Assignment 4

Agustin Quintana Assignment 4 IE673 – Total Quality Management 1. Discuss the eight principles of the ISO 9000 standard. How is your company following these ISO standards? The ISO 9000 is a set of standards which outline the requirements needed to have in place quality assurance. There are 8 main principles of ISO 9000 which are listed and described below. Costumer Focus – Is the first and maybe most important principle. One needs to understand the costumer’s user needs, meet the requirements, and measure the costumer satisfaction. QMS has process to make sure that costumer user needs are documented, and our design or design output meets those user needs. Leadership – It is important that a sense of purpose and unity is establish for a company to deliver results. There must be an environment that allows employees to own their projects and develop into leaders. Involvement of People – It is important that collaboration and team work is at the core of delivering quality results. Involving multiple people of different expertise is what helps deliver quality results at QMS Corp. Process Approach - In order of a company and its employees to be successful is by having process that guide product realization and provide consistency among project teams. This allows people to focus on the goal at hand and gives them the structure needed to complete their job. System Approach – Individual process that are needed for company operations are then governed by an overall system. This allows individual process to be tailored for its purpose while maintaining the same company wide standards. Continual Improvement – This is a very important principle for quality assurance and it’s a permanent objective at QMS. This is needed to continue to advance and is applied to the company’s people, processes, and products. Factual Approach to Decision Making – The decision-making process is a critical aspect for any organization to deliver quality results. This process needs to be based on facts, relevant information, and reliable data. Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships – It is important that supplier and costumer relationships are partnerships that benefit each party. This partnership will lead to quality outcomes driven by collaboration. 2.

Discuss Pareto Charts

The Pareto chart is a very useful tool wherever one needs to separate the important from the trivial. The chart, first promoted by Dr. Joseph Juran, is named after Italian economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923). He had the insight to recognize that a minority of causes led to the majority of the outcomes. This is known as the Pareto Principle or commonly known as the “80/20” rule. The “80/20” rule can be applied to many principles within a business. At QMS we use it too efficiently stock our material container products and lower our scrap rate or stocking risk. Every year an 80/20 analysis is conducted on our container sales and it shows how 20 percent of our products, drive 80 percent of the revenue. This does not include newly launched products as their needs to be at least 12 full months of history. Yet, once we have the 20 SKUs which fill 80 percent of the orders we add those to a stocking program to lower our lead times to the costumer. In addition, we monitor this every month to assure that we are performing to the analysis and can adapt if there are changes in demand. If we are performing at 70 percent according to the 80/20 analysis, we consider that performing to plan. 3.

Discuss fishbone diagrams. How is your company doing this?

Fishbone diagrams, seen in Figure 1 below, are cause and effect diagrams that are used to identify the root cause of a problem. The exercise of creating the diagram allows for the analysis of each potential cause resulting in an issue. First by identifying each individual potential cause and investigating to see if each potential cause attributes to the issue. During the investigation each individual cause can be determined to be not a cause, a contributing factor, or a cause leading to a negative outcome. Once each cause the diagram is investigated the root cause of the problem can be identified and the fishbone diagram has served its purpose. At QMS the fishbone diagram is a requirement of any Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) that will be implemented for nonconformances. A Fishbone diagram is required in order to assure that the root cause is understood before a correction is implemented.

Potential Cause

Potential Cause

Potential Cause

Problem / Effect

Potential Cause

Potential Cause

Potential Cause

Figure 1 – Fishbone Diagram Schematic / Drawn by me

4.

Discuss histograms

Histograms are used to chart frequency and analyze variability; they are also known as frequency distribution diagrams. When discussing histograms their needs to be an understanding of two types of data, attribute and variable data. Attribute data is data that refers to either having a certain feature or characteristic versus not. Attribute data is binary by definition and in a histogram, it can be showed as by percentage to population and for different groups. Variable data captures something that can be measured such as weight or length. With variable data one can look deeper into a situation or process and determine its performance to allow one to adjust for a desired outcome. Histograms are a plot that measures frequencies, thus having scale on the X-axis and the frequency in the y-axis. Typically, if data in a histogram covers a long period of time and with high frequency the histogram will resemble a bell curve. This implies that the data has some consistency and lower process variability. As the curve becomes flat and wider, that shows a lot of process variability. Histograms are great tool to show frequency of occurrences that can be divided into groups or classes. 5.

Discuss control charts for variables. How is your company doing this?

To discuss control charts, one needs to look at run charts. A traditional run chart records an outcome or output over time. The run chart provides a simplified look at trends over time for a specific process. Yet, run charts only show trends overtime but do not show if the variability is due to a special cause or random. That’s where control charts for variables comes in, as it is an evolution on the run chart. Control charts were developed to show if variance in the data is due to a common change or if it is due to a special circumstance or change. The data in control charts is plotted like a run chart, yet the data must stay between an upper control limit (UCL) and a lower control limit (LCL). If there is a special cause that impact the process, the data on the graph will penetrate these limits or will trend towards a limit and breaching it; even if the trend comes back. When this happens, and the trends favors or breaches a limit, the process requires attention. If the trend stays within the limits, then statistically the process is in the controlled state. At QMS Corp. we use control charts to manage the rate of material collection from our clients. We create limits based on the amount of work running on through their manufacturing floor that lead to different rates of scrap materials. Our material containers weigh the amount of material and record the value at every pick up. Overtime we analyze the clients output to make sure that our containers are not missing material or not collecting them properly. If we notice the limits are breached, we contact our client and they can help us understand how we can better serve them. It could be the need for more containers or more frequent pickups. Either way control charts allow us to monitor and improve our service for our customers. 6.

