QPMT Quality and Total Quality Management free essay sample

Quality comprises attributes such as compatibility, reliability, usability and maintainability. For any kind of business, satisfying customers through high quality product and services plays an important role in its sustainability. Total Quality Management (TQM) is an approach seeking to improve the quality of the product and the performance of the organization which can meet or exceed customer expectation. This is obtainable by integrating all quality related functions and processes throughout the organizations. By taking into account all quality measurements, total quality management seeks to improve the quality and performance by involving all members of the organization. Through implementing planned strategies and efficient communication, total quality management integrates the quality rules into corporate culture and its activities. Quality management in the context of project includes processes of operating organization that insures quality policies, objectives as well as responsibilities which they in return fulfils the needs of undertaken projects. The phases in project quality management include; quality planning, quality assurance and quality control. All the mentioned phases need to be integrated and be communicated throughout the process, so that the product of the project can be managed effectively. According to quality management system standards (ISO 9000:2000 and 9000:2008), there are eight principles for quality management. These principles are namely; Customer Focus, Leadership, People Involvement, Process Approach, System Approach to Management, Continual Involvement, Factual Approach to Decision Making and mutually beneficial Superior Leadership (Howard amp; Gitlow, 2004). . Company Background 3. 2. JEEVES PLC The company is called JEEVES PLC, manufacturing and selling an electric consumer durable product in the category of the domestic robot with human appearance. The purpose of designing and producing such robot was to accomplish wide range of domestic tasks. The organizational chart consists of Nine (9) departments or parts (Figure 2. 1). At the top of the hierarchy there is the production director, follows by purcha sing manager, chief inspector, works manager, and production control manager whereby the works are subset of the production director. The company operates using three different shifts whereby after every 8 hours the new shift is replaced with the previous one. Production wise, the assembly line includes steps namely; cutting, pressing, jointing, cleaning and spraying, general machining, back assembly, head assembly, front assembly, arm assembly, leg assembly, adhesives, final assembly, and software installation. Each of the above mentioned steps has its own supervisor and most of the assembly work is done with computerized machinery. Some particular stems that cannot be done with the help of computerized machines will be done manually. Individual Assignment Quality Project Management (QPMT) Figure 2. 1 – JEEVES PLC Organizational Chart 3. 3. Company product The product of the company is a domestic robot very look like human that is made of light alloy and can carry out numerous tasks (Figure 2. 2). Figure 2. 2 The robot can be programmed using a keyboard that is installed inside the chest. Accordingly, the machine is able to walk, move around and make other movements. The robot is also equipped with voice programming, giving the ability to the machine to respond to the vices that is heard. As part of the promotion, numbers of other software programs for performing daily tasks are offered with initial purchase of the product. 3. 4. Production Process The duration of the production process is 5 weeks and includes the following phases; During the 1st Week, the raw materials such as ultra-lightweight Kevlar from a local steel stockholder and other components like audio recognition electric motor are ordered from suppliers. During the 2nd Week, the raw materials and supplies are inspected and moved to the component store. During the 3rd Week, the sheets are cut, drilled, pressed into the required shapes. During the 4th Week, the product goes through machining and precision jointing process. Moreover, the audio recognition system, radar vision, gyroscopic and balance system are placed to the robot. The other major components such as Battery, Ceramic Electric Motor, set of printed Circuit Boards and Memory Storage Card are placed in the body of the robot in order. During the last week legs, arms and joints are assembled, using high technology adhesive for connecting the parts. After successful installation of the software, the product is sent to the final inspection and testing (Figure 2. 