AIQM India

The Chicken or the Egg: Six Sigma and Lean - By Joseph A. De Feo

2011-04-28T23:28:00.000-07:00

Companies debating the relative merits of these practices should instead learn to combine both.......

How many times have you heard, “Lean is in and Six Sigma is out” from a colleague? The funny thing about this is that I used to hear the same thing 23 years ago. Only then it was, “Lean is in, and quality improvement teams are out.” Little has changed since then.

Everyone is looking for a simple answer to cost reduction and quality improvement. My biggest concern, and it should be yours, is that both are needed, not one or the other. It is not about which came first, or which is better or even easier. It is about what problem your organization is facing today. Do you have customer dissatisfaction, product or service complaints, defects, high cost of failure? Or are you trying to improve speed and throughput, and reduce cost of waste? These are the questions one needs to ask before arguing about whether to use lean or Six Sigma.

Organizations have a number of methods available to deal with process and performance problems. Six Sigma and lean have become two of the most widely recognized and effective methods for creating breakthrough improvement. Both have evolved from the basis of prior methods, such as Joseph M. Juran’s universal sequence for breakthrough quality improvement, Walter A. Shewhart’s and W. Edwards Deming’s plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle, and Toyota’s specialized focus on driving out waste. Lean and Six Sigma both take different approaches in the quest for greater effectiveness, efficiency, and cost reduction.

Six Sigma: improvement by putting customers first – Focus on Defect Reduction:

The quality improvement methods on which many Six Sigma projects are based—define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) and define, measure, analyze, design, verify (DMADV)—focus on identifying and meeting the needs of customers first, and the organization or business second. In this way, revenues increase and costs decrease, improving results.

Lean, by contrast, is the process of optimizing organizational systems by eliminating or reducing the “waste” within them. Anything that does not offer value is considered waste. Lean methods and tools can provide significant improvements in organizational efficiency. During the past decade, lean has experienced a rebirth in manufacturing-based industries, as well as service- and health care-based organizations. Lean is not a replacement for Six Sigma or vice versa. It focuses on different problems. It is typically an internally focused means of cost reduction. It is badly needed but should work in concert with a systematic Six Sigma practice.

More than just a formal program or discipline, Six Sigma has become an operating philosophy that can be shared beneficially by everyone: customers, shareholders, employees, and suppliers. Fundamentally, it is also a customer-focused methodology that drives out customer dissatisfaction, raises levels of quality, and improves the financial and time performance of organizations to breakthrough levels.

The term “Six Sigma” means to attain a target for quality that is close to perfection, to achieve 3.4 defects, errors, or mistakes, whether that involves the design and production of a product or a customer-oriented service process.

Many large organizations have experienced great success employing Six Sigma and lean Six Sigma methods. Today, many organizations combine lean and Six Sigma as their improvement methods of choice. These methods help both traditional manufacturers of goods, as well as producers of services and information, to improve their bottom lines and increase customer satisfaction.

Lean: improvement by waste reduction:

Lean in particular is based on creating a “pull system” to produce faster, rather than the traditional “push systems” used by most organizations. One of the main goals is to always pull from the customer demand, not push to the customer.

Lean methods and tools have made their way into most industries. A method that was used in manufacturing to reduce waste is now used to improve cycle time, flow, and velocity, improve workplace department performance, and reduce waste in hospitals, insurance companies, and financial services. Value-stream mapping is another important lean tool. It maps and documents all the tasks (material and information flow) and the metrics associated with them (cycle time, costs) within a process, including inherent waste. This provides the guidance to select the right problems and solve them as process improvement projects. There is a standardized approach and set of tools, such as rapid improvement events or kaizen (a Japanese word for “improvement”), to attack embedded wastes and increase the velocity of a process. Improving velocity exposes the problems—or waste—so that they can be eliminated, thereby making the processes faster, better, and cheaper.

6S (actually called 5S, but we add one more S for safety) is an abbreviation for “sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain, and safety.” It’s a lean tool for achieving a highly effective workplace that is clean, well-organized, and standardized to enable all employees to perform to the best of their ability. The benefits of an efficient workplace include prevention of defects, prevention of accidents, and elimination of time wasted searching for tools, documentation, and other elements to produce goods or services.

