tqm project report

7/16/2019 Tqm Project Report

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Table Of Contents

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT- INTRODUCTION ........................................... 4

INTRODUCING TQM INTO A BUSINESS ................................................................... 5

CONCEPT OF TQM .......................................................................................................... 6

UNDERSTANDING TQM ................................................................................................. 7

THE EIGHT ELEMENTS OF TQM ................................................................................ 9

A SIMPLIFIED TQM DIAGNOSTIC MODEL ............................................................13

....................................................................................................................... 14

IMPROVING FINANCIAL SERVICES THROUGH TQM: ..................................... 16

A CASE STUDY ................................................................................................................16

STRATEGIES TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITH TQM ........................................25

1. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF TQM.......................................................................................25

2. GET QUALITY GOODS FROM YOUR SUPPLIERS.........................................................28

.............................................................................................................................................30

3. INSPECTING FOR QUALITY............................................................................................31

4. TECHNIQUES TO GET MORE BUSINESS............................................................33

TQM AT MOTOROLA ................................................................................ 35

............................................................................................................................................ 37

CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................38



BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 39

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Total Quality Management- Introduction

Total Quality Management is a management approach that originatedin the 1950's and has steadily become more popular since the early1980's. Total Quality is a description of the culture, attitude and

organization of a company that strives to provide customers withproducts and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requiresquality in all aspects of the company's operations, with processes beingdone right the first time and defects and waste eradicated fromoperations.

Total Quality Management, TQM, is a method by which managementand employees can become involved in the continuous improvement of the production of goods and services. It is a combination of quality andmanagement tools aimed at increasing business and reducing losses

due to wasteful practices.

Some of the companies who have implemented TQM include Ford MotorCompany, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and ToyotaMotor Company.

A company commitment to develop a process that achieves highquality product and customer satisfaction is known as total qualitymanagement.

Total Quality Management or TQM is a management strategy to embed

awareness of quality in all organizational processes.

TQM aims to do things right the first time, rather than need to fixproblems after they emerge or fester.

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Introducing TQM into a Business

TQM is not an easy concept to introduce into businesses - particularlythose that have not traditionally concerned themselves too much withunderstanding customer needs and business processes. In fact - many

attempts to introduce TQM fail!

One of the reasons for the challenge of introducing TQM is that it hassignificant implications for the whole business.

For example, it requires that management give employees a say in theproduction processes that they are involved in. In a culture of continuous improvement, workforce views are invaluable. The problemis - many businesses have barriers to involvement. For example,middle managers may feel that their authority is being challenged.

So "empowerment" is a crucial part of TQM. The key to success is toidentify the management culture before attempting to install TQM andto take steps to change towards the management style required for it.Since culture is not the first thing that managers think about, this stephas often been missed or ignored with resultant failure of a TQMstrategy.

TQM also focuses the business on the activities of the business that areclosest to the customer - e.g. the production department, theemployees facing the customer. This can cause resentment amongst

departments that previously considered themselves "above" the shopfloor.

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Concept Of TQM

Management strategy to embed awareness of quality in allorganizational processes. Quality assurance through statistical methods is a key component. TQM aims to do things right the first time, rather

than need to fix problems after they emerge or fester. TQM mayoperate within quality circles, which encourage the meeting of minds of the workforce in different departments in order to improve productionand reduce wastage.

In a manufacturing organization, TQM generally starts by sampling arandom selection of the product. The sample is then tested for thingsthat matter to the real customers. The causes of any failures areisolated, secondary measures of the production process are designed,and then the causes of the failure are corrected. The statistical

distributions of important measurements are tracked. When parts'measures drift out of the error band, the process is fixed. The errorband is usually tighter than the failure band. The production process isthereby fixed before failing parts can be produced.

It's important to record not just the measurement ranges, but whatfailures caused them to be chosen. In that way, cheaper fixes can besubstituted later, (say, when the produce is redesigned), with no lossof quality. After TQM has been in use, it's very common for parts to beredesigned so that critical measurements either cease to exist, orbecome much wider.

It took people a while to develop tests to find emergent problems. Onepopular test is a "life test" in which the sample product is operated untila part fails. Another popular test is called "shake and bake". Theproduct is mounted on a vibrator in an environmental oven, andoperated at progressively more extreme vibration and temperaturesuntil something fails. The failure is then isolated and engineers designan improvement.

Often a TQMed product is cheaper to produce (because there's no need

to repair dead-on-arrival products), and can yield an immensely moredesirable product.

