NMIMS

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

APPLICABLE FOR JUNE 2022 EXAMINATIONS

1. Discuss how Poka Yoke can be a key element in mistake-proofing a product’s design for
manufacturability, and improving product quality and reliability. Give relevant examples.

Answer:

Total quality management:

Total Quality Management is an approach to every person at every level. Participation and
teamwork, customer focus and continuous improvement are the main elements of the TQM
concept. The implementation of TQM techniques is considered as the absolute solution to
everything, although organizations are unable to adopt the Quality management
philosophies fully, due to many barriers/ hindrance factors that are faced. Different types of
barriers/obstacles may pose a serious threat to organization in implementing and
transforming the organization to quality management and reap the benefits.

Initiating and implementing total quality management programs require great amount of
planning and research. Staff and workers need to get trained in various TQM practices
before implementing the same. There are costs involved with the entire process of total
quality management. It is the manager’s responsibility to allocate budgets for TQM at the
beginning of every financial year. Remember, you can’t crib later on. Read a lot about total
Quality management.

You need to be convinced first why quality is such an important parameter in every
business. If you yourself are not convinced, it would be very difficult for you to convince
other departments for implementing TQM. Know who your customers are? Understand
your target market carefully. Go out, meet customers and find out as to what all they expect
from your brand. Customer feedbacks play an important role in formulating strategies for
total quality management. As a manager; you need to work closely with the senior
management, human resource professionals to develop foolproof implementation
strategies. Remember, a manager has to act as a bridge between the senior management
and the entire workforce.

Poka Yoke (mistake proofing)

Shiego Shingo has also developed the concept of Poka Yoke (Mistake proofing), an
important component of Toyota Production System. Shigeo Shingo defines Poka Yoke as:
Poka - “inadvertent mistake that anyone can make”; Yoke - “to prevent or proof”. Poka Yoke
is defined as a simple, inexpensive device that is non-operator dependent, built into the
production process at the source of operation for the purpose of preventing safety hazards
and quality defects 100% of the time. Poka yoke involves devising behaviour shaping
constraint or methods in which the operations are carried out so that there is no scope for
occurrence of inadvertent mistakes. This method helps to avoid common human errors; this
is simple mistake – proofing process which focuses on two aspects such as predicting and
recognizing that a defect is about to occur, and then providing signals and warning or by
detecting and recognizing the error after it has occurred and then stopping the process so
that no further errors can be done, with the application of Poka Yoke method mistakes can
be avoided and this helps to reduce wastage and enhance quality.

It has many uses for the manufacturing environment, as well as the office environment. It is
used as a technique for commencing a mistake proofing idea into a process and removing
imperfection in the process. His improvement techniques greatly reduce the cost of
manufacturing, which means more products to more people. The manufacturing process is
made more responsive. Thus, new products are more innovative with less defects and
better quality.

Shingo is an undisputed leader of change management. Some of the significant concepts in

the field of quality management developed by Shingo include:
 Mistake proofing (Poka Yoke)
  Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)
 Statistical Quality Control (SQC)
 Zero Defects (ZD)

Objectives:

The goal of manufacturing is to produce value-added products in a timely manner, which is

free of defects. Poke Yoke is applied in fundamental areas. The main objective of Poka Yoke
is to achieve zero defects. It is used to create a system that prevents defects from
occurring, and it used as a system to catch defects, which have just occurred and prevent
them from continuing through the system.

Poka-yoke helps people and processes work right the first time. Poka-yoke refers to
techniques that make it impossible to make mistakes. These techniques can drive defects
out of products and processes and substantially improve quality and reliability. The basic
concept of this is avoiding the problems by correcting the process. Poka yoke is
implemented by using simple objects like fixtures, jigs, gadgets, warning devices, paper
systems, and the like to prevent people from committing mistakes, even if they try to! No
defective part will be passed to the next process.

Examples of Poka Yoke

Alarm systems: They are activated with alarms for security purposes. If an unauthorized
person enters the bank, or the electric circuit of the doorbell catches fire, a warning alarm
rings, which ensures that you can take care of the problem before it gets out of hand.

Fingerprint identification: This is used extensively in biometrics, forensics, detective

agencies, etc. Every fingerprint in the world is unique; no two is ever the same. The device is
such that only the fingerprint of that particular person will be required as input. Trying to
replicate or use some one's fingerprint forcibly will not work either.
Car keys: Cars are protected in the sense that the car keys cannot be removed if the auto
transmission is in an unsafe mode. Also, there is safety device to make sure that the key is in
an 'on' position when the car needs to get out of the parking zone. Some other devices in
this category that use safety mechanisms are radar systems, auto breaking, electronic doors,
traffic alerts, digital security systems, light curtains, electronic baggage tags, electronic
waiter pads, validation testing tools, auto pilots, queue management systems, colour-coded
systems, etc.

2. Maxx Industries produces various consumer products. To overcome the tough

competition from international companies, Maxx decides to understand the customer’s
needs and translate them into its product features and design the product. What strategic
method would you suggest Maxx should adopt? Discuss the process of its deployment.

