Quality Control

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QUALITY CONTROL
- a process that evaluates output
relative to a standard and takes
corrective action when output
doesn’t meet standards.
- acceptable results require, no
further action; unacceptable
results call for corrective action.
THE NEED FOR QUALITY CONTROL
- the purpose of quality control is
to assure that processes are
performing in an acceptable
manner.
- quality control tools are used to
decide when corrective action is
needed.
INSPECTION - an appraisal
activity that compares goods
or services to a standard.
- it can occur at three points:
before production, to
make sure that inputs are
acceptable.
during production, to make
sure the conversion of inputs
into outputs is proceeding in
an acceptable manner.
 after production, to make a
final verification of
conformance before passing
goods on to customers.
inspection before and after
production often involves
acceptance sampling
procedure.
monitoring during the
production process is
referred to as process
control.
THE BASIC ISSUES OF INSPECTION
•How much to inspect and how
often
•At what points in the process
inspection should occur
•Whether to inspect in a centralized
or on-site location
•Whether to inspect attributes or
variables
•How much to inspect and how
often
- The amount of inspection
needed is governed by the costs
of inspection and the expected
costs of passing defective items.
•At what points in the process
inspection should occur
- raw materials and purchased parts
- finished products
- before a costly operation
- before an irreversible process
- before a covering process
•Inspect in a centralized or on-site
location
- the central issue in the decision
concerning on-site or lab inspections
is whether the advantages of
specialized lab tests are worth the
time and interruption needed to
obtain the results.
STEPS IN AN EFFECTIVE CONTROL
PROCESS
- Define in sufficient detail
what is to be controlled.
- Measure - only those
characteristics that can be
counted or measured are
candidates for control.
Compare - there must be a
standard of comparison that can
be used to evaluate the
measurements.
Evaluate - management must
establish a definition of out of
control.
Correct - when a process is judged
to be out of control, corrective
action must be taken.
- this involves uncovering the
cause of variability (e.g., worn
equipment, incorrect methods,
failure to follow specified
procedures) and correcting it.
Monitor results - to ensure
that corrective action is
effective, the output of a
process must be monitored
for a sufficient period of time
to verify that the problem has
been eliminated.
In summary, control is achieved
by checking a portion of the
goods or services, comparing the
results to a predetermined
standard, evaluating departures
from the standard, taking
corrective action when necessary,
and following up to ensure that
problems have been corrected.
CONTROL CHART
- A visual tool for monitoring
forecast errors.
- It is graphical representation to
identify the degree to which
processes or products vary from
the intended specifications and
help in error correction.
PROCESS CAPABILITY
- the ability of a process to meet
customer requirements and
expectations.
- can be improved by analyzing
existing processes, identifying
underlying causes of variability,
and responding to identified issues
quickly and effectively.
PROCESS CAPABILITY IMPROVEMENT
- Simplify: eliminate steps,
reduce the number of parts,
use modular design.
- Standardize: use standard
parts, standard procedures.
PROCESS CAPABILITY IMPROVEMENT
- Make mistake-proof: design
parts that can only be assembled
the correct way; have simple
checks to verify a procedure has
been performed correctly.
PROCESS CAPABILITY IMPROVEMENT
- Upgrade equipment: replace
worn-out equipment; take
advantage of technological
improvements.
- Automate: substitute
automated processing for manual
processing.
Management
of Quality
Proud to be RTUian
Quality - the ability of a
product or service to
consistently meet or exceed
customer expectations.
- Successful management of
quality requires that
managers have insights on
various aspects of quality.
THE DIMENSIONS OF PRODUCT QUALITY
• Performance - main characteristics
of the product
• Aesthetics - appearance, feel, smell,
taste
• Special features - extra
characteristics
• Conformance - how well a product
corresponds to design specs
• Reliability - dependable performance
• Durability - ability to perform over
time
• Perceived quality - indirect evaluation
of quality (e.g., reputation)
• Serviceability - handling of
complaints or repairs
• Consistency - quality doesn’t vary
• Convenience - the availability and
accessibility of the service
• Reliability - the ability to perform a
service dependably, consistently,
and accurately
• Responsiveness - the willingness of
service providers to help customers
in unusual situations and to deal
with problems
• Time - the speed with which service
is delivered
• Assurance - the knowledge exhibited
by personnel who come into contact
with a customer and their ability to
convey trust and confidence
• Courtesy - the way customers are
treated by employees who come into
contact with them
• Tangibles - the physical
appearance of facilities,
equipment, personnel, and
communication materials
• Consistency - the ability to
provide the same level of good
quality repeatedly
• Expectations - meet (or exceed)
customer expectations
THE DETERMINANTS OF QUALITY
• Design
• How well the product or service
conforms to the design (Quality
of conformance)
• Ease of use
• Service after delivery
THE DETERMINANTS OF QUALITY
• Design - design phase is the
starting point for the level of
quality eventually achieved; it
involves decisions about the
specific characteristics of a
product or service such as size,
shape, and location.
