Total Quality Management 

Q1. What is quality?

 

Ans: Quality in assembling terms refers to an item/product being fabricated with no deformities, insufficiencies and huge varieties from the required particulars given by the organization. In the present situation of consumer loyalty assuming a noteworthy part in the achievement of items delivered by an organization, meeting client necessities and rolling out improvements to the items as per criticism got from the clients has turned into the new meaning of value. Present day techniques for quality administration concentrate on consumer loyalty and giving brief administration if the client experiences any issue with the item, along these lines guaranteeing general quality from the time the item has been purchased. Quality appraisals have been presented which guarantee that the item meets the particular quality necessities. Taking for instance, the quality rating ISO 8402-1986 standard characterizes the totality of components that the item bears to meet the particular quality prerequisites. All in all, quality is assembling an item with no deformities as well as giving general consumer loyalty from the begin to the very end.

 

Q2. What is TQM?

 

Ans: Total quality management(TQM) is a far reaching and organized approach to improving the quality of a product through continuous improvement based on feedback obtained from its customers. It originated in the manufacturing sector and since then has been picked up and applied in various other industries. TQM requirements may be unique to a company or involves adhering to quality standards such as ISO which defines the products ability to meet the required specifications. TQM is divided into four sequential steps: plan, do, check and act. In the planning phase, people define the problem, collect relevant data and work to find the root cause of the problem. In the doing phase, the employees come up with solutions for the defined problem and map out steps on implementing the solution. In the checking phase, the employees implement the solution and check the resulting outcomes to make sure it is feasible. In the doing phase, the solutions and any possible changes are made and communicated to the rest of the employees to implement the same solution in the next PDCA cycle.

 

Q3. How can we achieve organisational excellence with quality?

 

Ans: In the present situation, it is essential for associations to see how quality fits into the master plan of giving magnificent client administration. Associations survive and flourish in a all inclusive focused commercial center by giving better administration and quality than the clients. Hierarchical brilliance is about giving better esteem than its clients at all times. Organisational excellence is all about providing superior value to its customers at all times. Superior value has three basic elements: superior quality, superior cost, and superior service.In order to achieve organisational excellence—the level of performance necessary for long-term success in a global environment—it is necessary to consistently provide superior value to customers. Quality is obviously one of the key elements in providing superior value. But total quality is even more than that. Total quality is a broad-based approach that encompasses all three of the elements of superior value. Continually improving the quality of products, processes, services, and costs is what total quality is all about—hence the name total quality. Organisations that effectively apply the total quality approach to management are the ones most likely to achieve organisational excellence. 

 

Q4. What is Deming cycle?

 

Ans: W. Edwards Deming in the 1950's proposed that business processes should be analyzed and measured to identify sources of variations that cause products to deviate from customer requirements. He recommended that business processes be placed in a continuous feedback loop so that managers can identify and change the parts of the process that need improvements. As a teacher, Deming created a (rather oversimplified) diagram to illustrate this continuous process, commonly known as the PDCA cycle for Plan, Do, Check, Act:

▪ PLAN: Design or revise business process components to improve results

▪ DO: Implement the plan and measure its performance

▪ CHECK: Assess the measurements and report the results to decision makers

▪ ACT: Decide on changes needed to improve the process

Deming's focus was on industrial production processes, and the level of improvements he sought were on the level of production. In the modern post-industrial company, these kinds of improvements are still needed but the real performance drivers often occur on the level of business strategy. Strategic deployment is another process, but it has relatively longer-term variations because large companies cannot change as rapidly as small business units. Still, strategic initiatives can and should be placed in a feedback loop, complete with measurements and planning linked in a PDCA cycle. 

 

Q5. What are the common errors when starting quality initiatives? 

 

Ans: Associations must not accept total quality as a brisk fix; rather they ought to approach it as another method for working together. Associations make couple of normal blunders while actualizing these quality activities. Designating obligation to a procured master as opposed to having an initiative which includes everybody is a blunder senior administration can make. Working in groups is a methodology that should be learned. The association needs to experience a social change for cooperation to succeed. Arrangements to accomplish quality activities ought to be produced all the time and ought to be incorporated into all components of the associations. Just aimlessly taking after Deming or Crosby or whatever other methodology can't function admirably for an organization. Each association ought to have the capacity to tailor these projects as indicated by their requirements. Not understanding to add to the abilities to actualize ideas of aggregate quality and motivating individuals to acknowledge it are likewise a blunder that ought to be dealt with while beginning quality activities.