One key component of being lean is the need to create “value” as seen from the eyes of the customers. The operational definition of value is the benefit the customer gains from using the product or service. Value is created by the customer. Providing value to the customer is why the producer exists. Lean starts with defining value in terms of products or services and customer benefits provided at the right time at an appropriate price. Anything that does not provide value to the customer can be considered waste.

Lean Six Sigma: the chicken-or-egg phenomenon

In the Six Sigma methodology, the two primary methods are DMAIC to improve processes and products, and DMADV to help ensure that products and processes function well starting with the voice of the customer through to the delivery of goods.
The DMAIC steps are:

Define the problem as clearly as one can (for DMADV, define the design goals).
Measure the current level of performance and the voice of the customer.
Analyze collected data to determine the causes of the problem or the failures of existing designs.
Improve by selecting the right solutions to solve the problem or create new designs.
Control to hold the gains, for both the improved process or newly designed goods/services.

Organizations worldwide are continuously under pressure to control costs, maintain high levels of safety and quality, and meet growing customer expectations. This improvement process has been adopted by many large organizations, like Samsung Electronics, GE, and smaller organizations like Molex (electronics), A. Schulman (plastics), J. R. Simplot (food processing), and Highmark (insurance) to name a few.

“Lean Six Sigma” is quite simply the integration of lean and Six Sigma methodologies. Lean’s focus on efficiency, and Six Sigma’s focus on effectiveness can lead to faster results than either method applied independently of the other.

Thirteen Fundamental Truths Related To Quality

2011-04-27T00:06:00.000-07:00

The Quality Guru Mr. H. James Harrington speaks:
(He documented these in 1986 and still they are true whether we implement ISO 9001 or TQM or Six Sigma).

Back in 1986, I documented a list of 13 fundamental truths that applied to all organizations.

I ran across these statements recently when I was looking for some comments made by a past IBM president that I wanted to use in a new book I am writing. As I thought back over the past 25 years, I realized that as quality professionals, we have spearheaded a lot of new approaches: total quality management (TQM), ISO 9001, ISO 14000, lean, Six Sigma, business process improvement, process reengineering, knowledge management, organizational change management, theory of constraints, and many more.

But to my surprise, there has still been no change in the fundamental truths I wrote about 25 years ago. Even the latest trend, innovation, was incorporated in the fifth truth.

The following are the 13 fundamental truths as defined in 1986:

1. All organizations, companies, divisions, sections, departments, units, teams, and projects should have a documented mission that links them into a chain that holds the
    organization together, keeping it directed at pulling in all the potential customers that
    they can handle.

2. All processes should have a defined customer whose needs and expectations are
    understood and are being met.

3. No process is so good that it can’t be improved, although some processes need more
    improvement than others.

4. There is always a better way of doing everything.

5. The greatest competitive advantage is knowledge that leads to innovation.

6. People who understand why they do something, do it better and faster.

7. When something gets measured, it gets attention.

8. There is a direct correlation between internal customer satisfaction and external
     customer satisfaction.

9. Every organization has an obligation to provide value to the people that invest their hard-
    earned money and time into the organization.

10. Expending resources related to the organization’s employees is an investment, not a
      cost.

11. The elimination of waste is everyone’s job.

12. Management needs to set the example and walk the talk.

13. Each individual needs to be sure that his or her suppliers understand what are needed
       and not ask for things that won’t be used.

Simple, Brilliant, Mistake Proofing at the Amazing In-N-Out Burger --- by Mark Graban

2011-04-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

A little help for the not-so-common sensible:

I was in Los Angeles on Tuesday, and I had a little extra time on my way to the Burbank airport, which meant a rare treat—lunch at the famed In-N-Out Burger. I don’t mean to be that guy who tweets what he eats, but my lunch is pictured at right.

The main picture I wanted to share is a simple example of perfect mistake-proofing (aka error proofing or “poka-yoke”). There is a possible customer error that could be made in many fast-food or deli restaurants: throwing the reusable tray into the trash bin.

Ineffective organizations post signs, warning, and exhortations. Smart organizations plan for mistake-proofing. Here is the error proofing—the hole that you throw your wrapper, cup, and food waste into is round and smaller than the rectangular reuseable tray.

I didn’t really fight or shove the tray while staging this photo, but it was clear that the tray would not fit into the round hole. Problem prevented : It is physically impossible to trash the tray.

Yes, I know you’re not supposed to throw away the tray. I think this is obvious to most customers.
In comparison, most Quiznos restaurants merely admonish the customers with signs saying, “Please Do Not Throw Away Baskets.”