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Understanding TQM

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a business philosophy that seeks toencourage both individual and collective responsibility to quality atevery stage of the production process from initial design and

conception through to after sales service.

• Many businesses may not use the term TQM anymore but the

philosophy is still very much part of most business thinking. It isseen as being a way in which a business can add value to its productand to gain competitive advantage over its rivals. The former mayallow a business to charge a higher price for its product or serviceManagement structures have to be more consultative and lesshierarchical.

• Workers have to be empowered to be able to make decisions at all

levels of the organisation.• Workers have to be trained and involved in the building of the

philosophy.• Communication links between workers and management and

between the business and all aspects of the supply chain must beexcellent.

• Commitment to TQM must be backed by action, which the customer

can see, and experience.

TQM can be addressed in a business in a number of ways. The

most common are:

• A policy of zero defects - any problems in the production process are

filtered out before they get anywhere near the customer.• Quality chains - each stage of the production process is seen as

being a link in the chain right down to the relationship between oneworker in the process and another. whilst the latter can be a keyfeature of its marketing programme.

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TQM requires a change in the way in which businesses operate.

It implies a number of things if it is to work successfully:

• Quality circles - meetings of those directly involved in the production

process to discuss and solve problems and make improvements to

the production process.• Statistical monitoring - the use of data and statistics to monitor and

evaluate production processes and quality.• Consumer feedback - using market research and focus groups to

identify consumer needs and experiences and to build these into theprocess.

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The Eight Elements Of TQM

Total Quality Management is a management approach that originatedin the 1950's and has steadily become more popular since the early

1980's. Total Quality is a description of the culture, attitude andorganization of a company that strives to provide customers withproducts and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requiresquality in all aspects of the company's operations, with processes beingdone right the first time and defects and waste eradicated fromoperations.

To be successful implementing TQM, an organization mustconcentrate on the eight key elements:

1. ETHICS2. INTEGRITY3. TRUST4. TRAINING5. TEAMWORK6. LEADERSHIP7. RECOGNITION8. COMMUNICATION

1. ETHICS

Ethics is the discipline concerned with good and bad in any situation. Itis a two-faceted subject represented by organizational and individualethics. Organizational ethics establish a business code of ethics thatoutlines guidelines that all employees are to adhere to in theperformance of their work. Individual ethics include personal rights orwrongs.

2. INTEGRITY

Integrity implies honesty, morals, values, fairness, and adherence tothe facts and sincerity. The characteristic is what customers (internal orexternal) expect and deserve to receive. People see the opposite of integrity as duplicity. TQM will not work in an atmosphere of duplicity.

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3. TRUST

Trust is a by-product of integrity and ethical conduct. Without trust, theframework of TQM cannot be built. Trust fosters full participation of allmembers. It allows empowerment that encourages pride ownership

and it encourages commitment. It allows decision making atappropriate levels in the organization, fosters individual risk-taking forcontinuous improvement and helps to ensure that measurements focuson improvement of process and are not used to contend people. Trustis essential to ensure customer satisfaction. So, trust builds thecooperative environment essential for TQM.

4. TRAINING

Training is very important for employees to be highly productive.Supervisors are solely responsible for implementing TQM within theirdepartments, and teaching their employees the philosophies of TQM.Training that employees require are interpersonal skills, the ability tofunction within teams, problem solving, decision making, jobmanagement performance analysis and improvement, businesseconomics and technical skills. During the creation and formation of TQM, employees are trained so that they can become effectiveemployees for the company.

5. TEAMWORK

To become successful in business, teamwork is also a key element of TQM. With the use of teams, the business will receive quicker andbetter solutions to problems. Teams also provide more permanentimprovements in processes and operations. In teams, people feel morecomfortable bringing up problems that may occur, and can get helpfrom other workers to find a solution and put into place. There aremainly three types of teams that TQM organizations adopt:

a. Quality Improvement Teams or Excellence Teams (QITS) -

These are temporary teams with the purpose of dealing withspecific problems that often re-occur. These teams are set up forperiod of three to twelve months.

b. Problem Solving Teams (PSTs) - These are temporary teamsto solve certain problems and also to identify and overcomecauses of problems. They generally last from one week to threemonths.

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c. Natural Work Teams (NWTs) - These teams consist of smallgroups of skilled workers who share tasks and responsibilities.These teams use concepts such as employee involvement teams,

self-managing teams and quality circles. These teams generallywork for one to two hours a week.