 

Q6. Explain the poor cost of quality? 

 

Ans: Quality initiatives are often the first things being compromised during a company’s tough times. In order to become more competitive in the global marketplace; companies tend to take few decisions which if; not made wisely and keeping a long-term goal in mind can affect adversely a company’s growth. Cost cutting strategies may have desired effects of decreasing the company’s overhead, but they also have the unpleasant consequences of satisfying the customers and reducing the company’s potential to develop new business in the future. When an organisation does what is necessary to improve its performance by reducing deficiencies in key areas, it can reduce overall costs without affecting essential services, products and personnel. Poor quality can temper an organisation’s goals by pre-occupying its time and money in getting rid of the decisions that went wrong while trying to gain a competitive advantage in a global marketplace.

 

Q7. What are the quality characteristics of world class organisations?

 

Ans: Among the 15 characteristics of world class organisations, the characteristics that figures prominently in total quality are: - Customer service, quality control and assurance, innovation, team-based approach to work, partnerships and alliances and reengineering of processes. Along with these a number of human resources characteristics that relates to quality are: - worker productivity, employee training and development, codes of workplace conduct, conflict resolution, employer satisfaction, and management-employee union relations. For any organisation to be considered world-class it must be able to establish themselves as a global competitor and for doing that they must focus on quality characteristics. 

 

Q8. Responsibility and total quality.

 

Ans: Accepting responsibility is a part of ethical behaviour. Modern society has evolved into one that focuses on rights but ignores the responsibilities that must accompany those rights. People want to blame others for their own shortcomings and failures. In almost any scenario, people blames the society or someone who is higher in authority than them for there sufferings. Passing blame has become commonplace. Ethics play a critical role in the successful application of total quality. In a total quality setting, people are responsible for their performance. Accepting responsibility helps build trust, integrity and all the other elements of ethics that are so important in a total quality environment. In a modern workplace, accepting responsibility is very critical for any individual, or organisation to be at a better place and ethically sound.

 

Q9. Discuss some models for ethical quality decisions.

 

Ans:Ethics as a concept exists within a framework defined by organisational values. The actual model for an ethical quality decision will depend on the values of the organisation and of the larger community in which the organisation does business. Few models are as follows: -

 

Categorical imperative model: - In this model right is right and wrong is wrong and there are no grey areas. 

 

Golden Rule model: - It is one of the most popular models in Western society which takes the view points of stakeholders into account in deciding what is ethical. It is similar to full-disclosure model.

 

Organisational ethic model: - In this model the most ethical decision is the one that best serves the organisation’s interest. Unless an organisation has adopted a set of guiding principles that ensure ethical behaviour, the organisational ethic model is difficult to defend.

 

Proportionality ethic model: - This model is based on the assumption that the world is complex and decisions are seldom clearly right or wrong. The best an organisation can do is to make sure the good outweighs the bad while making decisions.  

 

Q10. What is the engineering manager’s role in quality ethics?

 

Ans: Managers in organisations are responsible for following through and actually exemplifying ethical behaviour. They are responsible for establishing high ethical standards, setting a consistently positive example of exceeding those standards and acting immediately when they observe unethical behaviour. There are three approaches managers can use in carrying out these responsibilities. Best-Ratio approach, Black-and- White Approach and Full-Potential approach. Managers should do everything possible to create conditions that promote ethical behaviour and try to maintain the best possible ratio of good choices to bad choices in the best ratio approach. In black and white approach, managers decide on only what is right and what is wrong and the conditions are irrelevant. In full potential approach, choices that can achieve the goal of people realising their full potential within the confines of morality are considered ethical.  

 

 

Executive Summary 1: IS RESHORING DEAD ? 

 

This summary gives a brief description of how reshoring of production in the U.S has lost its momentum in 2015 because of the opportunities in lower cost countries. The US reshoring index in 2015 has dropped faster than it has at any point over the past 10 years. The main two contributing reasons are lacklustre growth in domestic manufacturing activity, and the resilience of offshore manufacturing, particularly in Asia.  The slowdown in U.S manufacturing growth is attributable to factors such as the strong dollar, and drops in food, energy and commodity prices. Offshore manufacturing on the other hand has bounced back in part to growth in Asian in few countries such as Malaysia, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, etc. Even though labour costs have been rising, manufacturers in these countries have taken up the slack. Industries vulnerable to these rising costs have taken to other Asian countries rather than U.S without incurring higher supply chain costs despite their weaker infrastructure and supporting the new labour-cost destinations. The article also states how the looming manufacturing workforce shortage will result in uncertainties in the 2016 national elections. At the same time, manufacturers are adopting a nearshoring strategy by increasing production in Mexico. Thus, even though reshoring might not emerge as a major trend, offshore based manufacturers in China and Europe are increasing production in U.S because of its large markets, rising dollar and marketing expertise.

