TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Problem Solving
Total Quality Management is based on the belief that the
people who are closest to the job best understand what is wrong and how to fix
it. Management has the responsibility at all levels to work on the systems in
which goods or services are produced.
An understanding of variation is
important to the success of Total Quality. One of the major shifts in thinking
that is part of total quality is that it is economically desirable to work
toward minimal variations rather than adopt some acceptable level of quality.
Ford learned this lesson dramatically in the mid 1980's. They sub-contracted the
production of some automobile engines to a Japanese company. Although all of
Fords parts were meeting specification, the variation between parts in the
Japanese engines was so small that the Ford technician thought at first that his
measurement instrument was broken. But the Japanese engines with minimal
variation, ran quieter, were more reliable and were asked for by customers.
Continuous Improvement had become essential.
So the first phase in total
quality requires systematically putting all employees to work reducing variation
using simple but powerful tools referred to as the seven quality control tools.
These tools are used to maintain good quality if it exists and to continuously
improve it if it doesn't. Motorola for example started with defects or mistakes
that were measured in terms of percentages. As they continuously improved they
raised the bar of performance to six sigma i.e. less than 3.4 mistakes or
defects per one million opportunities.
Continuous Improvement and
Standardization
The continuous improvement uses a process that
follows the plan-do-check-act cycle. The situation is analyzed and the
improvement is planned (Plan). The improvement is tried (Do). Then data is
gathered to see how the new approach works (Check or study) and then the
improvement is either implemented or a decision is made to try something else
(Act). This process of continuous improvement makes it possible to reduce
variations and lower defects to near zero.
The processes that produce good
results are standardized and documented. The documented processes are
followed. If the process is changed the documentation is changed. If an
organization lacks this standardization, then improvements tend to slip.
Without standardization', variation is increased rather than
reduced.
Standardization was given a major boost in the early 1990's when
ISO 9000 became widely accepted as a basic minimum that companies needed to do
to sell products in the European Union. Because it required a documentation of
key processes and provided a regular audit to see that processes were followed
as documented, it was a major boost to standardization. AT&T initially
undertook ISO compliance as a way to keep and grow business in Europe. When
AT&T realized how ISO improved its own processes, it began to encourage
all its suppliers to become ISO certified. In 1995, AT&T discovered that
its ISO certified suppliers had half as many defects as non ISO certified
suppliers. This led AT&T to giving preference to supppliers that were ISO
certified.
An important part of improvement is the Team work. Good team
activity includes a clear definition of project
Individuals and Teams Roles and
Responsibilities
Teamwork is critical to effective continuous improvement
and standardization. Individuals can support the team by taking responsibility
for the success of the team following through on commitments, contributing to
discussions, actively listening to others, getting your message across clearly,
giving useful feedback, accepting feedback easily.
In getting the team off to
a good start, you need to agree on a purpose, identify people who will be
effected by the work of the team (stake holders), identify limits and
expectations of team's work, agree on roles and responsibilities, ground rules
and logistics of when and where to meet.
The work of the team is accomplished
by creating work plans, having productive meetings, using data, making good
decisions, evaluating potential solutions, implementing changes and documenting
its work.
A team must know when its work is done: it has
accomplished its purpose; took steps to maintain the gains; completed
documentation of actions, results, and ideas for future improvements; evaluated
work, shared results with others; recognized everyone's contributions and
celebrated achievements.
Successful teams also must
master potential problems:
- the area of conflict - some people fight over
everything;
- power - the boss is on the team and people don't speak
openly;
- correct use of experts - who speak clearly and don't
dominate;
- focus - people stay on the subject;
- participation - all participate in an equal fashion;
- follow-through - everyone does his or her
assignments.
The Seven Quality Control Tools
(7QC)
In the 1950's the Japanese began to learn and apply the
statistical quality control tools and thinking that Walter Shewhart and W.
Edward Deming developed in the 1930's and 1940's. Their progress in Continuous
Improvement led to the expansion of the use of these tools. Kaoru Ishikawa, head
of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (J.U.S.E.) expanded the use of
these approaches in Japanese manufacturing in the 1960's with the introduction
of the 7 Quality Control (7QC) tools.
