TQM Questions and Answers from Yogeesha H.C.AP/Mech, NCET 1. Define Quality 04 marks

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1 1. Define Quality 04 marks Quality is an attribute of a product or service that fulfills or exceeds the human expectations. These expectations are based on the intended use and selling / service price. It is somewhat of an intangible based on perception. That is why quality is a relative term and each person has his or her own definition. As per ISO 9000:2000: Quality means The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements. Here, Degree quality such as poor, good, and excellent Inherent Permanent attribute Requirement need based or expectation. According to the oxford dictionary for the business world, quality is defined as the degree of excellence. Quality means a totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated and implied needs. In some references, Quality is referred to as "fitness for use", "fitness for purpose", "customer satisfaction", or "conformance to the requirements." The father of Total Quality Management, Dr. William Edward Deming defined Quality should be aimed at the needs of the customer, present and future (continuous Improvement) Quality Guru, J.M.Juran defined quality as: Fitness for use / Purpose Quality Guru Philip Crosby defined quality as: Conformance to specifications Quality guru Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa defined quality as: Most economical, useful and always satisfactory to the customer / audience. Eminent Japanese Scientist Armand V.Feigenbaum defined: Quality is the total composite of product and services characteristics of marketing, engineering, manufacturing and maintenance through which the product and service in use will meet the expectations of the customer. Quality can be quantified as follows: Q=P/E Where, Q = Quality, P = Performance and E = Expectations. If Q is greater than 1.0 then the customer has a good feeling about the product or service. 2. Define TQM. Explain six basic concepts of TQM - 10 mark Total Quality Management (TQM) is an enhancement to the traditional way of doing business. It is a proven technique to guarantee survival in world-class competition. Only by changing the actions of management will the culture and actions of an entire organization be transformed. TQM is for the most part common sense. Analyzing the three words, we have: Total: Make up of the whole. Quality: Degree of excellence a product or service provides. Management:Act, art, or manner of handling, controlling, directing, etc. Therefore, TQM is the art of managing the whole to achieve excellence. TQM is defined as both a philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a continuously improving organization. It is the application of quantitative methods and human resources to improve all the processes within an organization and exceed customer needs now and in the future. TQM integrates fundamental management techniques, existing improvement efforts, and technical tools under a disciplined approach. Six basic concepts of TQM 1. A committed and involved management to provide long-term top-to-bottom organizational support. Agreement must participate in the quality program. A quality council must be established to develop a clear vision, set longterm goals, and direct the program. Quality goals are included in the business plan. An annual quality improvement program is established and involves input from the entire work force. Managers participate on quality improvement teams and also act as coaches to other teams. TQM is a continual activity that must be entrenched in the culture it is not just a one-shot program. TQM must be communicated to all people. 2. An unwavering focus on the customer, both internally and externally. The key to an effective TQM program is its focus on the customer. An excellent place to start is by satisfying internal customers. We must listen to the voice of the customer and emphasize design quality and defect prevention. Do it right the first time and every time, for customer satisfaction is the most important consideration. 3. Effective involvement and utilization of the entire work force. TQM is an organization-wide challenge that is everyone s responsibility. All personnel must be trained in TQM, statistical process control (SPC), and other appropriate quality improvement skills so they can effectively participate on project teams. Including internal customers and, for that matter, internal suppliers on project teams is an excellent approach. Those affected by the plan must be involved in its development and implementation. They understand the process better than anyone lese. Changing behavior is the goal. Page No 1

2 People must come to work not only to do their jobs, but also to think about how to improve their jobs. People must be empowered at the lowest possible level to perform processes in an optimum manner. 4. Continuous improvement of the business and production process. There must be a continual striving to improve all business and production processes. Quality improvement projects, such as on-time delivery, order entry efficiency, billing error rate, customer satisfaction, cycle time, scrap reduction, and supplier management, are good places to begin. Technical techniques such as SPC, benchmarking, quality function development, ISO 9000, and designed experiments are excellent for problem solving. 