethingisdoneto
correctthe situation.
b) Quality measurements:
To detect abnormal variations in output, inspectors must be able to measure quality
characteristics. Quality can be evaluated in two ways- to measure variables that
is product or service characteristic such as weight, length, volume, are aetc. That
can be measured. The advantage of measuring a quality characteristic is that if a
product or service misses its quality specifications, the inspector knows by how
much. But such measurements involve special equipment’s, employee skills,
exacting procedures and time and effort.
c) Statistical fundamental
The fundamentals of statistics are necessary to describe and to completely
understand the SPCtools.
Type sofdata
Measures of centra ltendency
Measures of dispersion
Population
Sample and sampling
Normal curve
1) Types of data
Instatistics, data can be categorized into two types:
In other words, all qualitative characteristics are known as attributes and those Notes
characteristics that can be quantified and measurable are known as variables
Examples of attribute (ordiscrete) data:
The number of defective pieces found in a sample
Weekly number of accidents in a factory
Examples of variables (orcontinuous) data:
(i) Adimension of a part measured
(ii) Diameter of metal cylinders
2) Measures of central tendency
A measure of central tendency of a distribution is a numerical value that describes
the central position of the data.
The three measures of central tendency generally used are:
1. Mean
2. Median
3. Mode
3) Measures of dispersion
The measures of central tendency locate the center of the distribution. But they do
not tell how the individual observations are spread on either side of the center.
The three measures of dispersion generally used are:
1. Range
2. Meandeviation
3. Standard deviation
4. Population
The word„ population ‟or„ universe‟ in statistics is used to refer to any
collection of individuals or of their attributes or of results of operations.
A population or universe can be defined as an unknown pattern of
variation from which known sample has been drawn
5) Sample and sampling
A part or small section selected from the population is called a sample
and the process of such selection is called sampling
The sample selected should resemble or represent the entire
population
6) Normal curve
The normal curve is the most important frequency curve. Normal curve
is also known as Gaussian curve and Probability curve
Where the nature of product is such that the quality characteristic cannot be Notes
measured quantitatively, the items are classified only defectives and non-
defectives at the time of final inspection. There can be a number of factors
responsible for defining any item to be defective and the separate record
foreach cause may be out of question.
Types of attributes control charts used are:
Pchart
Np chart
Cchart
U chart
• C chart. In this chart (see example below), we plot the number of defectives
(per batch, per day, per machine, per 100 feet of pipe, etc.). This chart assumes
that defects of the quality attribute are rare, and the control limits in this chart
are computed based on the Poisson distribution (distribution of rare events).
• U chart. In this chart we plot the rate of defectives, that is, the number of
defectives divided by the number of units inspected (the n; e.g., feet of pipe,
number of batches). Unlike the C chart, this chart does not require a constant
number of units, and it can be used, for example, when the batches (samples)
are of different sizes.
• Np chart. In this chart, we plot the number of defectives (per batch, per day,
per machine) as in the C chart. However, the control limits in this chart are not
based on the distribution of rare events, but rather on the binomial distribution.
Therefore, this chart should be used if the occurrence of defectives is not
rare (e.g., they occur in more than 5% of the units inspected). For example,
we may use this chart to control the number of units produced with minor
flaws.
• P chart. In this chart, we plot the percent of defectives (per batch, per day,
per machine, etc.) as in the U chart. However, the control limits in this chart
are not based on the distribution of rare events but rather on the binomial
distribution (of proportions). Therefore, this chart is most applicable to
situations where the occurrence of defectives is not rare (e.g., we expect
the percent of defectives to be more than 5% of the total number of units
produced).
Notes In other words, Process capability = 6 standard deviation. Since 99.7% area is the
normal curve isbetween -3 standard deviation to + 3 standard deviation, therefore
process capability is equal to 6 standard deviation.
Process capability=6 standard deviation is also called as natural
tolerance.
The purpose of process capability analysisis:
(i) To find out whether the process is in herently capable of meeting the specified
tolerance limits.
(ii) To identify why a process„ capable ‟is failing to meet specifications
Method of doing process capability analysis
The procedure to do process capability analysis is as follows:
1. Calculate the average X barand Range Rofeach sample
2. Calculate the grand average X Doublebar. This measures the centering of
the process.
3. Calculate the control limits and plot X bar and R charts. The secontrol charts
measure the stability of the process.
The term process capability refers to the inherent variability of process output
relative to the variation allowed by the design specifications.
Process capability means ability of the process to meet technological or other
requirements, i.e., to fulfil demands put on it. Process capability is a measure of
variability of a process only due to common causes‟. It is measure of minimum
variability that has to be tolerated in a process at a given period. Process capability
can be improved by reducing the magnitude of variability in common causes
‟through various measures as already enumerated.
6) Calculate the process capability. This process capability measures the piece- Notes
to-piece variability of the process
Process Capability
1. Select a candidate for the study. This step should be institutionalized. A goal
of any organization should be the ongoing process improvement. However,
because a company has only a limited resource base and can’t solve all
problems simultaneously, it must set priorities for its efforts. The tools for
this include Pareto analysis and fishbone diagrams.
2. Define the process. It is all too easy to slip into the trap of solving the wrong
problem. Once the candidate area has been selected in step 1, define the
scope of the study. A process is a unique combination of machines, tools,
methods, and personnel engaged in adding value by providing a product or
service. Each element of the process should be identified at this stage. This
is not a trivial exercise. The input of many people may be required. There are
likely to be a number of conflicting opinions about what the process actually
involves.
3. Procure resources for the study. Process capability studies disrupt normal
operations and require significant expenditures of both material and human
resources. Since it is a project of major importance, it should be managed as
such. All of the usual project management techniques should be brought to
bear. This includes planning, scheduling, and management status reporting.
4. Evaluate the measurement system. Using the techniques described in
Chapter V, evaluate the measurement system’s ability to do the job. Again,
be prepared to spend the time necessary to get a valid means of measuring
the process before going ahead.
5. Prepare a control plan. The purpose of the control plan is twofold: 1)
isolate and control as many important variables as possible and, 2) provide
a mechanism for tracking variables that cannot be completely controlled.
The object of the capability analysis is to determine what the process can
do if it is operated the way it is designed to be operated. This means that
such obvious sources of potential variation as operators and vendors will be
controlled while the study is conducted. In other words, a single well-trained
operator will be used and the material will be from a single vendor. There
are usually some variables that are important, but that are not controllable.
One example is the ambient environment, including temperature, barometric
pressure, or humidity. Certain process variables may degrade as part of the
normal operation; for example, tools wear and chemicals are used. These
variables should still be tracked using log sheets and similar tools.
6. Select a method for the analysis. The SPC method will depend on the
decisions made up to this point. If the performance measure is an attribute, one
of the attribute charts will be used. Variables charts will be used for process
performance measures assessed on a continuous scale. Also considered will
Notes be the skill level of the personnel involved, need for sensitivity, and other
resources required to collect, record, and analyze the data.
7. Gather and analyze the data. Use one of the control charts described in this
chapter, plus common sense. It is usually advisable to have at least two people
go over the data analysis to catch inadvertent errors in transcribing data or
performing the analysis.
8. Track down and remove special causes. A special cause of variation may
be obvious, or it may take months of investigation to find it. The effect of the
special cause may be good or bad. Removing a special cause that has a bad
effect usually involves eliminating the cause itself. For example, if poorly
trained operators are causing variability, the special cause is the training
system (not the operator), and it is eliminated by developing an improved
training system or a process that requires less training. However, the removal
of a beneficial special cause may actually involve incorporating the special
cause into the normal operating procedure. For example, if it is discovered
that materials with a particular chemistry produce better product the special
cause is the newly discovered material and it can be made a common cause
simply by changing the specification to assure that the new chemistry is
always used.
9. Estimate the process capability. One point cannot be overemphasized: the
process capability cannot be estimated until a state of statistical control has
been achieved! After this stage has been reached, the methods described
later in this chapter may be used. After the numerical estimate of process
capability has been arrived at it must be compared to management’s goals for
the process, or it can be used as an input into economic models. Deming’s
all-or-none rules provide a simple model that can be used to determine if the
output from a process should be sorted 100% or shipped as-is.
10. Establish a plan for continuous process improvement. Once a stable process
state has been attained, steps should be taken to maintain it and improve
upon it. SPC is just one means of doing this. Far more important than the
particular approach taken is a company environment that makes continuous
improvement of a normal part of the daily routine of everyone.
3.2.2 Six sigma concepts of process capability
Six sigma stands for six standard deviation from mean (sigma is the Greek
letter used to represent standard deviation in statistics)
Six sigma, similar to zero defects (ZD), is a philosophical benchmark or
standard of excellence proposed by Philip Crosby.
Six sigma methodology provides the techniques and tools to improve the
capability and reduce the defectsin any process
It was started by Motorolain 1987, in its manufacturing division.
Six sigma strives for perfection
Six sigma improves the process performance, decreases variation and
maintains consistent quality of the process output. This leads to defect Notes
reduction and improvements in profits, product quality and customer
satisfaction.
3.2.3 Objectives of six sigma
Six sigma quality levels are closes to zero defects.
Total customer satisfaction can be achieved with reliable products/
services
Reduction of cost is possible
It gives higher yield
Improved reliability
The goal of six sigma quality programme is to improve customer satisfaction
through reducing and eliminating defects and to continuously improve
processes there by improving quality and productivity.
3.2.4 Steps involved in the application of six sigma
The methodology of six sigma consists of DMAIC and DMADV cycle. Brief
explanations of the same are asfollows.
DMAIC cycle
D-Define/Identify
M-Measure
A-Analysis
I-Improvement
C- Control
Define / Identify:
The primary aim is to identify, within each sub-process, the possibilities for
defects orquality problems which can be arrived at through the use of different
statistical tools, such as regression analysis, design of experiments and chi-
square testing. The quality problem which requires break through solution has to
be defined clearly in measurable terms.The problem selected should consider
the requirements of the customer and should have relevance to the company’s
business. In other words, its solution should ensure great customer satisfaction
as wellas monetary gains / saving to the company. If the company has developed
its business strategies, the problem should fall under any one of them. Defining a
problem in manufacturing are aiseasier when compared to service areas.
Measure:
The second most important step is the establishment of the metrics that will be
improved using six sigma. It is also necessary to identify and rank the improvement
opportunities. First the CTQ (Critical to Quality) characteristics of the process
Notes have to be identified in order to focus six sigma on areas that will have the greatest
impact on customer satisfaction. For instance, design might turn out to contain
the crucial CTQ in a manufacturing process while speed might be more relevant
in the case of proceeding an order.
The output of the process, measured as multiples of its sigma under each CTQ
(existingquality level), has to be recorded so that defect per unit (DPU). These
will be used as the starting points for setting new targets, and proceeding
with the subsequent steps.
Analysis
This is the stage at which new goals are set, and the route-maps created
for the gap between current and target performance levels. It begins with
benchmarking key product performance against the best-in-class so that the
sigma levels attained by comparable processes can be a scertained as the
basis for new targets.
Then, a GAP analysis is conducted to identify the factors that distinguish
best-in-class processes from those being analyzed so that the areas of change
can be identified.
Improvement
The objective of this phase is to confirm the key process variables and quantify
their effects on the CTQ.
Identify the maximum acceptable ranges of the specification; and then tackle
the capability of the process
If the existing quality level is 3 standard deviation, efforts must be directed
to improve the processes so as to achieve at least 3 standard deviation.
Control
The final stage of six sigma implementation is to hold the gains that have
been obtainedfrom the improve stage. Unless there is a good control, we are
likely to go back to theoriginal state. Hence, in this stage the new process-
conditions are documented, and frozeninto systems so that the gains are
permanent. The process is assessed once more after thesetting-in-period in
order to check whether the improvements are being sustained or not.
If a quality programmes have to achieve meaningful results, the changes
have to be put in to a formal structure. Workers may go back to the earlier
processes.
DMADVcycle
D-Define
M-Measure
A-Analyze
D-Design
V- Verify
Define: - Notes
In the first step, you must define the design goals that are both consistent with
your customer’s demands and your own company’s goals.
Measure: -
In this step, four things should be measured. Theyinclude, CTQ‟swhichst and for
Critical to qualities, production process capability, risk assessments and product
capabilities.
Analyze: -
It is important to use the process of analysis to develop and design better
alternatives that can reduce defects. These designs must be evaluated for their
inherent capabilities to determine whether the design is the best available or if an
alternative can be created which may be better.
Designdetails: -
In this step a design must be optimized to function at its peak. In addition, in order
tooptimize a design, a design must usually be verified. While verification is the
last process, during the design details step, a design plan should be readied for
the next step
Verification: -
Once a design has been analyzed and tested, it should be verified. Verification
usually occurs through pilot runs. As a design is verified through the pilot run, it
can be readied for full production.
CONCEPTS OF SIX SIGMA
• 6σ is used for eliminating waste and inefficiency in the process thereby
increasing customer satisfaction.
• Each participant in the 6σ team has defined roles and responsibilities.
• 6σ is a data-driven concept and needs the accurate collection of data for the
analysis
• It is a business-driven and multi-dimensional concept for achieving the
following,
• Improved processes
• Defect’s reduction
• Improved productivity
• Reduced process variability
• Cost’s reduction
• Reducing the time for the products or services
• /Improved profits
• Improved customer satisfaction levels
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
Includes the CEO and other members of top management. They are responsible
for setting up a vision for Six Sigma implementation. They also empower the other
role holders with the freedom and resources to explore new ideas for breakthrough Notes
improvements.