6. LEADERSHIP

It is possibly the most important element in TQM. It appearseverywhere in organization. Leadership in TQM requires the manager toprovide an inspiring vision, make strategic directions that areunderstood by all and to instill values that guide subordinates. For TQMto be successful in the business, the supervisor must be committed inleading his employees. A supervisor must understand TQM, believe in itand then demonstrate their belief and commitment through their dailypractices of TQM. The supervisor makes sure that strategies,philosophies, values and goals are transmitted down through out theorganization to provide focus, clarity and direction. A key point is thatTQM has to be introduced and led by top management. Commitmentand personal involvement is required from top management in creatingand deploying clear quality values and goals consistent with theobjectives of the company and in creating and deploying well definedsystems, methods and performance measures for achieving thosegoals.

7. COMMUNICATION

It binds everything together. Starting from foundation to roof of theTQM house, everything is bound by strong mortar of communication. Itacts as a vital link between all elements of TQM. Communication meansa common understanding of ideas between the sender and thereceiver. The success of TQM demands communication with and amongall the organization members, suppliers and customers. Supervisorsmust keep open airways where employees can send and receiveinformation about the TQM process. Communication coupled with thesharing of correct information is vital. For communication to be crediblethe message must be clear and receiver must interpret in the way thesender intended.

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There are different ways of communication such as:

a) Downward communication - This is the dominant form of communication in an organization. Presentations and discussions

basically do it. By this the supervisors are able to make theemployees clear about TQM.

b) Upward communication - By this the lower level of employeesare able to provide suggestions to upper management of theaffects of TQM. As employees provide insight and constructivecriticism, supervisors must listen effectively to correct thesituation that comes about through the use of TQM. This forms alevel of trust between supervisors and employees. This is alsosimilar to empowering communication, where supervisors keepopen ears and listen to others.

c) Sideways communication - This type of communication isimportant because it breaks down barriers between departments.It also allows dealing with customers and suppliers in a moreprofessional manner.

8. RECOGNITION

Recognition is the last and final element in the entire system. It should

be provided for both suggestions and achievements for teams as wellas individuals. Employees strive to receive recognition for themselvesand their teams. Detecting and recognizing contributors is the mostimportant job of a supervisor. As people are recognized, there can behuge changes in self-esteem, productivity, quality and the amount of effort exhorted to the task at hand. Recognition comes in its best formwhen it is immediately following an action that an employee hasperformed. Recognition comes in different ways, places and time suchas places, time and ways.

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A Simplified TQM Diagnostic Model

WHY LEARN A SIMPLIFIED TQM DIAGNOSTIC MODEL?

This model can help you gain confidence in making TQM

decisions:

• Identify necessary elements for a successful quality management

approach.• Know how they fit together to successfully accomplish quality goals.

• Display the most options, thus helping make the right quality

management choices.

This model can help you integrate daily TQM tasks withstrategic TQM goals:

• Learn skills to balance competitive quality strategic planning with

daily operational choices.

• Learn skills to maximize human and organizational resources for

daily productivity demands.

This model can help you understand and enjoy team technology

in the context of TQM:

• Learn how to avoid strategies that lead to the "program-of-the-

month" mentality.• Learn how to keep management commitment for TQM at its highest

level.

• Learn how to avoid employee "end-runs" around management

during TQM implementation.

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DIAGRAMATIC REPRESENTATION OF A SIMPLIFIED TQM MODEL

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[O] Organizational Management

[ I ] Individual Management

[Q] Quality Management

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Improving Financial Services Through TQM:A Case Study

The work described in this case study was undertaken in a young,rapidly expanding company in the financial services sector with noprevious experience with Total Quality Management (TQM). The qualityproject began with a two-day introductory awareness program coveringconcepts, cases, implementation strategies and imperatives of TQM.The program was conducted for the senior management team of thecompany. This program used interactive exercises and real life casestudies to explain the concepts of TQM and to interest them incommitting resources for a demonstration project

Step 1 : DEFINE THE PROBLEM

1.1) Selecting the theme:

A meeting of the senior management of the company was held.Brainstorming produced a list of more than 20 problems. The list wasprioritized using the weighted average table, followed by a structureddiscussion to arrive at a consensus on the two most important themes- customer service and sales productivity.