1. Cause and Effect Diagram
The cause and effect diagram is also called the
fishbone chart because of its appearance and the Ishakowa chart after the man
who popularized its use in Japan. Its most frequent use is to list the cause
of particular problems. The lines coming off the core horizontal line are the
main causes and the lines coming off those are sub causes.
2. Run Chart
The run chart shows the history and pattern of
variation. It is helpful to indicate on the chart whether up is good or down
is good. This tool is used at the beginning of the change process to see what
the problems are. It is used at the end (check) part of the change process to
see whether the change has resulted in a permanent
improvement.
3. Scatter Diagram
The scatter diagram show the pattern of
relationship between to variables that are thought to be related. For example
is their a relationship between out side temperature and cases of the common
cold? As temperatures drop, do colds increase. The closer the points hug a
diagonal line the more closely there is a one to one
relationship.
4. Flowchart
The flowchart lists the order of activities.
The circle symbol indicates the beginning or end of the process. The box
indicates action items and the diamond indicates decision points. A beneficial
technique is to map the ideal process and the actual process and identify the
differences as targets for improvements.
5. Pareto Chart
The Pareto shows the distribution of items and
arranges them from the most frequent to the least frequent with the final bar
being misc. The tool is named after Wilfredo Pareto, the Italian economist who
determined that wealth is not evenly distributed. Some of the people have most
of the money. This tool is a graphical picture of the most frequent causes of
a particular problem. It shows where to put your initial effort to get the
most gain.
6. Histogram
The histogram is a bar chart showing a
distribution of variables. An example would be to line up by height a group of
people in a course. Normally one would be the tallest and one would be the
shortest and there would be a cluster of people around an average height.
Hence the phrase "normal distribution". This tool helps identify the cause of
problems in a process by the shape of the distribution as well as the width of
the distribution.
7. Control Chart
The control chart is a line chart with control
limits. It is based on the work of Shewhart and Deming. By mathematically
constructing control limits at 3 standard deviations above and below the
average, one can determine what variation is due to normal ongoing causes
(common causes) and what variation is produced by unique events (special
causes). By eliminating the special causes first and then reducing common
causes, quality can be improved.
Hoshin Planning
Once most employees have mastered the first
phase of work improvement, then the organization is ready to move into
organization wide planning. This to is a plan-do-check-act process as
indicated in the following diagram.
Under the new paradigm planning
involves all managers in the organization not just the top people. Plans at
all levels are aligned by a process of catch ball. This means that plans are
communicated and conflicts between plans are resolved. Plans are being
documented. They are not just a once a year project put on the shelf to
collect dust. Also, each manager monitors his or her plan on a monthly basis
and studies successes and problems to make the changes in behavior that will
help assure the plan will be met and exceeded.
Step 1: 5-10 year plan. The strategic plan is important for
defense conversion. When one surveys the markets to check competing product it
is important to design not to compete with existing product but with the
products competition will be producing 3-5 years from now. The lines of
evolution as part of systematic innovation (or TRIZ)8 are a key to examining
how technologies will evolve.
One of the lines of evolution is the S curve.
Products develop very quickly at first, then the number of changes slow
indicating the need for a major break through in the product. Another line of
evolution is the mono-poly cycle. Products diverge then get grouped together.
An example is the knife. Two knives are combined to form scissors. Different
size knives are made for different functions. Eventually these get combined
into a Swiss army knife.
Another line of evolution is increasing dynamism.
An example is in bicycles when they shifted from a rigid direct drive to
flexible bicycle chain. Uneven development of parts shows where the weak link
is in the system and where the next product break through needs to come. Other
lines of evaluations have included the conversion from macro to micro and
automation.
A sound understanding of customer values is also important for
strategic planning. A customer may be able to articulate what they want today
or tomorrow, but they cannot tell you what will be exciting products 3-5 years
from now. To define these products one must find the values that underlay
today's requirements. Then these must be pushed up against what is possible to
come up with next year's exciting quality.