CHAMPIONS
Take responsibility for Six Sigma implementation across the organization in an
integrated manner. The Executive Leadership draws them from upper management.
Champions also act as mentors to Black Belts.
BLACK BELTS
Operate under Master Black Belts to apply Six Sigma methodology to specific
projects. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. They primarily focus on
Six Sigma project execution, whereas Champions and Master Black Belts focus
on identifying projects/functions for Six Sigma. • The “Black Belt” should have
completed the Black Belt certification and monitored four projects to successful
completion
GREEN BELTS
Are the employees who take up Six Sigma implementation along with their other
job responsibilities, operating under the guidance of Black Belts. Green belts are
similar to black belts, but they do not have a full-time role. • They are the project
heads or process owners. They execute six sigma projects as part of their normal job
GREEN BELTS: The “Green belts” should have completed the Green Belt
certification and completed one process improvement project successfully. Some
organizations use additional belt colors, such as Yellow Belts, for employees that
have basic training in Six Sigma tools and generally participate in projects and
‘white belts’ for those locally trained in the concepts but do not participate in the
project team.
3.2.5 Advantages of six sigma
A) Rapid and almost radical improvements:
Several of the quality initiatives of the earlier days such as quality circles, Kaizen
and Quality Function Deployment are very necessary for an organization at all
the times. However, by their very nature, these measures produce incremental
improvements.In addition to these kinds of improvements, an organization in
today’s fast-changing business world needs improvements to be brought in
very rapidly in order to match the pace of changing technologies and changing
Notes customer requirements. Six sigma is such an instrument of change, which can
bring about radical changes in the way an organization function.
Definition:
Product reliability is defined as th eability of a product to performa required
unctionunder stated conditions for a stated period of time
From the above definition, four significant element of product reliability can
be identified. They are:
Probability
Performance
Time
Conditions
Objectives of reliability engineering:
The important objectives of reliability engineering are:
(i) To prevent failure;
(ii) To provide economic benefits
(iii) To assist with the optimization of operating a vailability
(iv) To lower the maintenance and its costs to the customer; and
(v) To minimize over design
Key terms relevant to there liability concepts
1. Failure: a failureis„ an in herent state of a system component in which an
itemisunable to performits standard function‟
9. Hazard
The hazard is expressed as the ratio of the number of failures in a given time
interval to the number of “good” components remaining at the end of the interval.
3.3.1 Reliability in series and parallel
Reliability inseries:
The simple stand perhaps most common structure inreliability analysis is
the series configuration. In the series case the functional operation of the
system depends on the proper operation of all system components. A series
string of Christmas tree lights is an obvious example.
Reliability inparallel:
In many systems several signal paths perform the same operation. If the
system configuration is such that failure of one or more paths still allows the
remaining path or paths to perform properly, the system can be represented
by a parallel model.
3.3.2 Product life characteristics curve
In almost all cases the failure rate of a product changes with time. A product’s
failurerate is represented by the product life characteristic curve. Because of its
shape, the product life characteristic curve is also known as a„ bath tub curve‟. Notes
Product life characteristic curve
Infantmortality period
Useful-lifeperiod
Wear-out period
Infantmortality period
Infantmortality region, also known as burn-inregion, the„ break-inregion ‟or
the debugging region‟
The first stage of the curve shows a high failure rate, which rapidly decreases
as function of time.The initial high failure rate, known as infant mortality
or the debugging stage.
In this period, the failures are mainly due to weakness in the materials used,
poor manufacturing methods or incorrect installation and startup.
Useful-life period
This part of the curve is usually the longestand of the greatest interest
inreliability studies.
The failure rate over this region is reasonably constant and of low
value
The failures over this period occur randomly and are unpredictable e.g.,
failures due to safety factors, human error and natural failures.
Wear-outperiod
The final phase of the lifecycle curve is the wear-out phase of the equipment life.
Thefailure rate rapidly increases as a function of time during this stage. By this
point most equipment is probably fully depreciated, and now becomes a candidate
for retirement, foruse as back-up or may be cannibalized for spare parts. As long
as it can be economically justified, the equipment’s useful life can be extended
and a proper and a proactive preventive and predictive maintenance program
can delay the wear-out phase.
Notes Assessment methods. Japanese firms identify the areas that need improvement for
competitive reasons and target those areas for improvement. They don’t try to fix
everything; they are very specific. They continuously design products for reduced
size and cost and use new technologies only when performance problems arise.
As a result, most known technologies have predictable reliability characteristics.
Infrastructure. The incorporation of suppliers and customers early in the
product development cycle has given Japanese companies an advantage in rapid
development of components and in effective design of products. This is the
Japanese approach to concurrent engineering and is a standard approach used
by the companies the JTEC panel visited. The utilization of software tools like
design for assembly allows for rapid design and is an integral part of the design
team’s activities. At the time of the panel’s visit, design for disassembly was
becoming a requirement for markets such as Germany. Suppliers are expected to
make required investments to provide the needed components for new product
designs. Advanced factory automation is included in the design of new factories.
Training. The Japanese view of training is best exemplified by Nippondenso. The
company runs its own two-year college to train production workers. Managers
tend to hold four-year degrees from university engineering programs. Practical
training in areas such as equipment design takes place almost entirely within the
company. During the first six years of employment, engineers each receive 100
hours per year of formal technical training. In the sixth year, about 10% of the
engineers are selected for extended education and receive 200 hours per year
of technical training. After ten years about 1% are selected to become future
executives and receive additional education. By this time, employees have earned
the equivalent of a Ph.D. degree within the company. Management and business
training is also provided for technical managers. In non-engineering fields, the
fraction that become managers is perhaps 10%. Ibiden uses “one-minute” and
safety training sessions in every manufacturing sector. “One-minute” discussions
are held by section leaders and workers using visual aids that are available in each
section. The subjects are specific to facets of the job like the correct way to use a
tool or details about a specific step in the process. The daily events are intended
to expose workers to additional knowledge and continuous training.
As a consequence, workers assure that production criteria are met. Ibiden also
employs a quality patrol that finds and displays examples of poor quality on large
bulletin boards throughout the plant. Exhibits the panel saw included anything
from pictures of components or board lots sitting around in corners, to damaged
walls and floors, to Ziplock bags full of dust and dirt.
The factory. Japanese factories pay attention to running equipment well, to
continuous improvement, to cost reduction, and to waste elimination. Total
preventive maintenance (TPM) is a methodology to ensure that equipment operates
at its most efficient level and that facilities are kept clean so as not to contribute
to reliability problems. In fact, the Japan Management Association gives annual
TPM awards with prestige similar to the Deming Prize, and receipt of those awards Notes
is considered a required step for companies that wish to attain the Japan Quality
Prize. No structured quality or reliability techniques are used - just detailed studies
of operations, and automated, smooth-running, efficient production.
Sort tools, equipment, and materials to identify which of these can be Notes
discarded
Straighten and set things in the proper order to reduce unnecessary motion
and efficiently travel between working groups and locations
Shine refers to performing necessary housekeeping to clean up the work area
Standardize and schedule activities to systematically form the habits to keep
the workplace organized
/Sustain the process and principles for long-term applications
The 5S approach provides a systematic approach to cleaning the workplace,
thereby uncovering underlying problems and challenges.
2) Autonomous maintenance
Maintenance tasks and caring for equipment should start with the people using
the equipment. The empowerment of operators to work on small maintenance
tasks effectively allows the maintenance teams to focus on more specialized
assignments.
3) Continuous improvement
Also known as the Japanese term Kaizen, Continuous Improvement promotes
the attitude of progressing towards zero losses and zero defects. Through small
but continual tweaks to processes, the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the
organization are developed.
4) Planned maintenance
Planned maintenance activities are essential to the prevention of equipment
breakdown. Planned maintenance is performed by periodically evaluating the
condition of equipment to proactively prevent deterioration and mechanical
failures.
5) Quality maintenance
To ensure the satisfaction of the customer, manufacturing processes aim for
zero-defect production. Standards for superior quality, and checks on whether the
standards are being met, should be in place. The goal of quality maintenance is to
identify any possible causes of deviations from zero-defect production.
6) Training
The idea of TPM is that everyone does their part to contribute to the overall
productivity of the production process. In order to achieve optimum performance,
and to build each member’s competence, proper training is required to equip each
one with the theoretical and practical know-how of working with machines and
equipment.
RELEVANCE TO TQM:
Total productive maintenance and total quality management are two terms
often used interchangeably when talking about Lean manufacturing. While the
two programs do share a number of similarities, they are in fact two different
approaches.
Although both Lean, both terms have important distinctions. In fact, both methods
should be used to achieve maximum efficiency in your facility. TQM, or total
quality management, is a management philosophy based on quality control,
whereas total productive maintenance, or TPM, is a concept focused on improving
maintenance processes through predictive and preventative maintenance. TQM
seeks to systemize management and align divisions in an organization to improve
the quality of a product and reduce the number of defects. TPM on the other hand,
3.4 Terotechnology
• A word derived from the Greek word “tero” or “I care”, which is now used
with the term “technology” to refer to the study of the costs associated with
an asset throughout its life cycle-from acquisition to disposal
• Tero technology is concerned with the application of managerial, financial,
engineering and other skills to extend the operational life and increase the
efficiency of equipment and machinery
Notes • It is concerned with there liability and maintain ability of physical assets and
also takes into account the processes o installation, commissioning, operation,
maintenance, modification and replacement
• Tero technology is an integrated approach to cost control and encompasses
all the costelements starting from design and development of part or product
up to its final disposal. Itis concerned with plant design, manufacture of
the plant and equipment, installation and commissioning of the same and
subsequent maintenance and repairs and after sale, service with a view to
achieve results at most economical levels.
3.4.1 Objectives of use of Terotechnology in TPM
The objectives of the use of principle softerotechnologyare,
1. To minimize to tallifecycle costs
2. Extend the useful life of the plant and equipment
3. Assure optimum availability of the installed equipment and
4. To ensure operation alreadiness a tall times
Activities of terotechnology
These may thus consist of:
• Decision regarding design, production and cost targets.
• Decision as regards requirement of physical resources, plant, and
equipment
• Considering requirements of plant and equipment from the point-of-view of
production capability, reliability, environment control, safety of operations,
decrease to xicity of materials and processes, and human aspects.
• Deciding on the specifications of the equipment to be procured from outside
• Acquiring, installing and commissioning the plant and equipment and handing
it over to the production department after carefully carried-out tests and
inspection.
Benefits of terotechnology
Better maintenance and higher reliability of plant and equipment
Lower costs of maintenance and repairs
Better control on spare part management
Less breakdowns, lower breakdown costs and smooth, uninterrupted
production
Higherquality, better efficiency of operations, and high quality of work life
Better image of the company amongst its customers
Better communication between suppliers, producers and customers
Higher prices can be fixed and greater profitability is possible
Notes
3.5 Business Process Reengineering
“BPR is defined as the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business
processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures
of performance such ascost, quality, service and speed. ”The keywords in the
preceding definition are the italicizedones.
BPR advocates that enterprises go back to the basics and reexamine their very
roots.It doesn’t believe in small improvements. Rather it aims at total reinvention.
As for results: BPRis clearly not for companies who want a 10% improvement.
It is for the ones that need a ten-foldincrease.
BPR methodology
BPR employs a structured methodology that reduces work processes to their
essential composite activities, and provides cost performance metrics to facilitate
a business case for dramatic improvements. Both functional and cross-functional
processes are evaluated through work flow analysis and activity-based costing.
In many cases, the application of new technology and industry best practices will
enable quantum improvement in an organization’s cost and performance.
Notes Rule2: Have those who use the output of the process perform the process
In other words, “work should be carried out where it is”, makes the most sense to
do it.This results in people closest to the process actually performing the work,
which shifts workacross traditional intra and inter-organizational boundaries. For
instance, employees can make some of their purchases without going through the
purchasing department. Customers can perform simple repairs themselves and
suppliers can be asked to manage parts in inventory.
Rule3: Mergein formation processing work into the real work that
produces the information
This means that people who collect information should also be responsible
for processing it which greatly reduces errors by cutting the numbers of external
contact points for aprocess
Rule 6: Put the decision point where the work is performed and
build control into the process
Decision-making should be made part of the work performed. This is possible
today with a more educated and knowledgeable work force plus decision-aiding
technology. Controls are now made part of the process
Benefits:
• Satisfaction:
• Growth of knowledge
• Solidarity to the company
• Demanding jobs
• Authority
Limitations:
70% of the BPR projects fail. Biggest obstacles that reengineering faces are:
• Lack of sustained management commitment and leadership
• Unrealistic scope and expectations
• Resistance to change
IV SUMMARY
The importance and indispensability of control in the production process is
emphasized in this unit. The Statistical Process Control has its own evolution
character and that is prescribed. Various control charts along with their
applications are dealt elaborately. The process capability and its significance
for bringing out a quality product are discussed in detail. The concept of
six sigma, the methodology of adopting them are presented for the use of
the readers. Bill Smith, the father six sigma has evolved the concept and
its application in different industries and their outcome are placed for the
consumption of the readers. The reliability concepts, their importance are
explained with application in various industries. Product Life Characteristics
Curve with its phases and quality requirements are deliberated. The Total
Productive Maintenance has lot of overlapping on TQM. The eight pillars
of TQM, viz tha 5S Components, Jishu Hozen (Autonomous Maintenance),
Kaizen, Planned Maintenance, Quality Maintenance, Training, Office TPM,
Safety, Health and Environment are elaborated for better understanding.
