Quality Tools, Quality Circles and Quality Consciousness
Introduction to Quality in Production:
In every industry, producing quality products or services is necessary for
generating satisfactory profits. If there is no quality, customer retention and future
expansion are not at all possible. To ensure this, quality performance standards are
fixed in production management and are properly monitored. To assure quality, the
processes in production are streamlined and errors are reduced. How to maintain
quality standards and how to minimize defective products that cannot be sold in the
market are the two important things related to quality management.
Quality Tools:
The seven tools connected with how to troubleshoot quality related issues are
known as quality tools. These basic tools were first emphasized by Kaoru Ishikawa, a
professor of engineering at Tokyo University who is also called as the father of quality
circles. They are
1. Cause-and-effect Diagram:
This diagram also known as Ishikawa or fishbone chart identifies many possible
causes for a problem related to quality in production and sorts all ideas into useful
categories such as measurements, materials and methods.
2. Check Sheet:
Check sheet is a structured or prepared form in excel sheet. It is used for
collecting and analyzing data. This worksheet can be useful to determine the overall
defect rates and the most frequently occurring defects. The data can be converted into
histogram that shows the number of defects over time, Bar chart that shows the
number of defects and Pareto chart that displays the 80/20 rule for defects.
3. Control Charts:
They are also known as Shewhart charts or process behavior charts. These are
graphs used to study how a process changes over time. The main purpose here is to
determine whether a manufacturing process is in a state of control.
4. Histogram:
It is a graphical representation of the distribution of numerical data. This is the
most commonly used graph and it was first introduced by Karl Pearson. The purpose
here is to find out how often each different value in a set of data occurs.
5. Pareto chart:
This chart contains both bars and a line graph in which the individual values are
represented in descending order by bars and the cumulative total is represented by the
line. It was first described by Joseph M. Juran. In quality control, it often represents the
most common sources of defects, the highest occurring type of defect or the most
frequent reasons for customer complaints and so on.
6. Scatter Diagram:
This is also known as Scatter Plot and Scatter Graph. It is to study the
relationship between variables. It was first described by John Herschel.
7. Stratification:
It is a technique that separates data gathered from a variety of sources so that
patterns can be seen. This is sometimes replaced with a flowchart or runchart.
Quality Circles:
Quality circle or quality control circle generally refers to a group of workers doing
the same work who meet regularly to identify, analyse and solve work-related problems.
Normally this group is small in size and is led by a manager or supervisor who presents
its solutions to the management. If possible, the solutions are implemented to improve
the performance of the organization and employees. The quality circle got circulated
throughout Japanese industry by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers
in1960. The first company to introduce Quality circles was the Nippon Wireless and
Telegraph company in 1962.
Quality Consciousness:
Quality consciousness habits and processes are part of a management philosophy that
seeks to improve quality constantly rather than just to meet a certain set goal.
Companies employ quality consciousness processes on an organizational level to
improve their products. Three components of quality consciousness exist on an
individual level. The first step is for the individual to develop awareness of her
environment and the meaning of quality within it. The second step requires the
individual to align her individual quality goals with those of the organization for which
she works. The final step for the individual is to pay attention to what can be done to
improve quality in the present moment, blocking out distractions and negativity. Toyota
uses quality consciousness processes. For generations, Toyota has continually refined
its production methods, focusing on eliminating waste and improving efficiency
following its philosophy of "daily improvement."