Discuss flowcharts and give a simple example.

Flowcharts are visual representation of processes that allows user to easily understand how the process works. In addition, it is a great tool to analyze a process and where it can be improved. In order to create a flow chart for a process it is important to have the stakeholders affected by the process. Once the first task is identified one can begin to map the next following steps. In addition, one depicts decision blocks which will help understand how the process changes for individual situations. With this the process shows how to act if an unintended outcome happens and how to rectify it. Once a process is deployed the process flow chart can be used for continual improvement. This is because when a task or situation is negatively affecting the output of the process it can be easily identified in the flow chart. This allows the team to meet and discuss how to improve the flow of the process at that junction or if another step is needed in order for an outcome not to happen. At QMS, every process requires a flow chart to help understand how it works and employees train to it. Figure 2 below is an example flow chart from QMS design Process. 7. Explain what is an FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis). How is your company doing this? Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is analysis conducted to identify potential failiurs of a product or process. Also, it prioritizes each potential failure by occurrence risk and identifies potential control measures to minimize the occurrence of said failure. To begin an FMEA one needs to identify all potential failure modes of a product or process. Then each potential failure mode is ranked based on occurrence rate, hazard of failure, and difficulty of detection. Once this analysis is completed one can identify which risk need addition measures or what problems are urgent to address before they happen. It is important to note that FMEA analysis does not it self keep failures from happening, but it is merely an analytical tool understand what potential failures need to be addressed. At QMS corp. we use Design FMEA, or dFMEA, for when we design new material collections for a client. Design FMEAs are completed early in the design process to allow our design team to identify failures which they need to focus on or address during the design phase. See Figure 3 below for example of dFMEA.

Figure 3 – QMS Corp. dFMEA example / Drawn by me 8.

Provide an overview of the Toyota practical problem-solving process

The Toyota practical problem-solving process is a defined method used to resolve current problem or to prevent potential problems from occurring. The first step is to perceive the initial problem at this point, the symptoms of the problem can be clear, but it does not mean that the problem has been identified. The second step is to clarify the problem and fully understand the entire scope of the situation. During this step one needs to observer the situation with an open mind, compare it to the standard, determine the discrepancy, determine if there are multiple discrepancies, and if there are multiple discrepancy’s then they need to prioritize by severity. The third step is to determine the actual point of cause of the issue at hand. In this step, one needs to determine where in the process the problem is observed and where the causes are observed. The fourth step is to determine the root cause by using the Five why analysis. The 5-Why analysis is a system where you continue to ask why questions like, why do we observe the variance, until the root cause reveals itself. The fifth step is to develop and implement a counter measure and chose the measure that is the most advantageous to the situation. The sixth step is to evaluate the effectiveness of the countermeasure. The seventh step is to change the standard if the countermeasure can become a permanent fix. 9.

Explain a total quality decision making process. How is your company doing this?

Decision making process is at the center of total quality, as decisions can impact the direction of the quality of products and other processes. Total quality decisions start by analyzing the situation and the environment which the situation is happening in. It is important to observe with an open mind and to understand all details around the situation. During this analysis one should gather all the facts and consult with impacted stakeholders. The final step of the analysis is to isolate the root cause of the issue. The

next step is to consider all possible alternatives in light of the facts of the situation. The alternatives are characterized based on the desired outcome that provide the largest benefit to the business based on our quality principles. Once an alternative is chosen and a corrective action is put in place, it must be monitored and measured. This is the most important aspect of total quality. At QMS Corp. all corrective actions go through a 6-month monitoring period and reviewed to assure that they are effective. If they are effective, then the correction is made permanent. If they are not effective, then the company looks for another solution and analyses the decision-making process to see if there was a flaw during the process. This type f methodology for decision making helps QMS corp. continually improve its processes and deliver quality results. This is important to continually meet our costumers’ expectations. Perceive the initial problem

Clarify the problem

Determine the Point of Cause

Determine Root Cause Using 5 Why

Change the Standard

Develop & Implement Counter measure

Determine Effectiveness of Counter measure

Figure 4 – QMS Corp. Total Quality Decision Making Process

10. Explain why quality tools are important. How is your company doing this? In order to complete any job, one needs to have the proper tools to complete the job. For example, a carpenter needs saws, hammers, nails, and other tools. A mechanic needs wrenches and an engineer needs a computer. This is an elemental concept for anyone trying to complete a task, yet for quality this is sometimes miss understood. Quality tools are an essential resource needed to identify problems, implement corrections, measure outcomes, and continually improve. It is important to have a variety of quality tools in your company’s arsenal in order to be able to mitigate diverse solutions. At QMS Corp. we make sure that our managers and employees are properly trained to use the quality tools available to them. We have tools like FMEA for processes/design, cause and effects diagrams, control charts, flowcharts for every process, and conflict resolutions technique. This allows QMS deliver results according to our total quality management mission and continually improve for our customers.

11. Please don't forget the social networking assignment Article 1 - "Barry Callebaut announces 44% of cocoa beans in its supply chain sustainably sourced" https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!topic/ie673---total-quality-management23/OHoOTQJ7vsA%5B1-25%5D Article 2 - "Boeing Partners with ELG Carbon Fiber on Composite Recycling" https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!topic/ie673---total-quality-management23/baTRBuc0AqQ%5B1-25%5D Article 3 - "Nestlé to create Institute of Packaging Sciences to Tackle Global Waste Problem" https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!topic/ie673---total-quality-management23/uHRXihJGiTE%5B1-25%5D