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Thursday, January 7, 2021

Quality Gurus

For everything you wanted to know on building leadership and management, refer Shyam Bhatawdekar’s website: http://shyam.bhatawdekar.com (Refer our High Quality Management Encyclopedia “Management Universe” at: http://management-universe.blogspot.com/) Original

Quality Gurus

1. Deming

Stresses worker pride and satisfaction rather than the establishment of quantifiable goals and process improvement. Deming’s profound knowledge system consists of four interrelated parts:

Appreciation for a system
Understanding of variations
Theory of knowledge
Psychology

Fourteen points:

Create consistency of purpose with a plan.
Adopt the new philosophy of quality.
Cease dependence on mass inspection.
End the practice of choosing suppliers based solely on price.
Identify problems and work continuously to improve the system.
Adopt modern methods of training on the job.
Change the focus from production numbers (quantity) to quality.
Drive out fear.
Break down barriers between departments.
Stop requesting improved productivity without providing methods to achieve it.
Eliminate work standards that prescribe numerical quotas.
Remove barriers to pride of workmanship.
Institute vigorous education and retraining.
Create a structure in top management that will emphasize the preceding thirteen points every day.

2. Juran

He defines quality as fitness for use in terms of design, conformance, availability, safety and field use. He is prepared to measure everything and relies on systems and problem solving techniques. He focuses on top-down management and technical methods rather than worker pride and satisfaction.

The Juran Trilogy:

I. Quality Planning

Create a process that will be able to meet established goals and do so under operating conditions

Establish quality goals
Identify the customers
Determine the customers' needs
Develop product features that respond to the customers' needs
Develop processes that are able to produce the product features
Establish quality controls
Transfer the plans to the operating forces

II. Quality Control

Keep the waste from getting worse; meet quality goals during operations
Evaluate actual performance
Compare actual performance to quality goals
Act on the difference

III. Quality Improvement

Breaking through to unprecedented levels of performance
Prove the need
Establish the infrastructure
Identify the improvement projects
Establish project teams
Provide the teams with resources, training, and motivation to: - Diagnose the causes and - Stimulate remedies
Establish controls to hold the gains

Ten points:

Build awareness of opportunities to improve.
Set goals for improvement.
Organize to reach goals.
Provide training.
Carry out projects to solve problems.
Report progress.
Give recognition.
Communicate results.
Keep score.
Maintain momentum by making annual improvement part of the regular systems and processes of the company.

3. Feigenbaum

He used a total quality control approach that may very well be the forerunner of today’s TQM. He promoted a system for integrating efforts to develop, maintain and improve quality by the various groups in an organization.

Feigenbaum’s philosophy is summarized in his three steps to quality:

Quality leadership
Modern quality technology
Organizational commitment

4. Philip Crosby

His absolutes of quality:

Quality = conformance to requirements, not “goodness".
System to achieve quality is prevention, not appraisal.
Standard = zero defects, not “that’s close enough”.
Measurement = price of non-conformance, not indexes.

Fourteen points:

Management commitment.
Quality improvement team.
Quality measurement.
Cost of quality.
Quality awareness.
Corrective action.
Zero defects planning.
Supervisor training.
Zero defects day.
Goal setting.
Error cause removal.
Recognition.
Quality councils.
Do it all over again.

5. Kaoru Ishikawa

Ishikawa built on Feigenbaum’s concept of total quality and promoted greater involvement of all employees from top management to the front line staff and reducing reliance on quality professionals and quality departments. Some key elements of his philosophy are summarized below:

Quality begins at education and ends with education.
The first step in quality is to know the requirement of customers.
The ideal state of quality control occurs when inspection is no longer necessary.
Remove the root cause, not the symptoms.
Quality control is the responsibility of all workers and all divisions.
Do not confuse the means with the objectives.
Put quality first and set your sights on long term profits.
Marketing is the entrance and exit of quality.
Top management must not show anger when facts are presented by subordinates.
95% of the problems in a company can be solved with simple tools for analysis and problem solving.
Data without dispersion information (i.e. variability) are false data.

6. Genichi Taguchi

Taguchi’s approach assumes that smaller the variation about the nominal specification, the better is the quality. He measured quality as the variation from the target value of a design specification and then translated that variation into an economic “loss function” that expresses the cost of variation in monetary terms.

