STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT GROUP ASSIGNMENT GROUP 7

Transcription

1 STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT GROUP ASSIGNMENT GROUP 7 NAME ADMISSION NUMBER KITAO JOE KADUYU IAN MATTHEW KARUGU SHERYL KERUBO JAMES MWANGI SIMON MURAYA EMMANUEL OMALE EDWIN MUROKI ALLAN KIMANI

2 What is quality? According to the American Society for Quality, quality can be defined in the following ways: Based on customer s perceptions of a product/service s design and how well the design matches the original specifications. The ability of a product/service to satisfy stated or implied needs. Definition of Quality Management Systems: A quality management system is a management technique used to communicate to employees what is required to produce the desired quality of products and services and to influence employee actions to complete tasks according to the quality specifications. Quality Management Systems involve internal controls, resources, goals, all focused on producing a product that meets and conforms to well defined specifications. In any organization, quality is not only a stated core value but also an important aspect that is obtained through hard work and a careful, thoughtful process to create effective quality management systems to ensure products conform to the set levels of quality. HISTORY OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS The history of quality management can be traced all the way back to the middle Ages. The work of apprentices and journeymen, who worked under their skilled supervisors or mentors, was checked, inspected and evaluated based on the quality standards that were in place at that particular time. All the finished products and merchandise were to conform to these set standards of quality. This is evidence that despite the transition of evaluation of conformity to quality standards over time, the end game is still the same- to ensure that all forms of products and services are of top quality. During the 1920s, quality management systems came to life as product quality control was applied through inspection of end products. The end products of organizations were measured, examined and tested against specific requirements to ensure that they conformed to quality and consequently, the consumers would be satisfied. During the 1940s, the matter of inspecting end products became burdensome as most organizations began expanding at a rapid rate and production of goods and services multiplied as a result. Therefore, the development of the Total Quality Management (an example of a quality management system) came about whereby instead of inspecting the products at the end of the processes, the products would be checked and inspected against quality standards at certain intervals within the process. This reduced the number of spoiled products detected at the end of

3 the process and instead made necessary corrections of failures that would be detected in the earlier stages of the processes. This development of the Total Quality Management was brought about by the then industry leaders like Deming, Juran, Roming and Dodge. This form of quality management system spread throughout countries like Japan, United States of America and countries in Europe over time. Today, companies worldwide compete for hundreds of Excellence awards now being given. This is pure evidence that all through history, throughout the gradual changes and developments, the aspect of producing quality products and services to satisfy the consumer population is still the end goal of organizations. JURAN S ASPECTS OF QUALITY. Quality of design; the quality of a product or service is only as good as its design and intention. Thus, it is important to include quality issues in the design process, as well as to have in mind during the design phase the difficulties one might have in replicating the product or service with the intended quality level. Quality of conformance; the ability to replicate each aspect of a product or service with the same quality level as that intended in the design. Availability; freedom from disruptive problems throughout the process and is measured by the frequency or probability of defect. Safety; is described by Juran as calculating the risk of injury due to product hazards. Field use; ability of the product to reach the end user with the desired level of quality. This involves packaging, transportation, storage and field service competence, and promptness. WHAT PURPOSE DOES A QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SERVE? The primary purpose of a QMS is to beat the competition. It does this by adding value at each stage of production which helps businesses achieve their desired goal of quality service delivery and customer satisfaction. QMS in a business helps to identify wastes, straighten up processes and help reduce costs by decreasing inefficiencies. This therefore improves customer satisfaction, increase sales and furthers goodwill into the business. QMS develop and maintain an organizational system which provides quality assurance and audit through every area of an organization while optimizing the process of production. These processes benefit an organization and lead to customer satisfaction.

4 STANDARDIZED SYSTEMS (ISO 9000) The ISO 9000 is a set of international standards for quality management and quality assurance. The goal of ISO 9000 is to increase productivity, reduce unnecessary costs, and ensure quality of processes and products. The ISO 9000 QMS standards are not specific to products or services, but apply to the processes that create them. The standards are generic in nature so that they can be used by manufacturing and service industries anywhere in the world. ISO 9000 can be implemented in both large and small organizations because, it s a flexible standard that lays down requirements for an organization to follow, but allows the organization to fulfill these requirements any way they choose. An organization can be ISO 9000-certified if it successfully follows the ISO 9000 standards for its industry. In order to be certified, The organization must submit to an examination by an outside assessor. The assessor interviews staff members to ensure that they understand their part in complying with the ISO 9000 standard, and the assessor examines the organization's paperwork to ensure ISO 9000 compliance. The assessor then prepares a detailed report that describes the parts of the standard the organization missed. The organization then agrees to correct any problems within a specific time frame. When all problems are corrected, the organization can then be certified. Today, there are approximately 350,000 ISO 9000-certified organizations in over 150 countries. The ISO 9000:2008 series of standards is based on eight quality management principles that senior management can apply for organizational improvement: 1. Customer focus 2. Leadership 3. Involvement of people 4. Process approach 5. System approach to management 6. Continual improvement