The Life-Cycle Costing, otherwise popularly known as terotechnology
is deliberated with a focus on how to realize it. The Business Process
Reengineering, fundamentals and methodolgy are handled in this unit.
Deliberations on whether BPR is a fad or rebirth of scientific management is
also conducted. The reengineering process is elaborately dealt in conjunction
with BPR. Examples on various sectors are also highlighted in this.
Notes
V KEY WORDS
SPC, Six-Sigma, Control Charts, BPR.
VI CASE STUDY: Bayfield Mud Company
In November 1990, John Wells, a customer service representative of Bayfield
Mud Company, was summoned to the Houston, Texas, warehouse of Wet-Land
Drilling, Inc., to inspect three boxcars of mud-treating agents that Bayfield Mud
Company had shipped to the Houston firm.
(Bayfield’s corporate offices and its largest plant are located in Orange, Texas,
which is just west of the Louisiana-Texas border.) Wet-Land Drilling had filed
a complaint that the 50-pound bags of treating agents that it had just received
from Bayfield were short-weight by approximately 5% The light-weight bags
were initially detected by one of Wet-Land’s receiving clerks, who noticed that
the railroad scale tickets indicated that the net weights were significantly less on
all three of the boxcars than those of identical shipments received on October
25, 1990. Bayfield’s traffic department was called to determine if lighter-weight
dunnage or pallets were used on the shipments. (This might explain the lighter
net weights.) Bayfield indicated, however. that no changes had been made in the
loading or palletizing procedures. Hence, Wet-Land randomly checked 50 of the
bags and discovered that the average net weight was 47.51 pounds. They noted
from past shipments that the bag net weights averaged exactly 50.0 pounds, with
an acceptable standard deviation of 1.2 pounds. Consequently, they concluded
that the sample indicated a significant short-weight. (The reader may wish to
verify the above conclusion.) Bayfield was then contacted, and Wells was sent to
investigate the complaint. Upon arrival, Wells verified the complaint and issued
a 5% credit to Wet-Land. Wet-Land’s management, however, was not completely
satisfied with only the issuance of credit for the short shipment. The charts followed
by their mud engineers on the drilling platforms were based on 50-pound bags
of treating agents. Lighter-weight bags might result in poor chemical control
during the drilling operation and might adversely affect drilling efficiency. (Mud
treating agents are used to control the pH and other chemical properties of the
cone during drilling operation.) This could cause severe economic consequences
because of the extremely high cost of oil and natural gas well drilling operations.
Consequently, special use instructions had to accompany the delivery of these
shipments to the drilling platforms. Moreover, the light-weight shipments had
to be isolated in Wet-Land’s warehouse, causing extra handling and poor space
utilization. Hence, Wells was informed that Wet-Land Drilling might seek a new
supplier of mud treating agents if, in the future, it received bags that deviated
significantly from 50 pounds.
The quality control department at Bayfield suspected that the light-weight bags Notes
may have resulted from “growing pains” at the Orange plant. Because of the earlier
energy crisis, oil and natural gas exploration activity had greatly increased. This
increased activity, in turn, created increased demand for products produced by
related industries, including drilling muds. Consequently, Bayfield had to expand
from a one-shift (6:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.) to a two-shift (6:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M.)
Operation in mid-1988, and finally to a three-shift operation (24 hours per day)
in the fall of 1990.
The additional night-shift bagging crew was staffed entirely by new employees.
The most experienced foremen were temporarily assigned to supervise the night-
shift employees. Most emphasis was placed on increasing the output of bags to
meet the ever-increasing demand. It was suspected that only occasional reminders
were made to double-check the bag weight-feeder. (A double-check is performed
by systematically weighing a bag on a scale to determine if the proper weight is
being loaded by the weight-feeder. If there is significant deviation from 50 pounds,
corrective adjustments are made to the weight-release mechanism.)
To verify this expectation, the quality control staff randomly sampled the bag
output and prepared the following chart. Six bags were sampled and weighed
each hour.
Discussion:
What procedures would you recommend to maintain proper quality control?
UNIT IV Notes
Notes
I LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this unit, you will be able to:
• Build a house of quality
• Appreciate the importance of QFD and the process of deployment
• Use different analytical tools to detect and prevent failure and losses
• Compare the old and new management tools pertaining to Quality
Management.
II LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Explain the different meanings of the quality concept and its influence.
• Describe, distinguish and use the several techniques and quality
management tools.
• Explain and distinguish the normalisation, homologation and certification
activities.
• Identify the elements that are part of the quality measuring process in the
industry.
• Predict the errors in the measuring process, distinguishing its nature and
the root causes.
• Justify whether or not a measuring process fulfils the established quality
requirements.
• Understand and calculate the correction and uncertainty parameters as a
result of an instrument calibration.
• Explain the regulation and the phases of a quality system certification
process.
III OVERVIEW
Quality functions development (QFD) – Benefits, Voice of customer, information
organization, House of quality (HOQ), building a HOQ, QFD process. Failure
mode effect analysis (FMEA) – requirements of reliability, failure rate, FMEA
stages, design, process and documentation. Seven old (statistical) tools. Seven
new management tools. Bench marking and POKA YOKE
INTRODUCTION
To achieve in quality Management, one need to be in possession of various tools
and techniques. To establish a house of quality, we need to have an umbrella like
coverage in the form of quality function deployment. Loss minimization, failure
reduction process reliability improvement are possible to be achieved through
the application of various statistical and management tools –old and new. This
exercise has to be done by identifying a benchmark and trying hard to surpass Notes
it. This unit deals with Quality Functions Development (QFD), Benefits, Voice
of Customer, Information Organization, House of Quality (HOQ), Building a
HOQ, QFD Process, Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA), Requirements of
reliability, Failure Rate, FMEA stages, design, process and documentation, Taguchi
Techniques – Introduction, Loss function, Parameter and Tolerance Design, Signal
to Noise Ratio,
Notes Acceptance and growth of the use of QFD in the US was initially rather slow
but has since gained popularity and is currently being used in manufacturing,
healthcare and service organizations.
• Shorter Development Time and Lower Cost: QFD reduces the likelihood Notes
of late design changes by focusing on product features and improvements
based on customer requirements. Effective QFD methodology prevents
valuable project time and resources from being wasted on development
of non-value-added features or functions.
• Structure and Documentation: QFD provides a structured method and
tools for recording decisions made and lessons learned during the product
development process. This knowledge base can serve as a historical record
that can be utilized to aid future projects.
Companies must bring new and improved products to market that meet the
customer’s actual wants and needs while reducing development time. QFD
methodology is for organizations committed to listening to the Voice of the
Customer and meeting their needs.
How to implement quality function Development (QFD)?
The Quality Function Development methodology is a 4-phase process that
encompasses activities throughout the product development cycle. A series of
matrices are utilized at each phase to translate the Voice of the Customer to design
requirements for each system, sub-system and component. The four phases of
QFD are:
1. Product Definition: The Product Definition Phase begins with collection of
VOC and translating the customer wants and needs into product specifications.
It may also involve a competitive analysis to evaluate how effectively the
competitor’s product fulfills the customer wants and needs. The initial design
concept is based on the particular product performance requirements and
specifications.
2. Product Development: During the Product Development Phase, the critical
parts and assemblies are identified. The critical product characteristics
are cascaded down and translated to critical or key part and assembly
characteristics or specifications. The functional requirements or specifications
are then defined for each functional level.
3. Process Development: During the Process Development Phase, the
manufacturing and assembly processes are designed based on product and
component specifications. The process flow is developed and the critical
process characteristics are identified.
4. Process Quality Control: Prior to production launch, the QFD process identifies
critical part and process characteristics. Process parameters are determined
and appropriate process controls are developed and implemented. In addition,
any inspection and test specifications are developed. Full production begins
upon completion of process capability studies during the pilot build.
Effective use of QFD requires team participation and discipline inherent in the
practice of QFD, which has proven to be an excellent team-building experience.
a reasonable cost. Which vendor will you award the business? Implementing a Notes
solid effective VOC process will enable you to:
• Hear what your customer is trying to tell you. Know what your customers
actually want instead of what you may believe they want.
• Respond to customer needs in a timely manner. By tracking trends in
customer feedback you can anticipate changes, react quicker and bring
new product to market sooner.
• Design and develop a product your customer wants and needs. Avoid costly
design changes.
• Provide the level of quality service that your customer expects.
• Increase sales while also maximizing margins. By knowing the voice of
the customer you can design and deliver what the customer wants, omitting
what is not important to them and avoid over designing the product.
Notes Identify
The first step in any VOC process is to identify your customers. Many organizations
concentrate entirely on the end user of the product and service and forget about
other customers. Missed customers are missed opportunities. It is important to
identify all your customers when designing and implementing a VOC system.
Customers may be internal or external to the company.
Internal Customers
Who your internal customers are may depend on the type of organization
and structure. Internal customers can be stakeholders or other leaders of the
organization, the next step in a process or the associates working the particular
process.
External customers
The external customers consist of the dealers or end users of the product or
service. The type of external customer can vary as well. External customers could
be wholesale distributors, retail consumers or manufacturing companies. One
important note; do not only consider your current customers, but also look to the
future. Many New Product Introduction (NPI) projects purpose is to target new
markets and new customers. When introducing new products it is vital that you
properly study the demographics of your target market.
Collect
The next step is to determine the methods used for collection and storage of the
data and the proper sample size. Gathering data from an entire population of users
or customers would be impractical. Therefore, a sample size must be determined
that will accurately reflect the views of the population.
Sample Size
Larger sample sizes generally produce more accurate results, but can be very
costly and difficult to manage. To determine an appropriate sample size requires
an understanding of statistics. Prior to calculating a sample size, you need to
determine some key factors:
• Demographics – Determine the number of people that fit your demographic
or target population. Demographics are the statistical characteristics of
a particular group such as income level, age, or location such as rural
vs. urban populations. Target markets or segments of the population are
regularly established using demographic data.
• Confidence Interval – Also referred to as “Margin of Error”, this is a
percentage that denotes how accurately the samples will be to the true
value of the overall population. The general rule is that the smaller the
margin of error the more accurate the results. Keep in mind that selecting
smaller margins of error require larger sample sizes.
• Confidence Level – Quantifies the degree of certainty that the sample will Notes
represent the overall population within your selected confidence interval.
For example, selecting a confidence level of 90% indicates that you are
certain that 90% of the data will fall within the selected interval. The most
common intervals used are 90%, 95% or 99%.
• Standard Deviation – The standard of deviation (sigma) indicates the
amount of variation expected within a set of data. The exact value is difficult
to define prior to collection of the data. Therefore, most often this value
is initially set at 0.5. The majority of your data should fall between ± 3
standard deviations, or 3 sigma, from the mean.
• Z-Value – A constant value based on your confidence level. It indicates
the number of standard deviations between any selected value and the
average/mean of the population. The Z value can be manually calculated
but most practitioners locate a table online. For a confidence level of 90
percent, the z value is >1.65.
The proper sample size can now be determined based upon this information.
Collection Methods
Some commonly used tools for collecting customer feedback may include,
but are not limited to, the following:
• Surveys – A survey is one of the most commonly used research tools for
collecting data. A survey may be used to gather information or to obtain the
customers impression / opinion of a particular product or service. Surveys
may be in the form of a questionnaire that the participant fills out or a list
of questions asked in an interview setting. Questionnaires are distributed
via mailers or most often are performed online.
• Dealer Meetings – Some companies utilize a group of dealers to distribute
their products, similar to the automotive industry. Dealers interact with
customers on a daily basis. Regular dealer meetings are a prime opportunity
to gather the Voice of the Customer. Dealer feedback can be a robust
addition to your customer research.
• Focus Groups – Focus groups are generally small groups brought together
to discuss or review a specific product or service. The members of the group
are demographically diverse individuals meant to represent the views of
the whole customer base. Focus groups encourage open discussion instead
of individual responses to formal questions. The moderator documents
the VOC information in the form of notes, audio recordings or video
documentation. The risk involved with only using focus groups is that the
data may consist of personal preferences or beliefs that may not represent
the general population.
• Interviews – Interviews are a more direct and personal form of information
gathering. There are two primary types of interviews commonly used. In
Notes the Personal Interview, the interviewer works directly with the respondent,
and may ask follow-up questions and document their opinion or impression
of the interviewee and the results. Another type is the Phone Interview,
which allows for quicker information gathering than the personal interview.
Telephone interviews allow for some personal interaction between
the participants and may include follow-up questions. There are a few
disadvantages to the interview process in general. Interviews require a large
investment of time and resources. In addition, the accuracy and skills of
the interviewer introduce additional variables that may affect the quality
of the information.
Once the data has been collected, consider what information you need to store
and how often you need to back it up. In addition, assure that your system has
adequate security measures to prevent hackers from breaking in and stealing any
sensitive data. Furthermore, make sure that the archived data can be easily located.
Establish clear guidelines for labeling, classifying, storage and access to your data.
Analyze
Now that the customer feedback has been collected and stored, a system is required
to manage the complex data, set priorities and make accurate decisions based on
the data. One very popular tool is the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). A
hierarchy is a method of arranging or classifying information or data relative to
its importance or relevance. AHP is effective in addressing complex decisions
involving the comparison of various elements that are difficult to quantify. Using
the hierarchical approach we can structure the information by category and sub-
categories wherein each element is compared by pairs and the criteria is weighted.
