Streamlining_TQM

8/7/2019 Streamlining_TQM

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Introduction

N early every major organization aroun d theworld[1] believes that quality is a criticalfactor in its strategic perform ance. D ue tothis, many have attempt ed to imp lement

T QM in at least par t of their organization.H owever, d espite th is enormou s worldwideeffort many others have abandoned T QM .On e author [2] suggests that fully 95 p er centof TQ M imp lementation efforts fail. T herehave already been several famous withdrawalsfrom T QM by companies which have won th eD eming Pr ize or a Baldrige award[3]. Typi-cally these withdr awals are blamed on changesin top execut ives, nancial pressures, theover-focus on p rocess to th e detrimen t of business results, cultural m ismatches, or the

bloated bur eaucracy supp osedly required byT Q M .T he Power Systems division of Lucent

Techno logies, then known as AT &T, avoidedthese problems during the implementation of T QM . With a long heritage of involvement inquality, we adap ted the Japan ese style T QMto a U S manufacturing company. T he T QMdepart ment never grew to more than a do zenpeople and we focused our T QM efforts onthose processes that were truly critical to ou rcustomers, our em ployees, and our bu si-

ness[4]. In 1995 , however, we faced many of the same issues as those companies who hadpreviously abandon ed T QM : a highly com-petitive marketplace, a changing corporatestructur e, a new top executive, and th e natur-al human let-down following the enorm ousefforts required to win th e D eming Prize in1994. H owever, rather than aband oning theaward winning T QM system, the n ew chief operat ing ofcer called on the entire organiza-tion to put the T QM system to work. T hegoal was to use T QM as the management

system to dou ble the sales in a very shor t time.T he small T QM organization was charteredwith streamlining the already lean T QMsystem. T heir goal was to make the system soeasy to use that no one would h ave any excusenot to u se it on a daily basis.

The streamlining process

T he existing T QM system was similar toothers used by leading TQ M p ractitionersaround the world. It was based on t hree

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The TQM MagazineVolume 8 Number 4 1996 pp. 2428 MCB University Press ISSN 0954-478X

M ichael P. Cassidy

The authorMichael P. Cassidy is Quality Director, Power Systems,Lucent Technologies, Mesquit e, Texas, USA.

AbstractNotes that many companies have abandoned total qualitymanagement (TQM) implementation efforts and that a fewhave even dismantled TQM aft er winning major qualit yawards. Points out that this is generally blamed onchanges in top management, nancial pressures or thebureaucracy of TQM. Focuses on Lucent TechnologiesPower Systems business, which has avoided these prob-lems by dramatically streamlining i ts award winning TQMsystem and making it the key management t ool formeeting its next major business challenge. Describes theprocess used to evaluate the existing TQM system and tocreate the streamlined approach, the new streamlinedTQM system, and the result s obtained to date.

Case studiesStreamlining TQM

T his paper was rst presented at the 1st Intern a-tional Conference on ISO 9000 and T QM , 10-12April 1996, Leicester Business School, UK.


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primary elements: policy deployment, dailywork management and quality improvement .Policy deployment is the element of T QMthat aligns the organization arou nd the m ostimport ant activities to th e business. It helpsestablish the d irection, p riorities, and plansfor the business. D aily work management is asystem for docu men ting the specic processesinvolved with a par ticular job, organ ization orfunction as well as the plans for man aging andimproving that particular operation. Q ualityimprovemen t is of cour se a collection of toolsused to effect imp rovement such as the seven-step QI (quality improvement) story, sugges-tions, an d P oka-Yoke devices. A collection of forms helped pr ovide a disciplined docum en-tation approach. TQ M forms 1-5 document-

ed the mission, vision, accoun tabilities, spe-cic targets and cur rent r esults for a givenfunction or man ager and the relationship of each ind ividuals account abilities to those of his manager and the bu siness as a whole.Forms T QM 6-8 documented the processow diagram, the m anaging and checkingpoints, and the specic improvement plans fora particular area. TQ M 9 was required forpolicy dep loymen t met rics that were missingthe established target and described the cor-rective action plan. T QM 10 provided docu-

ment ed change control for the other forms. Inaddition, each ind ividual had a separate formfor use in reviewing their perform ance withtheir supervisor. T he ent ire process for eachmajor fun ction was reviewed t wice a year bythe chief operating ofcer in a president ialreview. T he results on the m anaging point s foreach major function were reviewed everyother mon th at an op erational review. Alsoeach ind ividual fun ction was reviewed indepth in a process mod elled after the D emingPrize schedule B examination by th e qu alitydirector several times a year.

T he existing system was evaluated by theT QM group. T hey reviewed their own experi-ence in using it and gathered feedback from abroad cross section of users throughout th ebusiness. T hese experiences, plus an assess-ment of the absolute requirements of a leanT QM system led to the new streamlinedsystem n ow in place.