Taguchi also contributed to improving engineering approached to product design. By designing a product that is insensitive to variation in manufacture, specification limits become meaningless. He advocated certain techniques of experimental design to identify the most important design variables in order to minimize the effects of uncontrollable factors on product variation. Thus his approaches attach quality problems early in the design stage rather than react to problems that might arise later in production.

7. Shigeo Shingo

He is associated with Just-in-Time (JIT) system. He also introduced single (digit) minute exchange of die (SMED) system, in which set up times are reduced from hours to single digit minutes. Towards achieving the zero defects, he invented poka-yoke (mistake proofing) system. By using the devices or systems using poka-yoke principle, even a single mistake is not allowed at all, even inadvertently. Poka-yoke device identifies the problem and even before the item is processed, the production process is stopped and corrections incorporated in the system after root cause analysis. Thus, not a single defect is produced, nor it gets sent to the customer.

For More Guidance, Assistance, Training and Consultation

Contact: prodcons@prodcons.com

Also refer: (Prodcons Group) http://prodcons-group.blogspot.com/ (Training Programs by Prodcons Group) http://training-development-function.blogspot.com/ (Productivity Consultants) http://productivity-consultants.blogspot.com/

Other Topics of Interest

Quality Circles History

Compete History of Evolution of Quality Circles

(For all other details on Quality Circles, refer: http://quality-circles.blogspot.com/)

(Book titled "Essentials of Quality Circles" is available online from Amazon as printed book and eBook)

Statistical Quality Control

1947: General Douglas McArthur requested US Govt to send experts to help Japanese rejuvenate their industries. Dr Edward Deming was sent.

1949: An Overseas Technical Research Committee was organized by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE)

1949: JUSE organized a seminar on “SQC”

1949: JUSE organized a seminar “Quality Control- Basic Course”

1950: JUSE published a magazine “SQC”

1950: Dr Deming invited to eight day Quality Control seminar organized by JUSE

1951: Deming prize instituted

1954: Dr Joseph Juran invited to Quality Control Management seminar organized by JUSE

1956: Japan’s radio started broadcasting a Quality Control Course organized by JUSE

1960: Japanese Govt declared November as Quality Month and Q-flag was adopted

Quality Control Circles or Quality Circles

Quality Control Circles (Japan)

1962: First QC Circle was registered with QC Circle Head Quarters

1962: First annual QC Conference for Foremen was held

1964: Regional chapters of QC Circles were organized in four different districts

1966: Dr Juran observed Japanese QC Circle activities

1966: Special QC Circle session was organized at the 10th conference of European Organization for Quality Control held in Stockholm, Sweden

1967: Number of registered QC Circles grew to 10000

1968: JUSE dispatched the first QC Circle Study Team overseas

1969: Registered Circles grew to 20000

1969: 100th QC Circle Conference was held in Tokyo

1970: Registered Circles grew to 30000

1971: JUSE organized the first QC Circle seminar

1971: 200th QC conference was held

1971: Registered QC Circles grew to 40000

1971: First National QC Circle Conference was held in Tokyo

1972: Regional Circles grew to 50000

1973: 300th QC Circle Conference was held

1974: Registered circles grew to 60000

1974: 400th QC Circle conference was held

1975: Registered Circles grew to 70000. 500th Conference was held

1977: Registered Circles grew to 80000. 700th Conference was held

1978: Registered Circles grew to 90000

1978: First international QC Circle Convention was held

1979: 800th QC Circle Conference was held

1979: Registered QC Circle Conference numbered 100000

1980: 900th Conference was held

1981: International QC Circle Convention was held

1985: Third International QC Circle Convention was held

1988: More than one million Circles with over ten million members

Quality Circles (Other than Japan)

1974: Lockheed Company, USA started Quality Circle movement

1977: International Association of Quality Circles (IACC) was formed in USA

1980: 230 companies in USA had Quality Circles

1983: There were more than 500,000 known Quality Circles active in the world

Quality Circles (India)