The Quiznos tray fits into the trash hole (which is huge). I wonder how many trays they lose.

Does Quiznos really believe that its customers think the hard plastic trays are disposable? If you do accidentally drop the tray into the dirty trash and food scraps, are you likely to want to retrieve it? I suppose I could have titled this story, “Quiznos Thinks You Are Dumb,” but of course that isn't true, they are just shifting the mistake proofing onto the customer rather than deal with it themselves.

If Quiznos had followed In-N-Out's lead of mistake proofing the trash, they could have filled that high-visibility space with a “Thank You for Your Business” message.

Grow the Bottom Line With (VoC) Voice of the Customer Research - by Laura Pattersons

2011-04-25T23:45:00.000-07:00

Only 57% of large North American firms have a formalized Voice of the Customer (VoC) program, according to a 2010 study by the Temkin Group.

The premise of VoC is that if you collect and analyze customer data, you can transform an organization into a truly customer-centric operation by taking action based on your findings.

VoC is a market research technique designed to help a company better understand customers' wants and needs and prioritize those concerns (by importance and satisfaction level with current alternatives) to positively affect the customer experience.

When executed well, a VoC program enables you to acquire business insight about customers and what is important to them. You can then use that information to enhance the customer experience.

Maybe it seems obvious why it's important to have such information. But if it were so obvious, more companies would be deploying a VoC program. So what are the business benefits to making this type of investment of time and money?

Forrester finds that a better customer experience drives improvement in three types of customer loyalty:

Willingness to consider another purchase.
Less likelihood of defecting to a competitor.
Likelihood of recommending to a friend or colleague.

Improvements in those areas directly affect a company's bottom line as a result of incremental purchases by customers, lower churn, and new sales from referrals.

Once you decide to move forward with a VoC study, the question to consider is this: What do we ask? Typically, VoC studies are designed to learn the answers to these kinds of questions:

What are your customers saying about your company, brand, or product/service?
Where are they saying it?
How do your customers feel about your company, brand, or product/service?
How does that affect their intent to buy?
Why do they feel the way they do, and what is the root cause of their sentiment?
Are there differences among different types of customers? If so, what are they, and which customer segments?
Who or what influences your customers' perceptions and feelings?
What are your customers' needs, wants, desires, and intentions? How do these relate to your company, brand, or products/services?
What are your customers saying and feeling about your competitors? How well do the competitors meet their needs, wants, and desires?

Though many VoC studies are qualitative, they should ideally consist of both qualitative and quantitative research steps. VoC research is typically more than a customer satisfaction study, which is designed to measure how an organization's products and services meet or surpass customer expectations.

VoC research should enable you to make customer-focused decisions.

To succeed with your VoC studies, you'll need, at a minimum, these two things:

A robust VoC process.
Properly trained people to implement the studies.

One of the challenges of analyzing the results of a VoC study is that customer voices are diverse. Most organizations—even those that work in only one market—have multiple customer voices, such as the voice of the procuring organization, the voice of the user, and the voice of the supporting organization. Those diverse voices must be considered, reconciled, and balanced during the analysis of the study. One technique for doing so is to set, in advance of the study, different priority ratings associated with each customer voice.

The next question often raised is this: How many customers do we need to talk with? Though there is no hard-and-fast rule—because the number depends on the complexity of the product, the diversity of the market, the use of the product, and the sophistication of customers—experts suggest that you can capture 90-95% of your customer needs by speaking with 20 customers.

Your first source of information, if you are trying to address your current market, should be current customers. But it is also a good idea to talk with prospective customers, especially if you're hoping to address a new market. (And I often recommend talking with competitors' customers.) Use ranking and paired comparisons to aid in prioritizing customer needs.

Remember, the ultimate objective of a VoC initiative is to understand how satisfying a particular need influences the purchase decision.

OHSAS 18001:2007

2011-04-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

OHSAS 18001:2007 is the International Occupational Health and Safety Management Standard.

The revised version was published in July 2007, superseding OHSAS 18001:1999, and is intended to address occupational health and safety (OH&S) rather than product safety in the organization.

OHSAS 18001 provides a framework to the effective management of OH&S including compliance with the legislation that applies to your activities and identified hazards.

Who is OHSAS 18001 applicable to?

