TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT Prof. (Dr.) Satish Ailawadi

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Total quality management is both a philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a continuously improving organization. Encompasses mobilizing the entire organization to satisfy the demands of the customers. TQM is focused on routine involvement and participation of everyone in the organization in the systematic improvement of quality. It involves each individual and group within all parts of the organization. 2

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF TQM

TQM provides a way of life to constantly improve performance at every level and at in every activity, by creating a positive environment for continuous improvement based on - Team work - Trust and Respect - Examining the processes in a systematic manner - Application of quantitative methods and analytic techniques

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Demings Chain ReactionImprove qualityDecrease costs due to less rework, fewer mistakes, fewer delays and snags, and better use of time and materials

Improve productivity

Capture the market with better quality and lower prices

Stay in business

Provide steady jobs and more jobs.

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A shift from traditional approaches to qualityTOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT -Involvement of all employees, customers and suppliers - Empowered employees - Teamwork - Quality strategy based upon a common mission and vision -Process oriented QUALITY ASSURANCE -Quality systems (ISO 9000) -Quality planning - Quality policy - Quality costing - Problem solving QUALITY CONTROL -Quality standards -Statistical quality techniques -Process performance -Treating quality problems INSPECTION -Error detection - Rectification5

TQM can be perceived as being concerned with the following - Meeting the needs and expectations of customers. - Covering all parts of the organization - Examining all costs which are related to quality - Doing things right the first time i.e. quality designing rather than inspecting. - Developing the systems and procedures which support quality and improvements - Developing a continuous process of improvement6

Kaizen Philosophy TQM concerns incremental and ongoing improvement of yourself, your work, and your organization. The Kaizen philosophy is imbedded in the TQM concept and encompasses continuous and gradual improvement of all employees in the organization. Leads to improvement in employees personal output on a daily basis7

Important Kaizen Rules Work with and according to guidelines Problems are opportunities for improvements Retrieve information where it happens Consider the facts Work according to the plan Avoid waste Order and neatness Keep appointments8

Deming Wheel- focal point in Kaizen Approach In the Kaizen approach Deming Wheel is central, consisting of a cycle of activities necessary for effective quality improvement. The cycle consists of Plan, Do, Check, and Act. 1. Plan - Define the problem, analyze the causes and draft an action plan for solving the problem. - Determine the quality objectives, and critical success factors. - Define performance indicators, collect and analyze the process data, generate the possible solutions. - Select the most feasible solution and work it out.

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2. Do- Implement the plan on a limited scale or conduct an experiment to test the proposed improvement. - Train all involved employees in the use of quality improvement methods and techniques. - Describe the process which is considered for improvement and form project teams to lead the process. 3. Check - Evaluate the trial project with performance indicators. - Verify whether the improvement has been successful. - What have we learnt?10

4. Act - Implement proven improvements. - The improvements are documented in standard procedures so all employees involved are well informed on how to handle in future. - Usually the cycle gets repeated under different circumstance and conditions to test how consistent the results are.ACT PLAN

CHECK

DO

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Quality PrinciplesA. Customer focus and customer involvement - Employees regularly visit their customers. - Customers are known and understood Customers needs are integrated in the activities. - More is being done than the customer expects - Satisfied customers are priority number one. - Changing customer needs are systematically collected and lead to improvement. 12

B. Involvement of all employees Voluntary total involvement of everyone. Teamwork that leverage the knowledge and provides synergy based on open communication, respect and trust. Skills are developed on the basis of Learning by doing. Decisions on the basis of consensus. The present situation is open for discussion. Investing in knowledge. Empowered employees Entrepreneurial approach and leadership skills at all business levels.13

C. Consistency of purpose - An inspiring mission and vision is developed and communicated to all organizational levels. - SMART- goals are formulated and preserved. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time specific). - Managers are consistent in their behaviour regarding these goals. - Guidance is given to quality improvement process. - There is commitment at top management.14

D. Act according to facts - Work according to facts and not based on rumours or feelings. - The causes and consequences of problems are analyzed according to measuring is knowing. - Goal oriented data is gathered and interpreted accordingly. - Measurements are based on figures; verify everything with data. - Quality costs are analyzed.15

E. Process oriented - Internal customers are also satisfied. - The process is more important than the results; address the means of work accomplishment and not the outcomes. - The effectiveness of process is measured. - The output is standardized. - The processes are documented in schemes and standard working procedures. - Suppliers are regarded as partners and long term relationships are established. - The TQM culture is expanded to suppliers. 16 - Reduction of process variations occurs continuously.

F. Focus on continuous improvement. - Employees improve themselves and their work and help others improve themselves and their organization. - Problems are regarded as a means for improvement and a chance to improve processes. - Emphasis on problem prevention instead of correction. - Improvements are based on cross-functional, structured, and holistic approach, and are continuously documented.

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- Multidisciplinary improvement teams are established. - There is a working climate in which continuous improvement is a way of life. - Improvement of whole and not just the parts.18

S.No. 1.

Demings and Crosby's 14 points for quality improvementDemimg Crosby Create constancy of purpose towards improvement of product and service . Adopt the new philosophy Cease dependence on inspection Establish management commitment

2. 3, 4. 5. 6. 7.

Form interdepartmental quality improvement teams. Establish quality measurement.

End awarding business on the basis Evaluate the cost of quality. of price tag Improve constantly the system of production and service. Institute training on the job. Institute leadership. Establish quality awareness. Instigate corrective action. Ad hoc committee for the zero defects programme.19

S.No. 8.

Deming Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company. Break down barriers between departments.

Crosby Supervise employee training.

9. 10.

Hold a zero defects day to let all employees realize that there has been a change.

Eliminate slogans and exhortations. Encourage individuals to establish improvement goals for themselves and their groups. Eliminate quotas or work standards. Error cause removal. Give people pride in their job. Institute education and a selfimprovement programme. Recognize and appreciate those who participate. Establish quality councils to communicate on a regular basis.

11. 12. 13. 14.

Put everyone to work to accomplish Do it over again to emphasize that the quality it. improvement programme never ends. 20

Total quality management is a common method to improve the whole organization stepwise, structured and systematically according to hard work, discipline, intensive training, and consistent implementation of techniques and resources. The quality principles form the foundation of TQM and are expressed in the four pillars of the TQM-house, namely 1.Problem solving Discipline 2.Interpersonal skills 3.Teamwork 4.Quality improvement process.21

Total Quality Management

Problem solving discipline

Interpersonal Skills.

Teamwork

Quality improvement process

Employee involvement, Structured, Stepwise, Discipline, Consistency.22

The success of TQM improves proportionately in conjunction with the percentage of employees within the organization who master this quality attitude, mentality, and skills, TQM covers all parts of the organization. For an organization to be truly effective, every single part of it, each department, each activity, each person and each level must work properly together, because every person and every activity affects and in turn is affected by others.23

What is Quality? Degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements. Many of us tend to equate quality with lluxury and expense. If asked to rank, for quality - A Rolls Royce - A Formula One racing car or - A compact family saloon Most people would choose the Rolls Royce as possessing the highest quality of the three.24

To use the definition of quality given earlier and to arrive at a ranking decision we need to examine another definition of quality Grade. Grade is defined as category or rank given to different quality requirements for objects having the same functional use. For example, classes of airline ticket or categories of hotels. When planning the quality requirement for an object, the grade for quality requirement must be known.25

The examples of Rolls Royce, Formula One racing car and a compact family car have very different functional uses and it becomes necessary to compare each one of them with vehicles having the same functional use. This promotes an alternative definition of Quality as Fitness for Purpose. The problems this raises are Who is to judge the fitness for purpose? - Should it be the customer? - Should it be the manufacturer or provider of service? - Should it be an independent auditor? Fitness for Purpose provides an element of subjectivity.

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Working effectively to achieve quality A common agreement is required on what quality means. It does not mean that all products need to be gold plated. It does not mean when buying a family saloon car that all luxuries of a Rolls Royce need to be built into achieve quality. The basic quality objective is to provide products and services that meets the needs of the customers.27

Individuals, based on their experience with the products, form an opinion about quality. From varying ideas and suggestions for defining quality one idea becomes clear in all cases-the need for customer satisfaction. The multitude of suggestions make it appear that quality is a moving target and is difficult to achieve. In fact, it is not so.