For example, people want
convenience in using the telephone information services, you need to have a
paper and pencil to write down the number. Today you can push "1" on some
information services and the phone will automatically dial the number
requested for a nominal fee. Really exciting quality might be to prrovide the
service at no extra fee!
Step 2: 3-5 Year Plan. Once the vision is established, then the
3-5 year project plan must be developed. The purpose of this is to do detailed
up front planning. This step if done properly will dramatically reduce the
cost of defense conversion and enhance its likelihood of success. The Bible on
project planning is called PMBOK which is short for Project Management Body of
Knowledge.*
Step 3: One Year Plan. The one year plan includes the targets,
means, and measures that each manager will work on that year. Typically each
manager has six to eight target areas. Half of these are related to the
managers participation in the strategic plan and half are related to the
critical processes of the persons regular job. All must be measurable with
monthly numerical targets.
Step 4: Deployment of Plan. All workers are expected to be
involved in the continuous improvement and standardization of their
activities. Each employee should support his or her bosses activity. The means
of each boss often become the targets for subordinates. Even in the case of
self-directed teams in Quality Control Circles, strong effects are made to
understand and support the initiatives of the
organization.
Step 5: Execution of Plan. During the year the plan is to be
carried out by each manager. Key inhibitors to progress are controlled with
standardization and improved with continuous improvement as outlined in phase
one (that is one reason why knowledge and skill in daily improvement is a
prerequisite to phase two.)
Step 6: Monthly Review of Plan. A check sheet can be used to
gather data on frequency. This can be portrayed on a pareto chart listing the
causes from the most prominent to least frequent in a bar chart format. This
can provide a guide for action. Such a methodology for regular checking will
assure continuously improving quality and reducing
cost.
Step 7: Annual Review. These monthly reviews are folded together
in an annual review. The annual review lists the successes and failures and
analysis from the various monthly reports.
The annual review also focuses
heavily on the planning process. What contributed to effective planning? What
detracted from effective planning?
Also part of new paradigm for planning
is the President's annual review. The President meets with a sampling of
groups that had planning success as well as those who had problems. It is an
example of seeing how things are going in the work place.
In summary, phase
two makes it possible for organizations to take the continuous improvement and
standardization capability of phase one and apply them to a focused
improvement area. Hewlett Packard for example used this methodology to reduce
its time to market and to gain advantage in their laser technology
products.
Individuals and Teams Roles and
Responsibilities
Teamwork is critical to effective continuous
improvement and standardization. Individuals can support the team by taking
responsibility for the success of the team following through on commitments,
contributing to discussions, actively listening to others, getting your
message across clearly, giving useful feedback, accepting feedback
easily.
In getting the team off to a good start, you need to agree on a
purpose, identify people who will be effected by the work of the team (stake
holders), identify limits and expectations of team's work, agree on roles and
responsibilities, ground rules and logistics of when and where to meet.
The
work of the team is accomplished by creating work plans, having productive
meetings, using data, making good decisions, evaluating potential solutions,
implementing changes and documenting its work.
A team must know when its
work is done: it has accomplished its purpose; took steps to maintain the
gains; completed documentation of actions, results, and ideas for future
improvements; evaluated work, shared results with others; recognized
everyone's contributions and celebrated achievements.
Successful teams also must master potential
problems:
- the area of conflict - some people fight over
everything;
- power - the boss is on the team and people don't
speak openly;
- correct use of experts - who speak clearly and don't
dominate;
- focus - people stay on the subject;
- participation - all participate in an equal fashion;
- follow-through - everyone does his or her
assignments.
The Seven Management and Planning Tools
In the early 1970's as Total Quality Control
expanded to service and administrative areas, it became clear that the 7QC
tools were not always appropriate, so the seven new tools were developed under
the leadership of Nyatanni. These tools are particularly helpful in improving
planning.
Affinity Diagram
The Affinity Diagram is a tool for organizing
language data. After ideas are brainstormed and written on cards, they are
grouped together with similar ideas. A header card is created which captures
the meaning of each group of ideas. This is a creative, right brain,
activity.
