TQM Class notes

TQM Class notesQuality:The term quality is used in a variety of ways. Sometimes

it refers to the grade of a product such as USDA or Grade A eggs

it refers materials workmanship or special features such as waterproof or subtle aroma

it is relative to price i.e., cheap or expensive

The reason is customer values certain aspects of a product or service, and therefore associated those aspects with the quality that they perceive a product or service has.Definition:

Quality refers to the ability of a product or service to consistently meet or exceed customers expectation.

Quality means getting what you are paying for. People are willing to spend more in the hope that the extra money spent will bring them the peace of mind that comes with services and products that are trust worthy.Quality was not uppermost in the minds of U.S. business organization even in the early 70s.They tends to focus on

COST and PRODUCTIVITY

Rather than on Quality it was not that Quality was not important, it just was not very important.U.S organization got their lesson from the Japanese organization when specially leading Japanese manufacturers Honda, Nissan and Toyota become major players in the auto sales market in the United States. Both Honda and Toyota have built a reputation for quality and reliability in their cars.Way to Improve Quality

1. By hiring consultant

2. Send the people (including top executives) to seminars and

3. Initiated a vast array of quality improvement programme.

Note:Quality is not something that is tacked on as a special feature but an integral part of a product or service.

# in the 1990s U.S. auto makers began to close the quality gap.

# for generating awareness and interest in quality there are two quality awards-

1. Malcolm Baldridge Award(From U.S. A)2. Deming Prize

Contribution to the Quality Management:Scientists NameContributionYearRemarks

Frederick Winslow TaylorGave new emphasis to quality by including product inspection and gauging in his list of fundamentals of Manufacturing ManagementFather of Scientific Management

G.S.Radford#Improved Taylors Method#The notions of involving quality considerations early in the product design stage

#Making connections between high quality, increased productivity and lower costs.

W. Shewhart(Bell Telephone Lab)Introduced Statistical Control Charts for monitoring production.

H.F Dodge and H.G.Roming(Bell Telephone Lab)Introduced Tables for acceptance samplingAround 1930

W. Edwards DemingIntroduced Statistical Quality control methods to Japanees Manufacturers, promising that this would help them to rebuild their manufacturing their base and compete in the world market.Quality GuruWorked in Japan for about 30 years.

To honour him Japan Introduced Deeming Prize.

Provided 14 points

Joseph Juran Began his cost of Quality approach-Emphasizing accurate and complete identification and measurement of the cost of quality.

Published Quality contol Handbook in 1951

-Provides the concept Quality begins by knowing what customers wantQuality Guru

Major force in Japans success in quality.

Armand FeigenbaumProposed Total Quality Control-One important feature of his work was greater involvement of upper management in quality.

Mid 1950sAt the age of 24, he was general Electrics top expert in quality.He published his book Total Quality Control in 1961.

Philip CrosebyIntroduced concept Zero Defects-This approach focused on employee motivation awareness and the expectation on perfection from each employee.-Introduced concept Make it(do it) right the first time.During

1960Theapproach evolved from the success of the Martin Company in producing a perfect missile for the U.S. Army.

Kaoru Ishikawa-develop the cause and effect diagram (also known as a Fish-Bone Diagram for problem solving.

-Implemented quality circles that involves workers into quality improvement.

Genichi TaguchiTaguchi Loss Function which involves a furmula for determining the cost of poor quality.Taguchis method is credited with helping the Ford Motor.

Debate on Quality:

There is a lot of confusion as to whether quality costs money or whether its save money. In one sense quality means the feature of some product or service that make people willing to buy it. So its income oriented-has an effect on income

Now to produce features, ordinarily you have to invest money. In that sense, higher quality costs more.

Quality also means freedom from trouble, freedom from failure. This is cost oriented. If things fail internally it costs the company. If they fail externally, its also costs the customers. In this cases quality costs less.The Dimensions of Quality:

Generally speaking the dimension of quality include-1. Performance-main characteristics of the product or service.

2. Aesthetics-appearance, feel, smell, taste

3. Safety-risk of injury or harm

4. Reliability-Consistency of performance

5. Durability-the useful life of the product or service.6. Service after sale-handling of complaints or checking on the customer satisfaction.

