Operations Management and Quality Control Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering Total Quality Management, Quality Gurus, SQC, Operations Processes, Scheduling, JIT, Capacity Planning, and Quality Standards.

Total Quality Management (TQM) Philosophy

A management philosophy that seeks to improve quality by eliminating causes of defects.

Fitness for Use

A standard of quality evaluating how well a product performs.

Value for Price Paid

A standard of quality evaluating a product or service's usefulness relative to the price paid.

Support Service

A standard of quality defined as the support provided after a product is purchased.

Psych Criteria

A standard of quality based on judgmental evaluation of what constitutes product or service excellence.

Shewart

Quality guru who addressed process variability and developed the concept of statistical control charts.

Deming

Quality guru who stressed management's responsibility for quality and developed "14 Points" to guide companies in quality improvement.

Juran

Quality guru who defined quality as fitness for use and developed the Cost Quality concept.

Feigenbaum

Quality guru associated with Total Quality Control.

Crosby

Quality guru known for the phrase "Quality is free" and the zero defects concept.

Ishikawa

Quality guru who developed cause and effect diagrams and emphasized the concept of the internal customer.

Taguchi

Quality guru focused on product design quality and the Taguchi loss function.

Cause-Effect Diagram

Also known as a "Fishbone" diagram; a quality control tool used to identify potential quality problems through brainstorming.

Flow Chart

A quality control tool that documents detailed steps in a process.

Checklist

A quality control tool used to identify the type of quality problems at each work station.

Control Chart

A statistical process control tool using Upper Control Limit (UCL) and Lower Control Limit (LCL) to show when a process is in or out of control.

Scatter Diagram

A quality control tool that shows how two variables relate to one another.

Pareto Analysis

A quality control tool that identifies problems based on degree of importance using the 80-20 rule ($80\%$ of problems are caused by $20\%$ of causes).

Histogram

A quality tool showing frequency distribution and displaying whether data is symmetrical or skewed.

Prevention Costs

A cost of quality involving the cost of preparing and implementing a quality plan.

Appraisal Costs

A cost of quality associated with testing, evaluating, and inspecting.

Internal Failure Costs

A cost of quality associated with scrap, rework, and wasted material.

External Failure Costs

A cost of quality associated with failure at the customer site, returns, repairs, and recalls.

Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle

A continuous improvement cycle consisting of Plan (evaluate process/plan), Do (implement/document/collect data), Study (evaluate data), and Act (communicate results/implement new procedure).

Statistical Quality Control (SQC)

A general category of statistical tools used to evaluate organizational quality.

Common Causes of Variation

Random, unavoidable causes of variation that cannot be identified.

Assignable Causes of Variation

Causes of variation that can be identified and corrected, such as poor training or a worn tool.

Process Capability

The ability of a production process to meet or exceed preset specifications.

Process Capability Index ($C_p$)

An index used to measure process capability, calculated as $C_p = \frac{\text{spec width}}{\text{process width}}$.

Six Sigma

A high level of quality associated with $3.4$ defective parts per million.

Six Sigma Five-Step Plan

The DMAIC improvement framework: Define (quality problem), Measure (current performance), Analyze (identify root cause), Improve (eliminate root cause), and Control (ensure improvements continue).

Capacity Planning

The process of establishing the output rate that can be achieved at a facility.

Design Capacity

Maximum output rate under ideal conditions, which can only be sustained for a short period of time.

Effective Capacity

Maximum output rate under normal conditions; usually lower than design capacity and more realistic.

Location Analysis

Techniques for determining location decisions based on factors such as proximity to customers, suppliers, and labor.

Intermittent Operations

Operations used to produce a variety of products with different processing requirements in low volumes (e.g., project processes and batch processes).

Repetitive Operations

Processes used to produce one or a few standard products in high volume (e.g., line processes and continuous processes).

Throughput Time

The average amount of time a product takes to move through the system.

Process Velocity

A measure of wasted time in a system calculated as $\text{Process velocity} = \frac{\text{throughput time}}{\text{value-added time}}$.