Inter-relationship Diagraph
The interrelationship diagraph shows the
relationships between items by drawing an arrow from one idea that causes
another idea to an idea that is the result. Sometimes the arrow is drawn from
one action that occurs before another action. The items that have mostly
arrows going in are long range targets and the items that most arrows going
out are initial action items
Tree Diagram
The tree diagram takes a purpose and logically
breaks it into action items. As you read from left to right it goes in a
logical progression from general to specific. If you read the chart from left
to right, it answers the question "how accomplished?" If you read it from
right to left, it answers the question "why?"
Matrix Diagram
The matrix diagram shows the relationship
between two or more sets of items. It can be very useful in facilitating an
analysis of the relationship of each item in one set to all items in the other
set. This often triggers some thinking that would not have happened if this
organized approach was not used. It is also helpful to see patterns of
relationships. Which items don't relate to anything and which ones are heavy
hitters.
Prioritization Matrix
The prioritization matrix enables the selection
of priority items by applying a set of criteria to each item. Sometimes the
list of criteria is fairly simple. Other times it is weighted with a great
deal of precision (eg. the Analytical Hierarchy Process-AHP).
Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC)
The process decision program chard (PDPC) is a
tool for contingency planning. It begins by listing the steps in a particular
activity. It then lists what could go wrong at each step and finally it lists
the counter measures for things that can go wrong. Sometimes it is drawn in
the flow chart format below. Other times it is arranges as a numerical tree
diagram.
Activity Network
Diagram
The activity network diagram is a simplified
version of PERT (Program evaluation and review technique). It is a method for
mapping out the sequence in which activities will be undertaken. One of its
benefits is that it indicates which items can be done simultaneously. Another
benefit is that it makes it clear what set of activities will take the longest
and where time efficiencies can be achieved.
Quality Function Deployment
Quality Function Deployment has four states.
- Phase one, gathers the voice of the customer, puts it words accurately
understood by producing organization and analyzes it versus the capability
and strategic plans of the organizations.
- Phase 2, identifies the area of priority break through that will result
in dramatic growth in market share for the producer.
- Phase 3, represents the break through to new technology. This is the
area that has seen the largest growth in the last few years with the
discovery of the Russian TRIZ
approach to inventive problem solving.
- Phase 4, represents the production of the new product and new technology
at the highest possible quality standards.
The following is one of the
classic QFD examples. In the early 1980's International Harvester and
Komatsu ended a partnering relationship. Since International Harvester had
owned all the patents, Komatsu had to develop eleven new heavy equipment
models in the short period of twenty-four
months.
Komatsu engineers went out to the field to
watch and observe the actual use of the equipment. They observed the
discomfort and toil of the operator. As they studied this it became clear that
two improvement areas might be the comfort of the driver in the cab and
reducing the effort to shift the vehicle, since it was constantly going back
and forth.
In the case of the cab, Komatsu engineers reworked the window
structure so there was a clearer view in view in all directions. They put in
air conditioning that would stand up in a dusty environment. They made a seat
that was comfortable to sit in for long periods of time. In the case of the
shifting they looked into electronic shifting. They considered twelve
different approaches. After considerable testing, they chose the one that
would be the most reliable and easy to use.
When Komatsu introduced its new
line of heavy trucks, it was met with great enthusiasm. Because of its ease of
use it led to higher productivity and driver preference. Soon Komatsu became a
dominant force in the heavy truck business, a position it maintained for over
a decade.
The Seven Creativity Tools
:
Problem Definition
Problem re-definition can be aided by what is called
heuristic redefinition. One draws a picture of the problem and identifies the
different parts of the system. A prioritization matrix is used to select the one
or two ways of looking at the problems that are most likely to succeed. Other
methods of problem redefinition include Gerry Nadler's purpose hierarchy, the
product cycle S-curve and the technological evolution of TRIZ.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is the tool for gathering
ideas from a team of people. The process is improved by having a mix of people
of different backgrounds and also by having people with backgrounds in the area
where the solution is most likely to be found. It is important to let the
process go on through at least three lulls in the conversation. Some of the best
ideas only come after thought.