3). The minimum of 0. % of standard limit is set by the company for supplied material to be inspected and certified quality standard. However, only 5% of the whole product (as a sample) is allocated and sent to the inspection department for testing. Most of the scraps that are created through the cutting process are discarded and painting process is done through series of chemical phases to prevent ru st. In overall the company tries to select and utilize the latest technology and the most expensive tools and materials including high skilled technicians/specialists to improve the production and company performance, so that it can achieve the best. . 5. Factory Layout Figure 2. 3 – Factory Layout 3. Problems and Root Cause Definition Root cause definition, problem finding and providing an effective solution to it accordingly is one of the most important parts of the solution finding. The following steps are necessary in solution finding process (Hamzah amp; Ho, 1994); * Determining the major problems in the case study by looking at the processes and procedures. * Focusing on the root causes of the problematic situation. * Finding the most suitable solution among the identified options that can effectively solve the problem. Accordingly, the following problems are identified within the current case study; 4. 6. Problems in the Production Process 4. 7. 1. Precision Jointing According to the case study, the precision jointing is the most expensive procedure whereby it requires the involvement of high qualified technicians. Looking at the rejection rate in the process of jointing mechanism (Figure 3. 1. 1 (A)), number of rejection can be notified that is outside the tolerance set by the company (Table 3. 1. 1). Date| Rejects| Date| Rejects| 21 OCT (Mon)| 0. 17| 11 NOV (Mon)| 0. 21| 22 OCT| 0. 11| 12 NOV| 0. 13| 23 OCT| 0. 3| 13 NOV| 0. 15| 24 OCT| 0. 14| 14 NOV| 0. 14| 25 OCT| 0. 11| 15 NOV| 0. 12| 26 OCT| 0. 15| 16 NOV| 0. 15| 28 OCT| 0. 16| 18 NOV (Mon)| 0. 22| 29 OCT| 0. 13| 19 NOV| 0. 14| 30 OCT| 0. 14| 20 NOV| 0. 12| 31 OCT| 0. 11| 21 NOV| 0. 13| 1 NOV| 0. 12| 22 NOV| 0. 14| 2 NOV| 0. 13| 23 NOV| 0. 16| 4 NOV (Mon)| 0. 24| 25 NOV (Mon)| 0. 25| 5 NOV| 0. 14| 26 NOV| 0. 14| 6 NOV| 0. 14| 27 NOV| 0. 13| 7 NOV| 0. 16| 28 NOV| 0. 12| 8 NOV| 0. 16| 29 NOV| 0. 15| 9 NOV| 0. 15| 30 NOV| 0. 14| Table 3. 1. 1 – Percentages of Rejection Rate of Precision Jointing Mechanism Figure 3. 1. 1 (A) – Rejection Rate in Percentage Looking at Table and Figure 3. 1. 1, it can be indicated that the most rejection peaks are on 21st October, 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th November respectively, which are the first day of the week after holiday. This could be to the machineries being over worked and need some time to get started after the holiday. As it was mentioned in the introduction, the factory operates in three different shifts (3 shift system with 144 hours per week, which is 48 weeks per each year). Each shifts works for 8 hours per day, where the first shift is from 6 am to 2, second shift from 2 pm to 10 and third shift from 10 pm to 6 am. According to the information provided in the case study the rejection rate in the morning shift is 10% (Figure 3. 1. 1 (B)). Whereas, according to the case, the supervisor for the morning shift is a reliable man with good productivity and competent record, which means there are no problem with personnel and staff in that particular shift. Figure 3. 1. 1 (A) and Figure 3. 1. 1 (B) indicates that the most rejection occurs in the third shift. This could be due to inappropriate working hours and personnel tiredness and lack of motivation. Figure 3. 1. 1 (A) – Rate of Rejection Based on the Shifts Figure 3. 1. 1 (B) – Rate of Rejection Based on the Shifts 4. 7. 2. Adhesive Applicators amp; Component Sub-assembly High technology cured epoxy adhesive for jointing the robots. When applicators receive the casing halves throughout the process, they spread the mixture of the adhesive on the contact surface by special injector. Most of the joints are made using the computerized robots, however, the parts that cannot be done by machines, are done manually. Each applicator is supposes to do 10 joints per hour as the management places heavy emphasis on the productivity standards. The management pressure results in misaligned and poorly fitted joints. Thus, the productivity of final assembly is reduced as a result of spending more time on repairing the joints. More causes of misalignment are outlined in Figure 3. 