Productivity

A measure of how well a company uses resources, calculated as $\text{Productivity} = \frac{\text{output}}{\text{input}}$.

Utilization

The proportion of time a resource is used, calculated as $\text{Utilization} = \frac{\text{time resource used}}{\text{time resource available}}$.

Process Layout

A facility layout grouping resources based on similar processes or functions, characterized by producing large numbers of different products, general-purpose resources, and labor intensity.

Product Layout

A facility layout where resources are laid out in sequence to produce a small number of products efficiently; it is capital intensive with specialized resources.

Work System Design

Focuses on job design, work measurement, and worker compensation to ensure jobs add value to the company.

Finite Loading

Scheduling method that loads up jobs to a pre-determined capacity level using a prioritized list of jobs; tends to break down long term.

Infinite Loading

Scheduling method that calculates capacity needed at work centers in a required time period without regard to capacity to do the work.

Technical Feasibility

A job design factor requiring that jobs must be physically and mentally doable.

Economic Feasibility

A job design factor requiring that the cost of performing a job is less than the value it adds.

Behavioral Feasibility

A job design factor measuring the degree to which a job is intrinsically satisfying to the employee.

Standard Time

Time used to develop product cost, evaluate materials/techniques, plan production schedules, and measure worker proficiency.

Forward Scheduling

A scheduling method that determines the earliest possible completion for a job by starting processing immediately regardless of due date.

Backward Scheduling

A scheduling method that starts with the due date and works backward to determine the start date for an activity.

Just In Time (JIT) Philosophy

A philosophy focused on producing the right quantity of goods, at the right place, at the right time, with the ultimate goal of waste elimination.

Push System

A system that anticipates future demand and produces in advance to have inventory in place when demand occurs.

Pull System

A system used in JIT where precise amounts of materials are requested as needed.

Tier 1 Suppliers

External suppliers that supply materials directly to the processor.

Tier 2 Suppliers

External suppliers that supply materials to Tier 1 suppliers.

Tier 3 Suppliers

External suppliers that supply materials to Tier 2 suppliers.

Aggregate Plan

A plan that includes budgeted levels of finished products, inventory, backlogs, workforce size, and aggregate production rate needed to support the marketing plan.

Level Aggregate Plan

An aggregate plan that produces the same quantity each time period, utilizing inventory and backorders to absorb demand fluctuations.

Chase Aggregate Plan

An aggregate plan that varies production to meet demand in each period, typically using hiring and firing.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

A system that integrates internal and external members of the supply chain.

Independent Demand

Demand for finished products that needs to be forecasted and does not depend on demand for other products.

Dependent Demand

Demand for components or materials derived directly from demand for finished products.

Job Enlargement

Increasing the horizontal scope of work assigned to an employee.

Job Enrichment

Increasing worker responsibility and vertical scope of a job.

Job Rotation

Shifting workers between different jobs to increase their understanding of the total process.

Point of Departure

The percentage of normal capacity that a company is currently using.

Strategic Business Plan

A statement of long-range strategy and revenue, cost, and profit objectives.

Financial Plan

Identifies sources and uses of funds, projects cash flows, profits, and return on investment, and provides budgets in support of the strategic business plan.

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)

The process that brings together all functional business plans (marketing, operations, engineering, finance) into one integrated plan.

Critical Chain Approach

A project management method focusing on the final due date based on the theory of constraints.

ISO 9000

A set of international quality standards and certification demonstrating that companies have met all specified standards.

ISO 14000

A set of international standards and certification focusing on a company's environmental responsibility.

ISO 26000

A set of international standards developed to help organizations evaluate and address their social responsibility.

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)

An optimizing method used for determining order quantity and reorder points.

Poka-yoke

Foolproof devices or mechanisms designed to prevent defects from occurring.

Nonbottlenecks

A work center that has more capacity than demand.

Kaizen

A Japanese term describing the notion of a company continually striving to be better through learning and problem solving.

Project Life Cycle Phases

The five core phases of a project: Concept, Feasibility analysis or study, Planning, Execution, and Termination.