Chapter-4

Management of Quality
 Defining Quality

• Quality refers to the ability of a product or service

to consistently meet or exceed customer
requirements or expectations. Different customers
will have different requirements, so a working
definition of quality is customer-dependent
 Dimensions of quality
Product Quality Dimensions
1. Performance—main characteristics of the product.
2. Aesthetics—appearance, feel, smell, taste.
3. Special features—extra characteristics.
4. Conformance—how well a product corresponds to design
specifications.
5. Reliability—dependable performance.
6. Durability—ability to perform over time.
7. Perceived quality—indirect evaluation of quality (e.g., reputation).
8. Serviceability—handling of complaints or repairs.
  Dimensions of quality
Service Quality Dimensions
1. Convenience—the availability and accessibility of the service.
2. Reliability—the ability to perform a service dependably, consistently, and
accurately.
3. Responsiveness—the willingness of service providers to help customers in
unusual situations and to deal with problems.
4. Time—the speed with which service is delivered.
5. Assurance—the knowledge exhibited by personnel who come into contact with a
customer and their ability to convey trust and confidence.
6. Courtesy—the way customers are treated by employees who come into contact
with them.
7. Tangibles—the physical appearance of facilities, equipment, personnel, and
communication materials.
8. Consistency—The ability to provide the same level of good quality repeatedly
 Determinants of quality

The degree to which a product or a service successfully satisfies

its intended purpose has four primary determinants:
1. Design.
2. How well the product or service conforms to the design.
3. Ease of use.
4. Service after delivery
 Determinants of quality
• Design

Design involves decisions about the specific characteristics of a product

or service such as size, shape, and location. Quality of design refers to
the intention of designers to include or exclude certain features in a
product or service. For example, many different models of automobiles
are on the market today. They differ in size, appearance, roominess, fuel
economy, comfort, and materials used. These differences reflect choices
made by designers that determine the quality of design.
 Determinants of quality
• Quality of conformance

Quality of conformance refers to the degree to which goods and

services conform to (i.e., achieve) the intent of the designers.
This is affected by factors such as the capability of equipment
used; the skills, training, and motivation of workers; the extent to
which the design lends itself to production; the monitoring
process to assess conformance; and the taking of corrective
action (e.g., through problem solving) when necessary.
 Determinants of quality
• Ease of use

Ease of use and user instructions are important. They increase the
chances, but do not guarantee, that a product will be used for its
intended purposes and in such a way that it will continue to function
properly and safely. (When faced with liability litigation, companies
often argue that injuries and damages occurred because the user
misused the product.)
 Determinants of quality
• Ease of use

Ease of use and user instructions are important. They increase the
chances, but do not guarantee, that a product will be used for its
intended purposes and in such a way that it will continue to function
properly and safely. (When faced with liability litigation, companies
often argue that injuries and damages occurred because the user
misused the product.)
 Determinants of quality
• Service after delivery
For a variety of reasons, products do not always perform as expected,
and services do not always yield the desired results. Whatever the
reason, it is important from a quality standpoint to remedy the situation
—through recall and repair of the product, adjustment, replacement or
buyback, or reevaluation of a service—and do whatever is necessary to
bring the product or service up to standard.
 Consequences of poor quality
• Loss of Business

Poor designs or defective products or services can result in loss of

business. Failure to devote adequate attention to quality can
damage a profit-oriented organization’s reputation and lead to a
decreased share of the market, or it can lead to increased criticism
and/or controls for a government agency or nonprofit organization
 Consequences of poor quality
• Loss of Business

Poor designs or defective products or services can result in loss of

business. Failure to devote adequate attention to quality can
damage a profit-oriented organization’s reputation and lead to a
decreased share of the market, or it can lead to increased criticism
and/or controls for a government agency or nonprofit organization
 Consequences of poor quality
• Liability

Organizations must pay special attention to their potential

liability due to damages or injuries resulting from either faulty
design or poor workmanship. This applies to both products
and services. Manufacturer will be liable if any damages or
injuries caused by faulty products. Thus, a poorly designed
steering arm on a car might cause the driver to lose control
of the car, but so could improper assembly of the steering
arm. However, the net result is the same.
 Consequences of poor quality
• Productivity

Productivity and quality are often closely related. Poor quality can
adversely affect productivity during the manufacturing process if
parts are defective and have to be reworked or if an assembler has to
try a number of parts before finding one that fits properly. Also, poor
quality in tools and equipment can lead to injuries and defective
output, which must be reworked or scrapped, thereby reducing the
amount of usable output for a given amount of input.
 Consequences of poor quality
• Costs

Cost to remedy a problem is a major consideration in quality

management. The earlier a problem is identified in the process,
the cheaper the cost to fix it. The cost to fix a problem at the
customer end has been estimated at about five times the cost
to fix a problem at the design or production stages.
 Total Quality management

Total quality management (TQM) A philosophy that involves

everyone in an organization in a continual effort to improve quality
and achieve customer satisfaction.

There are three key philosophies in this approach.

• One is a never-ending push to improve, which is referred to as
continuous improvement;
• the second is the involvement of everyone in
the organization; and
• the third is a goal of customer satisfaction
 Total Quality management
 Elements of TQM

1. Continuous improvement: The philosophy that seeks to improve all factors

related to the process of converting inputs into outputs on an ongoing basis is
called continuous improvement. It covers equipment, methods, materials, and
people.

2. Competitive benchmarking: This involves identifying other organizations

that are the best at something and studying how they do it to learn how to
improve your operation.