1980: BHEL, Hyderabad first in India to start Quality Circles

1982: Quality Circle Forum of India (QCFI) was founded

1983: Tata Motors (formerly Telco) started Quality Circles, by 1985 they had more than 400 Circles

1985: BHEL had 1411 Circles covering around 13362 members

For a large number of high quality and authentic articles in leadership and management, go to these two gateways: http://shyam.bhatawdekar.com and http://management-universe.blogspot.com

Books Suggested for Your Personal, Professional and Organization's Library (available online from Amazon as printed books and eBooks)

Management, Business, Self-help and Personality Development Books

1. HSoftware (Human Software) (The Only Key to Higher Effectiveness)

2. Sensitive Stories of Corporate World (Management Case Studies)

3. Classic Management Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers

4. Classic Management Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers (Volume 2)

5. Classic Team Building Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers

6. 101 Classic Management Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers

7. Stress? No Way!! (Handbook on Stress Management)

8. HSoftware (Shyam Bhatawdekar’s Effectiveness Model)

9. Competency Management (Competency Matrix and Competencies)

10. Soft Skills You Can’t Do Without (Goal Setting, Time Management, Assertiveness and Anger Management)

11. Essentials of Work Study (Method Study and Work Measurement)

12. Essentials of Time Management (Taking Control of Your Life)

13. Essentials of 5S Housekeeping

14. Essentials of Quality Circles

15. Essentials of Goal Setting

16. Essentials of Anger Management

17. Essentials of Assertive Behavior

18. Essentials of Performance Management & Performance Appraisal

19. Health Essentials (Health Is Wealth)

20. The Romance of Intimacy (How to Enhance Intimacy in a Relationship?)

Novels, Stories, Biographies and Travelogues

21. The Peace Crusaders (Novel: how the peace crusaders established permanent peace on a war strewn planet?)

22. Love Knows No Bounds (Novel: a refreshingly different love story. Also available with the title “Good People”)

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24. Stories Children Will Love (Volume 1: Bhanu-Shanu-Kaju-Biju and Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh)

25. My Father (Biography)

26. Travelogue: Scandinavia, Russia
27. Travelogue: Europe

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Quality Circles

Quality Circles (QC) or Quality Control Circles (QCC) : History

Pioneered by Japanese.
Japanese nomenclature: Quality Control Circles (QCC), generally now known as Quality Circles (QC) or some call it as Small Group Activity (SGA).
1962: First QC Circle was registered with QC Circle Head Quarters in Japan.
1974: Lockheed Company, USA started Quality Circle movement.
1977: International Association of Quality Circles (IACC) was formed in USA.
1980: BHEL, Hyderabad first in India to start Quality Circles.
1982: Quality Circle Forum of India (QCFI) was founded.

For more details on history of quality circles, refer: http://quality-circles-history.blogspot.com/

Formal and Informal Groups

Formal Groups

Family.
Organization.
Departments.

Informal Groups

Employees meet near water cooler and gossip.
Five salesmen from marketing department meet once a month for lunch to discuss mutual concerns and to seek relief from tedious aspects of their job.
Four computer programmers form a jogging club that meets three days per week at lunch time to run two miles.
All employees of a section meet and discuss how to improve and beautify office layouts.
Seven workers of a production shop floor meet once a week to solve their technical problems.
Maintenance department staff meet regularly to maintain machines in a better way.

What is Quality Circle (QC)?

Quality Circles are (informal) groups of employees who voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to identify, define, analyze and solve work related problems.
Usually the members of a particular team (quality circle) should be from the same work area or who do similar work so that the problems they select will be familiar to all of them. In addition, interdepartmental or cross functional quality circles may also be formed.
An ideal size of quality circle is seven to eight members. But the number of members in a quality circle can vary.

Other Names of Quality Circles

Small Groups
Action Circles
Excellence Circles
Human Resources Circles
Productivity Circles

Objectives of Quality Circles

Promote job involvement
Create problem solving capability
Improve communication
Promote leadership qualities
Promote personal development
Develop a greater awareness for cleanliness
Develop greater awareness for safety
Improve morale through closer identity of employee objectives with organization's objectives
Reduce errors.
Enhance quality
Inspire more effective team work
Build an attitude of problem prevention
Promote cost reduction
Develop harmonious manager, supervisor and worker relationship
Improve productivity
Reduce downtime of machines and equipment
Increase employee motivation

Quality Circle Meetings

Meetings are important part of quality circle's working.
Meetings are attended by all the members of the quality circle.
In general, meetings take place once a week or once in a fortnight.
Each meeting lasts for approximately one hour, though variations are possible.
Apart from the frequency of the meetings, what is important is the regularity of the meetings.