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Quality is Conformance to Specifications Conformity is Fulfillment of a requirement The Rolls Royce that meets all its specified requirements is a quality product. The family saloon that meets all its specified requirements is equally a quality product. Dr. Deming defines quality as the need to provide customers with what they need, when they need it and at a higher perceived value and lower cost than anyone else.29

Prevention rather than detection to achieve quality Traditional methods include inspection, tests, audits to detect errors and eliminating them by scrapping or reworking products to conform to specification. This system of appraisal is commonly categorized as Quality Control. Inspection is the king. During late 1950s and early 1960s the principle of achieving quality by inspecting-out reject products was challenged.30

It was realized that quality is inherent within the product and cannot be introduced once the product is made. The philosophy of prevention rather than detection provides the opportunity for eliminating the potential for error. It involves identifying opportunities for error and taking actions to eliminate those opportunities before a problem arises. It results in the contemporary quality expression of Quality Assurance- Right First Time31

Prerequisites of TQM and Possible Actions1. Know your customers, both external and internal: - Who they are, their current needs, and their future requirements. - Respond to their changing needs. - Do not forget the users. 1.1 Possible Actions - Customer surveys - Functional analysis - Quality cost analysis - Quality function deployment32

2. Know your competitors 2.1 Possible Actions - Customer surveys - Competitor analysis - Bench marking 3. Know the cost of non-conformance (CONC) 3.1 Possible Actions - Quality cost analysis - Functional analysis 4. Measure performance against key customer driven parameters 4.1 Possible Actions - Customer surveys - Competitor analysis - Bench marking33

5. Make sure that each employee understands and commits themselves to the quality objectives of the business. 5.1 Possible Actions - Functional analysis - Education and training - Communication 6. Management commitment to the continual improvement of quality within the business.34

6.1 Possible Actions - Quality cost analysis - Functional analysis - Education and training - Communication. 7. Define the purpose of each department and activity in terms of satisfying external and internal customer requirements. 7.1 Possible Actions - Functional analysis35

8. Enable the employees to fulfill their commitment to quality by influencing the programme of continuous improvement. 8.1 Possible Actions - Education and training - Communication - Corrective action task force, corrective actions group. - Error cause removal schemes. - Quality circles - Problem solving36

- Statistical process control - Recognition of performance - Suggestion programmes - Self inspection programmes. 9. Wherever possible replace the inspection and correction techniques of quality control with effective preventive actions. 9.1 Possible Actions - Quality cost analysis - Functional analysis37

- Quality Management Systems - Error Cause removal schemes - Quality Circles - Problem solving - Suggestion programmes. 10.Never accept a non-conforming output in the form of a product for external or internal customer. 10.1 Possible Actions - Quality Cost Analysis38

- Functional Analysis - Education and Training - Communication. 11. Plan effectively before undertaking any actions. 11.1 Possible Actions - Quality Improvement Team Apparently, there is no end to improvement. The recognition of the necessity to continuously revise the quality thinking is essential to the ultimate success of business venture.

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5 S of Housekeeping Housekeeping is given a lot of importance in the total quality management system. It reduces the wastage of time and improves the efficiency and effectiveness of work. Improper housekeeping may lead to accidents, dull working environment and other work related problems.

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1. Seiri- Orderliness The orderliness of manufacturing aids, proper arrangement of raw materials near the machines and keeping the files and drawings in order to make working fast, effective and efficient without wastage of the effort or time and material. 2. Seiso- Clarity The clarity of work process, flow process charts, arrangement of raw materials, finished goods and intermediary services make the work place more efficient and effective.

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3. Seiton-Tidiness Tidiness ensures adequate space for machines and movement of manpower is made easy. Tidiness avoids mixing of different materials and it makes product identification easy. The chances of rejection and rework gets minimized. 4. Seiketsu The cleanliness of the shop floor and the office are mandatory for good working environment, good product quality and elimination of accidents.

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This also helps an organization to put up a decent appearance of the organization before the visitors. 5. Shitsuke-Discipline Recommends discipline in all the four housekeeping practices together to enhance the effectiveness of housekeeping. It ultimately leads to the self discipline of the organization.

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Total Quality Management Pioneers1.Walter Shewart Founder of P-D-C-A Cycle Originator of statistical process control at AT&T Bell Labs in 1930. 2. W.Edward Deming Led quality revolution in Japan during the post-world war II period. Quality is a key competitive advantage. Deming quality award by Japan is the most prestigious quality award.44

Demings fourteen points for excellence. Demings seven diseases. 3. Joseph M.Juran Led quality revolution in Japan during the postworld War II period. He defined quality as fitness for use by customer. Jurans triology of quality, quality control, and quality improvement. Started Jurans Institute in USA. Introduced cost of poor quality.45

4. Philip B. Crosby Started Crosby quality college. Created the concept of zero defect. Defined quality as conformance to requirement. Crosbys 14 steps of quality improvement. 5. A.V. Feigenbaum Originator of QM concept His theory of three steps to quality Quality leadership, modern quality technology and organizational commitment.46

6. Taiichi Ohno Formulated the flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) Father of the just-in-time and kanban manufacturing. Father of TPS or Toyota Production System. 7. Sheigo Shingo Originator of Single minute exchange of dies Introducing the concept of modular manufacturing.

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8. Kaoru Ishikawa Originator of fish bone or the cause and effect diagramme. Originator of Company Wide Quality Control (CWQC). Responsible for initial deployment of quality circles. Remove the root cause and not the systems. 9. Masaaki Imai Popularized the Kaizen concept of continuous improvement. 10. E.Goldratt Theory of constraints

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Demings 14 points to reach World Class Performance Standards 1. Achieve constancy of purpose Top management must define the organizations vision, mission and objective with the constancy of purpose . The goal integration between the organization and individuals working there is extremely important for individuals to give their best for the achievement of the organizational objectives.49

2. Learn a new philosophy Challenge the status-quo. Todays management is learning, unlearning and relearning that is relevant to the organization. The speed and frequency with which the organization and its employees learn new philosophy decide its growth rate and market leadership. 3. Do not depend on mass inspection (Use statistical sampling technique). Emphasizes heavy deployment of statistical techniques in the area of inspection.50

Deming was of the opinion that the behaviour of the whole group is going to be more or less the same as that of the sample lot taken for the inspection. Therefore, why unnecessarily waste precious resources of manpower and time for 100% inspection. 4. Reduce the number of vendors for better control and consistency Vendors need to be treated as part of the organization. There needs to be direct involvement of the organizations in the statistical process control of the vendors. This will lead to improve vendors process capability and there will be no need to do 100% inspection.51

If the vendors are changed frequently for cheaper price, quality of supplies would never stabilize. Hence, number of vendors per component should be either one or two to have a better control and consistency in the supplies. 5. Recognize two sources of faults: (a)management and production systems (b) production workers. There are two types of errors or faults. One is due to random causes and other is due to assignable causes. The random causes are due to faulty process design or inadequate machine capability. 52

The management alone can solve such problems. The assignable errors are due to workers and occur due to faulty workmanship. This can be eliminated by providing training to the workers and motivating them properly. 6. Improve on the job training Deming always described on-the-job training as the best method of training where the absorption of knowledge imparted during training is the maximum. Identify the training needs and the skill level required for each operator and employees. Conduct training for best results.53

7. Improve supervision Improve the supervision at the process level so that not only errors or mistakes are minimized, but also on-the-job training to the operators is strengthened. This will lead to continuous improvement, better productivity and enhanced quality of products, process and services. 8. Drive out fear Organization should be proactive and there should be employee involvement at all levels. Fear should not be the driving force to achieve the end results.

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9. Improve communication The majority of the labour problems are due to lack of communication between the workers and the management. Communication should be immaculate in terms of training, learning of new technology, setting of new objectives etc. 10. Eliminate slogans and exhortations. This is quite similar to driving out fear and hence gets emphasized. Ensure employees are not exploited. 11. Consider work standards carefully and eliminate quotas Examine each standard from functional point of view.

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Do not overdesign or keep tolerances too rigid . If it is not required from customers point of view and not adding any value, why unnecessary incur additional expenditure. 12. Teach statistical methods Implement statistical process control system in manufacturing leading to establishment of process capability This would lead to zero defects in products and services. Results into enhancement of productivity.56

13. Encourage education and a self-improvement programme. A product innovation and development helps in increasing the market share. Innovations in process enhances productivity and quality and reduces the cost of production. Organizations should have systems like suggestion scheme, quality improvement teams to encourage new skills and their implementation.