• Quality of conformance - the
degree to which goods and
services conform to the intent of
the designers; this is affected by
factors such as the capability of
equipment used; the skills,
training, and motivation of
workers, etc.
• Ease of use – increases the
chances, but does not guarantee,
that a product will be used for its
intended purposes and in such a way
that it will continue to function
properly and safely.
When faced with liability litigation,
companies often argue that injuries and
damages occurred because the user
misused the product.
• Service after delivery –
warranties, periodic preventive
maintenance, replacements of
defective units.
BENEFITS OF GOOD QUALITY
1. enhanced reputation for quality
2. ability to command premium
prices
3. increased market share
4. greater customer loyalty
5. lower liability costs
6. fewer production or service
problems
CONSEQUENCES OF POOR QUALITY
1. Loss of business
2. Liability
3. Productivity
4. Costs
1. Loss of business
Failure to devote adequate
attention to quality can damage a
profit-oriented organization’s
reputation and lead to a
decreased share of the market, or
it can lead to increased criticism
and/or controls for a government
agency or nonprofit organization.
2. Liability
due to damages or injuries
resulting from either faulty
design or poor workmanship.
3. Productivity
defective outputs have to be
reworked, hence, decreasing
productivity.
4. Costs
 additional cost like materials,
labor, overhead are incurred
when defective products are
reworked.
when outputs are scrapped, the
cost to produce them may only be
recovered in part if they can be
sold.
THE COSTS OF QUALITY
1. Appraisal costs - related to
measuring, evaluating, and
auditing materials, parts,
products, and services to
assess conformance with
quality standards.
 THE COSTS OF QUALITY
2. Prevention costs - related to
reducing the potential for quality
problems.
Examples: quality improvement
programs, training, monitoring,
data collection and analysis,
and design costs.
 THE COSTS OF QUALITY
3. Internal failure costs - related to
defective products or services
before they are delivered to
customers.
Examples: rework costs, problem
solving, material and product
losses, scrap, and downtime.
 THE COSTS OF QUALITY
4. External failure costs - related to
delivering substandard products
or services to customers.
Examples: returned goods,
reworking costs, warranty costs,
loss of goodwill, liability claims,
and penalties.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS IN
MANAGING QUALITY
- It ensures responsible and sustainable
operations.
- It builds trust with customers and
stakeholders.
- Ethical leadership sets an example for
the organization.
- It impacts the whole organization and
contributes to long-term success.
QUALITY CERTIFICATION
- Quality certification can refer
to two main things
1. Certifying the knowledge
of individuals
2. Certifying a company’s
system of quality management.
IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY
CERTIFICATION
- promotes worldwide standards
for the improvement of quality,
reliability, safety, productivity,
and operating efficiency through
a series of standards and
guidelines.
QUALITY CERTIFICATIONS
- International Organization for
Standardization (ISO)
ISO 9000
ISO 14000
ISO 24700
ISO 9000 pertains to quality
management. It concerns what an
organization does to ensure its
products or services conform to its
customers’ requirements.
ISO 14000 concerns what an
organization does to minimize
harmful effects to the environment
caused by its operations.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
PRINCIPLES FORMING THE BASIS
OF ISO 9000:
1. Customer focus
2. Leadership
3. Involvement of people
4. A process approach
5. A system approach to
management
6. Continual improvement
7. Use of a factual approach
to decision making
8. Mutually beneficial
supplier relationships
The standards for ISO 14000
certification bear upon three major
areas:
1. Management systems -
systems development and
integration of environmental
responsibilities into business
planning.
2. Operations - consumption of
natural resources and energy
3. Environmental systems -
measuring, assessing, and
managing emissions, effluents,
and other waste streams
 ISO 24700 - a set of
international standards that
pertains to the quality and
performance of office
equipment that contains
reused components.