1. 2 (A). Most of the applicators obtain average skills. Workers need to attach components to the cases using advanced adhesive, where the process is computerized. Due to incompatibility issues between materials, the electric motors and batteries have to be placed on the product manually, using power tools. This requires each worker to place 12 bolts by average on the product, one bolt for battery and one for electric motor. As one of the most operative and active inspections is the back casing of the body, and the rejection rate for the loose components is approximately 1. 2% and 0. 5% respectively the rework for this part is increased more. The staff turnover of almost 25% per year among these operatives in this section is one of the uprising issues. Moreover, 90% of the optical fiber cabling and wiring are controlled and connected with computer and only 10% of wiring is done manually. Staff turnover in this section is 10% per annum. The analysis of reject at final or intern inspection as well as causes are outlined in Table 3. 1. 2 and Figure 3. 1. 2 (B). Lack of Feedback Average Skills Work Condition Not Enough Training Figure 3. 1. 2 (A) – Cause amp; Effect Diagram Misalignment Misalignment Task Pressure Lack of Training Low amp; Average Skilled Workers Management Emphasis on Productivity Standards | W/E| 26/10| 02/11| 09/11| 16/11| 23/11| 30/11| 07/12| 1| Damaged Circuit Boards| 0. 4| 0. 3| 0. 9| 0. 6| 0. 4| 0. 5| 0. 3| 2| Inaccurate Jointing Mechanism| 0. | 0. 3| 0. 2| 0. 5| 0. 7| 0. 6| 0. 9| 3| Loose Wiring| 1. 0| 0. 8| 1. 4| 1. 1| 0. 9| 0. 7| 0. 8| 4| Loose Components| 1. 6| 1. 7| 1. 5| 1. 7| 1. 4| 1. 6| 1. 7| 5| Finished Cases not Being Standard| 1. 1| 1. 3| 0. 9| 1. 0| 1. 2| 0. 8| 1. 3| 6| Electric Motors Being Defective| 0. 3| 0. 9| 0. 7| 0. 8| 0. 4| 1. 1| 1. 0| 7| Burnt Wiring| 0. 2| 0. 1| 0. 4| 0. 1| 0. 3| 0. 2| 0. 2| 8| Battery Not Holding Enou gh Charge| 0. 1| 0. 1| 0. 1| 0. 2| 0. 1| 0. 1| 0. 2| 9| Connections Being Poor| 1. 4| 1. 5| 1. 7| 1. 5| 1. 3| 1. 6| 1. 5| 10| Audio Recognition System Being Defective| 0. | 0. 1| 0. 1| 0. 9| 0. 3| 0. 2| 0. 1| 11| Misalignment in Front and Back Casing/Inadequate Seal| 0. 8| 1. 1| 1. 1| 0. 9| 1. 3| 0. 8| 0. 7| 12| External Components Being Broken| 0. 7| 0. 5| 0. 8| 0. 3| 1. 1| 0. 4| 1. 0| 13| Radar Vision System Being Defective| 0. 1| 0. 2| 0. 2| 0. 7| 0. 1| 0. 1| 0. 2| 14| Perished Rubber Hosing| 0. 1| 0. 1| 0. 2| 0. 2| 0. 1| 0. 1| 0. 2| 15| Others| 2. 1| 1. 7| 2. 4| 1. 9| 1. 6| 2. 3| 2. 0| Table 3. 1. 2 – Analysis Final Rejection and Inspection Figure 3. 1. 2 (B) – Final Rejection Cause amp; Effect Diagram 4. 7. Employee Problems In any company staff turnover can cause major problems in both productivity and performance of the organization. The turnover return refers to the movement of employees in and out of the organization and other words refer to the employees who leave the company, which can be very costly for the corporate. The average turnover of the company in the current case study is 15% which is quite consistent. However, in the sub assembly section the turnover is 25% per annum specially at the back casing assembly. Later comes the wiring section turnover rate which is only 10% and lower than the other parts. The average skilled workers in the company are well trained on the job, but are not receiving feedback regarding their performance at work. According to the figure provided in the case study, 1. 2% of the products are rejected as a result of loose components and 0. 5% in the final stages of the inspection. It is likelihood that the cut down on the number of workers or the supervisors frustrates the other coworkers, resulting in the rework, thus, causing high staff turnover. The cause and effect diagram below outlines some of the root causes of the problematic situation in the case study (Figure 3. 2). Figure 3. – Workers Problem Cause amp; Effect Diagram 4. 8. Complains and Warranty Claims Complaints arise when customers or consumers are not satisfied with the current product of the company. When the company warranties its product and delivers to the customer, it assures the products in the cases of any problems occurs by manufacturing defects during a specific period. In the current case, according to the tables 3. 3, the most complaints coming from the customers occur in September. The most complaints included crashing robots to furniture, wrong responding, burnt electric motor and intermittent power loss failure is high. No of Complaints amp; Warranty| Cumulative Total| % of Overall Warranty claims | % of Cumulative| 1| Broken control buttons | 20| 20| 0. 