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14. Ensure total employee involvement. Put everyone to work to accomplish it. Involvement should be voluntary. This would enable organization to achieve its objectives in minimum amount of time and cost.

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Demings Seven Deadly Diseases1. Lack of consistency of purpose to plan product and services that have a sufficient market to keep the company in business and provide jobs. 2. Emphasis on short-term profits; short term thinking that is driven by a fear of unfriendly takeover attempts and pressure from bankers and shareholders to produce dividends. 3. Performance appraisals, merit rating, and annual appraisal without providing resources to accomplish objectives.59

4. Job hoping by managers. 5. Using only visible data and information in decision making with little or no consideration given to what is not known or cannot be known. 6. Excessive medical costs. 7. Excessive cost of liability driven up by lawyers that work on contingency fees.

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What are Quality Costs? A particularly powerful technique in improving quality. Quality costs are incurred in two ways (a)The costs incurred in the design, implementation, operation and maintenance of quality management systems, and (b)The costs incurred through failure of product manufacture or services. Quality management systems may range from simple inspection to systems which include consideration of all the management actions affecting the quality of the product or service.

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Production system failures can result in: (1)Production delays (2)Scrap (3)Rectification work (4)Late deliveries (5)Defective products going undetected, and even (6)Obsolete stocks The outcome of these failures leads in turn to: (1)Warranty and product liability charges. (2)Complaint administration and investigation (3)Late delivery penalty clause payments (4)Product recall (5)Loss of goodwill62

Quality costs can also arise from varieties of activities which may not be connected with the quality of product or service; such as - Sales and marketing - Design and development - Purchasing - Production (including planning & control) - Handling and storage - Delivery, installation and servicing.

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The control of these activities may lie within or outside an organization. The outside influences will come from suppliers, sub-contractors, stockists, agents, dealers or consumers. The quality costs can be summarized as; (1)Cost of appraisal (2)Cost of prevention (3)Cost of failure Studies have indicated quality costs range from 5% to 25% of companys turnover depending upon the nature of industry, products or services and the level of quality management employed.64

Studies have also indicated that 95% of the costs stem from appraisal and failure. Neither of these costs add value to the product or service and therefore failure costs should be avoidable. If the causes of failure can be eliminated it will lead to a reduction in the need for appraisal with the consequent cost reduction. Studies have indicated that implementation of effective quality management systems can reduce quality costs to one third of their previous levels. 65

Categories of Quality CostsQuality Related Costs

Conformance Costs

Non-conformance Costs

Appraisal Costs

Prevention Costs

Internal failure Costs

External failure Costs

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Appraisal Costs - The cost of assessing the quality achieved. - These costs include the costs of inspection and testing carried out during and on completion of manufacture. Prevention Costs - The cost of any action taken to investigate, prevent or reduce defects and failures. - These costs include the cost of planning, setting-up and maintaining the quality management system.67

Failure Costs-Internal - The costs arising within the organization of the failure to achieve the quality specified. - These costs include the cost of scrap, rework and reinspection and also the consequential losses that result such as interruption in schedules, idle capacity. Failure Costs- External - The costs arising outside the organization because of failure to achieve the quality specified.

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- These include the costs of claims against warranty, replacement, consequential losses, loss of goodwill and penalty clause payouts for late delivery. When a quality costing is carried out, it is necessary to consider appraisal, prevention and failure costs in terms of - Salaries and wage - Consumable materials - Capital equipment depreciation - Various other costs directly related to department within the organization. The loss of goodwill resulting from poor quality is difficult to analyze and could be very easily be the most expensive of all the quality costs.69

Crosby's Theory on Quality Management-6 Cs While Juran propagated that higher quality costs less, Philip Crosby tried to popularize the concept that quality is free. Crosby is famous for his 6 Cs. (1)Comprehension - Ability to understand and absorb the quality related activities, its sustenance and improvements.

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(2) Commitments- Top management, employees, suppliers and the customers to get committed to work together towards quality management systems. (3) Competence - For improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the quality management system and then sustaining the improvement on a long-term basis. (4) Corrections - Fool proofing the quality management systems by rectifying the mistakes and deviations and putting the quality management system back on the track for world-class performance.

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(5) Communications - In order to ensure support to the quality management system from employees, suppliers and customers alike, communication in the organization should be clear without ambiguity. (6) Continuance - The organizations good performance and its continuous improvement is the essence of a world-class organization and its successful operation.72

Four Absolute Requirements for attainment of quality-Crosby1. The definition of quality is conformance to requirements - The objective of the quality improvement programme is to get everyone to do it right the first time. - To achieve this, an organization must get its employees to understand the requirements clearly.

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- The management has to perform three tasks to accomplish this: (a)Organization should establish the requirements that employees are to meet. (b)Supply the resources needed by the employees to meet these requirements. (c)Encourage and help the employees to meet these requirements. (2) The system of quality is prevention - Inspection, testing and checking after the job is over is an expensive and unreliable way of getting the quality.74

- What is required is prevention. - The concept of prevention is based on understanding the process that needs preventive action. - The preventive activities are to look at the processes and identify opportunities for the error. - The errors can be controlled by eliminating the cause of the problem.

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3. The performance of the standard is zero defects. - Organizations with millions of individual actions cannot afford to have a percent or two to go astray. - Less than complete compliance with required level of performance could cause big trouble in the organization. - Companies try all sort of ways to help people not to meet the requirements by declaring things like Accepted Quality Level76

- The concept has to be zero defect that is absolute conformance to the requirement. - There cannot be a grade or percentage of performance. - The employees should be aware of what they are supposed to do and do exactly that. - The employees have to do it right first time to make the organization hassle free.77

4. The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance - The price of conformance consists of costs like all prevention efforts, training and education on quality. - Normally it should not be more than 2% of the sales. - The price of non-conformance consists of faulty handling of a customers enquiry to loss of orders, rejection, delayed delivery, rework, salvaging, etc.78

- It can be as high as 20% and it can eat up the organizations profits. - The price of non-conformance is everything that the organization would not have done if it was done right the first time.Philip B.Crosbys theory on zero defect and do it right first time has been accepted worldwide even though he practiced management mainly in the USA.79

Muri, Mura and Muda- Three Magic Wands of Japanese Management System. The three Japanese mantras of muri mura and muda known as 3M practice is an integral part Japanese manufacturing system. The 3M practice brought down the cost of production to bare minimum without affecting the quality or user friendliness of the product.80

The effect of elimination of muda or wastage is immediately experienced and the results are visible. The impact of mura and muri are subtle and not visible but equally significant in attaining the end objective of customer satisfaction and cost reduction. 1.MURI - The word muri means unreasonable or irrational approach to any field of operation. - Muri looks for irrationality with four major approaches.

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(a) Things or activities that are extremely difficult to do and at the moment beyond the reach should be identified and eliminated from our activities as there is no meaning behind pursuing these activities annd currently beyond the individuals or organization's capability. (b) There is futility in pursuing and doing activities that do not make much sense or it is difficult to find reasons for.82

(c) Eliminate the activities that are done becauseyou are told to do so without understanding the reason for doing the same or its underlying benefits from performing such activities. (d) Eliminate irrational actions or operations that cause undue or excessive fatigue due to a lot of physical effort, frequent stress to body movement, mental fatigue due to unwarranted work place stress, remembering a lot of things, worrying about defects or breakdowns, struggling to read illegible words and symbols etc.83

Application of muri- A case study A case of Japanese automobile and machine tool industry. American and European car and machine tool industry designed a car or two-wheeler or a machine tool to last for next twenty to thirty years and to give consistent performance. Therefore, they multiplied the calculated dimensions by the factor of safety of two. This led to increasing dimensions of the components. 84

Therefore, the cost of raw materials was double, the weight of the automobile or machine tool was heavier and less flexible and difficult to handle. As per the thumb rule, half of the cost of a automobile or a machine tool consists of raw materials and if it doubles the price of the final product also nearly doubles as all other costs are directly or indirectly related to the processing of raw material. The Japanese thought differently, and rationally with customer orientation. 85

Their view point was (a)Is the customer going to use the same car or the two-wheeler for the next twenty or thirty years? (b)Is the customer going to use the same machine tool or the manufacturing technology for the next twenty or thirty years? (c)Is the product development and upgradation of technology going to be negligible in next two to three decades?86