What Takes Place During Quality Circle Meetings?

Any of the several activities may occur during a meeting such as:

Identifying a theme or a problem to work on.
Getting training as required to enable members to analyze problems.
Analyzing problem(s).
Preparing recommendations for implementing solution(s).
Follow up of implementation of suggestions.
Prepare for a presentation to the management.

What Quality Circles are Not? (Misconcepts)

Quality Circles do not tackle just quality problems.
Quality Circle is not a substitute or replacement for task forces, product committees, joint plant councils or works committees, quality assurance department, suggestion schemes.
Quality Circles do not change the existing organizational structure or the chain of command.
Quality Circles are not a forum for grievances or a spring board for demands.
Quality Circles are not a means for the management to unload all their problems.
Quality Circles are not just another technique.
Quality Circles are not a panacea for all ills.

Pitfalls and Problems

Lack of faith in and support to Quality Circle activities among management personnel
Lack of interest or incompetence of leaders/facilitator
Apathy, fear and misunderstanding among middle level executives
Delay or non-implementation of Circle recommendations
Irregularity of Quality Circle activities
Non-application of simple techniques for problem solving
Lack of or non-participation by some members in the Circle activities
Circles running out of problems
Inadequate visibility of management support
Non-maintenance of Quality Circle records
Too much facilitation or too little
Language difficulty in communication
Communication gap between Circles and departmental head
Change of management
Confusing Quality Circle for another technique
Resistance from trade unions

Structure of Quality Circles Program

Six Basic Elements

Circle participants or members.
Circle leaders/deputy leaders.
Program facilitator.
Steering/advisory committee.
Top management.
Potential members and non-participating management/members.

Roles and Responsibilities of Various Elements

Roles of Members

Focus on organizational objectives through the theme(s) selected for one's quality circle
Theme/problem should be related to work.
Do not bring in the personal issues or problems as the themes of quality circles.
Demonstrate mutual respect.
Take training in all the aspects of quality circles.
Acquire the necessary skills in various quality circle tools and techniques.
Participate wholeheartedly in problem-solving process by giving ideas and views voluntarily and suggesting the solutions.
Attend all the meetings of quality circle. When unavoidable to attend the meeting, seek prior permission of the quality circle leader.
Participate in implementing the finalized solutions.

Roles of Leaders

Decide date and time of each quality circle meeting and inform to all the members.
Ensure maximum attendance of all the members in the meetings.
Conduct the meetings effectively.
Motivate the members for their full participation in the proceedings of quality circle meetings and related activities.
Facilitate the members in data collection.
Maintain the records of quality circles meetings and other related activities.
Interact with other quality circle leaders.
Interact with the quality circle facilitator frequently.
Make presentations of solutions to the management. Involve the members in making the presentations.
Seek management approvals of the solutions.
Ensure implementation of the approved solutions with the active involvement of the members.
Arrange first time training and later on, the refresher training of the members and self in the quality circles group process, tools and techniques.

Roles of Facilitators

Act as an effective link between the quality circles and the management.
Coordinate the work of several quality circles through their respective leaders.
Act as a resource person for the quality circles being facilitated.
Arrange for obtaining necessary expertise from other agencies and quality circles.
Keep the motivation and morale level of all the leaders and members at the highest level.
Review the progress of each circle periodically and lead them appropriately.
Continually update the knowledge and skills pertaining to the working of quality circles by studying the relevant literature and attending the training programs.
Transfer the knowledge and skills to the leaders and the members.
Arrange for additional training to the leaders and members as required.
Arrange for necessary monetary budgets and keep the required records.
Facilitate and guide the quality circle leaders and members to make the management presentations.