The analytical hierarchy practitioner may also utilize a matrix to perform the
pairwise comparison. The different factors are paired and weighted according to
which of the two better meet the requirements or preference of the target market.
By utilizing AHP to organize and prioritize the data, better decisions can be made
based on the Voice of the Customer information.
Integrate
Upon collection and storage of the VOC data, the next step is to translate the
customer wants and needs into product features and technical design specifications.
One of the most effective methods for accomplishing this translation is with Quality
Function Development (QFD). The House of Quality is usually the first matrix
used in the QFD process, which demonstrates the relationship between the VOC
“Whats” (customer wants and needs) and the “Hows” (design specifications)
required to meet the customer’s needs. The matrix is data intensive and allows the
team to translate and capture a large amount of information in one document. The
matrix earned the name House of Quality due to its structure resembling that of
a house. A cross-functional team possessing thorough knowledge of the product,
the voice of the customer, and the company’s capabilities should complete the
matrix. The QFD process allows for integration of the design specifications into the
machine, system, sub-system and component level requirements. In addition, the Notes
design specifications are used to identify the key design and process characteristics,
which are then monitored and controlled throughout the production and assembly
processes. The design features and specifications derived from the VOC must
be integrated into the entire organization to assure that the customer’s want and
needs are being satisfied.
Maintain
Once the VOC process is established and integrated throughout the organization,
the next step is to assure the information stays up to date and relevant to the
customer’s continuously changing wants and needs. A system must be developed
to regularly review and reassess your VOC data on an ongoing basis to ensure
your service offerings continue to meet or exceed their requirements. There are
several software packages on the market to manage VOC data or it may be done
manually. It does not matter what method you choose to monitor and maintain your
VOC library of data, the important thing is to make certain that the information
is maintained properly. The fresher your information the more likely you are to
keep abreast of your customers’ needs and possibly introduce a ground breaking
new product.
Benefits of QFD
Improves customer satisfaction
Defines requirements into basic needs
Fewer customer complaints
Reduces implementation time
Reduction in design changes
Expensive corrections and redesigns are eliminated
Promotes teamwork
Inputs are required from all facets of an organization
Provides documentation
Notes
4.2 HOUSE OF QUALITY:
House of Quality refers to a well-known process for product development that is
inspired by customer desires for product or process development and anchored by
the capabilities and resources of the organization seeking to meet those desires.
It is a process of listening to customers, translating their desires into a written plan,
prioritizing steps of execution based on what is most important to the customer,
and putting a realistic plan on paper. House of Quality is a part of a larger process
called QFD, which stands for Quality, Function, Development. This represents
quality-monitoring, a focus on the function of execution of a quality plan, and
the application of resources for Development of that plan. While the name, QFD,
does not encapsulate all that QFD covers, it is a name that has been around for
quite some time. It is familiar, so organizations continue to use it.
A house of quality (HOQ) involves collecting and analyzing the “voice of the
customer” and a key component of the Quality Functional Development technique.
It is used to define the relationship between customer desires and the product or
company capabilities.
STEPS:
Step 1: Customer Requirements- “Voice of the Customer”
The first step in a QFD is to determine the market segments and identification of
prospective customers. Then team collects customer requirements for the product
or service and rate on a scale of 1 to 5. With 5 being the most important and 1
being the least. Calculate the relative importance.
Identify more specific target values for technical specifications to satisfy the VOC.
This section helps appropriate teams within the origination to develop next-level
QFD.
Departmental Buy-In
Often, disagreement or misunderstanding between departments of a customer’s
organization can occur in relation to what is actually needed. Marketing may think
that a drone with trending features is top priority, but engineering may think that
overhaul of a problematic part is top priority. The process helps create a plan that
addresses all true priorities and to which all departments can agree.
Translate Customer Desires Into Goals & Technicalities
This is the heart of the QFD process where the recorded desires of the customer
are ranked by priority and specific process and resource planning takes place.
They are laid out onto a useful diagram labeled the House of Quality.
Provide Structure
It is easy for customers to jump all over the place stating what they desire and
tossing out ideas. But, at the end of the day, your role is to hone in on what they
want and provide a logical, executable, traceable structure to organize their ideas.
Allocate Resources
Whether developing a physical product or creating a process for a customer,
resources are needed to do so. Humans, machines, computers, construction
materials, disposable materials and more must be accounted for. What do we have
available to us and what do the available resources allow us to do? Answering
these questions is a critical part of execution.
Notes
Notes
After setting the primary design characteristics “hows” from the house of quality
can be converted to as the “whats” of another house that depicts detailed product
design. This process is repeated with a process planning house and then production
planning house. In this way, the voice of the customer is carried through from
design to manufacturing.
In 1950, the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) invited legendary
#quality guru W. Edwards Deming to go to Japan and train hundreds of Japanese
engineers, managers and scholars in statistical process control. Deming also
delivered a series of lectures to Japanese business managers on the subject, and
during his lectures, he would emphasise the importance of what he called the
“basic tool” that were available to use in quality control.
Notes
One of the members of the JUSE was Kaoru ishikawa, at the time an associate
professor at the University of Tokyo. Ishikawa had a desire to ‘democratise
quality’: that is to say, he wanted to make quality control comprehensible to all
workers, and inspired by Deming’s lectures, he formalised the Seven Basic Tools
of Quality Control.
• Check Sheet.
• Cause and Effect Diagram.
• Pareto Chart.
• Scatter Diagram
• Control chart.
1.Stratification
Stratification analysis is a quality assurance tool used to sort data, objects, and
people into separate and distinct groups. Separating your data using stratification
can help you determine its meaning, revealing patterns that might not otherwise
be visible when it’s been lumped together.
2. Histogram
Quality professionals are often tasked with analyzing and interpreting the behavior
of different groups of data in an effort to manage quality. This is where quality
control tools like the histogram come into play.
ANNA UNIVERSITY
185
Quality Management
Notes The histogram can help you represent frequency distribution of data clearly and
concisely amongst different groups of a sample, allowing you to quickly and easily
identify areas of improvement within your processes. With a structure similar to
a bar graph, each bar within a histogram represents a group, while the height of
the bar represents the frequency of data within that group.
Histograms are particularly helpful when breaking down the frequency of your
data into categories such as age, days of the week, physical measurements, or any
other category that can be listed in chronological or numerical order.
Notes
6. Scatter diagram
Out of the seven quality tools, the scatter diagram is most useful in depicting
the relationship between two variables, which is ideal for quality assurance
professionals trying to identify cause and effect relationships.
With dependent values on the diagram’s Y-axis and independent values on the
X-axis, each dot represents a common intersection point. When joined, these
dots can highlight the relationship between the two variables. The stronger the
correlation in your diagram, the stronger the relationship between variables.
Scatter diagrams can prove useful as a quality control tool when used to define
relationships between quality defects and possible causes such as environment,
activity, personnel, and other variables. Once the relationship between a particular
defect and its cause has been established, you can implement focused solutions
with (hopefully) better outcomes.
variations. Notes
Using a control chart can save your organization time and money by predicting
process performance, particularly in terms of what your customer or organization
expects in your final product.
Notes which modified the seven new QC tools to a similar set of seven management
and planning tools.
1.Affinity Diagram
The purpose of an affinity diagram is to provide a visual representation of grouping
of a large number of ideas or factors or requirements into logical sets of related
items to help one organise action plans in a systematic manner.
Procedure
• The steps in the procedure for preparing an affinity diagram are:
• Decide the subject or the topic
• Generate a large number of ideas through brainstorming
• Decide the number of groups and their titles. Create a card for each group.
Enter the title of the group at the top of the card.
• Distribute all the ideas among the cards. If necessary, create new cards for
additional groups.
• Arrange the cards according to the relationship between the groups.
• Give a name to the affinity diagram.
Applications:
The structure and the procedure for affinity diagram would have shown how
simple the tool is. Its simplicity makes it easy to combine it with other tools and
put it to a wide variety of applications. For instance, it can be combined with a
cause-and-effect diagram or a relations diagram to identify and regroup causes
for a problem or it can be combined with a tree diagram to categorise possible
solutions. Thus, it can assist in problem solving. It can be used to group customer
requirements in a complex product and can help one to design a product with
characteristics and features that would satisfy and delight customers. It can be
used to categorise actions in an implementation plan leading to a rationalised
distribution of responsibility. In fact, the tool can be used to break up any complex
problem or task into smaller more easily manageable bits. Someone has asked a
question - “How do you eat a whale?” which has an obvious answer -” A mouthful
at a time”. Another similar set of a question and an answer is - “How to eat an
elephant - slice by slice”.
Well affinity diagram is a tool that helps to break up a whale into convenient
mouthfuls or an elephant into manageable slices. Its simplicity makes it a very
widely applicable tool.
Notes
2. Relations Diagram
The purpose of relations diagram is to generate a visual representation of the
relations between an effect and its causes as well as the interrelationship between
the causes in complex problems.
Structure
As mentioned in the opening paragraph of the chapter, the structure of relations
diagram is not very rigid; it is quite flexible. Only thing fixed about the diagram is
a bold bordered rectangle in which the ‘effect’ is written. The causes are entered
in light rectangles and lines are drawn to show relation between the rectangles.
The lines have arrows at one end showing which is the cause and which is the
effect - the arrow always leading from the cause to the effect. The most common
shape the diagram takes has the ‘effect’ at the centre, with immediate causes
surrounding it and secondary and tertiary causes as outer layers.
Procedure
To prepare a relations diagram, there is a need for a large number of causes. No
single individual can generate an exhaustive list of causes.
Hence the tool gives best results when it is used in a group. The group must
brainstorm the subject to get the maximum number of causes.
The steps in the preparation of a relations diagram are:
• Decide the ‘effect’ or the problem for which causes are to be found.
• Write is in the centre of the flip chart or a board and enclose it in a dark
bordered rectangle.
Applications
Relations diagram can be applied to explore cause and effect relationships,
especially in complex situations where the causes are likely to be mutually related.
The most common use is in problem solving to identify multiple interrelated
causes. The output of the tool is a list of root causes for the problem with some
indication of their relative importance. The output has to be considered as only
an indication of the relative importance of the causes. Data has to be collected
to confirm or reject the conclusions arrived at the end of the session. Priority of
corrective actions to eliminate the causes should be based on the data collected, Notes
not on output of relations diagram. The output of relations diagram is based on
the perception of the members of the group brainstorming the issue; it needs to be
supported by facts. While the output is important as it points a direction to data
collection efforts, it is no substitute for facts and data.
3. Tree Diagram
Purpose
The purpose of the tree diagram is to explore ways and means to achieve an
objective, develop a list of alternate means to reach the desired situation in a
sequential order and to present them in a visual form.
Procedure
This tool like other tools in the ‘new seven’ is a group tool. A brainstorming
session is necessary to collect a large number of ideas for the means to achieve
the objective. The rules of brainstorming should be observed to get the best results
from the tool.
The steps in the procedure to develop a tree diagram are :
• Identify a high priority problem that needs to be solved at the earliest.
Prepare an objective statement describing the desired situation or the target
solution.
• Decide the appropriate form of the diagram - cascade or tree as well as
direction of flow after a brief discussion. Place the target solution in the
dark rectangle.
• Brainstorm to identify the primary means to achieve the objective. Arrange
them in an appropriate order keeping in mind the likely interrelations
between them and place them in rectangles at the first level.
• For each of the primary means, identify secondary means which would
Notes be necessary to attain those means. Arrange them in next level boxes.
• Identify tertiary means required to attain each of the secondary means and
place them in a proper order in the next level boxes.
• Continue the process till the group feels that the end of the line has been
reached.
• If a lower level means is required to attain two higher level means, it
may be connected to both. Rearrange the boxes if necessary, to make this
possible. Use of POST-IT pads can make such a rearrangement simple.
• Brainstorm to reach a consensus on the relative importance of the last
level means to priorities action.
Give a suitable title to the diagram. Application The most important application
of the tree diagram is for devising solutions for problems. It helps one to develop
a systematic step by step strategy to achieve an objective. It is also useful in
monitoring the implementation of solutions by taking care of accomplishment
of means at different levels.
4. Matrix Diagram
Purpose
The purpose of a matrix diagram is to explore the existence and the extent of
relations between individual items in two sets of factors or features or characteristics
and express them in a symbolic form that is easy to understand. The purpose for
which the tool is most frequently used is to understand the relation between Notes
customer expectations as expressed by the customers and product characteristics
as designed, manufactured and tested by the manufacturer.
Procedure
The steps in the procedure to prepare a matrix diagram are :
• Decide the two sets of factors for which relations are required to be clarified.
Call the set of the main factors ‘features’ and the set of factors dependent
on it counterpart ‘characteristics’
• Divide the features into primary, secondary and tertiary features.
• Divide the characteristics into primary, secondary and tertiary
characteristics.
• Place the features vertically on the left hand side of the matrix and
characteristics horizontally on top of the matrix.
• Enter the importance of the features on the column after that for the tertiary
features.
• In the main body of the matrix, place symbols at the squares denoting
the relationship between thefeature and the characteristic meeting at the
intersection. The symbols to be used are : - Strong relationship - Medium
relationship - Weak relationship
• In case there is no relation between the concerned feature and characteristic,
leave the square blank to indicate ‘no relation’. The relationship should be
based on data available with the team or on the
• results of a brainstorming session which must be confirmed by collecting
necessary data.
