Module 6: Continuous Improvement/Quality Management and Technologies

total quality management

A philosophy that involves everyone in an organization in a continual effort to improve quality and achieve customer satisfaction.

quality of conformance

defined by the absence of defects

quality of design

The degree to which the output of an operation meets the customer's expectations with product's characteristics and features

customer requirements

The needs and expectations of the customer, shaped by quality of design which captures fitness for use (product needs to solve customer needs)

conformance to requirements

Project processes and products that meet written specifications; responsibility of MFG organizations; within sphere of control

transcendent quality

An ideal; an condition of excellence.

product-based quality

A view of quality, relates to the grade of the product.

user-based quality

user's expectations of how a product should perform, features, aesthetics, conformance to specs, services

reliability

performance consistency; how long the unit lasts

durability

resistance to wear and tear

maintainability

ability to repair unit if it fails

manufacturing-based quality

conformance to requirements and quality of conformance; MFG responsibility

value-based quality

value for money; relative to competition and perceptions

cost of poor quality

The costs associated with performing a task incorrectly and/or generating unacceptable output; includes the costs of nonconformities, inefficient processes, and lost opportunities.

quality costs

The overall costs associated with prevention activities and the improvement of quality throughout the firm before, during, and after production of a product.

costs of failure

The cost of producing material that does not meet specifications
- internal
- external

external costs of failure

Those identified after the product or service has been delivered to the customer. Includes things like warranty fulfillment, liability costs and the potential of a loss of business.

field service

Functions of installing and maintaining a product for a customer after the sale or during the lease; may also include training and implementation assistance

costs of internal failure

cost of things that go wrong before product reaches customer; includes scrap, rework, retesting, downtime, yield losses, managing defective materials

quality control

measuring quality conformance by comparing the actual with a standard for the characteristic and taking corrective actions on the difference

quality assurance

The maintenance of a desired level of quality in a service or product; measures conformance to process, policy or procedure

appraisal costs

costs for inspections, calibration of equipment, product testing, quality audits

prevention costs

cost caused by improvement activities that focus on reduction of failure and appraisal costs; includes education, quality training, supplier certification, preventive maintenance, quality planning, statistical process control, cost of devoting time to improvement

preventative maintenance

activities that forestall machine breakdowns; includes adjustments, replacements, basic cleanliness

bell-shaped curve

demonstrates central tendency that most processes exhibit with a mean value as center and values above/below as std deviations

management champion

a manager who acts as a supporter and sponsor of a technical champion to shield and promote an idea within the organization

quality function deployment

Methodology designed to ensure that all the major requirements of the customer are identified and subsequently met or exceeded through the resulting product design process and design/operation of the supporting production management system

voice of customer

actual customer descriptions in words for functions and features desired

house of quality

a matrix that helps a product design team translate customer requirements into operating and engineering goals

Identification of customer attributes
Identification of supporting technical features
Correlation of the customer attributes with the supporting technical features
Assignment of priorities to the customer requirements and technical features
Evaluation of competitive stances and competitive products
Identification of those technical features to be used in the final design of the product

benchmarking

Comparing products, processes and services to those of another organization with superior performance ⇒ may or may not be a competitor/in the same industry

lean

Production philosophy that emphasizes minimization of resources used in various activities that involves identifying and eliminating non-value-adding activities in design, production, supply chain mgmt and dealing with customers

house of lean

Aka house of Toyota ⇒ framework that uses metaphor of a house; Philosophy ⇒ organizations/individuals wanting benefits must see big picture + fully integrate all components in order to be successful

muda

waste and inefficiency; in lean manufacturing, costs are reduced by reducing waste within a system

mura

unevenness or variability

muri

strain or overburden

shingo's seven wastes

Shigeo Shingo, a pioneer in the Japanese just-in-time philosophy, identified seven barriers to improving manufacturing. They are the waste of overproduction, waste of waiting, waste of transportation, waste of stocks, waste of motion, waste of making defects, and waste of the processing itself.

