BM1708

Name Section Date

ACTIVITY
Case Study: Building Quality and Operational Excellence in ABB
ABB is a global leader in power and automation technologies. The company is based in Zurich, Switzerland,
employs 150,000 people, and operates in approximately 100 countries. The firm’s shares are traded on the
stock exchanges of Zurich, Stockholm, and New York. ABB is the world’s largest builder of electricity grids
and is active in many sectors, its core businesses being in power and automation technologies. The company
has one (1) corporate division and five (5) production divisions.

Power Products are the key components for the transmission and distribution of electricity. The division
incorporates ABB’s manufacturing network for transformers, switchgear, circuit breakers, cables, and
associated high voltage and medium voltage equipment such as digital protective relays. It also offers
maintenance services. The division is subdivided into three (3) business units: High Voltage Products,
Medium Voltage Products, and Transformers.

To enhance ABB’s ability to delight customers with the products and services they provide, the management
of ABB wants to apply for a quality certification for the entire organization. In summary, the goal of this
certification includes establishing a common methodology for transforming improvement ideas into business
reality, training on tools and techniques to build improvement competencies, and coaching of improvement
projects to turn real business issues to real business results. The main objective of the company for this
quality initiative is that the management of ABB would equip their employees with the skills and ability to
generate process improvements to ensure on-time, on-cost, and on-quality delivery. It was felt that this
approach would also create a culture of continuous improvement within ABB through widespread use of an
improvement system. No matter how good the campaign vision is, the management of ABB doesn’t know
how and where to start with the program. The company is lost pertaining to the guidelines and the step-by-
step guide in order to turn this vision into a reality.

Answer the following (2 items x 10 points):

1. How can ABB achieve their main objective for their quality initiative by applying the step-by-step guide of
organizations in ISO 9000 certification?
2. What is the importance of ISO 9000 certification in integrating quality in the business process of ABB?

Rubric for grading:

CRITERIA PERFORMANCE INDICATORS POINTS
Content Provided specific related answers with 8
related details
Grammar Used correct grammar, punctuation, 1
spelling, and capitalization
Organization Expressed the points in clear and 1
of Ideas logical arrangement of ideas in the
paragraph
TOTAL 10

Reference:
Oakland, J. (2014). Total quality management and operational excellence. New York: Routledge.

11 Activity 2 *Property of STI

Page 1 of 1