Roles of Steering Committee (Management)

Formally announce the launching of quality circle initiative in the organization.
Provide full support and encouragement to quality circle movement in the organization.
Provide leadership and guidance to develop the quality circle models, structure and policies.
Design the opportunities for presentations by the quality circles.
Facilitate the approval and implementation of the solutions presented by quality circles.
Sanction the necessary monetary budgets for smooth working of quality circles.
Provide the logistic support as needed (presentation venues, meeting rooms, time, finance, training facilities etc).
Plan out and execute various training programs for the existing and prospective quality circle facilitators, leaders and members.
Give due recognition to quality circles, their members and their work by way of prizes, felicitations and other means.
Develop guidelines for measuring the effectiveness of quality circles and also the quality circle initiative as a whole.
Review the performance and progress of quality circles periodically.

How Do Quality Circles Operate?

Appointment of a steering committee, facilitator and QC team leaders.
Formation of QCs by nomination/voluntary enrolment of QC members.
Training of all QC members (by an expert consultant).
Training of non-participating employees (by an expert consultant).
Problem data bank and identification of problems for QC work.
QC problem resolution by QCs through standardized techniques.
Presentation of QC solutions to management.
Evaluation of award/recognition.

Code of Conduct for QCs

Attend all meetings and be on time.
Listen to and show respect for the views of other members.
Make others feel a part of the group.
Criticize ideas, not persons.
Help other members to participate more fully.
Be open to and encourage the ideas of others.
Every member is responsible for the team’s progress.
Maintain a friendly attitude.
Strive for enthusiasm.
The only stupid question is the one that is not asked.
Look for merit in the ideas of others.
Pay attention- avoid disruptive behavior.
Avoid actions that delay progress.
Carry out assignments on schedule.
Give credit to those whom it is due.
Thank those who give assistance.
Do not suppress ideas- do express.
Objectives and causes first, solutions next.
Give praise and honest appreciation when due.
Ideas generated by the group should not be used as individual suggestions to suggestion scheme.

Problem Solving Tools and Techniques Used by Quality Circles

Given below are the most commonly used tools and techniques. These are called the old QC tools:

Brainstorming.
Pareto analysis.
Cause and effect diagram (or fish bone diagram or Ishikawa diagram).
Histogram.
Scatter diagram
Stratification
Check sheet
Control charts and graphs

New QC Tools

Quality circles started using additional seven tools as they started maturing. These are:

Relations diagram.
Affinity diagram.
Systematic diagram or Tree diagram.
Matrix diagram.
Matrix data analysis diagram.
PDPC (Process Decision Program Chart).
Arrow diagram.

Benefits of QC

Self development.
Promotes leadership qualities among participants.
Recognition.
Achievement satisfaction.
Promotes group/team working.
Serves as cementing force between management/non-management groups.
Promotes continuous improvement in products and services.
Brings about a change in environment of more productivity, better quality, reduced costs, safety and corresponding rewards.

It will be a good idea also to read articles on other Japanese management systems and techniques. For this, refer:

(Quality Circles History) http://quality-circles-history.blogspot.in/,
(5S Housekeeping) http://5s-housekeeping.blogspot.com/,
(A to Z of Quality Techniques) http://a-z-quality-techniques.blogspot.com/,
(Cost of Quality- COQ) http://cost-of-quality.blogspot.com/,
(Daily Management) http://daily-management.blogspot.com/,
(Kaizen) http://kaizen-improvement.blogspot.com/ ,
(Gemba Kaizen) http://gemba-kaizen-improvement.blogspot.com/,
(Just in Time Management- JIT) http://just-in-time-management.blogspot.com/,
(Lean Enterprise) http://lean-organization.blogspot.com/,
(Quality Function Deployment- QFD and House of Quality) http://quality-function-deployment.blogspot.com/
(Quality Circles History)

For everything you wanted to know on building leadership and management, refer Shyam Bhatawdekar’s website: http://shyam.bhatawdekar.com

(Refer our High Quality Management Encyclopedia “Management Universe” at: http://management-universe.blogspot.com/)

Books Suggested for Your Professional/Organization's and Personal Library (available online from Amazon as printed books and eBooks)

Management, Business, Self-help and Personality Development Books

1. HSoftware (Human Software) (The Only Key to Higher Effectiveness)