The standard is applicable to any organisation that wishes to eliminate or minimize risk to employees and other stakeholders who may be exposed to OH&S risks associated with its activities.

Many organizations will have elements required by OHSAS 18001 already in place which can be supplemented to provide a more cohesive management system to meet the requirements of the standard.

Organisations that implement OHSAS 18001 have a clear management structure with defined authority and responsibility, clear objectives for improvement, with measurable results and a structured approach to risk assessment. This includes the monitoring of health and safety orf the employees, reporting of incidents / accidents, learning lessons for preventions in future, auditing of performance and review of policies and objectives.

What are the benefits of OHSAS 18001 registration?

Customer satisfaction - through delivery of products that consistently meet customer requirements whilst safeguarding their health and property.
Reduced operating costs - by decreasing down-time through incidents and ill health and reducing costs associated with legal fees and compensation.
Improved stakeholder relationships - by safeguarding the health and property of staff, customers and suppliers.
Legal compliance - by understanding how statutory and regulatory requirements impact the organization and its customers.
Improved risk management - through clear identification of potential incidents and implementation of controls and measures.
Proven business credentials - through independent verification against recognized standards.
Ability to win more business - particularly where procurement specifications require OH & S certification as a condition to supply.

How to gain registration?

The process of registration follows six steps similar to the ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System :

Application for registration is made by completing the OHSMS questionnaire.
Documentation is prepared for approval by the certifying body.
After documentation is approved, the people implement the same in the organization.
The implementation is evaluated by an internal audit and non-conformities are discussed in management review meeting to ensure timely corrective action.
Assessment to OHSAS 18001 is undertaken by certifying body. - this consists of two mandatory visits by the certification body.
Certification is granted by the certifying body after a successful on-site audit.
Maintenance is confirmed through a programme of regular internal audits, annual surveillance visits and a three yearly re-certification audit.

Initial Certification Audit by certifying body:

Stage 1 -

the purpose of this visit is to confirm the readiness of the organisation for full assessment. The assessor will:

confirm that the documented OH&S management system conforms to the requirements of the standard
confirm its implementation status
confirm the scope of certification
check legislative compliance
produce a report that identifies any non-compliance or potential for non-compliance and agree a corrective action plan if required
produce an assessment plan and confirm a date for the Stage 2 assessment visit.

Stage 2 -

the purpose of this visit is to confirm that the OH&S management system fully conforms to the requirements of OHSAS 18001 in practice. The assessor will:

undertake sample audits of the processes and activities defined in the scope of assessment.
document how the system complies with the standard.
report any non-compliances or potential for non-compliance.
produce a surveillance plan and confirm a date for the first surveillance visit.

If the assessor identifies any major non-conformance, the organisation cannot be certified until corrective action is taken and verified.

Key Lean Concepts

2011-04-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

www.aiqmindia.com

Continuous Flow:

Producing and moving one item at a time (or a small and consistent batch of items) through a series of processing steps as continuously as possible, with each step making just what is requested by the next step. It is also called one-piece flow, single-piece flow, and make one, move one.

This is the PULL system invented by Toyota. Previous section (process) will not produce
till the next internal (or external customer) demands.

Jidoka:

Providing machines and operators the ability to detect when an abnormal condition has occurred and immediately stop work is known as Jidoka. This enables operations to build-in quality at each process and to separate men and machines for more efficient work. Jidoka is one of the two pillars of the Toyota Production System along with just-in-time (pull system). Jidoka is sometimes called autonomation i.e. combination of ‘autonomy’ + ‘automation’.
i.e. The machine has the freedom (autonomy) to stop the process automatically.

Just-in-Time (JIT) Production:

A system of production that makes and delivers just what is needed, just when it is needed, and just in the amount needed. JIT and jidoka are the two pillars of the Toyota Production System.

Kaizen:

Continual improvement of an entire value stream or an individual process to create more value with less waste is called kaizen. There are two levels of kaizen: (1) System or flow kaizen focuses on the overall value stream and (2) process kaizen focuses on individual processes.

Kanban:

A signaling device that gives authorization and instructions for the production or withdrawal (conveyance) of items in a pull system is termed Kanban. It is the Japanese word for sign or signboard.

Lean Production:

A business system for organizing and managing product development, operations, suppliers, and customer relations that requires less human effort, less space, less capital, and less time to make products with fewer defects to precise customer desires, compared with the previous system of mass production.