Why design and manufacture a car or a two-wheeler for twenty to thirty years when you know that you are going to use the same maximum for a period of four to five years? Why manufacture a machine tool to last for thirty to forty years when you know that the technology for manufacturing is going to change every five years. This is precisely muri, or irrationality or unreasonableness.87

Thus, Japanese designed a car or two-wheeler for five years because that is normally the life span for which the product is effectively used. Therefore, Japanese used a Factor of Safety of 1.25 instead of two. Their raw material cost was about 62.5% of the western design. The end product was identical in terms of product features and user friendliness. The price of the end product was proportionately lower by almost 30% to 35%.88

The automobiles were also lighter in weight due to lower percentage of the raw material used. This led to the reduction of dead weight to be carried by the vehicle thereby increasing the pick-up of the vehicle as well as reduction in fuel consumption. The end result of practicing muri was a better performing product which is more user friendly and priced much lower than conventional western products.89

2. MURA The Japanese word Mura means irregular, uneven or inconsistent. Either due to lack of interest or over enthusiasm we tend to deviate from the laid out standards leading to inconsistent actions. Such inconsistencies can lead to irrationality and waste. Bottleneck Theory or Theory of Constraints originate from the principle of mura.90

The bottleneck theory states that the neck of a bottle or the least diameter of a bottle decides the rate of flow out of the bottle. When applied to industry, this theory states that the department in manufacturing chain with least capacity decides the plant capacity. The corrective action is strengthening this weak department by increasing its capacity by minimum investment.91

The result will be quantum jump in overall performance of organization as the extra capacity is already lying unutilized in other areas. Goldratts theory of constraints also tends to be developed around the same principle of mura. The theory states the weakest link in a chain decides the weight that can be lifted by the chain.92

The objective is to identify this weakest link and keep on strengthening it to make organization stronger and stronger and make it grow steadily. Kaizen also uses mura as a powerful improvement tool. He prefers to use discrepancy instead of inconsistency. Discrepancy can be identified in areas like men, method, time, facilities, manufacturing aids, materials, production volume, inventory, place etc.93

Once this discrepancy is identified, it is analyzed, and solution is found out to eliminate the discrepancy leading to culture of continuous improvement. Mura calls for minimum deviation between the best and the worst product or service. Minimizing the range of deviation and minimizing the standard deviation in the statistical process control.94

3. MUDA Muda means waste. Waste is any activity that does not add value. Juran has called all the activities that do not add value the Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ). Taichi Ohno of Toyota Motor Company has identified seven mudas or seven wastes which have been further modified to nine mudas. Elimination of these wastes reduces the cost of production, enhances productivity, reduces cycle time and leads to better customer satisfaction.95

These wastes are 1.Waste from overproduction 2.Wastes due to waiting time 3.Waste due to unwarranted transportation 4.Waste due to excess inventories 5.Processing waste or useless operation in processing waste. 6.Waste of motion due to unnecessary human movement. 7.Waste from product defects or defective parts.96

1. Waste from overproduction - Normally, the tendency of an organization is always to overproduce to ensure no shortage of material in the market under anny circumstance. - Or to fill up the idle plant capacity during lean period. - In todays dynamic environments, products and services have shorter life cycle. - If a product is in inventory for a long time, it may become obsolete in the market.97

- It also may occupy plant capacity for products that are already there in the stock whereas some of the products for which customers are waiting cannot be produced due to this blockage of capacity. - It leads to piling up of excess inventory, occupying more storage space, excessive material handling cost, interest cost on unsold stock etc.

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2. Waste due to waiting time - Any time wasted in waiting for the parts to arrive due to improper line balancing, or - Waiting for job instructions due to improper planning. - These waiting time has to be identified and eliminated from the system. 3. Waste due to unwarranted transportation - Unwarranted transportation happens due to unplanned and improper plant layout leading to parts/materials being moved multiple times.

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- If materials are not properly placed, they are difficult to find leading to further wastages. 4. Waste from excess inventories - Normally, buffer inventories are kept to take care of inefficiencies like faulty sales forecasting, late deliveries from suppliers, delayed production etc. - In the just-In-Time production system the inventory is progressively reduced to increase the operational efficiency. - Excess inventory leads to increase in ICC .

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- ICC consists of interest cost on capital invested in extra inventory, storage space, extra material and product handling, insurance, product pilferage and obsolescence. 5. Processing waste or useless operation in processing waste - Processing waste occurs due to inefficient process design and improper technology. - This can be improved by proper work study, method study, work measurement, incorporating proper technology and training to operators.

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6. Waste of motion due to human movements. - Unnecessary human motions can be eliminated by studying ergonomics and motion study. - Incorporating simple human motions, proper arrangement of work place, proper location of operating switches, simultaneous and opposite movement of both hands leads to reduction of fatigue i.e. Motion Muda 7. Waste from product defects or defective parts - The waste from product defects or defective part is major muda which not only affects the cost of production but also leads to the loss of sales due to customer dissatisfaction.

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- This involves major cost of rejection, rework and replacement. - The cost of an external failure is ten times the cost of detecting the same failure internally which is again ten times the cost of detecting the failure at the point of origin. - Hence the emphasis should be in the process control or implementation of the six-sigma practice which makes it almost impossible to produce a defective part. 8. Waste in the development of products - Product features that do not add value to the product or service from the customers point of view or his needs and expectations are considered as waste.

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9. Waste of opportunities - A new organization may be performing better in terms of market share, purchasing prices, quality of goods produced, new technology, cheaper and better substitute raw material. - Any loss due to not utilizing this potential area of gain could be classified as an area of muda. The elimination of muri, mura and muda can be done as under: (a) Benchmarking (b) Strategic planning (c) Business Process reengineering104

Quality Circles Quality Circles were the logical consequence of the various waste elimination programmes that were run in many Japanese corporations in early fifties. It provided a platform for the workers to get together and use techniques for their quest for continuous self-development and organizational improvement. In 1980, the first Quality Circle was launched in Hyderabad plant of Bharat Heavy Electricals 105 Limited.

Definition and Meaning Quality Circle is a small group of employees in the same work area or doing a similar type of work who voluntarily meet regularly for about an hour every week to identify, analyze and resolve work related problems, leading to improvement in their total performance ad enrichment of their work life. This definition is quite comprehensive and most commonly accepted. Every part of the definition is significant.106

Why small group of employees?

- Experience indicates that the optimum number of a Q.C. is about eight to ten. - If a circle is formed with less than five members, one can imagine the strength of the group when absenteeism is high. - Interaction and participation becomes more pronounced when group members are more than say, six.

107

Why in the same work area or doing similar type of work? - This ensures Q.C. to be a homogeneous and cohesive group - The discussion that takes place remains interesting to everyone only if members are from the same background. - It also helps the members to understand the intricacies of the problem. - Also the application of QC tools that are recommended require the expertise in the field.108

Why is participation voluntary? - Voluntary in the Japanese context has a different interpretation as compared to what is normally understood in the Indian context. - To the Japanese , the very word voluntary implies 100% participation. - Hence, when a company in Japan decides to implement Quality Circle, every body has to enroll as a member. - Japanese have refrained from using from using the word compulsory as it indicates not just 100% participation but achievement of targets as well.

109

Quality circle requires some amount of creativity that is not under control, therefore, the word voluntary is used to indicate that achieving targets is not mandatory, but participation is compulsory. In India the term voluntary has been used to circumvent the possible opposition from the trade unions. Why to meet regularly for an hour every week? Meeting regularly is absolutely essential for the success of Q.C.

110

If the meetings are kept at longer intervals then cancellation of one or two meetings will further lengthen the interval leading to complete stoppage of work. Why to analyze and resolve work related problems? As employees know more about their own work area than any body else, they are in a better position to solve problems occurring there.111

Structure of Quality CircleSteering Committee /Departmental Committee

Top Management Coordinating centre

TM Steering Committee Facilitator Leader/Deputy Leader Member Non Member

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Role of Each Element1. Non-Members - Initially, all the employees in a particular work area may not volunteer in joining QC activity. - Some others may not be interested in activity but prefer not to get directly into it. - QC members must understand that solutions they find cannot be implemented without the cooperation of these nonmembers. - Members must encourage non-members to participate in activities so that they change their attitudes and form circle on their own.113

2. Members - Members must be restricted to grass root level persons. - If membership is kept open only to officers and executive, the very purpose of QC gets defeated. - Members actively participate in selecting problems of their concern, analyzing it, finding solution to it and finally making presentation to the management.