• Title the diagram suitably. ApplicationsMatrix diagram, being a very simple
table showing relations between individual items in two sets of factors,
can be put to a wide variety of uses.
• The symbolic representation of the relationship makes the diagram so
much easier to understand as compared to a table with a lot of figures. Let
us see some of the possible applications of a matrix diagram.
Matrix diagram can be used to solve problems by arranging data in such a way that
the relations between relevant factors are brought into sharp focus. It can be used
to understand relations between customer satisfaction and product characteristics,
between complaints and product groups, between complaints and geographical
regions, between a product’s performance in the market and promotional inputs
on it and so on.
Notes
Procedure
The steps in the preparation of a process decision programme chart are :
• Prepare a ‘normal’ flowchart of the process with all expected events as
steps in the chart.
• Consider the possibility of the process not going as per the plan due to any
abnormal, though less probable, occurrences.
• Show these occurrences on the flowchart through branching at appropriate
locations.
• Consider how the abnormal occurrence will affect the process and search
for ways and means to counter the effect.
• Show these countermeasures in rectangles connecting the corresponding
abnormal occurrence on one side and the process objective or the goal on
the other.
• Give a suitable title to the diagram.
• Steps 2 and 4 require totally different type of thinking and hence the team
must be prepared to think on appropriate lines. One needs to put on different
‘thinking hats’ while brainstorming steps 2 and 4and the facilitator must
inform all members about it. As suggested by Dr. Edward De Bono in his
book ‘Six Thinking Hats’ the correct thinking hats for steps 2 and 4 are
black and yellow which respectively encourage ‘negative logical’ and
‘positive logical’ thinking.
Applications
The tool has the widest range of applications as it can be used for a range of
activities from simple ones like a game of bridge or reaching railway station or
airport in time to catch a train or a plane to complex processes or projects. In fact if
can be applied to all processes to ensure their success by systematically minimising
the untoward effect of unexpected adverse occurrences. Through the process of
brainstorming for possible adverse occurrences and for measures to counter them,
one assures the success of the process even if such events do occur. The tool can
be used to prevent problems by identifying opportunities for error and devising Notes
measures to avoid failure. It can be used during the implementation of solutions
for predicting resistance and for planning measures to overcome the resistance.
7. Arrow Diagram
Purpose
The purpose of an arrow diagram is to create a visual presentation of the steps of
a process or tasks necessary to complete a project with special emphasis on the
time taken for these activities. The diagram provides a clear understanding of the
schedule of various steps in the process which helps one to monitor the process
for ensuring its completion on time.
Procedure
The steps for preparing an arrow diagram are:
• List all tasks or activities that need to be accomplished before the
completion of the process or the project.
• Decide which steps are undertaken in series and which steps can be run
in parallel.
• Arrange the activities in a proper sequence.
• Prepare ‘Event Nodes’ at the completion of steps and number them. Where
the process isbifurcating into two or more parallel streams, more lines will
flow from a node and where the parallel streams are merging, two or more
steps will lead to a node.
Notes • Write the description of the step on top of the line or to the left of the line.
Decide the time required for completing each step and write it under or to
the right of the line.
• Calculate the earliest time to reach an event node for the start of the process.
Where more than one streams are combining, the maximum time taken by
a stream is taken into consideration. This time is entered on the top half of
the rectangle. This time is related to the starting time of the process which
is taken as zero.
• After the time for all event nodes including the completion of the process
or the project is available, one calculates the latest time by which an event
node must be reached. This is done by starting at the time of completion
and going back step by step. The time is entered on the bottom half of the
rectangle. The time indication at all event nodes will appear as :
X Y where X is the earliest time by which the event can be completed and Y is
the latest time by which the event should be completed.
Give a title to the diagram. As the calculation of the time indications is extremely
important in the construction of an arrow diagram it is necessary that we understand
the procedure well. Let us understand the concept through diagram.
free 99.99966 percent of the time — allowing for 3.4 defective features for every Notes
million opportunities. Motorola initially set this goal for its own manufacturing
operations, but it quickly became a buzzword and widely adopted standard.
Six Sigma is specifically designed to help large organizations with quality
management. In 1998, Jack Welch, CEO of GE, helped thrust Six Sigma into
the limelight by donating upwards of $1 million as a thank you to the company,
recognizing how Six Sigma positively impacted GE’s operations and promoting
the process for large organizations. After that, Fortune 500 companies followed
suit and Six Sigma has been popular with large organizations ever since.
Improve process performance by addressing and eliminating the root causes. Notes
• Design of experiments (DOE) to solve problems from complex processes
or systems where there are many factors influencing the outcome and
where it is impossible to isolate one factor or variable from the others
• Kaizen event to introduce rapid change by focusing on a narrow project
and using the ideas and motivation of the people who do the work
Control the improved process and future process performance.
• Quality control plan to document what is needed to keep an improved
process at its current level
• Statistical process control (SPC) for monitoring process behaviour
• 5S to create a workplace suited for visual control
• Mistake proofing (poka-yoke) to make errors impossible or immediately
detectable.
Analyze
The result of the manufacturing process (i.e. finished product or service) is tested
by internal teams to create a baseline for improvement.
• Leaders use data to identify areas of adjustment within the processes that
will deliver improvement to either the quality or manufacturing process
of a finished product or service
• Teams set final processes in place and make adjustments as needed
Notes Design
The results of internal tests are compared with customer wants and needs. Any
additional adjustments needed are made.
• The improved manufacturing process is tested and test groups of customers
provide feedback before the final product or service is widely released
Verify
The last stage in the methodology is continuous. While the product or service is
being released and customer reviews are coming in, the processes may be adjusted.
• Metrics are further developed to keep track of continuous customer
feedback on the product or service
• New data may lead to other changes that need to be addressed, so the initial
process may lead to new applications of DMADV in subsequent areas
The applications of these methodologies are generally rolled out over the course
of many months or even years. The end result is a product or service that is
completely aligned with customer expectations, wants and needs.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
Includes the CEO and other members of top management. They are responsible
for setting up a vision for Six Sigma implementation. They also empower the other
role holders with the freedom and resources to explore new ideas for breakthrough Notes
improvements.
CHAMPIONS
Take responsibility for Six Sigma implementation across the organization in an
integrated manner. The Executive Leadership draws them from upper management.
Champions also act as mentor’s to Black Belts.
BLACK BELTS
Operate under Master Black Belts to apply Six Sigma methodology to specific
projects. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. They primarily focus on
Six Sigma project execution, whereas Champions and Master Black Belts focus
on identifying projects/functions for Six Sigma.
The “ Black Belt” should have completed the Black Belt certification and
monitored four projects to successful completion
GREEN BELTS
Are the employees who take up Six Sigma implementation along with their other
job responsibilities, operating under the guidance of Black Belts. Green belts are
similar to black belts, but they do not have a full-time role. • They are the project
heads or process owners. They execute six sigma projects as part of their normal job
GREEN BELTS: The “Green belts” should have completed the Green Belt
certification and completed one process improvement project successfully. Some
organizations use additional belt colors, such as Yellow Belts, for employees that
have basic training in Six Sigma tools and generally participate in projects and
‘white belts’ for those locally trained in the concepts but do not participate in the
project team.
4.6 BENCHMARKING
Benchmarking is defined as the process of identifying, understanding, and adapting
outstanding practices and processes from organisations anywhere in the world
to an organisation to improve its performance. Benchmarking is a continuous
improvement tool
1) Process benchmarking:
The initiating firm focuses its observation and investigation of business processes
with a goal of identifying and observing the best practices from one or more
benchmark firms. Activity analysis will be required where the objective is to
benchmark cost and efficiency; increasingly applied to back-office processes
where outsourcing may be a consideration.
2) Financial benchmarking
Performing a financial analysis and comparing the results in an effort to assess
your overall competitiveness.
3)Performance benchmarking
Allows the initiator firm to assess their competitive position by comparing products
and services with those of target firms.
4) Product benchmarking
The process of designing new products or upgrades to current ones. This process
can sometimes involve reverse engineering which is taking apart competitors
products to find strengths and weaknesses.
5)Strategic benchmarking
Involves observing how others compete. This type is usually not industry specific
meaning it is best to look at other industries.
6)Functional benchmarking
A company will focus its benchmarking on a single function in order to improve the
operation of that particular function. Complex functions such as Human Resources,
Finance and Accounting and Information and Communication Technology are
unlikely to be directly comparable in cost and efficiency terms and may need to
be disaggregated into processes to make valid comparison.
Notes
4.6.2 Reasons to Benchmark
Benchmarking is a tool to achieve business and competitive objectives. It is
powerful and extremely effective when used for the right reasons and aligned
with organization strategy. Some of the reasons are:
• Benchmarking can inspire managers (and organizations) to compete.
• Benchmarking allows goals to be set objectively, based on external
information.
• Benchmarking partners provide a working model of an improved process,
which reduces some of the planning, testing, and prototyping effort. As
the old saying goes, Why reinvent the wheel?
• Benchmarking enhances innovation by requiring organizations to
constantly scan the external environment and to use the information
obtained to improve the process.
Notes In deciding what to benchmark, it is best not to choose too large a scope.
Pareto analysis can be a helpful technique for deciding what processes to
investigate.
Understanding Current Performance
To compare practices to outside benchmarks, it is first necessary to thoroughly
understand and document the current process. It is essential that the organization’s
performance is well understood.
• Several techniques, such as flow diagrams and cause and-effect diagrams
can be used.
• When documenting the process, it is important to quantify it
• Special care should be taken when using accounting information.
Most accounting systems were developed to satisfy external reporting
requirements to the tax and regulatory authorities
Planning
The Benchmarking Team should do planning considering following:
• What type of benchmarking to perform: internal, competitive, and process.
• What type of data are to be collected – the method of data collection.
• Candidates to serve as the benchmark to be identified. Identifying the best
firms to find a benchmark is a research project. – timetables for each of
the benchmarking tasks : Techniques like Gant Chart, PERT, etc. can be
effectively used
• The desired output from the study
Studying Others
Benchmarking studies look for either description of how best-in-class processes
are practiced or the measurable results of these practices. For this purpose, internal
sources, data in the public domain, original research, or most likely a combination
of sources are used.
Three techniques for conducting original research are:
• Questionnaires: Questionnaires are particularly useful to ensure respondent
anonymity and confidentiality, when data are desired from many external
organizations and when using a third party to collect information.
• Site visits: Site visits provide the opportunity to see processes in action
and for face-to-face contact with best-in-class operators. Site visits usually
involve a tour of the operation or plant followed by a discussion period.
• Focus groups: Focus groups are simply panels of benchmarking partners
brought together to discuss areas of mutual interest. Most often the panels
are comprised of people who have some previous joint benchmarking
activity.
Design-FMEA
The primary objective of a Design-FMEA is to uncover potential failures
associated with the product design that could cause:
• Product malfunctions
• Shortened product life
• Safety hazards while using the product
Design-FMEAs should be used throughout the design process – from preliminary
design until the product goes into production.
Process-FMEA
Process-FMEAs uncover potential failures that can:
• Impact product quality
• Reduce process reliability
• Cause customer dissatisfaction
• Create safety or environmental hazards
Ideally, Process-FMEAs should be conducted prior to start-up of a new process,
but they can be conducted on existing processes as well.
System-FMEA
System-FMEAs (SFMEAs) are used to analyze a compilation of subsystems.
The focus of SFMEAs is on system-related deficiencies such as: Integration,
interactions, interfaces between subsystems; Interactions with the immediate or
adjoining surroundings; Interactions with workers; system safety considerations.
Software FMEA
Software-FMEAs (SW-FMEAs) study the programming logic that goes into
generating reports or controls associated processes. A Software-FMEA can be
conducted on software under development or existing software already in use.
Service FMEA
A Service-FMEA is conducted on transactions. Since a transaction is actually a
process, PFMEA techniques are used. Obviously, some of the rating criteria for
Severity and Detection must be customized so that it applies to transactions.
Concept FMEA
It is formulated in the very early stages in the lifecycle of a product or a process
when they are still at a conceptual stage. It is done at a system or sub-system level
before the key requirements have been decided. It targets the potential failure
modes of the factors under consideration or proposed stage. Concept FMEA helps
in identifying the factors that can be included in a product or process. It often acts
as a precursor to the Design and Process FMEA.
Notes For example, if a staircase handrail fails to provide support, it may result in the
effect of a staircase falling injury. Or, it may result in the closing of the staircase
for repair. Or, it may require a maintenance action to re-anchor the handrail.
Step 6 Assign a detection ranking for each failure mode and/or effect
Detection is a bit different in ranking then severity or occurrence. A high score
means the effect occurs without warning. It is not detectable.
Detection can include one or both of the following methods for alerting of potential
failure.
During product development and manufacturing can we find the defect that would
lead to a failure? Can we find the problem before it is shipped?
During normal use does the product provide some means to detect an upcoming
failure?
I use the example of car brakes to illustrate. During design and manufacture, we
can test the brake assembly for braking force. If insufficient, we can redesign or
adjust the brake assembly before installation in a vehicle.
One failure mechanisms that leads to brake failure is the wearing away of the
brake pad. Therefore, the insertion of a piece of metal that creates a warning sound
before the brake pads have worn too far, alerts the vehicle operator to replace the
brake pads before brake failure occurs.
Step 10 Calculate the resulting RPN as the failure modes are reduced or
eliminated
Document the changes to the product. Ideally, the results of completed actions
will reduce the risk.