5. Treating suppliers as partners. On the average 40% of the sales dollar is purchased product or service; therefore, the supplier quality must be outstanding. A partnering relationship rather than an adversarial one must be developed. Both parties have as much to gain or lose based on the success or failure of the product or service. The focus should be on quality and life-cycle costs rather than price. Suppliers should be few in number so that true partnering can occur. 6. Establish performance measures for the processes. Performance measures such as uptime, percent nonconforming, absenteeism, and customer satisfaction should be determined for each functional area. These measures should be posted for everyone to see. Quantitative data are necessary to measure the continuous quality improvement activity. 3. Explain briefly the historical review of quality control - 06 marks The total quality movement had its roots in the time and motion studies conducted by Frederick Taylor in the 1920s. Taylor is now known as the father of scientific management. The most fundamental aspect of scientific management was the separation of planning and execution. Although the division of labor spawned tremendous leaps forward in productivity, it virtually eliminated the old concept of craftsmanship in which one highly skilled individual performed all the tasks required to produce a quality product. In a sense, a craftsman was CEO, production worker, and quality controller all rolled into one person. Taylor s scientific management did away with this by making planning the job of management and production the job f labor. To keep quality from falling through the cracks, it was necessary to create a separate quality department. Such departments had shaky beginnings, and just who was responsible for quality became a clouded issue. As the volume and complexity of manufacturing grew, quality became an increasingly difficult issue. Volume and complexity together gave birth to quality engineering in the 1920s and reliability engineering in the 1950s. Quality engineering, in turn, resulted in the use of statistical methods in the control of quality, which eventually led to the concepts of control charts and statistical process control, which are now fundamental aspects of the total quality approach. Industrialization led to mass production in which it led to the concept of one product at a time to the assembly line of production. Though workmanship was affected but mass production led to more job and reduction in cost of the product and increase in quality, reduction of defects etc After WWI, W.A. Sherwat of Bell Telephone statistical chart for the control of various. Concept of sample tests were followed. It was a failure in the initial stages ASQC American Society for Quality Control, now ASQ. Frequent meetings, conferences and publications were made to public W.Edwards Demings his guidance and lecture to Japan engineers transformed quality concepts in the organisation. His cycle ACT-PLAN-DO-CHECK 1954 Joseph M.Juran Concept of efficient and productive. Juran Trilogy Quality planning Quality Control Quality Improvement 1960 Quality control circles was formed. Zero defects concepts 1970 Reactive approach to proactive approach. Shift from Japan to USA 1980 SPC Statistical Process Control. Concepts of parameter and tolerance. Experiments 1990 Concepts of certification of ISO, CMM etc 2000 six sigma concept - Six Sigma stands for Six Standard Deviations (Sigma is the Greek letter used to represent standard deviation in statistics) from mean. Six Sigma methodologies provide the techniques and tools to improve the capability and reduce the defects in any process. 4. Explain TQM framework. List out the benefits of TQM 10 marks The figure shows the framework for the TQM system. It begins with the knowledge provided by gurus of quality: Shewhart, Deming, Juran, Figenbaum, Ishikawa, Crosby, and Taguchi. As the figure shows, they contributed to the development of principles and practices and/or the tools and techniques. Some of these tools and techniques are used in the product and/or service realization activity. Feedback from internal/external customers or interested parties provides information to continually improve the organization s system, product and/or service. Page No 2

3 Benefits of TQM According to a survey of manufacturing firms in Georgia, the benefits of TQM are improved quality, employee participation, teamwork, working relationships, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, productivity, communication, profitability, and market share. The major benefits of TQM in terms of cost savings include: Elimination of non-confirmation and repetitive work Elimination of waste costs and reject products Elimination of repairs and reworks Reduced warranty and customer support costs Process efficiency leading to improved profit per product or service Fiscal discipline through elimination of unnecessary steps and wasteful expenditure Customer satisfaction oriented benefits : 1. Improvement in product quality 2. Improvement in product design 3. Improvement in production flow 4. Improvement in employee morale and quality consciousness 5. Improvement in product service 6. Improvement in market place acceptance Economic improvement oriented benefits : 1. Reduction in operating costs 2. Reduction in operating losses 3. Reduction in field service costs 4. Reduction in liability exposure For Management :- - Provides an invaluable problem-solving tool for managers and supervisors to use - Dispels negative attitudes - Management becomes more aware of problems that affect the individual s work environment - Employees gain a sense of participation - Increases efficiency and productivity - Reduces turnover rate, tardiness, costs, errors,and scrap & rework - Improves communications within and among all departments - Develops management skills that were never taught, or are long forgotten due to lack of application - Develops overall company awareness and company unity - Rearranges priorities which once seemed locked in place - Builds loyalty to the company - Reveals training requirements in all departments - Lessens the number of defects received from suppliers when they are encouraged to train in quality management For Employees: Provides opportunity for personal growth and development (as a result of team training activities) and the opportunity to develop and present recommendations Page No 3