1.2) PROBLEM = CUSTOMER DESIRE – CURRENT STATUS:

Current status: What did the individual group members think theturnaround is currently? As each member began thinking questionscame up. "What type of policies do we address?" Medical policies ornon-medical? The latter are take longer because of the medicalexamination of the client required. "Between what stages do weconsider turnaround?" Perceptions varied, with each person thinkingabout the turnaround within their department. The key process stages

were mapped:

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Several sales branches in different parts of the country sent proposalsinto the Central Processing Center. After considerable debate it was

agreed at first to consider turnaround between entry into the computersystem at the Company Sales Branch and dispatch to the customerfrom the Central Processing Center (CPC). Later the entire cycle couldbe included. The perception of the length of turnaround by differentmembers of the team was recorded. It averaged:

Non-Medical Policies 17 daysMedical Policies 35 days

Customer desire:

What was the turnaround desired by the customer? Since a customersurvey was not available, individual group members were asked tothink as customers -- imagine they had just given a completedproposal form to a sales agent. When would they expect the policy inhand? From the customer's point of view they realized that they did notdifferentiate between medical and non-medical policies. Theirperception averaged out six days for the required turnaround.

"Is this the average time or maximum time that you expect?" theywere asked. "Maximum," they responded. It was clear therefore thatthe average must be less than six days. The importance of "variability"had struck home. The concept of sigma was explained and was rapidlyinternalized. For 99.7 percent delivery within the customer limit themetric was defined.

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Customer desire:Average+3 Sigma turnaround = less than 6 days

Current status:

Non-medical policies (Average 19/Sigma 15) Average+3 sigma= 64 daysMedical (Average 37/Sigma 27) Average+3 sigma= 118 days

The Problem was therefore defined:Reduce Average+3 sigma of turnaround for:Non-Medical Policies From 64 to 6 daysMedical Policies From 118 to 6 days

The performance requirement appeared daunting. Therefore the initialtarget taken in the Mission Sheet (project charter) was to reduce theturnaround by 50 percent -- to 32 and 59 days respectively.

Step 2 : ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM

In a session the factors causing large turnaround times from theprinciples of JIT were explained. These were:

Input arrival patterns

• Waiting times in process

- Batching of work- Imbalanced processing line- Too many handovers- Non-value added activities, etc.• Processing times

• Scheduling

• Transport times

• Deployment of manpower

Typically it was found that waiting times constitute the bulk of

processing turnaround times. Process Mapping (Value Stream Mappingin Lean) was undertaken. The aggregate results are summarizedbelow:

Number of operations 84Number of handovers 13

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In-house processing time (estimated) 126 man-minutes.Range of individual stage time 2 to 13 minutes.

Could this be true? Could the turnaround be 126 minutes for internalprocessing without waiting? The group started to question of the status

quo. The change process had begun. To check this estimate it wasdecided to collect data -- run two policies without waiting and recordthe time at each stage. The trial results amazed everyone: Policy No. 1took 100 minutes and Policy No. 2 took 97 minutes. Almost instantlythe mindset changed from doubt to desire: "Why can't we processevery proposal in this way?"

Step 3 : GENERATING IDEAS

1. Determine the station with the maximum time cycle which cannot besplit up by reallocation - 8 minutes.2. Balance the line to make the time taken at each stage equal 8minutes as far as possible.3. Reduce the stages and handovers - 13 to 8.4. Eliminate non-value added activities - make personnel sit next toeach other.5. Agree processing to be done in batch of one proposal.

Step 4 : TESTING THE IDEA

Testing in stages is a critical stage. It allows modification of ideasbased upon practical experience and equally importantly ensuresacceptance of the new methods gradually by the operating personnel.

Stage 1

Run five proposals flowing through the system and confirm results. Thetest produced the following results:

Average turnaround time: < 1 dayIn-house processing time: 76 minutes.

There was jubilation in the team. The productivity had increased by 24percent. The head of the CPC summarized: "I gave five files forprocessing, and went for a meeting. Emerging from the meeting about30 minutes later I was greeted by the dispatch clerk jubilantly

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reporting, "'Madam, the TQM files are ready for dispatch.'" The mindsetwas dramatically changed and line personnel were now keen to pushthe implementation.

Stage 2

It was agreed to run the new system for five days -- and compute theaverage and sigma of the turnaround to measure the improvement. Itwas agreed that only in-house processing was covered at this stageand that the test would involve all policies at the CPC but only onebranch as a model. This model, once proved, could be replicated atother branches.