Be sure to consider new information and function and recalculate. FMEA is a
process and as the program evolves and grows so should the FMEA. It’s a tool,
that helps the team address risks. Used as such it provides value.
STAGES OF FMEA
STAGE 1: SPECIFYING POSSIBILITIES
• Functions
• Possible Failure Modes
• Root Causes
• Effects
Notes • Detection/Prevention
a. A common industry standard scale uses 1 to represent not likely and 10 to Notes
indicate inevitable.
b. A numerical weight should be assigned to each cause that indicates how
likely that cause is (Probability of the Cause Causing).
11. Identify Current Controls ( Design or Process).
12. Determine the likelihood of Detection (D).
13. Detection (D) is an assessment of the likelihood that the current controls will
detect the cause of the failure mode or the failure mode itself.
a. The likelihood of detection is also based on a 1 to 10 scale, with 1 being the
certain of detection and 10 being the absolute uncertainty of detection,
14. Review Risk Priority Number
a. (RPN) Risk Priority Number (RPN) = Severity * Occurrence * Detection
RPN = (S) * (O) * (D)
b. The RPN is used to prioritize items that require additional quality planning
or actionDetermine the recommended actions
15. Assign responsibility and a target completion date for these actions.
16. Indicate the actions taken
17. Update the FMEA, As the design or process changes, the assessment changes
or new information becomes known.
Notes
Benefits of poka-yoke
Some of the important benefits experienced by poka yoke are as follows:
• Improved productivity
• Reduced inspection time
• Poka yoke is the fastest way to zero defects
• It acts as a key enabler for efficient manufacturing
• It virtually eliminates scrap, rework and repair
• The cost of quality control using mistake-proofing is substantially less
expensive than traditional alternatives
• Minimized inventory
• Increased customer satisfaction and customer loyalty
IV SUMMARY
Many tools and techniques are developed over time to manage quality in various
industries. This is due to the fact that the nature and character varies from one to
another. Development of quality functions in line with customer expectations are
elaborated in this unit. The information collected for various purposes have to be
judiciously used by establishing a logical relationship between them. The House
of Quality is presented in a simpler way for better understanding. The quality
function deployment is extensively deliberated right from thinking stage. The
Failure Mode Effect Analysis, its, evolution, benefits, types and categories along
with its application are presented. The FMEA design process, the steps involved
in them are presented by using examples. Bath Tub Curve is demonstrated and
the reliability concepts are deliberated in detail. Using illustrations, the Taguchi’s
Loss Function, its applications, the tolerance design are dealt with. The seven Notes
tools of quality – Ishikawa diagram, Pareto Chart, Check Sheet, Control Chart,
Flow Chart, Histogram and Scatter Diagrams are deliberated using examples.
The seven new management tools viz. Affinity Diagram, Relations Diagram, Tree
Diagram, Matrix Diagram, Matrix Data Analysis, Arrow Diagram and Process
Decision Program Chart are also presented with illustrations.
V KEY WORDS
FEMA, Benchmarking, Poka Yoke
Notes cars category called ‘Flash’. ‘Flash’ was brought in to compete with ‘Eskimo’ in
the mini car category. The entire team had worked towards the vision and was
waiting for the launch of the new breed of commercial vehicles and family cars
in the national auto fair. A quality consultant was approached and was asked how
to proceed further and how to launch the products.There was a 200% price hike
announced by ‘Eskimo’. The original price seemed to be an introductory offer.
Discuss:
1. The new set of vehicles have been designed considering the existing
customers feedback. Do you feel it is sufficient in the present scenario?
What will be your suggestions?
2. As the quality consultant what will be your recommendations?
3. How “Pokayoke” can be used in this scenario?
UNIT V Notes
CONTENT
I Learning Objectives
II Learning outcome
III Overview
Introduction
5.1 ISO 9004: 2000
5.2 Quality Management Systems
5.3 Guidelines for Performance Improvements
5.4 Quality Audits
5.5 TQM Culture
5.6 Leadership
5.7 Quality Council
5.8 Employee Involvement
5.9 Motivation
5.10 Empowerment
5.11 Recognition and Reward
5.12 ISO9000FamilyofStandards
5.13 Implementation ofQualitySystems
IV Summary
V Key Words
VI Case Study
VII Review Questions
VIII Reference Notes
Notes
I LEARNINGOBJECTIVES:
Uponcompletionofthisunit,youwillbeableto:
• Classifythequalitysystems
• Developand organizeQualityManagement Systems
• Handlechangemanagementonculture
• Focusingonallthestakeholders
• Applylatest developmentsinICT for ensuringqualityin organization
II LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Evaluate the principles of quality management and to explain how these
principles can be applied within quality management systems.
• Identify the key aspects of the quality improvement cycle and to select and
use appropriate tools and techniques for controlling, improving and measuring
quality.
• Critically appraise the organisational, communication and teamwork
requirements for effective quality management
• Critically analyse the strategic issues in quality management, including current
issues and developments, and to devise and evaluate quality implementation
plans
III OVERVIEW
ISO 9004:2000 – quality management systems – guidelines for performance
improvements. Quality Audits. TQM culture, Leadership – quality council,
employee involvement, motivation, empowerment, recognition and reward.
INTRODUCTION
Standards give the professional a clarity of achievability. The Quality Management
System has to engulf the organization so as to achieve Total Quality Management.
Involvement of everyone-employee, leader and other stakeholders in a positive
way will bring in success. To achieve this, the use of latest technologies like
Computers, Telecommunication have become part of system organization and
implementation process. This unit deals with Introduction to IS / ISO 9004 : 2000,
Quality Management Systems, Guidelines for Performance Improvements, Quality
Audits, TQM Culture, Leadership, Quality Council, Employee involvement,
Motivation, Empowerment, Recognition and Reward, Information Technology
Computers and Quality Functions, Internet and Electronic Communications,
Information Quality Issues
Notes
5.1. ISO 9004:2000
ABOUT ISO AND HISTORY OF ISO:
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a world wide
federation of national standards’ bodies from more than 140 countries (one from
each country). ISO standards are documented quality systems and activities,
used as the basis for adoption of uniform quality systems norms for international
exchange of goods and services.
In fact, ‘ISO’ is a word, derived from the Greek word ISO meaning ‘equal’, which
is the root of the prefix ‘ISO’ that occurs in a host of terms, such as ‘isometric’
(of equal measure or dimensions) and ‘isonomy’ (equality of laws, or of people
before the law). From ‘equal’ to ‘standard’, the line of thinking that led to the
choice of ‘ISO’ as the name of the organization is easy to follow.
The name ‘ISO’ is used around the world to denote the organization, thus avoiding
a plethora of acronyms resulting from the translation of ‘International Organization
for Standardization’ into the different national languages of members, such as,
IOS in English, OIN in French, etc
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international non
governmental organization made up of national standards bodies; it develops and
publishes a wide range of proprietary, industrial, and commercial standards and
is comprised of representatives from various national standards organizations.
The organizations abbreviated name—ISO—is not an acronym; it derives
from the ancient tGreek word ísos, meaning equal or equivalent. Because the
organization would have different acronyms in different languages, the founders
of the organization decided to call it by the short form ISO.
KEYTAKEAWAYS
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international
non governmental organization made up of national standards bodies that
develops and publishes a wider ange of proprietary, industrial, and commercial
standards.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was founded in
1947 and is head quartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
In addition to producing standards, ISO also publishes technical reports,
technical specifications, publicly available specifications, technical
corrigenda, and guides.
The ISO plays an important role in facilitating world trade by providing
common standards among different countries.
ISO9000:
ISO 9000 is defined as a set of international standards on quality management
and quality assurance developed to help companies effectively document the
Notes quality system elements needed to maintain an efficient quality system. They are
not specific to any one industry and can be applied to organizations of anysize.
ISO9000 can help a company satisfy its customers, meet regulatory requirements,
and achieve continual improvement. It should be considered to be a first step or
the base level of a quality system.
ISO 9000 history and revisions: ISO 9000:2000, 2008, and 2015
ISO 9000 was first published in 1987 by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), a specialized international agency for standardization
composed of the national standards bodies of more than 160 countries. The
standards underwent major revisions in 2000 and 2008. The most recent versions
of the standard, ISO 9000:2015 and ISO 9001:2015, were published in September
2015.
ASQ administers the U.S. Technical Advisory Groups and subcommittees that
are responsible for developing the ISO 9000 family of standards. In its standards
development work, ASQ is accredited by ANSI.
ISO 9000:2000
ISO 9000:2000 refers to the ISO 9000 update released in the year 2000. The ISO
9000:2000 revision had five goals:
1. Meet stakeholder needs
2. Be usable by all sizes of organizations
3. Be usable by all sectors
4. Be simple and clearly understood
5. Connect quality management system to business processes ISO 9000:2000
was again updated in 2008 and 2015. ISO 9000:2015 is the most current
version.
1. Customer focus
Understand the needs of existing and future customers
Align organizational objectives with customer needs and expectations
Meet customer requirements
Measure customer satisfaction
Manage customer relationships
Aim to exceed customer expectations
Learn more about the customer experience and customer satisfaction
2. Leadership
Establish a vision and direction for the organization
Set challenging goals
Model organizational values
Establish trust
Equip and empower employees
Recognize employee contributions
Learn more about leadership
3. Engagement of people
Ensure that people’s abilities are used and valued
Make people accountable
Enable participation in continual improvement
Evaluate individual performance
Enable learning and knowledge sharing
comes into an organization and evaluates it in terms of the ISO 9000 guidelines. Notes
If an organization meets the requirements of the standard, it becomes certified in
ISO 9000 and carries a seal of quality recognized throughout the world.
IMPORTANCEOFISO 9000:
The importance of ISO9000 is the importance of quality. Many companies offer
products and services, but it is those companies who put out the best products
and services efficiently that succeed. With ISO 9000, an organization can identify
the root of the problem, and therefore find a solution. By improving efficiency,
profit can be maximized.
As a broad range of companies implement the ISO 9000 standards, a supply
chain with integrity is created. Each company that participates in the process of
developing, manufacturing, and marketing a product knows that it is part of an
internationally known, reliable system.
Not only do businesses recognize the importance of the ISO 9000, but also the
customer realizes the importance of quality. And because the consumer is most
important to a company, ISO 9000 makes the customer its focus.
The popularity of QMS can be credited to the many advantages that incorporating Notes
a quality management system into company policy has proven to bring about.
Alongside show casing an immense dedication to providing quality products and
services, having a QMS in the company allows you to establish a brand identity,
create consumer loyalty, and consistently meet client necessities and improve
upon existing frameworks. A quality management system operates as a basic
framework to help organizations manage services and document relevant changes
and corrective measures for internal and external audits.
The ISO9000 Store describes the purpose and advantages of a QMS as “At its core,
a quality management system is an integrative element, uniting diverse aspects
of a company into a unified purpose of delivering products/services in their best
form. Rather than be seen as a cost burden, an effective quality management
system is viewed as a key component of success.”
Notes Application of statistical control came later as a result of World War production
methods. Quality management systems are the outgrowth of work done by W.
Edwards Deming, a statistician, after whom the Deming Prize for quality is named.
Quality, as a profession and the managerial process associated with the quality
function, was introduced during the second-half of the 20th century, and has
evolved since then. No other profession has seen as many changes as the quality
profession.
The quality profession grew from simple control, to engineering, to systems
engineering. Quality control activities were predominant in the 1940s, 1950s, and
1960s. The 1970s were an era of quality engineering and the 1990s saw quality
systems as an emerging field. Like medicine, accounting, and engineering, quality
has achieved status as a recognized profession.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT ORGANISATIONS AND AWARDS:
The International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 9000 series describes
standards for a QMS addressing the processes surrounding the design, development
and delivery of a general product or service. Organisations can participate in a
continuing certification processs to demonstrate their compliance with the standard.
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is a competition to identify and
recognize top-quality U.S. companies. This model addresses a broadly based
range of quality criteria, including commercial success and corporate leadership.
Once an organization has won the award it has to wait several years before being
eligible to apply a gain.
The European Foundation for Quality Management’s EFQM Excellence Model
supports an award scheme similar to the Malcolm Baldrige Award for European
companies.
In Canada, the National Quality Institute presents the ‘Canada Awards for
Excellence’ on an annual basis to organizations that have displayed outstanding
performance in the areas of Quality and Workplace Wellness, and have met the
Institute’s criteria with documented overall achievements and results.
The Alliance for Performance Excellence is a network of state, local, and
international organizations that use the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
criteria and model at the grassroots level to improve the performance of local
organizations and economies. NetworkforExcellence.org is the Alliance web site;
browsers can find Alliance members in their state and get the latest news and
events from the Baldrige community.
5.4 QUALITYAUDITS:
Quality audit means a systematic, independent examination of a quality system.
Quality audits are typically performed at defined intervals and ensures that the
institution has clearly-defined internal quality monitoring procedures linked to
effective action. The checking determines if the quality system complies with
applicable regulations or standards The process involves assessing the standard
operating procedures (SOP’s) for compliance to the regulations, and also assessing
the actual process and results against what is stated in the SOP.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires quality auditing to be done as
part of its Quality System Regulation (QSR) for medical devices, title 21 of the
United States Code of Federal Regulations part 820.
Notes The process of a Quality Audit can be managed using software tools, often Web-
based. Internal Quality auditing is an important element in ISO’s quality system
standard, ISO 9001. With the upgrade of the ISO9000 series of standards from
the 1994 to 2000 series, the focus of audits has shifted from procedural adherence
only to measurement of the effectiveness of the Quality Management System
processes to deliver in accordance with planned results.