5 7. Factual approach to decision-making 8. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships Benefits of Certification build or grow the market for your products and services make sure products are compatible and interoperate with other related products boost credibility with customers and suppliers manage your business more effectively increase productivity Criticism against certification The standard is seen as especially prone to failure when a company is interested in certification before quality Certifications are in fact often based on customer contractual requirements rather than a desire to actually improve quality. ISO systems merely gauge whether the processes are being followed. It does not gauge how good the processes are or whether the correct parameters are being measured and controlled to ensure quality. Costly to obtain certification. It costs from $10,000 to $20,000 or more, and may take six to 18 months to perform, depending on the size of the company. This can be prohibitive for small companies and for companies with severely limited resources. Total Quality Management (TQM) TQM is a management approach in which quality is emphasized in every aspect of the business and organization. Its goals are aimed at long-term development of quality products and services.

6 TQM breaks down every process or activity and emphasizes that each contributes or detracts from the quality and productivity of the organization as a whole. Management s role in TQM is to develop a quality strategy that is flexible enough to be adapted to every department, aligned with the organizational business objectives, and based on customer and stakeholder needs. Once the strategy is defined, it must be the motivating force to be deployed and communicated for it to be effective at all levels of the organization. Some degree of employee empowerment is also encompassed in the TQM strategy and usually involves both departmental and cross functional teams to develop strategies to solve quality problems and make suggestions for improvement. CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT (CQI) Continuous quality improvement came into existence in manufacturing as a different approach to quality and quality systems. It does not focus as much on creating a corporate quality culture, but more on the process of quality improvement by the deployment of teams or groups who are rewarded when goals and quality levels are reached. CQI allows individuals involved in the day-to-day operations to change and improve processes and work flows as they see fit. CQI implementation attempts to develop a quality system that is never satisfied; it strives for constant innovation to improve work processes and systems by reducing time-consuming, low value-added activities. The time and resource savings can now be devoted to planning and coordination. CQI has been adapted in several different industries. For example, in health care and other service sectors, it has taken on the acronym FOCUS-PDCA. Find a process to improve. Organize to improve a process. Clarify what is known. Understand variation. Select a process improvement. Plan; create a time line, including all resources, activities, dates, and personnel training. Do; Implement the plan and collect data Check; analyze the results of the plan. Act; act on what was learned and determine the next steps.

7 The last phase is the actual process improvement. Six Sigma Six sigma was developed at Motorola in the 1980s as a method to measure and improve highvolume production processes. Its overall goal was to measure and eliminate waste by attempting to achieve near perfect results. The term six sigma refers to a statistical measure with no more than 3.4 defects per million. Numerous companies, including General Electric, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler, have credited six sigma with saving them billions of dollars. The following is a brief description of the steps involved in the six sigma process: 1. Break down business process flow into individual steps. 2. Define what defects there are. 3. Measure the number of defects. 4. Probe for the root cause. 5. Implement changes to improve. 6. Re-measure. 7. Take a long-term view of goals. ELEMENTS OF A QUALITY SYSTEM The most important elements of a quality system include participative management, quality system design, customers, purchasing, education and training, statistics, auditing, and technology Participative Management The entire quality process, once started, will be an ongoing dynamic part of the organization, just like any other department such as marketing or accounting. It will also need the continuous focus of management. The implementation and management of a successful quality system involves many different aspects that must be addressed on a continuous basis. Vision and Values. The starting point for the management and leadership process is the formation of a well-defined vision and value statement. This statement will be used to establish the importance of the quality system and build motivation for the changes that need to take place. Developing the Plan. Communication. Change, especially a movement toward higher quality, is challenging to communicate effectively, yet the communication process is essential for the company s leaders to move the organization forward. Communication is the vital link between management, employees, consumers, and stakeholders. Communication systems also