The test results showed a significant reduction in turnaround:

1. for all non-medical policies From 64 to 42 days or 34%2. For policies of the model branch From 64 to 27 days of 60%

The Mission Sheet goal of 50 percent reduction had been bettered forthe combined model branch and CPC. Further analysis of the datarevealed other measures which could reduce the turnaround further.Overall reduction reached an amazing 75 percent. Turnaround, whichhad been pegged at 64 days, was now happening at 99.7 percent on-time delivery in 15 days.

Step 5 : IMPLEMENTING THE IDEAS

Regular operations with the new system was planned to commence.However, two weeks later it was still not implemented. One of thepersonnel on the line in CPC had been released by his department forthe five-day trial to sit on the line but was not released on a regularbasis. The departmental head had not attended the TQM awarenessprogram and therefore did not understand why this change wasrequired.

There were two options -- mandate the change or change the mindsetto accept the change. Since the latter option produces a robustimplementation that will not break down under pressures it was agreedthat the group would summarize TQM, the journey and the resultsobtained in the project so far and also simulate the process with asimple exercise in front of the department head. This session was

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highly successful and led to the release of the person concerned on aregular basis.

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Step 6 : CHECK THE RESULT

The process was run for one month with regular checks. The resultsobtained were marginally better than the trials conducted in Step 5:

Average 11 daysSigma 9 daysAverage+3 sigma 38 days

Step 7 : STANDARDIZE CONTROL/DOCUMENT THE IMPROVEMENTSTORY

• Essentially the in-house processes in two centers of processing -

the CPC and one sales branch had been impacted so far. Samplex-bar and sigma control charts for the CPC are shown below:

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• A special "Grind It In" session was conducted for line personnel to ensure

that the control chart was updated every day, and any deterioration wasdealt with by finding and killing the root causes of the problems.

• Customer reaction: Sales management and sales agents clearly noticed

the difference.• Adoption of a similar process at the CPC and the model branch for medical

policies has already reduced the average+3 sigma of turnaround time by70 percent -- from 118 days to 37 days. The corresponding all-Indiareduction was from 118 days to 71 days -- a 60 percent reduction.

FUTURE ACTIONS

Non-medical policies: Goal to reduce turnaround from 42 to about 15days.

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i. Roll out process to branches to achieve 24 days throughout thecountry.

ii. Minimize rework by analyzing, prioritizing and training salesbranches to avoid the causes of rework.

iii. Working with the bank to improve the turnaround time of banking checks and considering processing proposals while checkclearance is in progress.

Medical policies: Goal to reduce turnaround from 71 days to about 24days.

1. Roll out process to branches to reduce turnaround from 71 to 37days.

2. Streamline the process of medical exam of the client from 37 to24 days

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Strategies to Succeed in Business with TQM

1. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF TQM

The basic principles for the Total Quality Management (TQM)philosophy of doing business are to satisfy the customer, satisfy thesupplier, and continuously improve the business processes.

• How do you satisfy the customer?

• Why should you satisfy the supplier?

• What is continuous improvement?

HOW TO SATISFY THE CUSTOMER?

The first and major TQM principle is to satisfy the customer--the personwho pays for the product or service. Customers want to get theirmoney's worth from a product or service they purchase.

Users

If the user of the product is different than the purchaser, then both theuser and customer must be satisfied, although the person who paysgets priority.

Company philosophy

A company that seeks to satisfy the customer by providing them valuefor what they buy and the quality they expect will get more repeatbusiness, referral business, and reduced complaints and serviceexpenses.

Internal customers

Within a company, a worker provides a product or service to his or her

supervisors. If the person has any influence on the wages the workerreceives, that person can be thought of as an internal customer. Aworker should have the mind-set of satisfying internal customers inorder to keep his or her job and to get a raise or promotion.

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WHY SHOULD YOU SATISFY THE SUPPLIER?

A second TQM principle is to satisfy the supplier, which is the person ororganization from whom you are purchasing goods or services.

External suppliers:

A company must look to satisfy their external suppliers by providingthem with clear instructions and requirements and then paying themfairly and on time. It is only in the company's best interest that itssuppliers provide it with quality goods or services, if the companyhopes to provide quality goods or services to its external customers.

Internal suppliers:

A supervisor must try to keep his or her workers happy and productiveby providing good task instructions, the tools they need to do their joband good working conditions. The supervisor must also reward theworkers with praise and good pay.