Lean production was pioneered by Toyota after World War II and, as of 1990, typically required half the human effort, half the manufacturing space and capital investment for a given amount of capacity, and a fraction of the development and lead time of mass production systems, while making products in wider variety at lower volumes with many fewer defects. The term was coined by John Krafcik, a research assistant at MIT with the International Motor Vehicle Program in the late 1980s.

Lean Thinking:

A 5-step thought process proposed by James Womack and Dan Jones in their 1996 book Lean Thinking to guide managers through a lean transformation.

The steps are:

1.    Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer.
2.    Identify all the steps in the value stream.
3.    Make the value creating steps flow toward the customer.
4.    Let customers pull value from the next upstream activity.
5.    Pursue perfection.

Obeya:
Obeya in Japanese means simply “big room.” At Toyota it has become a major project management tool, used especially in product development, to enhance effective and timely communication. Similar in concept to traditional “war rooms,” an Obeya will contain visual charts and graphs depicting program timing, milestones and progress to date and counter-measures to existing timing or technical problems. Project leaders will have desks in the Obeya as will others at appropriate points in the program timing. The purpose is to ensure project success and shorten the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle.

Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA):

An improvement cycle based on the scientific method of proposing a change in a process, implementing the change, measuring the results, and taking appropriate action. It is also known as the Deming Cycle after W. Edwards Deming who introduced the concept in Japan in the 1950s.

The PDCA cycle has four stages:

1.    Plan: Determine goals for a process and needed changes to achieve them.
2.    Do: Implement the changes.
3.    Check: Evaluate the results in terms of performance.
4.    Act: Action to remove the root causes for non-conformities.

Production Lead Time (also Throughput Time and Total Product Cycle Time):

The time required for a product to move all the way through a process from start to finish. At the plant level this is often termed door-to-door time. The concept can also be applied to the time required for a design to progress from start to finish in product development or for a product to proceed from raw materials all the way to the customer.

Takt Time:

It is the available production time divided by customer demand. For example, if a widget factory operates 480 minutes per day and customers demand 240 widgets per day, takt time is two minutes. Similarly, if customers want two new products per month, takt time is two weeks. The purpose of takt time is to precisely match production with demand. It provides the heartbeat of a lean production system.

Takt time was first used as a production management tool in the German aircraft industry in the 1930s. (Takt is German for a precise interval of time such as a musical meter.) It was the interval at which aircraft were moved ahead to the next production station.

The concept was widely utilized within Toyota in the 1950s and was in widespread use throughout the Toyota supply base by the late 1960s. Toyota typically reviews the takt time for a process every month, with a tweaking review every ten days.

Toyota Production System (TPS):

The production system developed by Toyota Motor Corporation to provide best quality, lowest cost, and shortest lead time through the elimination of waste. TPS is comprised of two pillars, just-in-time production and jidoka. TPS is maintained and improved through iterations of standardized work and kaizen, following the scientific method of the plan-do-check-act cycle.

Development of TPS is credited to Taiichi Ohno, Toyota’s chief of production in the post-WWII period. Widespread recognition of TPS as the model production system grew rapidly with the publication in 1990 of The Machine That Changed the World, the result of 5 years of research led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The MIT researchers found that TPS was so much more effective and efficient than traditional, mass production that it represented a completely new paradigm.

Value Stream:

All of the actions, both value-creating and non value-creating, required to bring a product from concept to launch and from order to delivery. These include actions to process information from the customer and actions to transform the product on its way to the customer.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM):

A simple diagram of every step involved in the material and information flows needed to bring a product from order to delivery. A current-state map follows a product’s path from order to delivery to determine the current conditions. A future-state map shows the opportunities for improvement identified in the current-state map to achieve a higher level of performance at some future point.

Waste:

Any activity that consumes resources but creates no value for the customer is considered waste.

Interpersonal Skills – Good Boss

2011-04-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

by Archna Khurana Sharma

So you have got your promotion, moved up the ladder, have a larger team to handle now – well many congratulations to you. But the question is, are you prepared for such a role right now? With the skills you possess, the knowledge you hold and the great insights you have, are you able to encompass interpersonal skills and pay heed to the needs of your team? or allow me to put it this way- Do you have the appropriate interpersonal skills to become a good boss?