3. Employee empowerment: Giving workers the responsibility for

improvements and the authority to make changes to accomplish them provides
strong motivation for employees.
 Total Quality management
 Elements of TQM
4. Team approach: The use of teams for problem solving and to achieve
consensus takes advantage of group synergy, gets people involved, and
promotes a spirit of cooperation and shared values among employees.

5. Decisions based on facts rather than opinions. Management gathers and

analyzes data as a basis for decision making.

6. Supplier quality. Suppliers must be included in quality assurance and

quality improvement efforts so that their processes are capable of delivering
quality parts and materials in a timely manner.

7. Quality at the source. Quality at the source refers to the philosophy of

making each worker responsible for the quality of his or her work.
 Total Quality management
 Six Sigma
The term six sigma has several meanings. Statistically, six sigma means
having no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities in any process,
product, or service. Conceptually, the term is much broader, referring to a
program designed to reduce the occurrence of defects to achieve lower
costs and improved customer satisfaction.

Motorola pioneered the concept of a six-sigma program in the 1980s.

Since then, many other companies have developed their own six-sigma
programs, including General Electric, Texas Instruments, Eastman Kodak,
and Allied Signal.
 Total Quality management
 Obstacles to implementing TQM
1. Lack of a companywide definition of quality: Efforts aren’t coordinated;
people are working at cross-purposes, addressing different issues, and
using different measures of
success.
2. Lack of a strategic plan for change: Without such a plan the chance of
success is lessened and the need to address strategic implications of
change is ignored.
3. Lack of a customer focus: Without a customer focus, there is a risk of
customer dissatisfaction.
4. Poor intraorganizational communication: The left hand doesn’t know
what the right hand is doing; frustration, waste, and confusion ensue.
 Total Quality management
 Obstacles to implementing TQM
5. Lack of employee empowerment: Not empowering employees gives the
impression of not trusting employees to fix problems, adds red tape, and delays
solutions.

6. View of quality as a “quick fix”: Quality needs to be a long-term, continuing.

7. Emphasis on short-term financial results: “Duct-tape” solutions often treat

symptoms; spend a little now—a lot more later

8. Lack of strong motivation: Managers need to make sure employees are

motivated
9. Lack of time to devote to quality initiatives: Don’t add more work without
adding additional resources
 Total Quality management
 The Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle

The plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle,

also referred to as either the Shewhart
cycle or the Deming wheel, is the
conceptual basis for problem-solving
activities. Plan DO

Act Study
 Total Quality management
 The Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle
1. Plan: Begin by studying the current process. Document that process. Then
collect data on the process or problem. Next, analyze the data and develop a
plan for improvement. Specify measures for evaluating the plan.

2. Do: Implement the plan, on a small scale if possible. Document any changes
made during this phase. Collect data systematically for evaluation.

3. Study: Evaluate the data collection during the do phase. Check how closely
the results match the original goals of the plan phase.

4. 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. If the results are unsuccessful, revise
the plan and repeat the process or cease this project.
 Total Quality management
 Quality Tools
• Flowchart
A flowchart is a visual representation of a process. As a problem-solving
tool, a flowchart can help investigators in identifying possible points in a
process where problems occur. The diamond shapes in the flowchart
represent decision points in the process, and the rectangular shapes
represent procedures.
 Total Quality management
 Quality Tools
• Check Sheets
A check sheet is a simple tool frequently used for problem identification.
Check sheets provide a format that enables users to record and organize
data in a way that facilitates collection and analysis. This format might be one
of simple checkmarks. Check sheets are designed on the basis of what the
users are attempting to learn by collecting data.
 Total Quality management
 Quality Tools
• Histogram
A histogram is used to summarize discrete or continuous data. In other words, it
provides a visual interpretation of numerical data by showing the number of data
points that fall within a specified range of values (called “bins”). It is similar to a
vertical bar graph. However, a histogram, unlike a vertical bar graph, shows no gaps
between the bars.
 Total Quality management
 Quality Tools
• Pareto chart

Pareto analysis is a technique for focusing attention on the most important

problem areas. The Pareto concept, named after the 19th-century Italian
economist Vilfredo Pareto, is that a relatively few factors generally account
for a large percentage of the total cases (e.g., complaints, defects, problems).
The idea is to classify the cases according to degree of importance and focus
on resolving the most important, leaving the less important.
 Total Quality management
 Quality Tools
 Total Quality management
 Quality Tools

Frequency of
Type of Defect Defect % of Total Cumulative %

Button Defect 23 39.0 39.0

Pocket Defect 16 27.1 66.1

Collar Defect 10 16.9 83.1

Cuff Defect 7 11.9 95.0

Sleeve Defect 3 5.1 100

Total 59
 Total Quality management
 Quality Tools
• Scatter Diagram
A scatter diagram can be useful in
deciding if there is a correlation between
the values of two variables. A correlation
may point to a cause of a problem. The

Number of error
following diagram shows the relationship
between humidity and error rate. In this
particular diagram, there is a positive
(upward sloping) relationship between
the humidity and the number of errors
per hour. High values of humidity
correspond to high numbers of errors,
and vice versa.
 Total Quality management
 Quality Tools
• Cause –and –effect Diagram
A Cause and Effect Diagram is a
graphical tool for displaying a list of
causes associated with a specific
effect. offers a structured approach
to the search for the possible
cause(s) of a problem. It is also
known as a fishbone diagram
because of its shape, or an
Ishikawa diagram, This tool helps
to organize problem-solving efforts
by identifying categories of factors
that might be causing problems