Chapter 6:Quality Circle

Dr.ShyamalGomes

HistoricalBackground:TheConcept
Dr.K.IshikawastartedQualityControlCircles(knownasQualityCirclesinIndiaandin
manynations)originallyfortheselfandmutualdevelopmentoftheworkmen.Theyar
ealsoaverylogicaloutcomeoftheJapanesedrivefortrainingandaccomplishmentinq
ualitycontrolandqualityimprovement.
Fromtheearly1950's,JapaneselearntfromtheseedcoursesofDr.E.Deming'sonstat
isticalmethodsforqualitycontrolandDr.J.Juran'scoursesonQualityManagement.W
ithzealforlearningandselfsufficiency,theyvigorouslypromotedqualityeducationbylocalexpertsacrosstheirc
ountry.Itbeganwithmassiveeducationofengineers,andthentopandmiddlemanag
ers,supervisorylevels.
Undertheirsystemoforganisingwork,itbecamelogicaltoextendtrainingonqualityt
otheGemba-cho',the'leadinghand'oftheworkersinasection.Dr.Kaoru
Ishikawaandhisassociatesrealisedthe
immensepotentialoffrontlineemployees.Itisnotonlythebestwaytohelppeopletod
eveloptheirownpotentialbutalsofromtheorganisationpointofviewforcontributiont
hroughtraining,developmentandmotivationforqualitycontrolandimprovement.
Thetrainingfeaturedintradepartmentalgroupsof10orsoworkersseatedaroundata
bleandhencethename'QCCircle'.Thisthoughtrevolutionhasbeenofimmensebenef
ittoJapanasacountry,totheJapaneseorganisationsthatadopteditandtomostofthe
ASEANcountrieswhohavebeenpursuingit.
Problemsolvingwasnomoretheexclusivepurviewofsupervisorsandmanagers(wit
hworkersonlytodoastold)butthepeoplewhoareperformingthetasksatworkplacea
retrainedandempoweredtosolveworkrelatedproblemsandrecommendsolutions.
PersonsbecomingmembersofQualityCirclesrealiseanddeveloptheirpotential,indi
viduallyandingroups,acquiringnewskillsandcompetencies.Suchcompetenciesonl
ywillhelptoimprovetheirperformanceandcapabilitiesfortheirownbetterment.
ROADMAPRECOMMENDEDANDUSEDBYQCFIFORTHISPROCESS
Assessmentoftheprevalentconditionsintheorganisation/units/divisionsthro
ughasurvey.
Exposureprogrammetotopmanagement,seniormanagement,discussiononsurve
yfindingsanddecisionsfornextsteps.
Formationof a Quality Council/SteeringCommitteeand choiceof the

coordinatorandfacilitators;rolesandresponsibilitiesofeach.
Workingoutanactionplanandschedule,takingcaretoincorporate.
Keyconcernsarisingfromthesurveyfindingsandactionsagreedupon.
Developingfacilitatorsandinternaltrainersthroughintensivetraining.
Exposuretoallthesupervisory/middlemanagementpersonnel,fromareaswh
ereQualityCirclesaretobestarted.
Exposuretoalltheworkmeninthedivision/unitwhereinitiallycircleformationis
aimedatformationoftheinitialCircles,educationandtrainingtoallthemember
softheCirclesontheprocesses,tools,techniques,maintenanceofrecords,etc.
Guidingandtroubleshootingintheimplementationstagebyattendingmonthly
reviewmeetingsofthesteeringcommittee/qualitycouncilforthefirst6months
andbi-monthly,afterwards

Whatisqualitycircle?
Agroupofemployeeswhoperformsimilardutiesandmeetatperiodicintervals,oft
enwithmanagement,todiscussworkrelatedissuesandtooffersuggestionsandideasforimprovements,asinproducti
onmethodsor
quality
control,
called
quality
circle.
Thereforequalitycircleisnothingbutasmallgroupofemployeeswhocometogethertodiscus
swiththemanagementissuesrelatedtoeitherqualitycontrolorimprovementinproductionm
ethodsformaQualityControlCircle(QCC).Theseemployeesusuallyworkinthesameareas
,andvoluntarilymeetonaregularbasistoidentify,analyzeandsolve their problems.
Key Characteristicsofqualitycircle:

A circle,usuallyconsistingof6-8members,fromthesame section.