Higher education quality audit is an approach adopted by several countries,
including NewZealand, Australia, Sweden, Finland Norway and the USA. It was
initiated in the UK and is a term designed to focus on procedures rather than quality
DOCUMENTATION
In every organization, the quality system must be documented properly. The
documentation of the system can be seen as a hierarchical format as shown.
QUALITY AUDITING
The term Audit refers to a regular examination and checking of accounts or
financial records, settlement or adjustment of accounts.
It also refers to checking, inspection and examination of Production Processes.
PURPOSE OF QUALITY AUDIT :
To establish the adequacy of the system.
To determine the effectiveness of the system.
To afford opportunities for system analysis.
To help in problem solving.
To make decision making easier etc.
TYPES OF QUALITY AUDIT
First – Party Audit.
Second– Party Audit.
Third– Party Audit.
Quality audit can also be classified on the basis of the area taken into account for
the audit such as
System Audit
Process Audit.
Product Audit.
Adequacy Audit.
Compliance Audit.
ISO 19011:2018 defines an audit as a “systematic, independent and documented
process for obtaining audit evidence [records, statements of fact or other
information which are relevant and verifiable] and evaluating it objectively to
determine the extent to which the audit criteria[a set of policies, procedures or Notes
requirements] are fulfilled.” There are three main types of audits:
• Process audit: This type of audit verifies that processes are working
within established limits. It evaluates an operation or method against
predetermined instructions or standards to measure conformance to these
standards and the effectiveness of the instructions. A process audit may:
Check conformance to defined requirements such as time, accuracy,
temperature, pressure, composition, responsiveness, amperage, and
component mixture.
Examine the resources (equipment, materials, people) applied to transform the
inputs into outputs, the environment, the methods (procedures, instructions)
followed, and the measures collected to determine process performance.
Check the adequacy and effectiveness of the process controls established
by procedures, work instructions, flowcharts, and training and process
specifications.
• Product audit: This type of audit is an examination of a particular product
or service, such as hardware, processed material, or software, to evaluate
whether it conforms to requirements (i.e., specifications, performance
standards, and customer requirements).
• System audit: An audit conducted on a management system. It can be
described as a documented activity performed to verify, by examination
and evaluation of objective evidence, that applicable elements of
the system are appropriate and effective and have been developed,
documented, and implemented in accordance and in conjunction with
specified requirements.
A quality management system audit evaluates an existing quality management
program to determine its conformance to company policies, contract
commitments, and regulatory requirements.
Similarly, an environmental system audit examines an environmental
management system, a food safety system audit examines a food safety
management system, and safety system audits examine the safety management
system.
Guidelines for planning quality audit:
Guidelines for Planning and Performing Quality Audits ISO 10011-1:1990
Quality audit Objectives:
Quality audits are intended to achieve the following kinds of objectives
To determine to what extent your quality system
Achieves its objectives.
Conforms to your requirements.
Complies with regulatory requirements.
Notes 3. Audit reporting: The purpose of the audit report is to communicate the results
of the investigation. The report should provide correct and clear data that
will be effective as a management aid in addressing important organizational
issues. The audit process may end when the report is issued by the lead auditor
or after follow-up actions are completed.
4. Audit follow-up and closure: According to ISO 19011, clause 6.6, “The audit
is completed when all the planned audit activities have been carried out, or
otherwise agreed with the audit client.” Clause 6.7 of ISO 19011 continues
by stating that verification of follow-up actions may be part of a subsequent
audit.
Notes
5.5 TQMCULTURE:
Culture is the sum total learned beliefs, values, and customs that serve to direct
the consumer behaviour of members of a particular society.
According to mead, Culture is a body learned behaviour, a collection of beliefs,
habits and traditions, shared by a group of people and successively learned by
people who enter society‖. The culture of an organization must accommodate
total quality management. This includes aspects such as teamwork, recognition
for work done, job security, fairness and ownership.
A TQM culture is based on certain values and leadership vision. A TQM culture
includes everyone and excludes no one. If there is a union then it must be involved
in the TQM effort. Total quality management related not only to the quality of the
final product, but also to the interaction between employees and the company.
Therefore, total quality management has a strong impact on the company culture.
More and more organizations are beginning to implement total quality management
(TQM) to sustain their competitive edge in industry. Implementation of TQM calls
for a complete change in the behaviour of people working in the organization
Culture of communication:
TQM is a customer-focused, people driven process to attain a company‘s stated
vision, mission, and strategic goals. Therefore, the company must have
Clear vision as to where it wants to go or what it wants to become, and by
when
Clearmission as to what business it wants to be in, why it wants to be in
that business and what role it wants to play at large
Clearstrategic goals as to what must be achieved, by how and when It
is the function of strategic planning and leadership to clearly define and
communicate the vision, mission and goals. What is to be emphasized for
cultural change is the culture of communication within the organization. To
draw the people into the TQM processes, they should be given a clear view
and understanding of the company‘s vision, mission and goals, and what
roles they are expected to play. People should understand what are guiding Notes
the happenings in the organization and why. Prior to TQM implementation,
thecompany must define these strategic elements and carefully explain
them to all employees in an unambiguous manner. These strategic elements
should relate and focus on its customers, and role of employees in this
direction should be clarified. Communication and collaborative decision
making influences both customers and employees and facilitates smooth
induction of TQM systems
2.Customer first’ attitude: This is inculcating a work-culture where each person
knows and values what the next-in-process customer wants, and commits to fulfill.
This essential step forward for building in customer-first attitude in the company
is an important attitudinal jump
3.Transparency in the organization: This is ensuring that key decisions are made,
communicated, and carried-out in the organization based upon shared values,
vision and customer expectations. Actions and behavior of top management must
not raise any misgivings in the minds of people about the management ‘s motives,
ethics, or practices. It is vital to develop trust and confidence between management
and people, as it cements bonds, and fosters commitment and motivation towards
common goals. This is a quantum cultural jump for leadership, but it has to happen
fast in today ‘s changing scenario
4. Empowerment of people: Leadership system should be such that it encourages
teamwork, creativity, and empowerment of people to get best out of every individual
and group. To empower people, people ‘s skills, knowledge, and understanding
of various process techniques must first be enhanced through intensive training
and development programs, and then people should be encouraged to apply their
knowledge. The whole process demands close attention of top management and
their periodical review for improvement actions. This is an attitudinal change
towards people in the organization
5. Continuous improvement and ‘learning’: This should be part of daily
routine and any approach to problem-solving. Learning should be encouraged by
training, interactive group formation, free discussions, seminars and workshops,
and freedom to apply this knowledge on the job. This is a change of work culture
for achieving superior performance in all activities
6. Customer-focused horizontal processes: Conventional organizations run
vertical processes. TQM demands processes with direct view of customer needs
for delivery of results as per commitment. This means horizontal customer-focused
processes that run across the conventional structure of functions and their vertical
boundaries be managed by empowered cross-functional teams. This provides
opportunity for direct customer contact ownership of the process for meeting
customers by the teams. Such horizontal processes involve structural change as
well as change of work culture
Notes
5.6 LEADERSHIP:
Definition
• Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which
one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment
of a common task.”
• Alan Keith: “Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to
contribute to making something extraordinary happen.”
• Ken “SKC” Ogbonnia: “Effective leadership is the ability to successfully
integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external
environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals.”
• Ann Marie E. McSwain: “Leadership is about capacity: the capacity of
leaders to listen and observe, to use their expertise as a starting point to
encourage dialogue between all levels of decision-making, to establish
processes and transparency in decision-making, to articulate their own
values and visions clearly but not impose them. Leadership is about setting
and not just reacting to agendas, identifying problems, and initiating change
that makes for substantial improvement rather than managing change.”
• These three definitions talk about certain common things. They are
resources, utilization of resources, managing constraints and getting
extraordinary results. These definitions also talk about motivating people
to work in unison to create results.
Concepts of Leadership
1. Be Proactive: Proactive people think beforehand and are ready to face a
situation. Reactive people react as per the situation and react on whims and
emotions. A proactive person can plan beforehand for an eventuality. If you are
well prepared then you can face a situation or solve a problem more efficiently.
2. Begin with the end in mind: “If you don’t know where to go then you
will reach nowhere” goes an old saying. Start a task with set goals. Goals are
important as they tell you where to go. They help in focusing your approach as
well. Remember the famous incident from Mahabharata where Guru Dronacharya
asks his disciple about what they could see during target practice. Arjuna gives
the most perfect answer as he was focusing on the target. Because of his focused
approach Arjuna became one of the best archers of his time.
3. Put first things first: Because of multitude of tasks and assignments one
needs to prioritize. This helps in giving more attention to more important things
at hand.
4. Think win-win: Think about mutual benefits rather than your own benefit
alone. Everybody wants to have an upper hand in life and in business dealings.
But this is practically not possible. So best way is to find is the middle of the road.
5. Seek first to understand then to be understood: First give other people Notes
ample time to express themselves. This will help on many fronts. The other person
gets enough opportunity to say what he wants to say. You get an opportunity to
understand other’s perspective. You get enough time to strategize accordingly.
6. Synergy: The best example of team work can be learnt from a pleasant
orchestra or ‘jugalbandi’ in Indian classical music. Especially in Indian classical
music you will observe how maestros bury their egos and come out with astounding
performances.
7. Sharpen the saw: Skill building or practice is very important. Nobody is
perfect and perfection is a thing which can never be achieved in one’s lifetime.
Moreover, it always pays to practice as much as you can.
5.7 QUALITYCOUNCIL
Quality council is mainly set-up to provide overall directions and guidance.
Quality council consists of the chief executive officer, senior managers of
design, marketing, finance, production and quality departments, a labour union
representative, and a coordinator. The coordinator will report to the chief executive.
The coordinator builds the two-way trust, reports the team needs to be council,
gives back the council expectations to the team and briefs the council on the team‘s
progress. The coordinator assists the team leaders, discusses on the problems and
shares their experience through regular meetings.
The duties of quality council members are as follows:
They identify the core values; establish the vision statement, mission
statement, and quality policy statement.
Draft the strategic long-term plan with goals and periodical quality
improvement programs with objectives.
Install education and training plans.
Monitor the cost of non – conformance, continually.
Decide on the performance metrics for the organization, approve and
monitor them.
Continually identify the problems and plan to improve the processes,
especially the ones, which lead to external and internal customer
satisfaction.
Install cross-functional schemes and departmental teams and regularly
monitor their progress
Install or update the recognition and reward system, to keep motivating
the people constantly
In the quality council meeting, the following matters are normally discussed-
progress report on teams, customer satisfaction report, progress on goals
achievement, new project teams, if any, and benchmarking report
Notes and pride. This anecdote tells a lot about small groups and how they can impact
motivation, productivity, and quality. If quality is the objective, employee
involvement in small groups and teams will greatly facilitate the result because
of two reasons: motivation and productivity.
The theory of motivation, but not necessarily its practice, is fairly mature, and
there is substantial proof that it can work. By oversimplifying a complex theory,
it can be shown why team membership is an effective motivational device that
can lead to improved quality.
Teams improve productivity as a result of greater motivation and reduced overlap
and lack of communication in a functionally based classical structure characterized
by territorial battles and parochial outlooks. There is always the danger that
functional specialists, if left to their own devices, may pursue their own interests
with little regard for the overall company mission. Team membership, particularly
a cross-functional team, reduces many of these barriers and encourages an
integrative systems approach to achievement of common objectives, those that
are common to both the company and the team. There are many success stories.
To cite a few:
Globe Metallurgical Inc., the first small company to win the Baldrige
Award, had a 380 percent increase in productivity which was attributed
primarily to self-managed work teams.
The partnering concept requires a new corporate culture of participative
management and teamwork throughout the entire organization. Ford
increased productivity 28 percent by using the team concept with the same
workers and equipment.
Harleysville Insurance Company’s Discovery program provides synergism
resulting from the team approach. The program produced a cost saving of
$3.5 million, along with enthusiasm and involvement among employees.
At Decision Data Computer Corporation middle management is trained
to support “Pride Team”.
Martin Marietta Electronics and Missiles Group has achieved success with
performance measurement teams (PMTs).
Publishers Press has achieved significant productivity improvements and
attitude change from the company’s process improvement teams.
5.9 MOTIVATION
‘Motivation’ is the process of inspiring people in order to intensify their desire and
willingness for executing their duties effectively and for co-operating to achieve
the common objectives of an enterprise.
In other words, it means to induce, instigate, incite or prompt someone to a
particular course of action for getting the results expected from him.
4. Non-monetary Facilities:
Besides financial incentives, some non-monetary facilities like the provisions for
travelling, education, accommodation and medical treatment of the employees—
free of cost—should be arranged for motivation.
5. Retirement Benefits:
Retirement benefits of the employees should be satisfactory for influencing them
to work more. Arrangement of the important retirement benefits like the provisions
of provident fund, pension, gratuity, etc. are to be made.
6. Security of Job:
The employees should be ensured about the stability of their employment. If they
feel safe and secured in their jobs, they will be highly motivated.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
8. Acceptance of Organisational Changes:
Organisations are integral parts of the society. The changes taking place in the
society, i.e. changes in technology, knowledge, value system, etc., require an
organisation to incorporate those changes to cope up with the requirement of the
time.
When these changes are introduced in the organisation, there is a tendency to
resist changes by the employees. However, if they are properly motivated, they
will accept, introduce and implement these changes and keep the organisation on
the right track of progress.