Get better work:

The reason to do this is to get more productivity out of the workers, aswell as to keep the good workers. An effective supervisor with a goodteam of workers will certainly satisfy his or her internal customers.

Empower workers:

One area of satisfying the internal suppler is by empowering theworkers. This means to allow them to make decisions on things thatthey can control. This not only takes the burden off the supervisor, butit also motivates these internal suppliers to do better work.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

The third principle of TQM is continuous improvement. You can neverbe satisfied with the method used, because there always can beimprovements. Certainly, the competition is improving, so it is verynecessary to strive to keep ahead of the game.

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Working smarter, not harder: Some companies have tried toimprove by making employees work harder. This may be counter-productive, especially if the process itself is flawed. For example, tryingto increase worker output on a defective machine may result in moredefective parts.

Worker suggestions: Workers are often a source of continuousimprovements. They can provide suggestions on how to improve aprocess and eliminate waste or unnecessary work.

Quality methods: There are also many quality methods, such as just-in-time production, variability reduction, and poka-yoke that canimprove processes and reduce waste.

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2. GET QUALITY GOODS FROM YOUR SUPPLIERS

In any business or job situation, your prime goals to satisfy yourcustomer with quality goods and services. But in order to effectivelysatisfy your customer, it is essential that your suppliers also provide

you with quality parts and services. This includes both your internaland external suppliers.

1.1 A Need for Quality Goods

This need is for quality supplies are obvious. If you get shoddy goods,items out of spec, unreliable parts, and/or late delivery, it is verydifficult for you to deliver quality products yourself. Likewise, if yourworkers are inefficient, if the repair service is unreliable, or if you aregetting low quality performance from those who provide you service,

you are hindered from successfully satisfying your customer.

1.2 How Do You Get Quality?

Now, the question is: "How can you make sure that you will get thequality performance you need from your suppliers?"

1.2.1 Old method was to play tough

A method that has been used for years by many American companiesis what they call "playing hard ball" with their suppliers. This includes

using threats to influence their vendors, micro-managing the contract,or playing one supplier against the other.

These companies have also dealt the same way with their workers.Threats of layoffs would often keep workers in line. Brow-beating wasoften effective in the short run. An environment of distrust was alwaysthere in the workplace.

Other companies have simply accepted poor quality, getting what theywanted through re-work. They felt they were lucky to get anythingclose to specification from the supplier. Surprisingly, a large number of organizations still use these outdated methods.

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1.2.2 New method uses TQM

With the advent of the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy of doing business, there are much better ways to assure quality

performance from your suppliers. The new way of thinking is toestablish an atmosphere of trust, teamwork, and cooperation.

In other words, you must establish a partnership with your suppliers,such that it is in the best interest of both of you that the othersucceeds. Working together as partners is the way to assure you willget the quality products and extra service you want and need in yourbusiness.

1.3 Steps to Achieve Goal

From studying and observing what is working in various companies andorganizations that have established forms of partnerships with theirexternal suppliers, as well as their employees, I have synthesized thoseexamples into a strategy or continuous process consisting of threesteps:

1. Work Together to Focus Understanding,2. Share Motivation for Quality Goods, and3. Help Each Other to Do a Good Job.

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3. INSPECTING FOR QUALITY

Whenever work is done or a product or part is made, it should beinspected to see that it fulfills the requirements and specifications. Thisis certainly a wise business practice. Some companies accept a certain

failure rate, while others try to correct the problems they see fromtheir inspection. Inspecting and then correcting will save companymoney.

• What is wrong with standard inspection methods?

• How is failure information gathered?

• How can workers inspect for quality?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH STANDARD INSPECTION METHODS?

The most common type of inspection that has been done for years onthe assembly lines involves sorting the defective items from theacceptable product. This method is sometimes referred to as "creatingquality by inspection" and is not considered an effective qualitymanagement approach.

Production line inspection

For example, at the end of a production line the inspector gives finalapproval whether or not parts are good. The rejects are put into scrapor are re-worked. This assures only quality material reaches the next

stage, but it does not address the cause of the failed parts nor does itcorrect that problem.

Office work inspection

In another situation, office workers may complete reports only to havetheir manager reject many of them as unacceptable. Those reportsmust be re-done until acceptable. Again, the reason for the failures isnot addressed, and the rejection rate remains constant.

HOW IS FAILURE INFORMATION GATHERED?

A more effective method to inspect consists of gathering informationand using data gained from inspection to control the process andprevent future defects. Statistical Process Control (SPC) is a type of this type of inspection.