7. Perceived quality-indirect evaluation of quality i.e., (say) reputation.

8. Conformance-how well a product or service corresponds to the customers expectation.

The Consequences of Poor Quality

1. Loss of business2. Liability

3. Productivity4. Repair work, Rework and Scrap costs.5. Return goods, Warranty costs, Inspection costs and lost sales.-

Note:It is said that 30-35% of gross sales are used by the maximum companies for improving the quality.

Example of a Quality problem

Tennant Company, a maker of floor-finishing equipment in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Soon after entering the Japanese market, Tennant began to receive complaints that their machined leaked. Managers were mystified-they had never heard this complain from their American customers. They company really began to worry when it learned that Toyota was considering entering the market. So, it started interviewing its American customers in earnest. Sure enough, the machines did leak. But the American customers didnt squeak: they just wiped up the leak, silently suffering and waiting for a competitor to enter the market so they could shift their business to it. Tennant eventually fixed the problem and Toyota never enters the market. So for getting quality related problem we have to remember the phrase The squeaky wheel gets the grease.Total Quality Management

The term Total Quality Management (TQM) refers to a quest for quality that involves everyone in an organization. There are two philosophies in this approach i.e.,

a. Continuous Improvement-never ending push to improve. It covers equipment, methods, materials and people.b. Customer Satisfaction-which involves meeting or exceeding customer expectation.Approaches of TQM:

1. Find out what customers want. We can get the answer of this question by

The surveys

Focus groups

Interviews or

Some other techniques that integrates Customers voice in the decision making process.We should include the internal customers (the next person in the process) as well as the external customers (The final customers).2. Design a product or service that meet or exceed what customer want. Make it ease to use and easy to produce.3. Remember the concept during the design a production process DO THE JOB RIGHT THE FIRST TIME .The concept developed by Philip Crosby.Determine where mistakes are likely to occur and try to prevent them.4. Keep track of results and use those to guide improvement in the system. Never stop trying to improve.

5. Extend these concepts to suppliers and to distribution.Note:Successful TQM programs are built through the dedication and combined efforts of everyone in the organization. As noted, top management must be committed and involved. If it isnt TQM will become just another fad that quickly dies and fades away.Some Other Elements in TQM1. Continual Improvement:

This is the philosophy that seeks to make never-ending improvement to the process of converting input into output.

It covers equipment, methods, materials and people.The concept was not used even few years back. But now it is very popular both in U.S.A and Japanese Companies. In JAPAN the concept is known as Kaizen.

2. Competitive Benchmark:For learning how to improve your operations, you have to identify the companies or organizations that are the best for something. The company need not be the same line of business as yours.

Example:

Xerox used the mail order company. L.L.Bean to Benchmark order filling.

3. Employee Empowerment:

Giving workers the responsibility for improvements. This puts decision making into the hands of those who are closest to the job and have considerable insight into problems and solutions.

4. Team Approach:The use of teams for problem solving and to achieve consensus, takes advantages of group synergy, gets people involved and promotes a spirit of co-operation and shared values among employees.5. Decision based on facts rather than opinion.6. Knowledge of tools:

Employees and managers are trained in the use of quality tools.

7. Supplier Quality:

Suppliers must be included in the quality assurance and quality improvement efforts so that there processes are capable of delivering quality parts and materials timely manner.Suppliers are the partner of the process and long term relationship is encouraged. This gives suppliers a vital stake in providing quality goods and services.It would be incorrect to think that TQM as merely a collection of techniques. Rather TQM reflects a whole new attitude towards quality.

TQM programs are touted as a way for U.S. companies to regain their competitiveness, which is a very worthwhile objective.

Nonetheless TQM programs are not without criticism. Some of the major ones are:

a. Blind Pursuit of TQM program: Overzealous advocates may focus attention on quality even though other priorities may be more important(i.e., responding quickly to competitors advances)b. Program may not be linked to the strategies of the organization in the meaningful way.c. Quality-related decision may not be tied to market performance. For example: customer satisfaction may be carried to the extent that its costs far exceeds any direct and indirect benefit of doing so.d. Failure to carefully plan a program before embarking on it can lead to false starts, employee confusion and meaningless results.Note:

There is nothing inherently wrong with TQM; it is how some individuals or organizations misuse it.PROBLEM SOLVING IN THE TQM APPROACH

Problem solving is one of the basic procedures of TQM .An important aspect of problem solving in the TQM approach is eliminating the cause so that the problem does not reoccur.Step-1:Define the problem and establish an improvement goal.