8 must allow for employees to give feedback and provide possible solutions to issues the company must face. Management needs to allow for this in both formal and informal ways, such as employee feedback slips and feedback roundtable meetings. Rewards and Acknowledgment. Rewards, compensation, and acknowledgment for achievements in quality are very effective ways to motivate employees. Designing a Quality management system The basic steps involved are; 1. Understand and map all business structures and processes Most TQM and QMS programs are process based systems.. Start by mapping out the major processes (for example sales, purchasing, production, and design) with their inputs, activities, and outputs. Once major processes are defined, map the primary subprocesses.if processes already exist review them closely for accuracy. 2. Develop business performance priorities. The performance measurement system should support the stakeholders requirements. 3. Understand the current performance measurement system. Either you can scrap the old system and introduce a new one as a replacement, or you can redevelop the existing system. 4. Develop performance indicators; the purpose of this step is to develop the performance measurement system with an appropriate number of relevant and accurate performance indicators. 5. Decide how to collect the required data; this would involve the handling of data that is got from the performance indicators. Therefore the organization should exercise precaution and select those indicators that are measureable. 6. Design reporting and performance data representation formats. In this step, you decide how the performance data will be presented to the users; how the users should apply the performance data for management, monitoring, and improvement and who will have access to performance data. 7. Test and adjust the performance measurement system. In this step you should extensively test the system and adjust the elements that do not work as planned. 8. Implement the performance measurement system. NB; it s important that the organization regularly reviews and improves the system according to the prevailing working conditions.

9 Customers; The inclusion of customers in a quality program can take many different avenues, including the cost of losing a customer, the customer s perception of quality, and the satisfaction level of the customers. In service industries, in particular, quality is measured in customer retention rates and the cost of losing a customer. According to the Harvard Business Review, companies can increase profits by almost 100 percent by retaining 5 percent more of their customers. Customers over time will generate more profits the longer they stay with the same company. Purchasing; Today s suppliers need to be partners in the quality effort. A company s products or services are only as good as the combination of all the inputs. Collaborate with the entire quality system is to take all the standards developed for all incoming materials that can be qualified as an input to routine process or activity. Then educating the purchasing personnel on how the standards are important to the process flows of the organization. If standards are not upheld, the quality of the product or service will be compromised. It will be the purchasing department s responsibility to communicate the requirements to suppliers and hold them accountable for the quality. Education and Training The education of employees for a quality program will include a discussion of how these programs will affect their jobs on a daily basis. It should also include a brief overview of quality as well as the tools employees will use in order to ensure outputs and how their roles add to the overall quality goals of the organization. Statistics As the common saying in management goes you cannot manage what you cannot measure. Therefore this gives the organization the necessary data and information that is required to make managerial decisions. This is usually collected from the performance indicators. Auditing The audit process allows everyone involved to see if the quality management system is working correctly and if the goals and objectives are being reached. Auditing also plays major roles in

10 motivating employees and allows for rewards and acknowledgment measures to be assessed as well as possible compensation. ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISADVANTAGES 1) Production Disruption Implementing a Total Quality Management system in a company requires extensive training of employees and these requires them to take some time of their day to day work duties. While the improvements do reduce lead time, eliminate waste and improve productivity, the beginning stages of implementing Total Quality Management in an organization can reduce worker output. 2) Employee Resistance Total Quality Management requires change in mindset, attitude and methods for performing their jobs. When management does not effectively communicate the team approach of Total Quality Management, workers may become fearful, which leads to employee resistance. When workers resist the program, it can lower employee morale and productivity for the business. 3) Quality is Expensive TQM is expensive to implement. Implementation often comes with additional training costs, team-development costs, infrastructural improvement costs, consultant fees and the like. 4) Discourages Creativity TQM s focus on task standardization to ensure consistency discourages creativity and innovation. It also discourages new ideas that can possibly improve productivity ADVANTAGES 1) Emphasizing the needs of the market: TQM helps in highlighting the needs of the market. Its application is universal and helps the organization to identify and meet the needs the market in a better way. 2) Assures better quality performance in every sphere of activity: Adverse and non-participative attitudes of the employees are the biggest obstacles in the organization s success, growth and advancement.

11 TQM stresses on bringing attitudinal changes and improvements in the performance of employees by promoting proper work culture and effective team work 3) Helps in checking non-productive activities and waste: Every organization aims at improving productivity as well as reduction in cost so as to result in increase in profitability. Under TQM, quality improvement teams are constituted to reduce waste and inefficiency of every king by introducing systematic approach. 4) Helpful in meeting the competition: TQM techniques are greatly helpful in understanding the competition and also developing an effective combating strategy. Due to the cut throat competition, the very survival of many organizations has become very vital issue. 5) It helps in developing an adequate system of communication: Faulty and inadequate communication and improper procedures act as stumbling blocks in the way of proper development of an organization. It results in misunderstanding, low- productivity, poor quality, duplication of efforts and low morale. TQM techniques bind together members of various related sections, departments and levels of management for effective communication and interaction.

12 References American Society for Quality. (2015, february 17). Retrieved from Biolos, J. (2002, february 15). six sigma meets the service economy. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.