C720 Section 2: Quality Management key terms

Benchmarking

compare performance to other companies with the purpose of setting a standard based on the recognized best

Cause and effect diagrams

shows impact of various inputs helps to isolate root cause of problems

Check sheets

record data points in real-time at the site where data is generated

Commercial trust

trust a supplier and client has for eachother

Continuous process improvement

continuously seeking ways to improve process

Control charts

graphical depictions of process output where raw data is plotted in real time within Upper control limits (UCL) and Lower control limits (LCL)

Costs of quality

determine costs associated with producing and maintaining quality products

Internal failure costs

associated with defects found before product reaches customer

external failure costs

incurred after a product has reached the customer

Appraisal costs

incurred to measure quality, customer satisfaction, inspect and test products

Prevention costs

caused by activities designed to prevent defects from occurring

Design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA)

products should be designed simple and inexpensive to produce

DMADV (DFSS - design for Six Sigma)

used for new products / processes includes 5 steps : define, measure, analyze, design, verify

DMAIC

Six Sigma process follows 5 steps: define, measure, analyze, improve, control

Define

use project charter to define a problem. can involve voice of customer

Measure

accomplished with a process map of activities performed at each step

Analyze

charts / diagrams used to visualize frequency of problems, defects to determine root cause

Improve

current process is changed

Control

Maintaining and standardizing the performance

Documentation

putting standardized procedure into writing

Employee empowerment

involves employees in every step

Employee training

emphasizes importance of training employees to use tools of statistical process control

External customers

customers outside the company

External orientation of quality

fitness for use or capacity to satisfy customers needs

Flow chart

diagram depicting process, system, computer algorithm. breakdown of essential steps to solve a problem.

Focus groups

customers are contacted to discuss wants, needs, expectations

Focus on the customer

customer defines whether or not products are high quality.

Group decision-making

helps build commitment to the selected alternative

Histogram

demonstrates the frequency of data

Inspection

assessment of the quality of goods

Internal customers

another functional area inside the organization

Internal orientation of quality

directly measures characteristics of the product

Pareto chart

values in descending order to visualize most frequent occurrences

Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle

philosophy of continuous improvement

Plan

before making any changes, make sure everything is documented

Do

Implement the plan and document changes made

Check

Analyze revised process to determine if goals were achieved

Act

if goals were achieved then document and standardize, communicate results.

Problem statement

concise verbal statement of the problem

Product design

how the product functions

Process design

how the product is produced

Process performance

performance of the plan created during process and product design

Product quality

the extent the product successfully serves the purpose of the user

Quality

degree product conforms to design specifications

Quality of goods

focuses on factors critical in determining quality because they design and build the product

Performance

primary operating characteristics of product

Features

secondary characteristics that supplement product

Reliability

length of time a product will function before failure

Conformance

degree a products design and characteristics match pre-established standards

Durability

ability of product to functin when subjected to hard and frequent use

Serviceability

speed, courtesy, competence of repair

Aesthetics

how a product looks, feels, sounds, tastes, smells

Perceived quality

image, advertising, brand of product

Scatter plot

displays relationship between two variables

Service performance

organization seeks to known more about their suppliers satisfaction and capabilities

Service quality

focuses on 5 dimensions of quality used by customers to judge:

Service Reliability

Responsiveness

Assurance

Empathy

Tangibles

Service reliability

ability to perform promised service

Responsiveness

willingness to help

Assurance

Knowledge and courtesy of employees

Empathy

Provision of caring, individualized attention

Tangibles

physical facilities, equipment, materials

Six Sigma

collection of ideas to improve quality of service by using tools to identify root cause

Standardization

developing a preset procedure

Statistical process control (SPC)

statistical methods to determine when a process is close to producing an unacceptable level of defects

Team problem solving

team efforts that allows different viewpoints

Total quality management (TQM)

approach to quality management that originated in Japan.