81| 0. 82| 2| Scratched Products| 20| 40| 0. 81| 1. 62| 3| Inability to Climb Stairs | 21| 61| 0. 85| 2. 49| 4| Robots Falling Over| 33| 94| 1. 33| 3. 82| 5| Rust on the Products| 55| 149| 2. 22| 6. 04| 6| Inability to Speech| 76| 225| 3. 07| 9. 11| 7| Inability to Hear| 78| 303| 3. 15| 12. 26| 8| Inability to Lift Prescribed Weight of 200 kg| 99| 402| 4. 00| 16. 26| 9| Being Noisy During Movements| 144| 546| 5. 82| 22. 08| 10| Joints Being Seizing Up| 148| 694| 5. 98| 28. 6| 11| Continuous Power Loss | 185| 879| 7. 48| 35. 54| 12| Incorrect Responding to Commands| 244| 1123| 9. 87| 45. 41| 13| Burnt Electric Motors| 267| 1390| 10. 80| 56. 21| 14| Product Crashing to Furniture | 305| 1695| 12. 33| 68. 54| 15| Not Responding to Commands| 573| 2268| 23. 17| 91. 71| 16| Others| 205| 2473| 8. 29| 100| | TOTAL| 2473| | | | Table 3. 2 – Complaints and Warranty Claims Figure 3. 2 – Pareto Diagram for Warrant Claims 4. 9. Quality Cost amp; Productivity Effort The figure below (Figure 3. 4) outlines the distribution of cost of quality in different functional areas of the company. Looking at the cost distribution it can be clearly seen that the appraisal and inspection have the highest quality cost and failure prevention cost is the lowest among the other organizational costs. Figure 4. 3 – Quality Cost 4. 10. 3. Productivity Effort The rate of capital employed in the organization has been flagging which is conveyed through Pounds per each employee. The company productivity is communicated through output of the factory per direct workers. According to the case study, the productivity of the company decreased as least in a certain period of the year and production. Thus, the cause and effect diagram is drawn to outline the reasons of this low productivity (Figure 3. 2. 1). Year| Output Per Person (Units Per Annum) | Capital Employed (Per Person)| 2016| 15. 3| ? 47,000| 2017| 10. 1| ? 32,000| 2018| 10. 4| ? 34,000| 2019| 9. 7| ? 31,000| 2020| 8. 8| ? 30,000| Table 3. 2. 1 – Productivity Distribution per Annum Figure 3. 2. 1 – Productivity Cause amp; Effect Diagram 4. Solution Suggestion amp; Problem Solving 5. 10. Quality Management There are many methodologies suggested to improve the overall quality of the organization. One of the most popular problem solving methods used by many companies is PDSA cycle (Plan, Do, Study, and Act) (Figure 4). According to this model the problematic situation is defined and most suitable solutions are identified, the most effective solution is selected and implemented, and the new procedure is monitored and controlled to find out whether the implemented solution has improved the problematic situation. If the implemented solution is working, then it needs to be standardized so that positive control over the quality can be achieved. Figure 4 – PDSA Cycle . 11. 4. Quality Planning amp; Assurance Quality planning can assist the organization to schedule the critical tasks that have major impact on the final outcome of the company and on the production of satisfactory product and services for the customers. On the other hand, considering quality assurance assist the management to collect necessary data to measure the quality of the supplied raw materials, production procedure, and assembly of the product. The ultimate objective of quality assurance is to increase productivity by focusing on defect prevention. JEEVES PLC needs to consider the implementation of such methodology throughout the whole organizational processes so that it can achieve the kind of product quality that the costumers are expecting. 5. 11. Production Process Solutions 5. 12. 5. Precision Jointing The most rejection rate in the factory is on the beginning of every week. As it was reported in jointing mechanism table, every Monday the rejection rate increases. This could be due to the fact that the machines take time to start up on the beginning of the week after one day being shut down. This problem can be solved by adding one more shift on Sundays and keeping the machinery running during the holidays. This can be workable by having 2 shifts with 12 hours shift working on weekend, 8 hours per shift working from Monday to Friday and 24X7 shift working structure. This will also increase the productivity of the company, as the company has longer working hours. 5. 12. 