Answer:

In the given case, Maxx industries decides to understand the customer’s needs and translate
them into its product features and design the product and in this scenario, quality function
deployment method can be adopted.

Quality function deployment:

QFD is a planning process to guide the design, manufacturing and marketing of goods by
integrating the voice of the customer throughout the organization. Through QFD, every
design, manufacturing and control decision is made to meet the expressed needs of
customers. It uses a type of matrix diagram to present data and information. Today, it in
being deployed in all most all of the leading companies in the world.QFD benefits companies
through improved communication and team work between all functions in the value chain,
such as between marketing and design, between design and manufacturing, and between
purchase and suppliers.

Use of QFD
  QFD focuses on drivers of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction, making it a
useful tool for competitive analysis of product quality by top management.
 QFD ensures productivity and quality improvement through comprehensive analysis
and understanding of the customer requirements, product requirements, and
process requirements by all concerned.
 QFD facilitates simulation of the effects of the new design ideas and concepts, which
in turn reduces the product development time thereby enabling the companies to
introduce the new products quickly and achieve competitive advantage.

QFD process
QFD is basically a set of matrices used to relate the voice of customer to product’s technical
requirements, component requirements, process control plans and manufacturing
operations. The initial matrix, called, the customer requirements planning matrix is shown in
the figure below. This matrix provides the basis for the QFD concept. The shape of the
matrix is similar to a house. Hence, QFD is also called “House of Quality.”

a) Identify Customer requirements

The voice of the customer is the primary input to the QFD process. The most crucial part of
the process is to capture the essence of customer’s needs and expectations and ensure that
it does not miss out in the different interpretations by designers and engineers. This step is
also the most difficult one. The voice of the customer is documented in the part of matrix
identified as .

b) List the technical requirements that provide the foundation for the product or service
design
Technical requirements are design characteristics that describe the customer requirements
as expressed in the language of designers or engineers. Essentially, they are “hows” through
which the company can respond to the“whats” – the customer requirements. Technical
requirements must be measurable as the output is controlled and compared with targets.
The details are added in the part of the matrix identified as (2).It is very well known that
many technical requirements are related to each other at various levels. These relationships
provide answers to the questions like: “how a change in a technical characteristic does
affects others?” The degree of relationship can be identified as: Strong relationship,
moderate relationship, weak relationship or no relationship. These relationships are
identified through appropriate symbols in the matrix at the portion marked (3).

c) Develop a relationship matrix between the customer requirements and the technical
requirements.
Customer requirements are indicated in the left hand side of the matrix at(1) and the
technical requirements are listed in the top side of the matrix at(2). Now, the relationships
between the two are indicated in the middle portion marked as (4). The degree of
relationship is indicated in the similar manner as we have done for the relations between
the technical requirements at (3). The purpose of this relationship matrix is to show whether
the final technical requirements adequately address the customer requirements. The
assessment is usually based on expert opinion /judgment, experience from the previous
similar cases/designs or controlled experiments.

d) Add competitor evaluation and key selling points:

This step identifies importance ratings for each customer requirements and evaluates
competitor’s existing products or services for each of them. These are documented in the
matrix in the area marked (5). Customer importance ratings represent the areas of great
interest and the expectations expressed by the customer. Competitor evaluation highlights
the absolute strengths and weaknesses in competing products. This step facilitates
identification of opportunities for improvement.

e) Evaluate technical requirements of competitive products and services and develop

targets:
This step involves testing and gathering intelligence on competitor products. The details are
translated in to measurable terms. These evaluations are compared with the competitive
evaluation of the customer requirements. Targets for each technical requirement are set
based on the customer importance ratings and existing product strengths and weaknesses.

f) Select technical requirements to be deployed in the subsequent process:

The technical requirements are selected for deployment in subsequent process based on
the following criteria:
 Requirements with strong relationships to customer needs.
 Requirements where competition is not doing well.
 Requirements that can be identified with strong selling points

QFD in healthcare to launch new products (Example)

Healthcare organisations such as hospitals have adopted numerous quality improvement

tools for efficiency enhancement including those practised in manufacturing and production
industries. While launching any new product in health care sector, quality function
deployment can be quite useful as using QFD, you will be able to know about the
requirements of the customers and how they will be satisfied from the new product. There
are many stakeholders such as patients and family, caretakers, physicians, nursing staff,
technologists, payers, administrators, regulators, and others we must still identify. In
Healthcare QFD, we can determine the relative importance of all stakeholders by using the
customer segments table to clarify and prioritize.
QFD is one of the excellent powerful tools presently used for developing new products and
procedures based on the current strategies and, even more usually, for new and
revolutionary ideas. Applying QFD in the provision sectors is a comparatively new term for
the production-based engineers but nothing innovative. Different dynamics come into the
picture if we just compare it to a product that in general, is produced by the owner of the
system and used by the customer, where typically the customer and owner are not the
same individuals. Finally, it can be said that, QFD is voice of the customer and in healthcare,
we find many innovative products are being launched regularly and when those products
are for customers, it is good to use QFD tool while developing and launching them.

