Quality Management Overview

Management of Quality

• Quality is the ability of a product or service to consistently meet or exceed customer requirements or expectations.
• Key aspects of quality include durability, high performance, and features.

Evolution of Quality Management

• Industrial Revolution: Skilled craftsmen previously performed all stages of production. Pride in workmanship and reputation motivated quality.
• The Industrial Revolution led to a division of labor, making each worker responsible for a small portion of the product.

Key Figures in Quality Management

• Frederick Winslow Taylor: Emphasized quality by including product inspection and gauging in manufacturing management.
• G.S. Radford: Improved Taylor's methods by incorporating quality considerations into product design, leading to increased productivity and lower costs.
• Bell Telephone Laboratories (1924): Introduced statistical control charts for monitoring production.
• H.F. Dodge, H.G. Romig, and Bell Labs (1930): Introduced sampling tables for statistical quality control.

Foundations of Modern Quality Management

• Walter Shewhart: Developed control charts for variance reduction.
• W. Edwards Deming: Introduced 14 points, emphasizing special versus common causes of variation.
• Joseph M. Juran: Defined quality as fitness-for-use and introduced the quality trilogy.
• Armand Feigenbaum: Viewed quality as a total field, with the customer defining quality.
• Philip B. Crosby: Argued quality is free and promoted the concept of zero defects.
• Kaoru Ishikawa: Developed cause-and-effect diagrams and quality circles.
• Genichi Taguchi: Introduced the Taguchi loss function.
• Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo: Pioneered continuous improvement.

Insights on Quality Management

• Successful quality management involves understanding operational definitions of quality, costs and benefits of quality, consequences of poor quality, and the need for ethical behavior.

Defining Quality: Dimensions of Quality

• Product Quality:
• Performance – main characteristic of the product.
• Aesthetics – appearance, feel, smell, and taste.
• Special features – added characteristics.
• Conformance – how well the product meets design specifications.
• Reliability – dependable performance over time.
• Durability – ability to perform over time.
• Perceived quality – indirect assessment of quality (e.g., reputation).
• Serviceability – handling repairs or complaints.
• Consistency – quality doesn't vary.
• Service Quality: (different aspects than product quality)
• Convenience – availability and accessibility of the service.
• Reliability – dependable and consistent performance.
• Responsiveness – willingness to help customers.
• Time – speed of service delivery.
• Assurance – knowledge and trust of personnel.
• Courtesy – how customers are treated.
• Tangibles – physical appearance of facilities, equipment, and personnel.
• Consistency – delivering the same level of quality repeatedly.
• Expectations – meeting or exceeding customer expectations.

Assessing Service Quality (SERVQUAL)

• SERVQUAL is a tool to measure an organization's ability to provide quality service to customers.
• Key aspects of SERVQUAL include tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy.

Determinants of Quality

• Design: Intention of designers to include or exclude features in products or services.
• Conformance: Degree to which goods or services meet the designers' intent.
• Ease of use: How user-friendly it or it is.
• Service after delivery: Handling of issues after product/service delivery

Responsibility for Quality

• Top management: Ultimately responsible for quality.
• Design: Quality products and services start with design.
• Procurement: Procurement department obtains goods and services conforming to quality standards.
• Production/Operations: Ensures processes meet quality specifications (related to manufacturing)

Benefits of Good Quality

• Enhanced reputation for quality.
• Ability to command premium prices.
• Increased market share.
• Greater customer loyalty.
• Lower liability costs.
• Fewer production or service problems.
• Fewer complaints from customers.
• Lower production costs.
• Higher profits.

Consequences of Poor Quality

• Loss of business.
• Liability.
• Productivity issues.
• Increased costs.

Costs of Quality

• Appraisal costs: Measuring, evaluating, and auditing quality standards.
• Prevention costs: Preventing defects, planning, and training.
• Internal failure costs: Defective products found before delivery.
• External failure costs: Defective products found after delivery.

Ethics and Quality Management

• All members of an organization have an obligation to perform their duties ethically.
• Ethical behavior is crucial in quality management.

Quality Certification (ISO)

• ISO (International Organization for Standardization) promotes quality standards and guidelines. ISO 9000 concerns quality management, ISO 14000 concerns environmental impact, and ISO 24700 pertains to quality office equipment with reused components.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

• TQM is a quest for quality in an organization.
• Focuses on meeting customer needs.
• Importance of design, processes, and continuous improvement.
• Emphasis on employee empowerment, teamwork, and customer focus
• TQM may face obstacles to implementation and potential criticisms.

Critiques of TQM

• Quality programs implemented blindly, without proper strategy.
• Lack of meaningful links between quality programs and strategic organizational goals and decisions.
• Difficulty integrating quality initiatives with broader organizational improvements.

Problem-Solving and Process Improvement (PDSA)

• PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle: A framework for continuous improvement in a process.
• Cycle involves identifying a problem in an existing process and working through steps to identify a solution. Tools for data collection are shown, too.

Six Sigma

• Business process focused on improving quality, reducing costs, and enhancing customer satisfaction.
• Data-driven approach based on reducing variation.
• Utilizing DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology.

Quality Tools

• Various tools support data collection, interpretation, and decision-making in understanding the process. Include flowcharts, check sheets, histograms, Pareto charts, scatter diagrams, control charts, cause-and-effect diagrams, and run charts. These tools can be used together to understand a process.