4 Increases innovation (through a greater variety of approaches and perspectives) for solving problems, removing fear of failure Employees use their knowledge and skills to generate data-driven recommendations that will lead to well-informed decision making Encourages decision-making at the most appropriate level Increases motivation and acceptance of new ideas Increases job satisfaction (as a result of the opportunity to participate in and have influence over work) Recognizes employees for their knowledge, skills, and contribution toward improvement Develops mutual respect among employees, management and customers Promotes teamwork. 5. List the dimensions of quality. Explain its meaning - 8 mark Quality has different dimensions; these dimensions are somewhat Independence. Therefore a product can be excellent in one dimension and average or poor in another. Very few, if any, products excel in all dimensions now- a -days. In his Book - Managing quality: The strategic and competitive edge (1988), David A.Garvin has developed a list of nine dimensions of product quality: 1. Conformance: Meeting the specifications of the customer or Industry standards, workmanship. 2. Performance: Primary product functions such as clarity of voice received in Mobile phone, Radio. 3. Features: Added functions (secondary functions) to a product such as recording system in a elevision set. 4. Durability: Lifetime of the products, which include repairs. 5. Reliability: The probability of a product performing its intended duty under stated conditions without failure for a given period of time. 6. Serviceability: speed, courtesy, competence and ease of repair 7. Reputation: Customer s perception about the product which can be understood from a market research survey. 8. Aesthetics: The external finish given to a product to attract the customer. 9. Response: Human to Human interface, such as the courtesy of the dealer 6. Define quality for the following products: a university, an exercise facility, sauce, and toothpaste. The quality of a university can be defined as: o quality of professors have Ph.D., helpful, knowledgeable, able to clearly explain material, fair o ability to place students in a good position at a high salary in a timely manner o facilities are up-to-date in terms of technology (i.e. wireless classrooms) o value for the price of the education o ability to prepare students for success in the business world o variety of course offerings o efficiency and accuracy of processing paperwork, such as registration for classes o appearance of the campus o perceived prestige of the university The quality of an exercise facility can be defined as: o variety of gym equipment o variety and availability of fitness classes o value for the price of membership o ability to help members get into shape o accurate billing o atmosphere meets member s needs o waiting times for machines are two minutes or less The quality of sauce can be defined as: - good taste - the jar is filled to 28 ounces plus or minus one ounce - value for price paid - perceived quality of the product - ability to quickly answer questions at the address listed on the jar of sauce - the sauce has chunks of tomatoes - ease of opening jar - ease of preparing the sauce to eat - able to keep leftover sauce in container in refrigerator easily to last longer - length of time the sauce can still be eaten Page No 4

5 The quality of toothpaste can be defined as: - ability to clean teeth - good taste - perceived quality of the product - ability to keep breath fresh - ability to prevent plaque - ability to whiten teeth - ability to prevent cavities - tube of toothpaste is filled - ability to fight gingivitis - ability to fight tartar - able to quickly and accurately answer questions in a friendly manner at the toll-free number listed on toothpaste tube - toothpaste is certified by the American Dental Association (ADA) 7. Explain the contribution of quality gurus - 08 marks Three groups of Quality Gurus can be identified covering the period since World War II. 1. The early Americans who took the messages of quality to the Japanese. 2. The Japanese who developed new concepts in response to the Americans' messages. 