Membershipof a QualityCircleisvoluntary.

Circlemembersshouldmeetregularly,ideallyonceaweek,inparticularplacealsoin
particulartime.
Circlemembersselectanamefortheircircleinthefirstmeetingandelectaleader to
conduct the meetings.
Membersarespeciallytrainedinproblemsolvingandanalysistechniquesinorder to
play their role effectively.
Circleworks ona systematic basisto identifyandsolvework relatedproblems for
improving qualityand productivitynotjustdiscussingthem.
Themanagementmustensurethatsolutionsareimplementedquicklyoncethey
havebeenaccepted

The management mustgive appropriateand properrecognitionto solution

WhyQualityCircle:
Itissaidthat95%oftheproblemsinworkshopscanbesolvedthroughqualitycontr
oltools.TheJapanesehaveexperiencedthis!
ThequalitycontroltoolsusefulforQCCsare
ParetoDiagrams,Cause-andEffectDiagrams,Stratification,CheckSheets,Histograms,ScatterDiagrams,Gr
aphsandControlCharts.Also,logicalthinkingandexperienceareamustforsolvin
gproblems.ThereforethemainobjectivesofQCare:
Toimprovequalityandproductivity.

Toreducethecostofproductsorservicesbywastereduction,safety,effecti
veutilizationofresources,avoidingunnecessaryerrorsanddefects.
Toidentifyand
solve
work-related
problems
andinterferewithproductionasateam.
Totapthecreativeintelligenceofpeopleworkingintheorg.andmakefullus
eofhumanresources.
Toimprovecommunicationwithintheorganization.
Toimproveemployeesloyaltyandcommitmenttotheorganizationanditsg
oals.(PromotingMoraleofemployees)
Tobuildahappy,bright,meaningfulworkenvironment.
Tosatisfythehumanneedsofrecognition,achievementandselfdevelopm
ent

Thebenefitsofintroducingaqualitycontrolcircleprogramint
heworkplacearemany.

Heightenedqualityawarenessrevealsfaultsinthesystemthatmightobstr

uctgoodpractices.
Itimproves
thequalityofyourfirmsproductsandservices,therebyincreasingthevalu
eofyourbrand,andsecuringyourcustomersconfidence.Thequalityofcus
tomerrelationshipmanagementcanbefurtherenhancedbyusinghelpdes
ksoftwarefromthelikesofprosoftware.

The

people

who

arepart

ofthequalitycontrolcircle

will

feelasenseofownershipfortheproject.Higheryieldsandlowerrejectionra
tesalsoresultinenhancedjobsatisfactionforworkers,whichinturndrivest
hemtocontributemore.
Aqualitycontrolcircleprogramalsobringsaboutimproved
two-

waycommunicationbetweenthestaffandthemanagement.
Finally,thefinancialbenefits
willcertainly
exceedthe

costs

ofimplementingtheprogram.Astudyrevealedthatsomecompaniesimpro
vedtheirsavingstenfold!
BasicOrganizationalStructureofQC:
Aqualitycircleshouldhaveanappropriateorganizationalstructureforitseffec
tiveandefficientperformance.Thestructuremayvaryfromoneorg.toanother
,butitisusefultohavebasicframeworkasamodel:

Inatypicalorganization,thestructureofaQCmayconsistofthefollowingelem
ents:

1. Steeringcommittee
Gen.manager/worksmanager,rep.fromtopmanagement,rep.ofhuman
resourcedevelopmentandarep.ofemployeesunion.
2. Coordinator:anadministrativeofficer/personnelofficerfrommiddlelev
elmanagement.
3. Facilitator:seniorsupervisoryofficer/foreman.Afacilitatormaymanage
upto10circles.Afacilitatorisusuallyfromoneofthethreedepartments
qualitycontrol,productionortraining.
4. Circle
Leader:circleleadersmaybefromthelowestlevelofsupervisors.Acirclele
aderorganisesandconductscircleactivities.
5. Circlemembers:lineand/orstaffworkers(circlemembersshouldattend
allmeetingsasfaraspossible,offersuggestionsandideas,participateactiv
elyingroupprocesses,andattaintrainingseriously.
Howtoimplementqualitycircle:

Firstly,themanagementisinformedaboutthequalitycontrolcircleprocess

thatisbeingplanned.
Acommitteeisformed,andkeypersonssuchasacoordinatorandin-

housecoachareselected.
Thescopeisdefined,andareasofapplicationidentified.

First-

linesupervisorsintheidentifiedareasaregivenQCCpresentations.Itisimp
ortanttomaketheseimpressive,andvaluabletipsonthesubjectareavaila
ble.
Thisisfollowedupwithextensivetrainingforcoordinatorsandmiddlemana

gementontheprocessandtheirroles.
Employeesareinvitedtobecomemembersofacircle,andtrainedsuitablyo

ncetheysignup.Thus,acircleisformedandbeginswork.Thesemaygiveris
etoothercircles.
ProblemsarediscussedandsolvedinasystematicmannerintheQCCs.Itis
veryimportantthatsolutionsareimplementedasquicklyaspossible,toma
intainthemomentum.

UsuallyQCCprograms
mustoperateinallsections
ofthe
company
i.e.,intheoffices,serviceoperationsandmanufacturing.Butremember,whilethe
sizeofthecompanyisnotimportanttoaprogram'ssuccess,thefollowingfactorsc
ertainlyare:

Voluntaryparticipation.

Managementsupport.

Employeeempowerment.

Trainingprograms.

Teamwork.

Problemsolvingskills.

Conclusion:
Generally,aqualitycontrolcircleprogramrequiresthesameframeworkasanI
SO9000qualitystandardwithregardtothemanagementstructureandtrainin
g.Hence,QCCsshouldbepartandparcelofyourcompany'sTotalQualityMana
gement(TQM)initiative.However,QCfollowedsomeethics,thoseare:

Criticiseideas,notpersons.

Theonlystupidquestionistheonethatisnotasked.

Everyoneintheteamisresponsiblefortheteamsprogress.

Beopentoothersideas.

Pay,termsofemploymentandothernegotiableitemsareexcluded.
LimitationORwhenQCisinactive?

InadequateTraining
UnsureofPurpose
NottrulyVoluntary
LackofManagementInterest
QualityCirclesarenotreallyempoweredtomakedecisions.
Toomanysuggestions.
SomesuccessfulexampleofQualityCircleinIndianIndustries:
HeroHondaMotorshaspromotedtheSunriseQualityCircleandsolv
etheproblemofunsuccessfulindicatorssuppliedbyalocalmanufacturer.T
heindicatorswouldalwaysfailinthefieldofoperationendangeringtherider
sofHondabikesandbringingdownthecompanysreputation.TheSunrise
QCtackledtheproblemafteraninvestigationwhereinthemembersfoundt
hattheindicatorsfaileddue toagap in the contactpoints.Afewchanges
in theangleofthepiececoncernedanduseoffoolprooftoolsledtosavingRs.

80,000peryear.Italsohelpedinincreasingcustomersatisfactionandimpr
ovingthereputationofthecompany.
TheTATARefractoriesLimitedBelpahar,Orissa,haspromotedtheNih
arikaQC.Thesweepersfoundthatusingbrushfibrebristle
was
moreeffectivein
cleaningofoilspillsinthemaintenancedepartmentwheretheyworkedReusingofplasticbrushfibresfromToyotaVacuumcleanerofthedepartment
enabledthemtosaveRs.4000perannumbesidesleadingtobetterhouseke
epingandsafeworkingconditions.