114

3. Leader/Dy. Leader - In Japan, first line supervisors are nominated as leaders. - However, in India, it is advisable to make members choose their own leader. - Earlier there used to be only one person as leader. - But considering heavy absenteeism that prevails in our country, there can be one deputy leader who will take charge in absence of leader.

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-

The leader or the deputy leaders endeavour is To maintain cohesiveness of the team. To plan agenda for meetings. To ensure participation from every member by assigning them work. - To encourage consensus decision making process. 4. Facilitator - Facilitator is the senior officer of the department where QC is working and is nominated by management.116

The facilitator - Can facilitate more than one QC. - Is responsible for success of QCs operating in his area. - Ensures necessary facilities are available to the team for operation. - Joins Steering Committee meetings and gives results of activities of QC.117

5. Steering Committee - The committee comprises of heads of major functions as members and chief executive as the chairman. - The committee makes top managements support visible. Steering committee - Meets regularly once in two months. - Takes overview of QC activity in entire organization. - Gives policy guidelines fr the propagation of 118 movement

6. Coordinating Agency - The job of coordinating agency is similar to facilitator but on a large scale. - It coordinates QC activities throughout the organization. - Steering committee decides the composition of coordinating agency. Coordinating agency - Organizes a training programme for members when QC is formed. - Evolves norms to assess performance of different QCs.

119

- Prepares budget for QC activity. - Arranges guest speaker or library facility for members. 7. Top Management - Top Management does not fall within the formal structure of QC. - Its main job is to Convey its commitment to all employees Extend necessary support by attending conventions and sanctioning funds. Form quality council and establish a conducive atmosphere.120

Quite contradicting results as far as Quality Circle movement is concerned have been observed. At one extreme are the highly successful cases of Japan whereas on the other extreme there are some total failures in other parts of the world including India. Most of the times it is the corporate culture that governs the success or failure of Quality Circle.

Reasons of failure of the Quality Circle

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Western ManagementQC is made formal staff organization

Japanese ManagementQC is an informal group of workers.

Managers appoint facilitator to get Manager himself serves as the rid of his job. facilitator, guide and consultant. Meeting is held strictly during working hours. Manager proposes the project. Meeting is held anytime, during working hours, or lunchtime, or after the working hours. QC members select their own projects.

Monetary rewards for suggestion Monetary rewards are always goes to the individual. given to the group.122

Important Tools and Techniques1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Brainstorming Affinity diagramme Benchmarking Fishbone diagramme Check sheet Flow chart Line graph Run chart

123

9. Histogram 10. Pareto-diagramme 11. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis 12. Scatter diagramme 13. Control charts 14. Quality Function Deployment 15. Tree diagramme. These tools and techniques are essential for the clear establishment of quality improvements.

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Brainstorming Brainstorming encompasses the systematic and structured generation of possible ideas, on the basis of the creative thinking of a group of people. The rules of the game are: (1)Criticism is prohibited - The participants of a brainstorming session should try not to think of usefulness, importance, feasibility and relevance, and may certainly not comment on these.

125

Therefore, review of ideas should be postponed. Strictly adhering to this rule is essential to prevent team members from feeling attacked. (2) Generate ideas freely - Each team member must express an idea. - Each idea that surfaces has to be shared without fear for criticism.126

In brainstorming session, an environment has to be created that gives team members a feeling of confidence and freedom. (3) Build upon ideas of others The team members have to generate ideas by building on ideas of others. One should look for combinations and improvements of ideas. (4) Try to generate as many ideas as possible Quantity is more important than quality. More the ideas, greater are the chances of good solutions.

127

Execution of brainstorming process Often the idea generation process lasts up to forty-five minutes. Group and cluster similar ideas. Establish selection criteria e.g. feasibility, costs and relevance. Appoint a group for each cluster of ideas to evaluate the ideas after ending the brainstorming session. Groups should organize separate follow-up meetings to eliminate unusable ideas themselves on the basis of selection criteria.128

Affinity Diagramme Affinity diagramme is a tool to group a large amount of ideas generated by means of brainstorming. It is used to group a large amount of ideas based on existing relationships between the various ideas, and also To stimulate creativity and teamwork during the brainstorming process.

129

An Example: To improve the motivation and labour productivity of the employees, the management of a company organized a brainstorming session using the affinity diagramme. (A) An improvement team was put together which formulated the following problem; How can a work climate be created within the organization in which there is active participation of everyone, open communication and a high labour productivity?130

(B) On the basis of the already mentioned brainstorming rules, the team members generated some ideas, whereby each idea was written on a board, and placed in random on th board as indicated.How can a work climate be created within the organization in which there is active participation of everyone, open communication and a high labour productivity?

131

Introduce judging & functioning tasks Introduce job rotation Introduce work consultation Handle sanctions Purchase air conditioners Description of administrative processes Intensive internal communication

Introduce an effective reward system Introduce a career plan Make personnel statistics Introduce flexible hours Job and function oriented training Training in effective meeting Organize excursions and sports activities.

Formulate clear function descriptions Develop an incentive plan Introduce a time clock Improve the ergonomic condition Create job satisfaction

Build a common canteen132

(C) Next, all participants were called to the front and they clustered the notes without discussions or comments. - They also moved the incorrectly placed notes. - These clustered comments were re-written on the board.How can a work climate be created within the organization in which there is active participation of everyone, open communication and a high labour productivity?

133

Introduce judging and functioning talks Introduce an effective reward system Make personnel statistics Develop an incentive plan Introduce a career plan Introduce a time clock Handle sanctions

Introduce job-rotation Improve the ergonomic condition Introduce flexible hours Create job satisfaction Job and function oriented training Purchase air conditioners

Introduce work consultation Intensive internal communication Formulate clear function description Training in effective meeting Organize excursions and sports activities Build a common canteen Description of the administrative processes134

D. The previous step resulted in the following clusters of ideas: Judging/remuneration. Working conditions Communication - A header was placed above each cluster of notes. - For each cluster a group was then put together which arranged the ideas according to their priority. - The ideas with the highest priority worked out more accurately by the groups concerned and reported to the management. - Further, interim meetings were organized to establish synergy between the three groups.135

Judging/remuneration Introduce judging and functioning talks Introduce an effective reward system Make personnel statistics Develop an incentive plan Introduce a career plan Introduce a time-clock Handle sanctions

Working conditions Introduce job-rotation Improve ergonomic conditions Introduce flexible working hours Create job satisfaction Job and function oriented training Purchase air conditioners

Communication Introduce work consultation Intensive internal communication Formulate clear function description Training in effective meeting Organize excursion and sports activities. Build a common canteen136

Benchmarking Benchmarking is the systematic and continuous process of determining what the best performances and underlying skills of leading organizations are in their strive for excellence. And based on above, stimulate the organizations own strive for excellent performances at all organizational levels. It is a strategy to stimulate changes and optimize performances.137

The Benchmark Process1.What is to be benchmarked 8. Implementation & Monitoring 2. Identify the benchmark partners

3. Gather data

7. Develop action plans 4. Analyze the data 6. Formulate functional goals 5. Determine the performance gap.138

When do you use Benchmarking? Benchmarking is mostly used to compare processes and performances against those of recognized leaders. Based on this, the performance gap between the organization and the best competitor is evaluated. Organizational processes usually used for benchmarking are: (a)Marketing, (b)Sales, (c)Purchasing, (d)Technology development, (e)Product development, and (f)Logistics

139

Types of Benchmarking1. Internal Benchmarking - Internal benchmarking involves comparison of internal activities and processes within own company. - Usually of interest to large organizations where it is determined as to how far other departments and divisions execute similar activities within their own organizations more efficiently and effectively.140

2. Competitive Benchmarking - A comparison is made with direct competitors. - Operations processes of these competitors are measured and compared against its own situation. - Based on what is done by the competitor and what is lacking within the own organization, the own processes can be adjusted to improve efficiency and produce a better and cheaper product. - For example, a software producer who wants to improve his competitive position can try to figure out what Microsoft has done to become the market leader.141

3. Process Benchmarking - Involves search for the best in class of a certain process, regardless if it is a competitor or not and in which industrial branch it is applicable. - For example, the logistical activities of a chemical company can be compared with an electronics company with an excellent logistical process. 4. Strategic Benchmarking - Used to obtain sweeping breakthroughs in the areas of productivity in order to strengthen its competitive position. - This type of benchmarking helps determining the relative competitive position of all business activities and suggests the best course to follow.142

This can be done in several ways such as - Comparing your own strategy and financial performance against those of competitors. - Determining from the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors in which areas your organization can outdo these competitors, and - Which improvements are best contributed to its own core competencies.