A streamlined T QM system mu st providefor identication of th e customer, identica-

tion of the m ost import ant areas for improve-men t, involvemen t of all levels in p lanningimprovemen ts, aligning of the effor ts of theorganization, linking of the imp rovementefforts to the most impor tant n eeds of the

customer and the bu siness, assurance of meeting particu lar needs on a daily basis andfeedback to each ind ividual emp loyee so thatthey can improve their ability to contribut e tothe business in th e future. Feedback from theusers indicated th at some of the informationon the forms was redun dant , and that theywere in general, too com plicated. M any of theusers did n ot feel comfortable with t he rela-tionship matrices that used symbols to denotethe d egree of relationship of individu alsmanaging points with those of their supervi-sor.

Streamlined TQM system

T he new, stream lined system con tains all of the elemen ts of the old existing system b utwith reduced bureaucracy, reviews and paper-work. F ive forms are at th e heart of thestreamlined T QM system. Com pletion of theforms guides each individual and organ izationthrough the th ought p rocess of clearly identi-fying their custom ers, their areas of accoun t-ability, th eir linkage to th e overall goals of thebusiness, the processes they use, and theirplans for improvement. Also integrated intothe T QM system are the feedback process forhelping each individual improve, the manage-

men t review process and th e quality imp rove-ment tools.

T he rst form is used to identify the mis-sion, accoun tabilities and m easures for aparticular organization. Th is form (T QM 1)is used by Power Systems, the ind ividualbusiness units, functions, departm ents andshopoor teams. An example of T QM 1is shown in F igure 1 for the qu ality and

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Streamlining TQM

Michael P. Cassidy

The TQM Magazine

Volume 8 Number 4 1996 2428

O r g a n i z a t i o n : Q u a l i t y a n d I T

T o p r o v i d e l e a d e r s h i p f o r q u a l i t y i m p r o v e m e n t a c t i v i t i e s ; t o c r e a t e ,a s s u r e , i m p l e m e n t , a n d m o n i t o r a n i n t e g r a t e d q u a l i t y a p p r o a c h ; t o a c t

a s a n i n d e p e n d e n t c u s t o m e r a d v o c a t e a n d t o p r o v i d e I n f o r m a t i o nT e c h n o l o g y s u p p o r t t o a l l o f P o w e r S y s t e m s

A c c o u n t a b i l i t i e s M e a s u r e s

Customer SatisfactionRepresent the customer s interest within PowerSystems with respect to quality, reliability productsafety and product qualification

Stakeholder Satisfaction

Provide an effective, integrated qualityapproach to meet stakeholder needs

Employee SatisfactionCreate an environment where employeeparticipation is encouraged and every employeefeels empowered to contribute to Power Systemssuccess

Repor t Card Qual i tyOOBQDP HProduct ReliabilityCycle Time ReductionOASIS milestones completedTQM Review scoreProducts shipped not qualified

BudgetPIP $ savings

PVA employee survey score

M i s s i o n

Lucent Technologies Power SystemsTQM 1

Accountabilities & Measures

Figure 1 An example of TQM 1 for the quality and information technologyorganization


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information technology organization. Asexpected, m any of the measures are in t hearea of customer satisfaction. Specic depart-ment s in the organization, for example Quali-ty Assuran ce or Qu ality En gineering have

more specic measures which sup port theseoverall ones.

Organizations and ind ividuals also want toknow how their accoun tabilities align withthose of their super visor and the business.

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Streaml ining TQM

Michael P. Cassidy

The TQM Magazine


5 Enter managing points ofappropriate personnel as theycorrespond to entries of step 5

6 The chief operatingofficers managing points

will be pre-entered(see step 10)

7 Enter the previous yearsresults corresponding to the

managing point

8 Enter thecurrent targetcorresponding

to the managingpoint

9 Complete this sectioneach time

TQM 5 is updated

4 The chief operatingofficers managing checkingpoints will be pre-entered

(see step 10)

Chiefoperating

officermanaging

points

Chiefoperating

officerchecking

points MPC PBJ JDS JCW KM M LVS RHH WB SC

Managing pointdescription

Previousyearsresults

Results/targets

Currenttarget

Managing points/ owner

CVA

M1

CVA

M1

EVA

M3

Revenue

M4

C1.1

C1.2

C1.3

C1.4

C1.5

C1.6

C2.1

C2.2

C2.3

C2.4

C3.1

C3.2

C3.3

C4.1

C4.2

C4.3

M1.1

M1.2

M1.3

M1.4

M1.5

M1.6

M2.1

M2.2

M2.3

M2.4

M3.1

M3.2

M4.3

M4.2

M4.1

M3.3

CVA

Product quality

Product reliability

Ship to request

Cycle time reduction

Percentage schedules missed

PVA

Safety

Absenteeism

Community involvement

MOI

Cost reduction

Assets

Revenue

Client share

Globalization

Owner Ext. Prepared by: Ext. Date Revision

MFO

Figure 2 A portion of TQM 2 for the chief operating ofcer with instructions for ll ing out the form


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A critical step in policy deployment is achiev-ing this alignm ent t hroughout the b usiness.T his alignment is shown on T QM 2 alongwith t he curren t, app roved target for eachmeasure. A portion of a TQ M 2 for the chief operat ing ofcer is shown in F igure 2. Alsoshown are the instructions for lling out theform from the T QM Planning Guide. Thisguide is provided t o everyone in Power Sys-tems and is used in training people about theT QM system.