5.10 EMPOWERMENT
Empowerment means investing people with authority. Its purpose is to tap
the enormous reservoir of potential contribution that lies within every worker.
Empowerment is an environment in which people have the ability, the confidence
and the commitment to take the responsibility and ownership to improve the
process and initiate the necessary steps to satisfy the process and initiate the
necessary steps to satisfy customer requirements within well defined boundaries
in order to achieve organizational values and goals. There are two steps to
empowerment. One is to arm people to be successful through coaching, guidance
and training. The second is letting people do by themselves. Empowerment
should not be confused with delegation (or) job enrichment. Delegation refers to
distributing and entrusting work to others. Employee empowerment requires that
the individual is held responsible for accomplishing a whole task. The principles
of empowering people are given here.
1. Tell people what their responsibilities are.
2. Give authority that is commensurate with responsibility.
3. Set standards for excellence.
4. Render training.
5. Provide knowledge and information.
6. Trust them.
7. Allow them to commit mistakes.
8. Treat them with dignity and respect. The empowerment matrix is shown here
A key dimension to empowerment is alignment. All employees need to know the
organization’s mission, vision, values, policies, objectives and methodologies.
Fully aligned employees not only know their roles, they are also dedicated to
attain the goals. Once the management has developed empowerment capabilities
and alignment, it can unleash the power, creativity and resourcefulness of the
workforce. This is not possible without trust. Employees need to trust management
and feel that management trusts them. Mutual trust therefore completes the picture
required to build an empowerment workforce.
by all members of staff in the team. It is awarded by the Royal College of General Notes
Practitioners (RCGP). For the practice to achieve the award, evidence has to be
provided that conforms to a set criteria in the following areas:
Practice Profile
Availability
Clinical Care
Communication
Continuity of Care
Equipment and Minor Surgery
Health Promotion
Information Technology
Medical Records
Nursing and Midwifery
Practice Management
Other Professional Staff
Patient Issues
Premises
Prescribing/Repeat Prescribing
The Practice as a Learning Organisation
Notes These standards help organisations manage the security of assets such as
intellectual property, financial and employee data, and information held in trust
for third parties. ISO/IEC27001 is the most popular standard in this category,
and stipulates the specifications for the implementation of an Information
Security Management System (ISMS). There are 33,290 certificates issued for
this certification.
2. ISO14000–Environmental Management
This is a family of standards that provides the necessary tools and guidelines for
companies to manage their environmental responsibilities. ISO 14001 and all
other standards in this category lay emphasis on environmental systems.
These standards use tools such as audits, communications, life-cycle analysis
and environmental challenges. This standard can be used by any organisation
regardless of the industry. More than 300,000 ISO 14001 certifications have been
issued in 171countries.
4. ISO50001:2018-EnergyManagement
ISO 50001: 2018 provides guidance for companies in implementing an Energy
Management System (EnMS) that aims at improving efficiency in the use of energy.
This aims to reduce an organisation’s energy foot print by minimizing green house
gas emissions. ISO 50001 is not obligatory, and many organisations implement it
solely to comply with stakeholder expectations. Over 20,000 certifications have
been issued for this standard with a 69% increase from 2015.
Notes 8. Operation
9. Performance Evaluation
10. Improvement
Scope, References, Terms and Definitions
Scope of the standard
Normative references
Terms and definitions
The first three clauses in ISO 9001:2015 are scope, references, and terms and
definitions. These are informational clauses, rather than clauses that outline any
kind of actions or requirements. This is something we will get into in a later section
Notes Verify that the organization’s scope has been established in consideration of
organization’s boundaries and applicability of the quality management system.
Look for confirmation that your organization has determined the boundaries
and applicability of the quality management system to establish its scope with
reference to any external and internal issues referred to in 4.1 and the requirements
of relevant interested parties referred to in 4.2.
The scope of your quality management system may include the whole of the
organization, specific and identified functions within the organization, specific
sections of the organization, or one or more functions across a group of
organizations.
Leadership Notes
Demonstrating leadership and commitment, and customer focus
Establishing and communicating the quality policy
Establishing roles of authority and responsibility in the workplace
Management responsibility has to do, mainly, with customer commitment
requirements. This is basically the company’s commitment to serving the customer
and building a more loyal following.
Notes context and the relevant requirements of its interested parties, Top management
must review the policies in light of that information.
ISO 9001:2015 also requires that the policies are maintained as documented
information, refer to Clause 7.5.1a. You should check whether the policies have
been established communicated and understood throughout your organization.
The policies must also be available to any relevant interested parties.
A quick and convenient way to promote and communicate the policy might be to
create a shortened version of main policy; try condensing it to five key words or
even a couple of short sentences.
This can be posted on bulletin boards in each department. You could even add it
to the reverse side of staff security passes or ID badges
Provide an action plan describing how each target will be achieved Notes
Establish a time-frame or a schedule for achieving each target
Establishing an action plan for each objective may require considerable effort on
the part of the personnel at relevant levels within your organization.
To ensure the progress of the action plan and a coordinated effort, a target leader
should be selected for each target who will be responsible for ensuring a target is
achieved within the specified time-frame.
4. Support
Resources
Competence
Awareness
Communication
Documented information
It is really important that a business has the proper resources for everyone who
is involved, no matter if they make purchases with the company or go to work
there every day. An organized and professional workplace is paramount to the
successful implementation of a quality management system!
Notes 5. Operation
8.1 Operational planning and control
8.2 Determining requirements for products
8.3 Design and development of products and services
8.4 Control of external processes, such as suppliers and contractors
8.5 Production and service provision
8.6 Release of products and services
8.7 Nonconforming products or services
Clause 8 is comparable to the requirements from ISO 9001:2008 Clause 7.1 –
Product Realization Planning, but it has been extended to include implementation
and control, as well planning, evidence of controls, acceptance criteria and
resources to address risks and opportunities
Internal auditing
These sub-clauses provide a clear framework for planning and conducting internal
audits. The internal audit process is a primary tool ensure the QMS is operating
effectively.
During the early stages of implementing ISO 9001:2015, or any other management
system standard, the internal audit programme often focuses on ensuring that any
compliance issues or non-conformities are discovered and rectified prior to the
Certification Body assessment
However, once your organization becomes certified, the audit programme must
evolve. The focus of the internal audit programme should be re-directed, away from
‘elemental’ compliance with ISO 9001:2015, to an audit strategy that considers
the ‘status and importance’ of each process comprising the quality management
system.
If your current internal audit programme been developed on an annual calendar
that merely forecasts which aspects of your quality management system are
going to be audited, you should stop Begin programming your internal audits
by basing the audit frequency upon current process performance data, feedback
from customers, etc.
Management review
Here’s what ISO 9001:2015 is really all about: defining a policy, creating a plan
devising with relevant objectives. Implement the QMS according to the plan, begin
auditing, monitoring and measuring performance against the plan and reacting
to your findings.
Bi-annual management reviews are insufficient in frequency to be able react to
any issues effectively. Performance metrics should be monitored with varying
frequencies, some hourly, some daily, some weekly and some monthly.
Management cannot wait for six months to respond, if they do, it will be too Notes
late. Every time management convenes to review and react to performance, it is
considered as a management review.
Whether they are reviewing an individual’s performance, departmental programmes
and projects, etc., this should be considered as valid management review.
Some companies have multiple review levels, whereby, each review may require
multiple subjects and rely upon multiple metrics as inputs. Sometimes subjects
are reviewed at more than one level, e.g. production numbers might be reviewed
by the production teams during daily production meetings and then by senior
management, possibly weekly.
Top management might conduct weekly meetings in which they review metrics
and objectives to determine if any corrective action is required. The process owner
is then responsible for reporting close out progress in the meeting a week later.
Management review meeting minutes should be retained as documented
information!
objectives and thus consistently delivering a quality product or service to the Notes
customer. A QMS helps to coordinate and direct an organization’s activities to meet
customer and regulatory requirements and continually improve its effectiveness
and efficiency. The QMS documentation must accurately and succinctly document
the organisation’s structure, procedures, processes and resources.
Quality procedures
Describes how the organisation implements the QMS by documenting the
applicable processes. Format can include text, flowcharts, tables, a combination
of the above as best meets the needs of the organisation. Procedures usually cross
reference work instructions.
Work Instructions
Describe an activity within a process and provide detailed descriptions of how
to perform and record tasks. The structure, format and level of detail required
depends on the complexity of the work, methods used, training undertaken and
competence of personnel who execute the work instructions.
Quality Records
Serve as evidence that the organisation has done the work documenting the actions
of an activity or process.
Notes mentioned before, it uses ISO 9000 as a core (document control, corrective action,
auditing, etc.), but adds quite a few additional requirements.
ISO 16949:2009
ISO/TS 16949:2009, in conjunction with ISO 9001:2008, defines the quality
management system requirements for the design and development, production
and, when relevant, installation and service of automotive-related products.
ISO/TS 16949:2009 is applicable to sites of the organization where customer-
specified parts, for production and/or service, are manufactured.
Guidelines
ISO 14040:2006 - Environmental Management - Life Cycle Assessment
- Principles AndFramework
ASQ/ANSI/ISO 14044:2006 - Environmental Management - Life Cycle
Assessment -
What are Ithe SO 14001 standards for? ISO 140001 has 2 main objectives:
To give a standardized and proven framework that can help organizations
to develop an effective environmental management strategy;
To work as an official recognition and prize for the organizations’ efforts
to improve their environmental strategies.
norms is the search for continuous improvement, in successive cycles, according Notes
to the four-step process of the Deming (PDCA) cycle:
Plan
Do
Study/Check
Act
Environmental policy
Top management shall define its organisation’s environmental policy,
and ensure it is appropriate to the environmental impact of its activities,
products and services.
Commitment to continuous improvement, prevention of pollution
and compliance with legislation and regulations shall be documented,
implemented and maintained.
The environmental objectives and targets shall be set and reviewed.
The policy shall be communicated to all persons working for the
organisation and be made available to the public.
Planning
Procedures shall be established and maintained for activities, products and
services which can have significant impacts on the environment.
Procedures are required for identifying applicable legal requirements
and maintaining objectives and targets at relevant functions within the
organisation, whilst considering legal, technology options, financial,
operational and business requirements.
Programmes shall be maintained for achieving objectives and targets
including designation of responsibilities, means and time frame for
achievement.
The potential for accident and emergency situations shall be identified in Notes
order to prevent impact on the environment that may be associated with
them. A review of emergency preparedness and response procedures shall
be carried out and periodically tested where practicable.
Notes cases regulatory bodies are more flexible with companies with performance and
public accountability records.
In addition, Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) have indicated
that certification may lead to a reduction in the number of inspections required
for obtaining permits. In unique circumstances, the EPA has reduced fines on
the condition that financial resources are put into better practices, including
compliance to ISO 14001.
Through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), ISO 14001 is
expected to become a prerequisite for doing business worldwide. Experts say that it
is the market forces, which will drive acceptance of the new global environmental
standards.
ISO 14001 is also compatible with other management standards such as ISO 9001,
OHSAS18001and ISO 27001.
IV SUMMARY
Standards are important in ensuring the TQM culture in organizations. The Quality
Management Systems use various standards and guiding principles for ensuring
the adherence to objectives and also to improve the performance. Quality Audit
will reveal the local stand of the system. The leadership plays an important and
indispensable role to win over the employees in organization through various
methods of recognition and reward. The developments in IT helped in defining
quality functions and the computers and internet are used to address to the issues
related to information quality.
V KEY WORDS
Quality Management Systems. Quality Audits, Quality Council. ISO-9000.
day morning at 8 am he called for an urgent meeting of all the 60 employees he had Notes
and announce proudly his intentions of making the company a quality company.
He also announced the vision statement for the company. By 10 am about 100
placards with the vision statement were made ready and fixed in all important
locations. All the employees were surprised to see the placard everywhere and
wondered what it is all about. Mr. Shah Alam enforced that the vision of the
company has to be adhere to by everyone. He was confident that company will
soon become a quality company.
One month later, Mr. shah Azad approached his brother Mr. Shah Alam to help
him in starting a joint venture company. Mr. Shah Azad was new to business. Mr.
Shah Alam being very much attached to his family, readily agreed to his brother’s
proposal to start a new company. For the next six months, Mr. Shah Alam spent
more than 80% of his time in the establishment of the new company.
In the meantime, Brix & Co in Dhaka, had a setback. Even though Brix & Co
has set targets to exports, the situation was so bad, they could not even penetrate
the local market. Percentage rejection increased and the balance sheet showed
heavy loss.
Discuss:
1. What according to you is the reason for the setback in Brix & Co?
2. What would be your advice to Mr. Shah Alam to revamp the situation?
3. What would have been the right strategy for Mr. Shah Alam in the beginning?
4. Do you feel that Mr. Shah Alam should not have started the second company?
If he still wanted to start what he should have done?
Notes
VIII REFERENCE BOOKS
1. Douglas C. Montgomory, “Introduction to Statistical Quality Control”, Wiley
Student Edition, 7th Edition, Wiley India Pvt Limited, 2012.
2. James R. Evans and William M. Lindsay, “The Management and Control of
Quality”, Sixth Edition, Thomson, 2010.
3. Poornima M.Charantimath, “Total Quality Management”, Pearson Education,
2nd edition, 2012.
4. “Indian standard – quality management systems – Guidelines for performance
Improvement” Fifth Revision, Bureau of Indian standards, New Delhi.