 

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Executive Summary 2: BEST PRACTICES IN PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE: HOW ONE COMPANY DID IT 

 

This article talks about the best practices in preventive maintenance and how one company managed to do it. Companies with a well-planned PM usually enjoy unplanned downtimes, minimal spare parts costs, maximum product quality and longer machine life spans. The main goals involved while getting a preventive maintenance program that is flexible and sustainable for the long term were uninterrupted manufacturing runs by eliminating machines breakdowns, increased product quality and decreased capital expenditures. This specific company for example carried out a few steps such as, made a decision to temporarily reassign their top mechanics to assist in writing PM inspection details, purchased small inexpensive infrared temperature guns for all the mechanics, utilized written feedback from corrective workers to constantly change and enhance their existing PM program, kept their equipment extremely clean, installed small auto-lube units to provide automatic lube-dispersion, utilized lubrication vendors to assist in their lube program and finally published all the individual successes of the existing PM’s to the maintenance crew and kept them up to date with the changes. On the other hand, companies that have no PM programs will gain from outside support. PM cost usually varies will each company’s unique products and manufacturing processes. Lack of implementation expertise could result in the failure of a PM program. Therefore, the right professional assistance can help all companies develop a correct PM and keep the momentum going with any interruption.

 

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Executive Summary 3: MANUFACTURING TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2016

 

This article focusses on the manufacturing trends to watch in 2016. Firstly to begin with, it talks about how global manufacturing is to grow, economists and governmental organizations are predicting a 2.6% growth rate in the U.S, China and India. Secondly, despite a rise in the manufacturing competition from China and India, U.S manufacturing will struggle during the upcoming presidential elections due to the debates about terrorism, immigration and rising income inequality. The year 2016 will be the year the manufacturing/ industry 4.0 that have been in development stages will be put into practice by bringing to life new digital, cyber-physical approaches to pant floor automation and improving manufacturing efforts. The most important trend to watch for will be the Internet of things technology which will be majorly responsible for driving new smart business models for manufacturers. New technologies such as 3D printing, simulation, augmented reality, and cloud-based software systems will play a greater role amongst manufacturers as they move towards Manufacturing 4.0. Advanced technologies manufacturers in the small and medium sized industries are expected to shift to robots for getting the word done because of their extraordinary capabilities compared to human-beings. Thus, these are few of the major advancements that can be expected in the year 2016 in the manufacturing processes.

 

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Sustainable Green Focus Summary:

 

Sustainable development (SD) is a process for meeting human development goals while maintaining the ability of natural systems to continue to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon which the economy and society depend. Sustainable development is the organizing principle for sustaining finite resources necessary to provide for the needs of future generations of life on the planet. It is a process that envisions a desirable future state for human societies in which living conditions and resource-use continue to meet human needs without undermining the "integrity, stability and beauty" of natural biotic systems. The documentaries put up by Dr. Paul Ranky has demonstrated the immaculate marine life and the submerged biological community which ought not to be crushed by us. Mechanical contamination has adversly influenced biodiversity throughout the previous two centuries and keeps on expanding comprehensively. The impact most firmly related with loss of biological community administrations is toxification of ecological, whereby the creatures living in the environment are harmed on account of the toxic way of numerous poisons. This contamination can be decreased by lessening of the contamination detoxification and recolonization. Once a site has been detoxified, fitting measures ought to be taken to guarantee that immeasurably essential positions of the biome can be satisfied. Making and discharging fatal waste into the water bodies will unfavorably influence the survival of sea life. The uncommon eventual outcomes of such sullying are considerably more prominent than that they appear to the bare eye. In request to avert such happenings, various green supportability techniques have been brought into action to stop waste from being discharged into the water and also additionally treat them before being discharged. These can be reached out over to arrive and also air. Various discoveries in exploration demonstrate that renewable or option vitality sources will help one to accomplish green supportability. These will be more actualized later on and will be connected considerably more for the eras to come. I might want to propose everybody to re-assess the current assembling units and consider the green reasonable strategies to arranging off squanders and the utilization of reusable materials so we can keep up conditions where people and the earth other than us can exist beneficially together. These will not just help the present but the future eras as well.

 

 

 

Youtube Links:

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