Each process used throughout the businessis documented in a QA pr ocess ow diagram.T he ow diagram (Figure 3) and correspond-ing managing and checking points for th eprocess are documented in T QM 3. M ost of

our p rocesses had these diagrams as part of our ISO 9001 pr ocess. With th e implemen-tation of T QM , every process, whether associ-ated with prod ucts, customers or intern aloperations, has been docum ented in thisfashion.

Each pr iority man aging point identied bypolicy deployment as well as any other accou -ntab ility slated for improvement needs a planto dr ive that imp rovement. A tool for thatplann ing is shown in Tab le I, which showspart of the qu ality engineering TQ M 4 forimproving the in-p rocess quality in two shopsof the Systems business un it. Each action stephas identied the individual who is responsiblefor the work, when it will be done an d whatimprovement in d efects per hun dred (D PH )

can be expected. T he combination of all of the T QM 4 forms for all of the shops predictsthe overall improvement expected in D PHacross the entire bu siness.

Each emp loyee has a Perform ance Man -agement Worksheet that links to the T QM 1and 2, provides documented feedback fromhis super visor and th e oppor tun ity to createdevelopm ent plans for imp roving skills orobta ining new assignmen ts as shown inTable II.

Results and conclusions

T he num ber of forms required to conductpolicy dep loymen t and daily work manage-ment was reduced b y half. Perform ancemanagement was integrated into the T QMsystem. T he simplication of the systemreduced t he need for management reviews toensure compliance. The revamped m anage-men t review system resu lted in half as manyreviews while maintaining comp lete coverage

of all policy deployment m anaging point s andall functions. F or example, th e presidential

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Streamlining TQM

Michael P. Cassidy

The TQM Magazine


SPC training and operator verification

Collect data

Analyse data

Report in-processquality

defects per hundredM1.2.6

Investigate root causes

Report processcontrol data

for DQRDevelop and implement

corrective actions

Anyout-of-control

points?

No

Yes

Figure 3 A portion of TQM 3 for the statistical process control teamsimprovement of in-process quality

Table I A portion of TQM 4 showing a typical improvement plan

Managing Start End Impactpoint Target Act ual Gap Act ion steps Who date dat e (% or act ual)

(Systems 2.9 3.6 0.7 Add templates and colour ROA/ 1/96 12/96 0.7 DPHCkt. Pk. visuals for radial BHUnits and 2.0 2.2 0.2 Move PA parts to MI RM 1/96 9/96 0.2 DPHframes) 9.8 10.6 0.8 New conveyor chains and

pallet ized cards LH 7/96 12/96 0.8 DPH4.4 5.0 0.6 Test limit analysis GB/GL 1/96 11/96 0.6 DPH0.1 Test xture repair process

and diagnostic training GB 1/96 9/96 0.1 DPHTotal 18.9 21.3 2.4 2.4 DPH


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reviews are now on ly held once a year tocomplete the goal setting process and toensure alignment of the entire business.

T he end result is that 1995 was an extraor-dinar y year for Power Systems with mostindicators showing continued improvement ,the b est nancial results ever, acceleratedrevenue growth, and increased employeesatisfaction with the system. T he com pletionof the to tal system p lans was faster than everbefore in 1996. Nearly every group indicatedthat the ease in un derstand ing the purpose of each part of the system an d in comp leting theforms had m ade the n ew streamlined system a

mu ch higher value add ing process to theirorganization.

References

1 American Quality Foundat ion and Ernst & Young,International Quality Study , Ernst & Young, Cleveland,OH, 1991, p. 4.

2 DAngola, L.,Electronic Business , October 1992, p. 48.3 The cracks in quality ,The Economist , 18 April 1992,

p. 67.

4 Cassidy, M.P. and Sharma, S.P., 1990s revolution inPower Systems Manufacturing ,Proceedings of the Applied Power Electronics Conference , Boston, MA,25 February 1992.

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Streaml ining TQM

Michael P. Cassidy

The TQM Magazine


Table II Assignment portion of TQM 5 for t he quality director

Individual and team-based Linkage to business unitperformance objectives and organizational goals Measurements/managing points

Provide leadership in TQM and qualit y See TQM 2 Supervisory judgement based on feedbackimprovement t o all Power Systems from QC, other managers and customers

Facilitate major change process as Plus measurements shown on TQM 2 andneeded in Power Systems in particular completion of plans shown on TQM4PRP improvement and implementationof customer intimacyServe as customer advocate especiallyon quality issuesProvide management leadership andsupervision to quality organization togrow it and subordinates into world-class quality group and enhance PowerSystems management resources

See mission and other accountabili tieson TQM 1 and 2

CommentaryLessons from one of the worlds successful organizations are always worth noting and how refreshing tohear a senior executive being realistic about something as prestigious and powerful as the Deming Priz e a great story of a rm who leveraged their efforts after winning the Deming Prize rather than sat back and smirked about how smart they were!

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Streamlining_TQM