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Inspections at intermediate stages

Since work-in-process undergoes many operating steps as it is movedthrough a manufacturing facility, inspections are often conducted at

intermediate stages in the process. The inspections give statisticalinformation necessary to determine the cause of the quality problem,so that it can be prevented in the future. SPC does not aggressivelyseek to eliminate defects and in some cases changes may beimplemented too slowly to be fully effective.

White collar examples

One example in the office is that the boss may inspect a report atvarious stages, making corrections. He may then see that perhapsthere was a communication problem in stating the requirements thatmay be rectified.

In the office, the engineering manager may monitor the designs of hisengineers, making corrections along the way. The engineers learn fromhis changes and the final design is relatively free of errors.

This method of making inspections at intermediate stages is certainlybetter than waiting until the product in completed to inspect foracceptance or rejection.

HOW CAN WORKERS INSPECT FOR QUALITY?

One other inspection method is to have workers inspect the item fromthe prior operation before proceeding. In this way quality feedback canbe given on a much timelier basis. Each operation performs bothproduction and quality inspection.

By monitoring where most problems occur in a production line, aquality manager can pinpoint causes—whether it is a drunk worker or adefective piece of equipment.

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4. TECHNIQUES TO GET MORE BUSINESS

Satisfy Customers to Succeed

Business leaders wishing to succeed must satisfy their customers. This

is a basic tenet of the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy of doing business, and it is also simply common sense.

A problem occurs in defining who is a customer. Some advocates of TQM promote the idea that everyone is your customer. That idea isincorrect. There is a difference between a customer, a user, and asupplier, and it is important to deal with each in an appropriate mannerthat will enhance your bottom line.

If you want to succeed in business or to improve your competitiveposition, you should work on satisfying your customers in the productsand services you deliver. Seeking customer satisfaction is one of thegreat concepts of TQM (Total Quality Management).

YOUR CUSTOMER PAYS YOU MONEY

A customer in a business transaction is the person who pays money forthe product or service. In a work situation, your customer is the personwho either pays you money for a product or service, or who passes iton to you. For example, your boss at work is your customer, becausehe or she has control over your pay. This is differentiated from thecustomer, who is buying the company's product or service.

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You could possibly satisfy the customer and lose your job, because youdidn't make your customer - your boss - happy.

There is essentially a chain of customers passing money along, fromthe customer to your customer to you. The book "Building a Chain of

Customers" by Richard J. Schonberger, The Free Press 1990, explainsthis concept.

YOUR SUPPLIER MUST KEEP YOU HAPPY

On the other hand, you are the customer of those who you pay (oreffect earnings) to provide you with products and services. They shouldkeep you happy or satisfied, but it is in your best interest to pay themwell in order to get the service you desire.

A USER IS NOT A CUSTOMER

There is often a difference between the person who pays for a productand service and the person that ultimately uses the commodity.

Although the user should be made happy, the top priority goes tosatisfying the customer - the person who pays the money.

The Total Quality Management System can be broken down into fourbasic systems, these are; systems for assuring consistency,conformance, improvement and methodologies. These systems workinteractively with each other and with customers. Corrective actions,which result in continuous improvement, are at the center of all thesesystems. The circle encompassing these systems represents the factthat continuous improvement through corrective action in a never-ending pursuit of total customer satisfaction.

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TQM AT MOTOROLA

Like an Olympic athlete seeking to score better than determined worldrivals, Motorola Inc. seeks sales victories in world markets forelectronic components and equipment by improving the quality of its

own performance. For Motorola, quality improvement leading to totalcustomer satisfaction is the key.

In 1981, Motorola launched an ambitious drive for a tenfoldimprovement in the quality of its products and services. Motorolasucceeded. Now, the company has evidence that many of its productsare the best in their class. Looking ahead, Motorola intends to top itsachievements - further gains in quality for 1989, yet another leap in1991, and near perfection a year later. The company's quality goal issimply stated: "Zero defects in everything we do."

Motorola's managers literally carry with them the corporate objective of "total customer satisfaction." It's on a printed card in their pockets.Corporate officials and business managers wear pagers to makethemselves available to customers, and they regularly visit customers'businesses to find out their likes and dislikes about Motorola productsand services. The information, along with data gathered through anextensive network of customer surveys, complaint hotlines, field audits,and other customer feedback measures, guides planning for qualityimprovement and product development.