Brainwriting
Brainwriting is a method of stimulating new
ideas by writing them down. This may be used to gather ideas from a team of six
people. each person writes three ideas and passes it to the person on their
right. They read these and add three more ideas that are triggered by the
preceding ideas. This continues around the circle until each person gets back
their original paper. This silent approach permits more thoughtfulness than what
usually happens in brainstorming.
Another way of visualizing ideas is
through mapping the ideas and connected related ideas with a line.
Creative
Brainstorming
Creative brainstorming is a way of stimulating idea
generation by changing one element in a brainstorm definition and then
generating more ideas and applying these new ideas back to the original idea.
For example a group may brainstorm the issue of how to get employees comfortable
using the internet. The second (Imaginary) brainstorm may be how to get
employees to wear cardboard noses. The results of the second brainstorm may then
be applied to the first brainstorm to see which are applicable.
Word and Picture
Association
New ideas can be generated by pictures, words or
inventions. A group can look at pictures held in the hand or projected on the
wall and asked what ideas it stimulates. Words from lists or dictionaries can be
used to trigger ideas on a particular problem. The contradiction matrix of TRIZ
can be used to stimulate ideas by simple analogy from inventions that share
similar principles to the problem that is being worked on.
Advanced
Analogies
TILMAG or advanced analogies are a methodology for
gathering ideas by looking for examples of how people have solved similar
problems. One begins by defining the parameters of the ideal solution. These
parameters are paired and examples of those pair parameters are generated. The
principle underlying that item are then applied by analogy to the existing
problem.
Morphological Chart
The morphological chart is a systematic search for all
possible solutions to the problem. It begins by defining the parameters of the
solution. Each parameter is to be mutually exclusive. Then all the mutually
exclusive options are identified for each parameter. Possible solutions to the
problem are reached by putting together one option from each parameter. The most
appealing solutions are then refined as possible solutions.
|
Principles and Quality Tools For Team
Members
A GOAL/QPC Two-Day Workshop |
|
Does your company need to develop the
skills necessary
for employees to successfully participate on
teams? |
Competitive pressures and basic survival have
combined to move quality to the top of the list for most organizations. To
make quality viable, work teams must be assembled over a wide spectrum of
organizations. Appropriate techniques and team process must be applied for the
teams to be productive and successful, or continuous improvement opportunities
will be lost.
The tools and the understanding of this
workshop will enable a participant to immediately apply what they have learned
upon their return to work.
How will GOAL/QPC's Prinicples and Quality
Tools for Team Members workshop help?This workshop
is ideal for managers, supervisors, team leaders, group leaders, team members,
and others who must learn the secrets of successfully working as a
team.
Purpose Of The Workshop:
- Creates techniques for teams working toward a common
goal.
- Stimulates participant enthusiasm through the use of
effective team techniques that are practiced throughout the workshop.
- Develops interpersonal and team skills necessary for
success when working in teams.
- Provides an understanding of how to successfully
facilitate a team.
- Addresses the manner in which communication skills
directly affect the output of a team, and why process visibility is so
crucial.
What You Will Learn:
- Seven characteristics of a high-performance team and
ten key listening and key communication skills.
- How to apply problem-solving processes using
team-based tools.
- Why process visibility must be used.
- How to manage conflict and deal with challenges.
- How to identify roles people play in teams and
elements of effective team meetings.
- 23 things that team leaders do.
- Essentials of teamwork and guidelines to reach team
consensus.
- Stages of team growth and the purpose of team ground
rules.
- Ways that a leader helps a team grow.
What Is Included :
On-site ServicesThis
workshop can also be conducted at your location or a designated facility.
Besides the cost savings, we can also customize the agenda and materials to
meet your organization's specific needs. (Additional discounts are available
if you co-sponsor programs with us and invite your suppliers, customers,
professional association, or trade group)
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