3. The new Western wave of Gurus who, following Japanese industrial success, have given rise to increased quality awareness in the West. 1 The early Americans The Americans were themselves effectively responsible for making possible the miraculous turn-around of Japanese industry and for putting Japan on the road to Quality Leadership. Much of this transformation was associated with the introduction of statistical quality control into Japan by the US Army over the period 1946 to 1950 and the visits by three key American Quality Gurus in the early 1950s. These were: W Edwards Deming introduced concepts of variation to the Japanese and also a systematic approach to problem solving, which later became known as the Deming or PDCA cycle. Later in the West he concentrated on management issues and produced his famous 14 Points. He remains active today and he has attempted a summary of his 60 years experience in his System of Profound Knowledge. Joseph M Juran focused on Quality Control as an integral part of management control in his lectures to the Japanese in the early 1950s. He believes that Quality does not happen by accident, it must be planned, and that Quality Planning is part of the trilogy of planning, control and improvement. He warns that there are no shortcuts to quality. Armand V Feigenbaum is the originator of Total Quality Control. He sees quality control as a business method rather than technically, and believes that quality has become the single most important force leading to organisational success and growth. 2 The Japanese The Japanese adopted, developed and adapted the methodologies that the Americans brought in and by the late 1950s had begun to develop clearly distinctive approaches suitable for their own culture. The Japanese Gurus emphasised mass education, the use of simple tools and teamwork and had a background in an educational role. The three Japanese Quality Gurus included in this document are: Dr Kaoru Ishikawa's three main contributions to quality were the simplification and spread of technical statistical tools (the 7 tools of Quality Control) as a unified system throughout all levels of Japanese companies, his input to the company-wide Quality Movement and his input to the Quality Circle Movement. Dr Genichi Taguchi developed a methodology for minimum prototyping in product design and troubleshooting in production. Shigeo Shingo created the poka-yoke system to ensure zero-defects in production by preventive measures. The new Western wave Much of the increased awareness of the importance of quality in the West in recent years has been associated with a new wave of Gurus who have well publicised some of the quality issues, through the 1970s and 1980s. The three included in this document are: Philip Crosby is perhaps best known in relation to the concepts of Do It Right First Time and Zero Defects. He is a controversial figure, who has based his quality improvement approach on Four Absolutes of Quality Management and Fourteen Steps to Quality Improvement. Tom Peters emphasizes the importance of customers, innovation, people, leadership and systems. He has 45 prescriptions and 12 traits of a Quality Revolution. Claus Moller has developed a concept of Personal Quality on which he sees all other concepts of Quality as based. He provides 12 Golden Rules to help improve your actual performance level, and 17 Hallmarks of a quality company. 8. Discuss the obstacles for the implementation TQM in an organization Many organizations, especially smaller ones, are comfortable with their current state. They are satisfied with the amount of work being performed, the profits realized, and the perception that the customers are satisfied. Organizations with this culture will see little need for TQM until they begin to lose market share. Page No 5

6 The most common obstacles in the implementation of TQM are: i. Lack of Management commitment In order for any management effort to succeed, there must be a substantial management commitment of management time and organizational resources. The purpose must be clearly and continuously communicated to all personnel. ii. Inability to change organizational culture Changing an organizational culture is difficult and individuals resist change. It is difficult for people to change their way of doing things. It is much more difficult for an organization to make a cultural change. iii. Improper planning All constituents of the organization must be involved in the development of the implementation plan and any modifications that occur as the plan evolves. iv. Lack of Continuous training and education Training and education is an ongoing process for everyone in the organization. Needs must be determined and a plan developed to achieve those needs. Training and education are most effective when senior management conducts the training on the principles of TQM. v. Incompatible organizational structure and isolated individuals and departments Differences between individuals and departments create implementation problems. The use of multifunctional teams will help to break down long standing barriers. Restructuring of the organization to make it more responsive to customer needs is required. vi. Ineffective measurement techniques and lack of access to data and results Key characteristics of the organization should be measured so that effective decisions can be made. In order to improve a process, the measurement yardsticks must be defined. Access to data and quick retrieval is necessary for effective processes. vii. Paying inadequate attention to internal and external customers Organizations need to understand the changing needs and expectations of their customers. Effective feedback mechanisms that provide data for decision making are necessary for this understanding. viii. Inadequate use of empowerment and teamwork Teams need to have proper training and a facilitator in the beginning. The teams recommendations should be followed. Individuals should be empowered to take decisions that affect the efficiency of the processes or the satisfaction of their customers. ix. Failure to continually improve. Lack of continuous improvement of the processes, products, and service will leave the leader of the pack in dust. Page No 6