MOTOROLA: A SNAPSHOT

Employing 99,000 workers at 53 major facilities worldwide and basedin Schaumburg, Illinois, 60-year old Motorola is an integrated companythat produces an array of products, distributing most through directsales and service operations. Communication systems -- primarily two-way radios and pagers -- account for 36 percent of annual sales, andsemiconductors account for 32 percent. The remaining revenues comefrom sales of cellular telephones and equipment for defense andaerospace applications, data communications, information processing,

and automotive and industrial uses. Sales in 1987 totalled $6.7 billion.

Responding to the rapid rise of Japanese firms in world markets forelectronics, Motorola's management began an almost evangelicalcrusade for quality improvement; addressing it as a company issueand, through speeches and full-page ads in major publications, as anational issue.

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The company's most persuasive messages, however, are the results of its quest for quality. Most products have increased their market share,here and abroad. In Japan, for example, Motorola pagers, supplied toNippon Telegraph and Telephone, were introduced in 1982 and nowclaim a major share of that market. Over the past two years alone,

Motorola has received nearly 50 quality awards and certified suppliercitations, tops among the 600 electronics firms responding to a surveypublished in March 1987.

KEY QUALITY INITIATIVES

To accomplish its quality and total customer satisfaction goals,Motorola concentrates on several key operational initiatives. At the topof the list is "Six Sigma Quality," a statistical measure of variation froma desired result. In concrete terms, Six Sigma translates into a targetof no more than 3.4 defects per million products, customer servicesincluded. At the manufacturing end, this requires designs thataccommodate reasonable variation in component parts but productionprocesses that yield consistently uniform final products. Motorolaemployees record the defects found in every function of the business,and statistical technologies are increasingly made a part of each and

every employee's job.

Reducing the "total cycle time" -- the time from when a Motorolacustomer places an order until it is delivered -- is another vital part of the company's quality initiatives. In fact, in the case of new products,Motorola's cycle-time reduction is even more ambitious; the clockstarts ticking the moment the product is conceived. This calls for anexamination of the total system, including design, manufacturing,marketing, and administration.

Motorola management demonstrates its quality leadership in a variety

of ways, including top-level meetings to review quality programs withresults passed on through the organization. But all levels of thecompany are involved. Nonexecutive employees contribute directlythrough Motorola's Participative Management Program (PMP).Composed of employees who work in the same area or are assigned toachieve a specific aim, PMP teams meet often to assess progresstoward meeting quality goals, identify new initiatives, and work on

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problems. To reward high-quality work, savings that stem from teamrecommendations are shared. PMP bonuses over the past four yearshave averaged about 3 percent of Motorola's payroll.

To ensure that employees have the skills necessary to achieve

company objectives, Motorola has set up its own training center andspent in excess of $170 million on worker education between 1983 and1987. About 40 percent of the worker training the company providedlast year was devoted to quality matters, ranging from generalprinciples of quality improvement to designing for manufacturability.

Motorola knows what levels of quality its products must achieve to topits competitors. Each of the firm's six major groups and sectors have"benchmarking" programs that analyze all aspects of a competitor'sproducts to assess their manufacturability, reliability, manufacturingcost, and performance. Motorola has measured the products of some125 companies against its own standards, verifying that many Motorolaproducts rank as best in their class.

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Conclusion

TQM encourages participation amongst shop floor workers andmanagers. There is no single theoretical formalization of total quality,but Deming, Juran and Ishikawa provide the core assumptions, as a"...discipline and philosophy of management which institutionalizesplanned and continuous... improvement ... and assumes that quality isthe outcome of all activities that take place within an organization; thatall functions and all employees have to participate in the improvementprocess; that organizations need both quality systems and a qualityculture.".

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Bibliography

Reference Books:

Production & Operation Management - by Adam & Ebert Production & Operations Management - by Buffa

Internet:

www.managementhelp.org/quality/tqm/tqm.htm www.crossroad.to/Quotes/TQM.html www.michaellorenzen.com/eric/tqm.html

www.school-for-champions.com/tqm.htm www.skyenet.net/~leg/tqm.htm

http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/TQM.html

http://www.michaellorenzen.com/eric/tqm.html

http://www.school-for-champions.com/tqm.htm

http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/TQM.html

http://www.michaellorenzen.com/eric/tqm.html

http://www.school-for-champions.com/tqm.htm

tqm project report

Documents

business tqm

tqm strategy

understanding tqm

elements of tqm

tqm fail

management culture

management tools

management approach