143

Steps to execute Benchmarking Process1. Determine what should be benchmarked. - It is determined which functions, tasks, processes, or activities within the own organization will be subjected to benchmarking. - Based on the critical success factors, one or more of processes will be selected for benchmarking. - Appoint a team that will map these processes in detail. 144

- The team will identify process stages and determine the process flow, the procedure for each process stage, relevance performance indicators, inputs and outputs of the process and customer requirement. 2. Identify the benchmark partners. - Important criterion for the selection of benchmark partners should be outstanding regarding the competitiveness of activities, availability of reliable information about the partners.145

- Identifying benchmark partners requires consultation of sources such as databases, professional magazines, newspapers, bank reports, annual report of competitors, seminars, consultancy bureaus, universities etc. - Also, interviews with customers, suppliers, employees and bankers. 3. Gather Data about the performances of partners. - Through interviews, surveys, consultation and technical magazines.

146

- Process and working methods of partners are examined thoroughly. - Performance indicators are measured and qualitative and quantitative data is gathered. 4. Analyze the data. 5. Determine the gap between the performance level of organization and that of its benchmark partner. - Differences in working methods and causes of the differences in performance is documented. - The main question to be asked is why is the efficiency and effectiveness of the own process lagging behind that of the best in class?

147

6. Based on the results of the benchmark study, new functional goals are established to close the performance gap. 7. The goals are now transformed into concrete action plans. 8. Implement specific actions and monitor the progress. - Verify whether actions are executed as planned, whether the process is changing, and if the benchmark goals are being met. - If required, possible adjustments are made.148

9. Start again - Benchmarking is a process of continuous improvement. - There are always better and improved methods. - Competition is not standing idle. - In due course of time, new best practices are developed.

149

Example from Rank Xerox, Netherlands In the past, the order processing department of RankXerox had 20 employees, wherein the throughput time of an invoice was 5 to 8 days. After a benchmark study, the activities within the department were divided into four segments based on the invoice amount. Finally, the number of persons in the department was reduced and an invoice was sent within 24 hours in respect of 95% orders. The reason for the benchmark study was that customers were displeased about long delivery time. A shorter delivery time also resulted in an accelerated invoicing, a smaller department, a higher customer satisfaction and improved liquidity.150

Fishbone Diagramme A fish bone diagramme or Ishikawa diagramme is a graphic representation of the relationship between a given effect and its potential causes. The potential causes are divided into categories and sub-categories in such a way that the display resembles a skeleton of fish. It is used to analyze and facilitate the search for solutions based on cause and effect relationship. Useful tool in brainstorming, process evaluation, and problem solving. 151

Steps for drafting a fishbone diagramme1. Define the effect clearly. Place a short description of this in the box. 2. Determine during brainstorming sessions the most important categories of causes. Possible categories are: Equipments Working methods Environment Organization152

Materials; raw materials, semi-manufactured articles, energy, data and information. People-employees / management; knowledge, skills, attitudes style and behaviour. Information Measurements 3. During brainstorming look for a couple of possible causes and place these on diagramme by the corresponding category. 4. Judge and analyze the possible causes.153

5. Select a small number (3 to 5) of highest-level

causes that are likely to have the greatest influence on the effect. 6. Look for the possible solutions for these causes. 7. Introduce the changes. Example: A copying company receives a lot of complaints about poor quality photocopies. Management decides to analyze this problem through a fishbone diagramme.

154

MethodsHandling Original setting

MaterialsLiquid

Copying paper

Storage period

Degree of exposure Level Drying Time Storage Contamination Paper quality method Poor quality photocopying Dirtiness Speed Condition of head of roll Dirtiness Operating of table hours Copying Machine

Environment

Machine155

Check Sheet A check sheet is a form for systematic data gathering and registering to get a clear view of the facts. Used to keep track of how often something occurs. Example :A copying company notices a sudden increase in complaints about poor quality photocopies. Management decides to analyze these complaints by using a check sheet to trace the causes.156

Types of DefectsCauses of defects Humidity Machine Jams Toner Conditions of the original Total /// / Missin Muddy g pages copies // //// /// // // // / //// / Pages out Torn of sequence /soiled pages / / // / Total

11 3 8 10

6

14

7

5

32157

Flow Chart A flow chart clearly shows the steps of a process, by using standard symbols. It facilitates to examine and understand relationships in a process. Used to document and analyze the connection and sequence of events in the process.158

How do we use Flow Charts ?1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Decide which process should be mapped. Define the start and end of the process. Determine the activities, decisions, inputs and outputs of the process. Map the process using standard symbols. Draw feedback loops in the chart and ensure that each process does not have more than one output. Compare the flow chart with the actual process.

159

Standard symbols used for drafting flow charts1. The start or end of the flow chart.Start End

2. A rectangle indicates a process or activity

160

3. A diamond indicates a decision 4. Arrow shows the direction or flow of the process. Example: A flow chart of the process serving tea.

161

Start to prepare tea Take the kettle and fill it with water Put the filled kettle on the stove Turn on the stove In the meantime, take the tea bags, tea pot, and cups

When the water starts boiling, turn off the gas Pour boiled water in the tea pot Put the tea bag in the pot and let it stand for a while Place the cups on the table and pour tea

Milk ? Yes Take Milk Pour Milk

No

Sugar ? No Yes Take sugar Add sugar

Drink tea

Stir

162

Line Graph Representation of the relationship between two variables (data) in a simple graphical form. Used to visualize the relationship between two variables and to study fluctuations in time. Particularly used to identify trends in a certain process.163

An example of number of complaints from customers over the last 8 months.Most of the complaints are received in month 4 and least in month 6 10 8 No. of complaints 6 4 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8164

Months

Run Chart A run chart encompasses a kind of time series graph to monitor a process. A run chart is used to identify trends and significant changes in a process. A trend is a series of points, which display an upward or downward slope.

165

Example: The manager of a jewellery

shop in Goa notices that there are periods where he cannot handle the demand. There are also periods where he hardly has anything to do. He decides to study the fluctuations in sales that occur during the year and to identify peaks and lows. He hopes to forecast the queue in the shop better with this tool. To do this he collects the following data, which he marks out on a run chart.166

Month

Sales (x Rs 100,000) Month

Sales (x Rs 1,00,000)

January February March

2 6.5 4.5

July August September

4.5 3 5.5

April May June

9 5.5 4

October November December

6 6.5 11

167

11Sales (x 8 Rs 100,000)

10

6

4 2 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

168

The run chart displays an interesting pattern. There are peaks in February (Valentines Day), April (Easter) and December (Christmas). The least are sold in January because people have to be conscious about expenses after the holidays and in August when many are on vacation.169

HistogramWhat is it? A histogram is a bar diagramme, which indicates how data is divided in a group of values. Also known as frequency distribution. The data are displayed as a series of rectangles of equal width and varying heights. An examination of the patterns of varying heights offer insight into process behaviour.170

When do you use it? A histogram is used to clearly show where the most frequently occurring values are located and how the data is distributed. Whenever numerical data is in interval scale. Based on visual information about process behaviour, priorities can be set about improvement efforts. How do you use it? 1.After the necessary measurements are taken, count how many data values you have gathered.

Number of values Less than 50 50-100 100-250 More than 250

Number of classes 5-7 6-10 7-12 10-20

172

5. Determine the section boundary value(s) using the following approach. (a) Lower boundary value for the first section = Minimum value. (b) Upper boundary of the first section= Lower boundary + section width 6. Make a frequency table for all values. 7. Draw a histogram based on the frequency table. Mark the class limits on the horizontal axis and the frequency on the vertical axis. 8. Write the title and number of values in the empty spaces of the diagramme.173

Example: The Human Resource Manager of an organization decides to study how long it takes to recruit administrative employees, from the moment vacancy is known till the day the new employee is hired. He studies the files of his department and registers how many working days the procedure took.Time spent in recruiting new employees (in working days): 32,27,27,36,31,31,19,38,12,28,25,33,48,44,16,34,21,28,27,59,31,31,39,36,57, 53,29,36,47,39,26,41,34,38,42,41,13,22,37,21,27,31,21,29,24,29,17,18,26,22, 19,33,26,32,21.