gemba

place where humans create value, the real workplace

genchi genbutsu

phrase meaning to visit the shop floor to observe what is occurring

just in time

a logistics process in which goods arrive when needed for production, use, or sale rather than sitting in storage to improve quality to zero defects, to reduce lead times by reducing setup times/queue lengths/lot sizes, incrementally revise operations, accomplish activities at minimum cost

takt time

sets pace of production to match rate of customer demand and becomes heartbeat of lean production system (Available production time divided by rate of customer demand)

heijunka

approach to level production throughout supply chain to match planned rate of end product sales

one-piece flow

approach to level production throughout supply chain to match planned rate of end product sales; method requires removing constraints that keep small or individual unit batches from being economical

product mix

proportion of individual products that make up total production or sales volume

quick changeover

ability to shorten machine setups between different machine operation requirements to increase process flexibility

process flexibility

design of MFG system that allows quick changeovers to respond to near-term changes in product volume/mix

operator flexibility

training machine workers to perform tasks outside their immediate jobs and in problem-solving techniques to improve process flexibility

kanban

method of JIT that uses standard containers/lot sizes with a card attached to each

one-card kanban system

Kanban system where only a move card is used; work centers are adjacent so no production card is needed

two-card kanban system

a special form of the kanban system that used 1 card to control production and another card to control movement of materials

jidoka

automatically stopping the process when something is wrong and then fixing the problems on the line itself as they occur; idea is to correct the first instance of defect by fixing the root cause

poka-yoke

mistake-proofing methods aimed at designing fail-safe systems that minimize human error

total productive maintenance

A Lean equipment maintenance strategy for maximizing overall equipment effectiveness in support of preventing quality problems or downtime while minimizing process interruption.

hoshin planning

Breakthrough planning; Japanese strategic planning process in which a company develops up to four vision statements that indicate where the company should be in the next five years

plan-do-check-action

a 4-step process for quality improvement
1.) plan: plan to effect improvement is developed
2.) do: plan is carried out
3.) check: effects of plan are observed
4.)action: results are studied to determine what can be learned

kaizen

continuous improvement

kaizen event

time-boxed set of activities carried out by the cell team during the week of cell implementation

kaizen blitz

A rapid improvement of a limited process area, for example, a production cell

value stream

A series of steps an organization undertakes to create and deliver products and services to consumers.

value stream mapping

a graphical way to analyze where value is or is not being added as material flows through a process; includes current process, flow, value-added, non-value-added time of process steps

5 Ss

five terms beginning with S to create a workplace suitable for lean production (sort, straighten, shine, standardize, sustain)

six sigma

A business process for improving quality, reducing costs, and increasing customer satisfaction; intent is to decrease process variation and improve product quality

lean six sigma

A methodology that combines the organizational elements and tools of Six Sigma with Lean's focus on waste reduction

DMAIC

A six-sigma process: define, measure, analyze, improve, and control.

continuous process improvement

increases the quality of work by reducing errors, inefficiencies, and waste

employee involvement

concept or using experience, creative energy, and intelligence of all employees by treating them with respect, keeping them informed and including them and their ideas in decision-making processes

employee empowerment

practice of giving non-managerial employees the responsibility and power to make decisions regarding their jobs or tasks

check sheet

a sheet used to record how frequently a certain event occurs

pareto chart

a bar graph whose bars are drawn in decreasing order of frequency or relative frequency

cause-and-effect diagram

Diagram that maps out a list of factors that are thought to affect a problem or a desired outcome (ishikawa)

flowchart

A diagram that shows step-by-step progression through a procedure or system especially using connecting lines and a set of conventional symbols.

process flow diagram

a graphic technique for mapping activities and their interrelationships in an operating process

cross-functional flowchart

flowchart where functional areas are shown in rows or columns so it is easy to see which department does which part of a process (swimlane)

histogram

graph of vertical bars representing a frequency distribution in which groups/classes are on X axis and number of items is on Y axis; allows people to see patterns that are difficult to see in a simple table of numbers

statistical process control chart

A type of run chart that includes both upper and lower control limits and indicates whether a process is stable or unstable

process capability

ability of the process to produce parts that conform to engineering specs

tolerance

allowable departure from a nominal value established by design engineers that is deemed acceptable for the functioning of the good or service over its life cycle

spread

variability of an action, often measured by range/std dev

control chart

graphic comparison of process performance data with predetermined computed control limits

control limit

a control chart boundary, where values observed beyond this limit signal the process is not in control

