Chapter 7 Operations
Run Chart
a plot of series of values in the order of their occurrence. It is used to track the values of a variable over time to identify trends or patterns in the data set.
List and briefly explain the determinants of quality
design, conformance to design, ease of use (partly related to design, but also a function of user instructions and sometimes training), and service after delivery.
quality of design
refers to the intention of designers to include or exclude certain features in a product or service.
Briefly explain how a company can achieve lower production costs and increase productivity by improving the quality of its products or services?
9. Quality management emphasizes preventing mistakes or correcting them after they occur. There is a direct trade-off between investment in quality programs and investment in failure costs. If the quality is poor, the failure costs will be high. Productivity can be harmed significantly due to having to rework defective parts. Injuries can occur also because of neglected machinery and defective output (internal failure costs). Increases in warranty costs, service costs, repair costs, discount costs, and payments to customers to offset the inferior quality are examples of external failure costs. The emphasis on quality can lead to a significant reduction of both internal and external failure costs, thereby reducing production costs for the company.
Describe the quality-ethics connection
A major component of the quality-ethics interface involves firms knowingly allowing substandard products to be manufactured and sold or organizations knowingly providing substandard service to customers. The substandard production can take place as a result of poor workmanship; improper or inadequate training of employees; poor product or process design; low quality parts, raw materials, or components; poor maintenance policies and systems; and equipment or machinery problems. Each of these reasons for substandard quality may involve possible unethical behavior. The consequences of delivering substandard or poor quality products range from increased warranty and liability costs for companies to inconvenience or injuries to customers. When the firm learns about the quality problem, the way in which it deals with it may be considered unethical if the response to the problem is unreasonably slow, and/or if the remedies are either nonexistent or considered to be inadequate.
List and briefly explain the dimensions of service quality
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 equipment, facilities, personnel, and communication materials Consistency: the ability to provide the same level of good quality repeatedly Expectations: meet or exceed customer expectations
What is ISO 900, and why is it important for global businesses to have the certification?
ISO 9000 is a set of international standards on quality management. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) promotes worldwide standards that will improve efficiency and productivity. The ISO 9000 standards are important for doing business internationally, especially in Europe. Over 40,000 companies are certified by ISO. To become certified, companies must go through a process documenting procedures involving process control, inspection, purchasing, and training. After the documentation is complete, there is an on-site visit to verify the procedures documented. After certification, registered companies go through a series of audits. They must be recertified every three years.
Compare the Baldrige Award and ISO certification. If an organization were going to seek both, which one should it seek first? Why?
One is an award; the other certifies a level of competence. The Baldrige Award is designed to stimulate quality improvement efforts and to recognize achievements in U.S. companies. ISO certification implies a certain level of quality competence in products or services that is recognized internationally. If a U.S. company wanted to pursue both, the logical first choice would be the Baldrige Award, because it would help the company focus on its processes, which is a key step for ISO certification.
Use the dimensions of quality to describe typical characteristics of these products and services: TV set
Performance- On/off, sound, color, and picture Aesthetics- Shiny black cabinet Special features-Remote control, Inset picture, and stereo sound Conformance- Conforms to design specifications for size, pixels, etc. Reliability- Infrequency of breakdowns and repair work
Explain Plan-Do Study-Act Cycle
Plan. Begin by studying the current process. Document that process. Then, collect data to identify problems. Next, analyze data and develop a plan for improvement. Specify measures to be used for evaluating the plan. Do. Implement the plan, on a small scale if possible. Document any changes that are made during this phase. Collect data systematically for evaluation. Study. Evaluate the data collection during the do phase. Check to see how closely the results match the original goals of the plan phase. Act. If the results are successful, standardize the new method and communicate the new method to all people associated with the process. Implement training for the new method. Consider opportunities for replicating the same changes in other similar processes. If the results are not successful, either revise the plan and repeat the process, or cease the process.
Quality of Conformance
Refers to how well a product or service matches design specifications.
What are the key elements of the TQM approach? What is the driving force behind TQM?
TQM is a quest for quality that involves everyone in the organization. The key elements of the TQM approach are: asking customers what they want, designing a product or service that will meet (or exceed) customer expectations, designing processes that facilitate doing the job right the first time, keeping track of results and using them to guide improvement, extending TQM concepts throughout the supply chain, ensuring that top management is involved with the TQM effort, driving continuous improvement, benchmarking other companies, empowering employees, using a team approach, making decisions based on facts, acquiring knowledge of quality tools, ensuring supplier quality, having a TQM champion, enforcing quality at the source, and treating suppliers as partners in the TQM process. The driving force behind TQM is that it is an attitude toward quality. The company culture must be willing to change and to embrace TQM. Embracing TQM is necessary for a company because quality is an important determinant of a company's viability now and in the future.
what are some possible consequences of poor quality
The reputation and image of an organization will suffer from poor quality products or services. b. Organizations must pay special attention to their potential liability due to damages or injuries resulting from either faulty design or poor workmanship. c. Poor quality can affect productivity adversely if rework is necessary or if the process has to slow down to accommodate an assembler trying to find a part that fits properly or by having defects and scrap that reduce output. d. Poor quality increases costs because of rework, scrap, repair and replacement, warranty claims, discounts, customer field work such as travel and inspection, lost time, and legal expenses.
Brainstorming
a technique in which a people share ideas and thoughts on various problems in a relaxed atmosphere to stimulate unrestrained collective thinking.
Benchmarking
a technique that measures a company's performance against the best in industry. This technique can help in determining how the best companies achieve high performance and quality levels.
Briefly describe each of the 7 quality tools
a. Check Sheet: A tool for organizing and collecting data. It is a tally of problems and other events by category. b. Flowchart: A diagram of the steps in a process. c. Scatter Diagram: A graph that shows the degree of relationship (correlation) between two variables. d. Histogram: A chart that shows the empirical frequency distribution. Histogram expresses the shape of the data set. e. Pareto Chart: A chart or diagram that arranges categories from highest frequency of occurrence to lowest frequency of occurrence. A Pareto chart distinguishes the few critical factors from the many trivial factors. f. Control Chart: A statistical chart of time ordered values of a sample statistic. It involves setting upper and lower limits to determine potential causes of problems in a given process. g. Cause-and-Effect Diagram: A representation of the relationship between some measured effect and the set of possible causes that produce the effect. It may be used to correct the problems or to understand the process itself.
List the steps of problem solving
a. Define the problem and establish an improvement goal b. Collect data c. Analyze the problem d. Generate potential solutions e. Choose a solution f. Implement the solution g. Monitor the solution to see if it accomplishes the goal
List the steps of process involvement
a. Map the process: Identify each step in the process along with its input and outputs, the people involved, and the decisions that are made. Document measures such as time, cost, space used, employee morale, turnover, accidents, working conditions, revenues, profits, quality, and customer satisfaction. Prepare a flowchart of the process. b. Analyze the process: Ask questions about the process: Is it logical? Are any steps missing? Is there any duplication of steps? Ask questions about each step: Does the step add value? Could the step be eliminated? Does any waste occur at the step? Could the process time be shortened? Could the cost to perform the step be reduced? Could two (or more) steps be combined? c. Redesign the process: Using the results of the analyze step, redesign the process and document improvements.