6. Adhesive Applicators As it was explained in the production line part previously, the applicators have quite low or average skills. Moreover, they do not receive ongoing feedback and management support regarding their outcome and performance. This problem can be solved by implementing on the job or off the job training initiatives, or hiring high skilled workers. Further, the management needs to decrease the pressure on the workers on achieving daily outcome but insist on the accuracy of the final products. Providing continuous feedback and ongoing monitoring on the workers in this section will help the organization to not only improve the overall productivity of the factory, but it increases the employee motivation. 5. 12. 7. Component Assembly and Sub Assembly Most of the rejections in the component assembly section are due to misalignment or poor connection works done by the semi or low skilled workers. The rejection rate can be reduced by replacing these low skilled workers with trained or high skilled ones. The major reason for staff turnover in sub assembly section, as it was explain previously, is due to have too many high skilled and professionals who are not able to use their skills in the fullest extent and thus are de-motivated. Moreover, most of the tasks in this section are done by machines and not manually. The best solution in this situation would be reducing the number of workers especially high skilled ones and move them to an areas that their competences can match with the job characteristics so that they can be more motivated and stay with the company. 5. 12. Complaints and Warranty Claims Most of the defected products returned to the company and the warranty department is due to the robot crashing to the furniture, responding incorrectly to the commands, power loss, and electric motors break down. Inaccurate inspection when installing the audio recognition system or gyroscope system is the main cause of such crashes and defects. This problem can be solved by increasing the inspection percentage from current 5% random inspection to at least 10%. This will help the company to avoid defects and decrease the customer complaints in the future. 5. 13. Employee Problems The employee’s main problem is staff turnover and absenteeism as well as reworks occurring due to problematic assembly procedure. To reduce the absenteeism the company can undertake initiatives such as providing transportation because of long and high number of working hours, providing more interesting work-life balance for them and motivate them through performance based increments and pay. In adhesive section, the workers facing difficulties due to their tasks becoming more difficult and complicated by misaligned, poor joints and rework. The best solution for this could be proposing another inspection phase in the jointing section to monitor and control the workers performance more closely, providing more on the job training for the employees and implement effective and ongoing feedback system in this section. 5. Conclusion and Recommendation In conclusion, it needs to be mention that organizations require to have effective quality design in order to achieve desired outcome. Throughout the above write up it was tried to identify the root causes of the problems occurred during the organizational processes and procedures at GEEVES PLC and find suitable solutions to overcome the specific problematic sutionsions. The propose quality method mentioned at the beginning of solution finding helps the organization, the schedule, the necessary tasks to further improved the product quality as well as quality assurance and defect prevention. Implementation of such methodologies helps the organization to produce and deliver high quality and satisfactory product and services to its respected consumers. Looking at the organizational chart it was recommended that the company needs to higher quality control managers to improve the overall organizational performance and quality of the products. Furthermore, the company needs to change the minimum inspection random from 5% to 10%, ideally, so that the failure identification process becomes more effective. In terms of quality cost, the company can reduce the overall organizational costs by implementing relative training initiatives. This is due to the fact that high quality product cannot be obtained without effective training and elevating the employees knowledge, skills and attitudes. Employee turnover within the company can be addressed by providing specific training sections as well as motivating workers by allocating motivaitive increments and salaries. References Anon. 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