3. Roma Pvt Ltd, machines manufacturing company, is a leader in industrial machines

manufacturing sector. Bearing cap is a critical part in machine manufacturing. Bearing cap
parts are purchased in large lots from a supplier. To enable quick and reliable incoming
inspection Roma plans to adopt acceptance sampling for the bearing cap received in lots
from the supplier.
a. What are the steps Roma needs to implement in sampling procedure?
b. Discuss the OC curve and its parameters

Answer:

A) Acceptance Sampling:

Acceptance sampling is the process of evaluating a portion of the product /material in a lot
for the purpose of accepting or rejecting the lot as either conforming or not conforming to
quality specifications. Inspection for acceptance purpose is carried out at many stages in
manufacturing. There are generally two ways in which inspection is carried out: (i) 100%
inspection, (ii) Sampling inspection.

A sample may be defined as the number of items drawn from a lot, batch or population for
inspection purposes. Sampling inspection can be defined as a technique to determine the
acceptance or rejection of a lot or population on the basis of number of defective parts
found in a random sample drawn from the lot. If the number of defective items does not
exceed a predefined level, the lot is accepted, otherwise it is rejected. Sampling inspection is
not a new concept. In our daily life we use sampling inspection in selecting certain
consumable items.

For example, while purchasing our annual or monthly requirements of wheat, rice or such
other food grains we naturally take a handful of grains to judge its quality for taking
purchasing decision. If we are not satisfied; we take another sample and after two or three
samples from the same or different sources we take purchasing decision. Or, let us take
another example, suppose we want to purchase mangoes we normally take one or two
mangoes from the lot and taste its quality, if the samples taken are found good we decide to
purchase the required quantity.

Steps in implementing acceptance sampling:

Select a sample from population: While implementing acceptance sampling, we need to

follow certain steps and the first one is to select a sample from the population. For this,
various methods can be used such as:
Simple random sampling: In this sampling procedure, each of the samples has an equivalent
opportunity of being selected as a sample. For example, the selection of a single candidate
for a sporting event out of 10 probable candidates. Here, each of the 10 candidates has an
equal chance of being selected which is represented in the sample. In this sampling
procedure, individual preferences or bias does not occur.

Quota sampling: Quota sampling refers to a sampling method in which the population is
first divided into mutually non-overlapping sub-groups. Subsequently, the sample is formed
by selecting members from each sub-group according to the proportion of each sub-group
in the total population.

Evaluation of chosen sample: After selecting the sample from population, it is time to
evaluate the same on certain pre-defined parameters.
Acceptance or rejection: Once the sample is evaluated on various parameters, it is time to
either accept it or reject it.

Recording of results: At last, it is good to record the results of acceptance sampling

procedure which can be used in future.

b) OC curve and its parameters

The operating characteristic (OC) curve depicts the discriminatory power of an acceptance
sampling plan. The OC curve plots the probabilities of accepting a lot versus the fraction
defective. When the OC curve is plotted, the sampling risks are obvious. You should always
examine the OC curve before using a sampling plan. For example, you sample 52 pens from
a shipment of 5000. If the actual % defective is 1.5%, you have a 0.957 probability of
accepting this lot based on the sample and a 0.043 probability of rejecting it. If the actual %
defective is 10%, you have a 0.097 probability of accepting this lot and a 0.903 probability of
rejecting it.

O.C. curve of an acceptance sampling plan shows how well the sampling plan discriminates
between good and bad lots. In order to examine the suitability of an acceptance sampling
plan, it is necessary to compare their performance over a range of possible quality levels of
the product.

By making sampling plans more discriminating (increasing sample size) or tighter

(decreasing acceptance numbers), we can approach any desired level of outgoing quality
that we please but at increasing inspection cost. This increased inspection effort would
result in lower probable costs of passing defectives and at some point; the combination of
the incremental costs is a minimum.

There are four parameters of an OC curve which are mentioned below:

Producer’s Risk (a): Refers to the probability that a sampling plan would reject a good lot
(non-defective) of products, which forces the producer to replace the rejected lot. It is also
called Type I error.

Consumer’s Risk (b): Refers to the probability that the consumer would accept a bad lo,
which contains a large number of defects. Once accepted, the consumer would find it hard
to get the bad lot replaced by the producer. It is also called Type II error.

Acceptable Quality Level (AQL): Refers to the maximum percentage of defects that
consumers are willing to accept. AQL is considered the satisfactory quality level and is also
called Acceptance Quality Limit.

Lot Tolerance Percentage Defective (LTPD): Refers to the percentage of defects that is
higher than AQL and is therefore not accepted by the consumers. LTPD has low probability
of acceptance. This is also known as the Limiting Quality Level (LQL). The LQL is expressed as
a proportion of defectives, while the LTPD is expressed as a percentage.