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
- a philosophy that involves
everyone in an organization
in a continual effort to
improve quality and achieve
customer satisfaction.
APPROACHES TO TQM
1. Find out what customers
want.
2. Design a product or service
that will meet (or exceed)
what customers want.
3. Design processes that
facilitate doing the job right
the first time.
Strive to make the process
“mistake-proof.” This is
sometimes referred to as a
fail-safing.
fail-safing - elements are
incorporated in product or
service design that make it
virtually impossible for an
employee (or sometimes a
customer) to do something
incorrectly.
fail-safing - the Japanese term
for this is pokayoke. Another
term sometimes used is mistake-
proofing or foolproofing.
- e.g. parts that fit together one
way only; appliance plugs that can
be inserted into a wall outlet the
correct way only.
 4. Keep track of results, and use
them to guide improvement in
the system. Never stop trying to
improve.
5. Extend these concepts
throughout the supply chain.
6. Top management must be
involved and committed.
ELEMENTS OF TQM
1. Continuous improvement
– a philosophy that seeks to make
never-ending improvements
to the process of converting
inputs into outputs.
Kaizen is the Japanese term for
continuous improvement.
2. Competitive benchmarking
- this involves identifying
other organizations that are
the best at something and
studying how they do it to
learn how to improve your
operation.
3. Employee empowerment
- giving workers the
responsibility for
improvements and the
authority to make changes to
accomplish them provides
strong motivation for
employees.
4. Team approach
- the use of teams for problem
solving and to achieve
consensus takes advantage of
group synergy, gets people
involved, and promotes a spirit
of cooperation and shared
values among employees.
 5. Decisions based on facts rather
than opinions
- management gathers and
analyzes data as a basis for
decision making.
6. Knowledge of tools
- employees and managers are
trained in the use of quality tools.
 7. Supplier quality
- suppliers must be included in
quality assurance and quality
improvement efforts so their
processes are capable of
delivering quality parts and
materials in a timely manner.
 8. Champion
- a TQM champion’s job is to
promote the value and
importance of TQM principles
throughout the company.
 9. Quality at the source
- refers to the philosophy of
making each worker responsible
for the quality of his work. The
idea is to “Do it right the first
time.”
When the work is completed, the
worker is “certifying” that it meets
quality standards.
 10. Suppliers are partners in
the process
- long-term relationships are
encouraged,
- this gives suppliers a vital
stake in providing quality
goods and services.
PROBLEM SOLVING AND PROCESS
IMPROVEMENT
- uses the framework: PLAN-DO-
STUDY-ACT CYCLE (PDSA)
PLAN
DO
STUDY
ACT
PROBLEM SOLVING
- an important aspect of problem
solving in the TQM approach is
eliminating the cause so that the
problem does not recur. This is
why users of the TQM approach
often like to think of problems as
opportunities for improvement.
BASIC STEPS IN PROBLEM SOLVING
1. Define the problem and
establish an improvement goal.
2. Develop performance
measures and collect data.
3. Analyze the problem.
4. Generate potential solutions.
BASIC STEPS IN PROBLEM SOLVING
5. Choose a solution.
6. Implement the solution.
7. Monitor the solution to see
if it accomplishes the goal.
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
- a systematic approach that
involves documentation,
measurement, and analysis
for the purpose of improving
the functioning of a process.
OVERVIEW OF PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
A. Map the process
1. Collect information about the
process; identify each step in the
process. For each step, determine:
The inputs and outputs.
The people involved.
The decisions that are made.
2. Prepare a flowchart that
accurately depicts the
process. Make sure key
activities and decisions are
represented.
B. Analyze the process
1. Ask these questions about
the process:
Is the flow logical?
Are any steps or activities
missing?
Are there any duplications?
2. Ask these questions about each step:
Could it be eliminated?
Does the step add value?
Does any waste occur at this step?
Could the time be shortened?
Could the cost to perform the step be
reduced?
Could two (or more) steps be
combined?
C. Redesign the process
- use the results of the analysis to
document the improvements:
reductions in time, cost, space,
waste, employee turnover,
accidents, safety hazards,
improvements in employee morale,
working conditions, profits, quality,
and customer satisfaction.
SIX SIGMA
- a business process for
improving quality, lessen the
occurrence of defects,
reducing costs, and increasing
customer satisfaction.