Give problem definition careful consideration: dont rush through this step because this will serve as the focal point of problem solving efforts.Step-2:Collect Data.

The solution must be based on facts. Possible tools include check sheet, scatter diagram, histogram, run chart and control chart.Step-3:Analyze the problemPossible tools include pareto chart, cause effect- diagram.

Step-4:Generate potential solutions.

Methods includes brainstorming, interviewing and surveying

Step-5:Choose a solution

Be sure what are the criteria are for choosing a solutions and select the best one.

Step-6:Implement the solutionKeep everyone informedStep-7:Monitor the solution to see if it accomplishes the goal.

If not, modify the solution or return to step-1.Possible tools include control chart and run chart.PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

Process Improvement is a systematic approach to improve a process. It involves-

i. Documentation

ii. Measurement and

iii. Analysis

For the purpose of improving the functioning of the process.

Goals of Process improvement

Increasing Customer satisfactionAchieving higher quality

Reducing waste

Reducing cost

Increasing productivity and

Speeding up the process.

Method of Process Improvement

One of the popular methods of process improvement is The Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle.

This also referred to as either Shewhart Cycle or Deeming wheel. This is the basis for continuous improvement activities. The method representing the process with a circle underscores its continuing nature.

There are four basic steps in the cycle-

Step-1: Plan

Begin by studying the current process. Document the process. Then collect data to identify problems. Next, survey data and develop a plan for improvement. Specify measures of evaluating the plan.Step-2: Do

Implement the plan on a small scale if possible. Document any changes made during this phase. Collect data systematically for evaluation.

Step-3:Study

Evaluate the data collection during the do phase. Check how closely the results match the original goals of the plan phase.

Step-4:Act

If the results are successful standardized the new method and communicate the new method to all people associated with the process. Implement training for the new method. If the results are unsuccessful revised the plan and repeat the process or cease this project.

In replicating successful results elsewhere in the organization, the cycle is repeated.

If the plan is unsuccessful and we wish to make further modifications repeat this cycle.

Employing this sequence of steps provide a systematic approach to continuous improvement.TOOLS FOR PROCESS IMPROVEMENTThere are a number of tools for process improvement. We are going to describe eight and first seven is known as seven basic quality tools. These are-

Check sheets

Flowcharts

Scatter Diagrams

Histograms

Pareto Analysis

Control Charts

Cause and effect Diagram

Run charts.

ISO(International Organization for Standardization ) CERTIFICATION FOR QUALITYBackground: ISO 9000 is a series of International Standards dealing with quality systems that can be used for external quality assurances purpose according to the original 1987 bulletin from International Organization for Standardization. This group founded in 1946 has become the focus of efforts to develop international quality standards to facilities world wide trade.The purpose of the ISO is to promote world wide standards that will improve operating efficiency, improving productivity and reduce costs. The ISO is composed of the national standards bodies of 91 countries.Disadvantages: 1. Success with ISO certification has not guaranteed success in business. The focus is often on paper work which may not directly benefit the firm.Charts of ISO 9000 and ISO14000:

3. Registration can be expensive and has unfortunately become a vehicle to increase consulting revenues.ISO 9000 SERIES:

ISO 9000 SETS STANDARDS FOR SYSTEM AND PAPER WORK, NOT PRODUCTS. It provides companies with a series of guideline on how to establish systems for managing quality products or services.ISO 9000 is also a general guide to the others.

ISO CATEGORYPURPOSE REMARKS

ISO9001It is the most comprehensive, covering research, design, building, shipping and installing

ISO9002It is for the companies that only produce and supply the existing products.

ISO9003For the companies which are doing only assembly

ISO9004It is a document to guide further internal quality development

ISO14000New standard to address environmental issues

STEPS FOR IMPLEMENTING ISO 9000There are five steps:

1. ISO 9000Assessment: The initial assessment is a detailed review of the companys quality systems and procedures compared with ISO9000 requirements. It might take two or three days to complete.2. Quality Assurance and policy: The quality manual is often used because it is good way to get all the necessary documentation together in one place. ISO 9000 standards do not required quality assurance and policy manual.