Number of data values= 55 Range= 59-12= 47

174

The class width= 47 divided by 10= 4.7 rounded off to 5 Lower boundary value for the first section=12 Upper boundary for the first section= 12+5=17 Draw a frequency table. Based on the above draw a histogram.

175

Frequency table:Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12-16 17-21 22-26 27-31 32-36 37-41 42-46 47-51 52-56 57-61 Limits 3 8 7 14 9 7 2 2 1 2 Frequency

The histogram indicates that most recruitment procedures Total 55 take 27 to 31 days i.e. class 4.176

177

Pareto-diagrammeWhat is it? A Pareto-diagramme is a graphical tool to gain insight into the most important causes of a problem. It is a bar chart in which the data is arranged in descending order of their importance. The diagram displays the relative contribution of each item to the total effect in decreasing order.

178

Based on this, the most important problems can be distinguished from the less important ones and the greatest improvement can be realized with the least effort. The diagramme is based on Pareto-principle, which states that just a few of the defects account for most of the effects. This pattern is called the 80/20 rule and is applicable to all sorts of situations; thus, it is likely that only 20 percent of your equipment problems account for 80 percent of the downtime. 179

The issue here is that of many problems, only limited number are essential and should be solved immediately. The rest can be solved later. A Pareto-diagramme clearly indicates which problems belong to this small number. Interpretation of the diagramme should be done with care, because the most frequent occurring problems may not the most expensive ones.

180

When do you use it? Helps in decision making process by putting the most critical issues into an easily understood framework. How do you use it? Steps for drafting a Pareto-diagramme. (1)Formulate the problem (2)Select the time period during which an inventory of is causes should be made (3)Design a check sheet for registering the data

181

(4)Make an inventory of the causes. Count the number of times each cause occurs and write down on the check sheet. (5) Calculate the total (6) Rank the causes in decreasing order. (7) Draw the bar chart with two vertical axis. (a)Along the left vertical axis, mark the measured values for each cause, starting from zero till the total number of causes. (b)The right vertical axis should have the same height and should go from 0 to 100%.182

(c)The right vertical axis displays the cumulative percentages.(d) List the different kinds of causes along the horizontal axis, from left to right in decreasing order of frequency or costs. 8. Draw a bar above each item whose height represents the number for that cause. 9. Construct the cumulative frequency line. (a) First draw a cumulative bars by adding the number of each cause from left to right. (b) Draw a cumulative curved line from zero till 100 % level on the right vertical axis, by connecting the top right hand corner of the bars with each other.

183

10. Draw a horizontal line from 80% (on the right vertical axis) to the left till the point of intersection with the cumulative line. (a)Draw a vertical line from this intersection downwards till the horizontal axis. (b)Left from this intersection point, 20% of the causes are located (the most essential bottle necks) causing 80% of the damage. 11. Thus, these 20% causes require immediate attention.184

An Example: The manager of a hotel is concerned about the number of complaints he receives from customers. Thats why he has decided to study the most important problems, in order to initiate corrective measures. With the help of his employees, he drafts a check sheet of all known problems for each separate department. During the following four weeks, the employees register the complaints. They use the check sheets shown in the table.185

Types of complaints Cold food Slow service Expensive

Restaurant

Number of complaints 0 10 0 0 0 4

Cork part in the wine Overcooked food Impolite personnel

Conference roomTypes of complaints Defective equipment Coffee too late Too few provisions Too cold Impolite personnel Number of complaints 0 10 0 1 1186

Recreation centreTypes of complaints Hygiene Unavailable facilities Cold swimming water Too crowded Defective equipment Impolite personnel 0 2 0 0 0 1

Number of complaints

BedroomsTypes of complaints Beds not made Too cold Not clean TVs not working No towels Noisy Number of complaints 0 0 6 0 1 4187

During the period studied, 40 complaints were registered. From the Paretos diagramme, it appears that 90% of the complaints relate to only 4 of the 23 possible causes. These are ranked according to priorities viz., (1)Slow service in the restaurant (2)Coffee arrives too late in the conference room (3)Bedrooms are not clean (4)Restaurant personnel is impolite (5)Noisy rooms These complaints should be solved first.

188

189

Failure Mode and Effect analysis The failure mode can be defined as the manner in which a product, service or a process can fail to meet the specification. The failure mode is basically associated with a non-conformance or a defective product or a deficient service to meet the customer expectations.190

The effect is the impact on the customer if the failure mode is not prevented or corrected. The customer could be an internal customer or an external customer. The cause is a deficiency that results in a failure mode. The causes are sources of variability associated with the input variables. The failure mode is an in-process defect or deficiency in input variables.191

Effect is the impact of such deficiency or defect in the process on the output product and the services. FMEA identifies ways the product, service, or the process can fail to meet the critical customer requirements and to work out a plan to prevent to prevent these failures. FMEA involves estimating risks of specific defined causes with regard to these failures and to plan for preventing these failures from occurring. Prioritizes the actions that help to improve the process.192

FMEA identifies the potential failure modes and rates the criticality of their effect. Evaluates the occurrences of the causes and ability to detect the causes when they occur. The potential occurrences and causes are ranked with reference to their severity. Focuses on eliminating potential causes of such occurrences.193

When FMEA needs to be carried out? When new products, processes and systems are being designed. When existing processes or the designs are being changed. When existing designs and processes are used in the new application or the new environment. Also implemented after a problem-solving study to prevent the recurrence of the problem.194

FMEA is measured by the numerical number RPN or the Risk Priority Number. This decides the risk of a particular failure mode. RPN= SEV x OCC x DET SEV stands for severity or how significant is the impact on the product and services and ultimately to the customer who could be either internal or external or both. The scale fixed is 1 to 10, where 1 is for the best or minimum severity or effect of the failure and 10 is for the worst or most severe effect of the failure. 195

-

OCC represents the occurrence. How likely is the cause of failure mode to occur. DET stands for detection. How likely is the current system to detect the cause of failure mode if it occurs. Benefits of FMEA To make the output of the organization error free. Ensures better quality and reliability of the output. Ensures customer satisfaction.

196

Reduces the product/service development timing and cost. Maintains documents and tracks the actions taken to reduce the risk. Increases the safety of the product/service usage. Helps in the improvement stage of Six sigma where the organization needs to identify the risks for vital inputs to optimize the resource usage.

197

Procedural Steps in FMEA Analysis Determine for each process step the possible failure modes and anticipate possible failures in the process in relation to the other processes. Indicate what the cause is of each failure mode. Indicate what the effect is on the controllability of the process. Quantify the weak points in the process, by estimating the Probability of occurrence (P) and the Severity of the failure (S) for each failure mode. The product of these two factors is the Risk Priority Number (RPN).198

Factor P and Factor SFactor P can be determined with the followingFactor S can be scaled as follows scale 0= not possible/never 1=very low 2= low 3=not as low 4= less than average 5= average 6=above average 7=rather high 8=high 9=very high 10= certain 0= no problem 1- very low/ hardly any problem 2= low/ to be solved through intervention of the employees . 3=less serious 4= less than average 5=average 6=above average 7=rather serious 8= high 9= very high 10= catastrophic /dangerous to people199

Determine for each failure mode the actions necessary to improve the weak points in the process. The failures with the highest RPN factor have the highest priority. Report the FMEA results in writing to the management. Give feedback to the team members about the status of the executed actions. Verify and evaluate the actions.200

An Example of Operations in Furniture CompanyProcess steps Supply logs Failure mode Cause Effect P S RPN Action

Difficult to supply Danger to personnel

Inadequate Production availability of delay transportation and handling equipment Wrong construction Production of the rolling band stagnation

7

10

70

Provide adequate transport and handling system

Sort logs Logs are falling from sorting band Saw logs Difficult to saw

5

7

35

Redesign the rolling band

Logs are too big for Damage to the 6 the sawing machine sawing machine. A wrong saw blade was assembled in the Bad sawing sawing machine quality

5

30

Optimize the selection process

201

Process steps

Failure mode

Cause

Effect

P

S

RPN

Action

Drill Drilling boards machine regularly defective

Maintenance Production 8 system is not delays adequate

5

40

Develop and implement a preventive maintenance system Install a dust extraction system.