 SIX SIGMA is based on these
guiding principles:
• Reduction of variation is an
important goal.
• The methodology is data
driven; it requires valid
measurements.
 • Outputs are determined by
inputs; focus on modifying and
controlling inputs to improve
outputs.
• Only a critical few inputs have a
significant impact on outputs (the
Pareto effect), concentrate on
those.
SIX SIGMA uses a formalized
problem-solving process:
- DMAIC (define-measure-
analyze-improve-control)
DMAIC Five Steps:
1. Define: Set the context and
objectives for improvement.
2. Measure: Determine the
baseline performance and
capability of the process.
3. Analyze: Use data and tools to
understand the cause-and-effect
relationships of the process.
4. Improve: Develop the
modifications that lead to a validated
improvement in the process.
5. Control: Establish plans and
procedures to ensure that
improvements are sustained.
QUALITY TOOLS
Flowchart
Check Sheet
Histogram
Pareto Analysis
Scatter Diagram
Control Chart
Cause and Effect Diagram
Run Chart
Flowchart
- a visual representation of a
process; help investigators
identify possible points in a
process where problems occur.
- a diagram of the steps in a
process.
Start / End
Connector
Input/ Output
Process
Decision
Check sheet
- a tool for organizing and
collecting data; a tally of problems
or other events by category.
- provides a format that enables
users to record and organize data
in a way that facilitates collection
and analysis.
Check sheet
DAY
DEFECT 1 2 3 4
A III I IIII I
B II I III II
C I IIII IIII II
Histogram
- a type of chart that shows the
frequency distribution of data
points across a continuous range of
numerical values.
- one can see if the distribution is
symmetrical (regular or balanced),
what the range of values is, and if
there are any unusual values.
HISTOGRAM
Pareto Analysis
- technique for classifying problem
areas according to degree of
importance, and focusing on the
most important.
- the idea is to classify the cases
according to degree of importance and
focus on resolving the most important,
leaving the less important.
Pareto Analysis
- often referred to as the 80–20 rule,
the concept states that approximately
80% of the problems come from 20% of
the items.
 e.g., 80% of machine breakdowns
come from 20% of the machines; 80%
of the product defects come from
20 percent of the causes of defects.
Pareto Chart: Types of Defects
Scatter diagram
- shows the degree and direction
of relationship between two
variables.
- to interpret a scatter diagram,
you can look for trends in the
data from left to right, and
consider the following:
Scatter diagram
Positive relationship
if the data points move uphill,
there is a positive relationship
between the variables. This
means that as the X-values
increase, the Y-values also
increase.
Scatter diagram
Negative relationship
if the data points move
downhill, there is a negative
relationship between the
variables. This means that as the
X-values increase, the Y-values
decrease.
Scatter diagram
No relationship
if the data points don't have a
pattern, there is no relationship
between the variables.
 Control chart
- a statistical chart of time -
ordered values of a sample
statistic.
- it can help detect the presence
of correctable causes of variation;
when a problem occurred and
what had caused the problem.
 Cause-and-effect diagram
- used to search for the cause(s)
of a problem.
- helps problem-solving efforts by
identifying categories of factors
that might be causing problems:
materials, methods, equipment,
measurements, people, etc.
 Run chart
- a line graph used for tracking
results over a period of time.
- displays data over time to
identify trends and patterns; a
useful tool for quality
improvement.
 Run chart - helps with:
Monitoring data
Comparing measures
Focusing on changes
Predicting trends
Formulating goals
Determining if changes are
improvements
METHODS OF GENERATING IDEAS
Brainstorming - a technique in
which a group of people share
thoughts and ideas on problems
in a relaxed atmosphere that
encourages unrestrained
collective thinking.
Quality circles - groups of
workers who meet to discuss
ways of improving products or
processes.
Benchmarking – a process of
measuring performance against
the best in the same or another
industry.
Usual steps in benchmarking:
1. Identify a critical process that needs
improvement.
2. Identify an organization that excels in
the process.
3. Contact the benchmark organization.
4. Analyze the data.
5. Improve the critical process at your
own organization.
It is not enough for an organization
to incorporate quality into its
operations; the entire supply chain
must be involved. Problems such as
defects in purchased parts, long
lead times, and late or missed
deliveries of goods or services all
negatively impact an organization’s
ability to satisfy its customers.