P-chart

percentage chart that can be used to show percentages of sample averages exhibiting a given characteristic as tracked over time

scatter diagram

a graph that shows the degree and direction of relationship between two variables

root cause analysis

An analytical technique used to determine the basic underlying reason that causes a variance or a defect or a risk

five whys

An approach used during the narrow phase of root cause analysis, in which teams brainstorm successive answers to the question "Why is this a cause of the original problem?"

supplier audit

A means of keeping current on suppliers' production (or service) capabilities, quality and delivery problems and resolutions, and performance on other criteria

electronic data interchange

electronic exchange of trading documents using standardized document formats (ex. POs, shipment authorizations, advanced shipment notices, invoices)

master data

A set of core data, such as customer, product, employee, vendor, geographic location, and so on, that spans an enterprise's information systems.

master data management

A process that provides companies with the ability to store, maintain, exchange, and synchronize a consistent, accurate, and timely "single version of the truth" for the company's core master data.

data governance

the overall management of the availability, usability, integrity, and security of company data

cloud computing

A system in which all computer programs and data is stored on a central server owned by a company (e.g. Google) and accessed virtually. Used for outsourcing of non-core IT infrastructure with lower implementation costs, faster time to value, vendor-managed automatic upgrades, and supply chain partner participation for real-time visibility.

blockchain

A distributed ledger that uses advanced mathematical processing to ensure that the versions remain identical to allow multiple participants while preventing record alteration. Used for cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, chain of custody, and supply chain data (e.g., temperature recording in cold chain, pharmaceutical tracking).

internet of things

an environment in which objects, animals or people are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. Used for location tracking, chain of custody, other data updating, maintenance needs, and maintenance records.

artificial intelligence

Advanced software capable of self-improvement (AI). Used for predictive analytics, decision support systems, pattern detection (e.g., fraud, bottlenecks), and continuous process improvement through optimization algorithms (e.g., inventory optimization).

machine learning

Advanced software capable of mimicking human decision making; relies on preset logic, policies, and controls. Used for predictive analytics, decision support systems, pattern detection (e.g., fraud, bottlenecks), and continuous process improvement through optimization algorithms (e.g., inventory optimization).

sensors and telematics

Remote sensing and remote control technologies that use photosensors, radio frequency identification (RFID), lasers, and so on to provide automated data capture and control from a remote control center. Used for process automation, bar code scanning, RFID sensing, asset tracking, item or vehicle rerouting, asset utilization, and end-to-end monitoring of shipments.

3D printing

Printing on demand of 3D objects based on 3D digital model, typically by adding a material such as plastic or metal one minute layer at a time. Used for rapid prototyping, make-to-order for items with low demand (especially in aerospace, medical devices, defense, and automotive and consumer products), and manufacturing at point of demand.

wearable technology

Smart devices that a person can wear or have implanted. Used for directed warehouse picking and put-away (location and item data for fewer errors and more efficient routes) and smart phone extensions.

augmented reality

Hands-free devices integrated into information systems (e.g., warehouse management systems), including smart glasses that feature AR. AR overlays instructions or graphics on top of normal vision to provide guidance. Used for directed warehouse picking and put-away (location and item data for fewer errors and more efficient routes) and smart phone extensions.

robotic process automation

use of software "bots" to automate repetitive interactions with customers or other automated systems. Used for automated emails, responses to FAQ/service inquiries, or automated chat functions (reduces labor costs).

autonomous vehicles

Vehicles for use in manufacturing or warehousing that navigate using markers, wires, vision sensors, etc. Used for materials handling, work-in-process movement, picking, and put-away (reduces labor, controls inventory, and improves safety and efficiency).

drones

Unmanned aircraft with sensor packages. Used for tracking assets in yards, pipeline inspection, or inspection of difficult-to-access areas.