Scour Danger to Insufficient High 5 boards personnel due extraction of absence due to dust dust to illness development

10

50

202

Statistical Quality ControlSQC is the application of statistical techniques to accept or reject products already produced, or to control the process and, therefore the quality while the part is being made. While the latter is called process control, the former is named acceptance sampling. SQC for Process Control SQC is used for controlling quality during production in mass production industries which produce standard products. 203

SQC is based on probability theory. When several identical parts are manufactured, some are a little large and some a little small, but most will be approximately the same. The middle or average will be most frequent, with smaller and larger sizes as extremes from the average. When the frequency or count of items by size is plotted with size on the horizontal scale and count on vertical scale, a normal distribution or bell-shaped curve is obtained.204

30 25

No. ofcases

20

15 105

0.995

1.000 Size in inches

1.005

205

Variations in size between 0.995 inch and 1.005 inches, with most measuring 1.000 inch are due to chance causes. Chance causes are inherent and cannot be controlled or prevented. Chance causes are ignored because any effort to eliminate them is uneconomical and may be counter-productive too. However, if the size measures beyond 1.005 inches or below 0.995 inch, it is not due to chance causes but because of assignable causes. 206 In other words, the part is not normal.

Assignable causes included internal temperature and wear and tear of machine parts, a worn out tool, improper dimension of raw material, or setting of the machine being changed unintentionally. When it is known that improper size is made as a result of an assignable cause, it is possible to stop, detect the cause and rectify it. In practice, SQC for process control manifests through control charts.207

Control charts, first developed by Dr. Walter A. Schewhart of the Bell Laboratories during 1920s, are horizontal extensins of the bellshaped curve. A typical control chart consists of a central line corresponding to the average quality at which the process is to perform and two other lines corresponding to the upper and lower control limits, also called the tolerance limits. The vertical scale indicates the quality variations and the horizontal scale the time.208

Samples of product are taken at specified time intervals, quality checked, measured, averaged and plotted on the chart. If the values plotted are within the control limits, the processing is said to be under control. If values move away from the control limits, the process must be improved.Upper control limit Quality variations Average quality Central line Lower control limit Time209

Acceptance Sampling A statistical technique used to take a decision regarding acceptance or rejection of a lot without having to examine the entire lot. Acceptance sampling is based on the premise that a sample represents the whole lot from which the former is drawn. In this method samples are taken out and are carefully inspected to detect defects. On the basis of number of defects found, the lot is accepted or rejected.210

If defects are few, lot is accepted and it is rejected when defects are more. Thus, acceptance sampling is used to take a decision regarding acceptance or rejection of a lot without having to examine the entire lot, thereby providing economy of inspection. It may be used at any point in a plannt, but most often found in incoming inspection. Thus it becomes significant part of overall quality control programme of a plant.211

Advantages of SQC1. Helps prevent defects from occurring. Assignable causes signifying deviations in quality are detected and rectified. Costly rework, rejection, and scrap are avoided. 2. Avoids risk of accepting the bad lot. 3. Emphasizes on inspection of only samples, SQC avoids inspection of the entire lot. 4. Ensures maintenance of high standards of quality and enables the users to build up their goodwill.

5. Helps in auditing of quality regarding the producers products.212

Types of Control Charts Control charts can be broadly classified as (a)Control charts for variables, (b)Control chart for attributes Variables are quality characteristics that can be measured on a continuous scale for example, the diameter of the shaft can be measured by a dial micrometer before taking a decision regarding quality i.e. whether the diameter is within the permissible limits of variation.213

Attributes are quality characteristics which can be classified into one of the two categories namely good or bad, defective or non-defective. For example, a painted surface is good or bad depending on the quality of the workmanship of the painter and the quality of the paint used.

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Quality Characteristics Variables

Applicable control chart X (bar) - R Chart (Mean-Range chart)

Formula to compute control limit Control Line ( CL)= Grand Mean = X (double bar) Upper Control Limit (UCL) = Grand Mean + A2 X Mean Range (R bar) Lower Control Limit (LCL)= Grand Mean- A2 X Mean Range (R bar)

For R chart

Central Line (CL)= Mean Range= R (bar) Upper Control Limit (UCL)= D4 x Mean Range (R bar) Lower Control Limit (LCL) = D3 x Mean Range (R bar)

A2, D3 , and D4 are constants whose value depends on the sample size, n.215

Sample size n 2 3 4 5 10 15 20 25

A2 1.880 1.023 0.729 0.577 0.308 0.223 0.180 0.153

D3 0 0 0 0 0.223 0.348 0.414 0.459

D4 3.267 2.575 2.282 2.116 1.777 1.652 1.586 1.541216

Construction of Control Charts A control chart is a graphic comparison of process performance and data with computed control limits drawn as limit lines on the chart. Measurements taken from product quality are plotted on a graph sheet on which three limit lines are drawn viz, (a)A central line indicating the average level of quality characteristics. (b) Two lines equispaced from the central line indicating upper control limit and lower control limits. (c)After these three limits are established, they become the benchmarks against which to compare future samples.217

The control chart distinguishes between chance causes and assignable causes of variations by fixing the upper control limit and lower control limit. If the process operates under chance causes of variation the probability of actual variation to exceed the control limits is very low. If actual variations exceeds control limits, it gives a signal that assignable causes have entered into process and action is required for controlling the process.218

Chance causes are reasons for minor variations in the quality characteristics that are inspected - These causes do not cause the item to be rejected as the variations are within the limits (tolerance limits). - Chance causes of variations are inherent in the process. Assignable causes are external to the process and causes large variations in the quality characteristics making the item liable to be rejected.

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- Defective raw materials, faulty machine settings, worn out machine parts or worn out or defective tools cause major variation in the quality characteristics and are called assignable causes of variation. - Assignable causes must be identified and eliminated from the process. Usually two kinds of information are available from control charts. (a)Whether the process is running under stable condition or not i.e. whether the process is under state of statistical control or not.

(b)Whether the process is meeting the desired quality standards or not. - ``220

Process Capability Once the process is in control, it is important to know how it will perform over a period of time. Process capability is a measure of how well a process is performing compared with its expected level of performance satisfying customer requirements. Process capability may be defined as the minimum spread of a specific measurement of variation which will include 99.7% of the measurements from the given process.221

Thus, Process capability = 6 ( where = standard deviation). 6 is taken as a measure of the spread of the process and is called natural tolerance. Using process capability, it becomes possible to know the percentage of products which will be produced with in limits of 3 on either side of mean x (bar).

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Methods to measure process capability The different methods used to measure the capability of a process are 1.Visual analysis 2. Process capability (Cp ) index 3. Cp K index223

(1) Visual analysis (b) Carried out on the base of careful analysis of control charts wherein the upper specification (+3 ) and lower specification ( 3 ) limits are also included.UCL USL X (bar) LSL (b) The above is not not capable process since the range of expected process performance is outside specification limits (USL and LCL LSL).

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(c)The process shown below is capable of satisfying customer requirements.USL UCL X (bar) LSL LCL

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(d) The following is highly capable process and even if an out-of-control condition exists, the process will satisfy the customers requirements.USL UCL X (bar) LCL LSL

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Process Capability Index (Cp) The Cp index measures the process potential by assessing whether the natural tolerance (6 ) is within the specification limits. Cp = (USL-LSL) 6 (a)A Cp of 1 is considered as adequate and exactly the same as the tolerance width. (b)If Cp < 1 the process lacks potential to meet customer requirements. (c)If Cp> 1 the process has the potential to meet the customer requirements.

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The Cp index only looks at the potential process performance by mainly concentrating on the spread of the process rather than its location. Therefore another index CpK is used. CpK uses the process mean to measure constantly the distance between the process mean and the upper and lower specification limits. CpK =lesser value of [{USL X (bar)} 3 or {X (bar) LSL} 3 ] The higher the value of CpK the more this is indicative of process capability.228

Other comments based on Cp and CpK analysis are as under. (1)The Cp does not change as the process centre changes. (2) Cp = CpK when process is centered. (3)CpK is always greater to or less than Cp (4) A CpK value greater than 1.00, indicates the process confirms to specifications. (5) A CpK value less than 1.00, indicates the process does not confirm