As we move up the ladder we believe that all the things that we have acquired so far along with all the success will continue to foster further success in the future as well, though this might not be the case always. With growing success and positions we need to cultivate certain behaviors or skills which will help us in managing the large work force with a high success ratio.

We have had enough discussions on bad bosses, bosses who abuse; as they are the legends of the game :)…but why not for a change talk about those who played a key role in making us what we are.

I have been fortunate enough to have some good bosses too, and will share some of the experiences with you all.

Here is a Story: I met Patrick during the interview, immediately after the first meeting we both decided to work together, the jellying was such that the enthusiasm could be seen in the eyes. Even when we were in a different locations (he was placed in Germany (HQ) and I was in India), he made sure that the learning curve grew consistently over a period of time. He never interfered in any of my decisions but made sure that I did an analysis of all the pros and cons; helped me in understanding global HR practices, so that I could prosper in the company. With high EQ, he taught me to empathize with people and then reconsider decisions, policies and procedures. He was truly a people’s person - humble and very popular amongst all the employees in various regions as he was the Director HR Asia Pacific.

Similarly, have you ever considered what are the qualities you appreciated in your ‘good’ boss? In order to inculcate the same in yourself just enlist them and start working. Some of these are:

Communication skills: As a boss how you interact with team members can be seen from your communication skills and it could either make or break the interpersonal relations. The tone, pitch and choice of words can easily express the behavior and interpersonal skills. Special emphasis on honing listening skills is empirical to be successful with people around you. Team members want to know if they are being heard.

High on EQ (Emotional Quotient) : In order to progress, one must have shown all the intellectual skills with consistency, now is the time when one needs to sharpen the skills of being a people’s person, and the best way out is empathy and genuineness. Think from their viewpoint, what would be best for them and also for the company. Provide solutions keeping in mind the team member’s welfare and growth. Appraise them- just a pat on the back may be, or occasionally sitting with them and having lunch, just like Mr. Adi Godrej started taking lunch once in a week in the Company’s cafeteria with all the employees.

Proper delegation : Delegating the right amount of authority with responsibilities is actually an art, and very rarely are people connoisseurs of this art. It only comes when the Manager knows the strengths and weaknesses of his/her team members properly, and then delegation happens with appropriate skills. Practice also makes people perfect in the art of delegation, initially there are times that one might not get the desired results and make mistakes but it does not mean that the chosen one is not the right person for the assigned work. Give them another chance and then rate them on the scale of success.

Cheering : Encouraging taking of initiatives, thinking out of the box and every time you have given an idea instead of refuting it down (S) he ensured that you understood the repercussions and then decided to go ahead with those ideas. Cheering reflects the vision of a person, how he plans to take his team ahead and thinks about their growth path and succession planning too. As I say, a compliment a day can make your employees happy and gay!

Decision Making : Though it has been talked about in delegation, but we will deal with it as another interpersonal skill required in a ‘good’ boss. They not only take good decisions themselves with people’s participation but also inculcate the same in their teams as well. Learning comes from trial and error and such bosses will always encourage taking some ‘not so good’ decisions too, although not at the stake of their business.

Less Interference : Personally, I really liked this in my boss that he hardly ever interfered in my work areas, however he taught me a lot, and still he used to manage to keep himself away from many things which now a days is a difficult task for some insecure managers/bosses or the legends referred to as the ‘bad’ bosses.

Sense of humor : One should know how to keep healthy humor flowing in the team, with some witty remarks, sometimes sharing of anecdotes and good jokes. While giving feedback to the team one should always keep some humor handy so that things can be handled positively.
Interpersonal skills depend a lot on your intra-personal skills! So make a preference and instill these aforementioned qualities and skills in yourself and who knows you may end up being the next ‘GOOD’ BOSS!

Unification: The Key to Improving Organizational Culture by Angelo Lyall - Canada

2011-04-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

www.aiqmindia.com

In 1776 Adam Smith claimed that the best result comes from everyone in the group doing what’s best for themselves.

During the early 1950s, John Forbes Nash revised Adam Smith’s claim and stated that the best result comes from everyone in the group doing what’s best for themselves and the group. It took us 174 years of examination to realize that an individual in a group often attains the best possible outcome for himself not by a segregated pursuit of the outcome, but through a unified sense of purpose and a cooperative effort for accomplishing it.

Let it not be another 174 years until we understand the cultural implications of this claim for organizations and the people that they are composed of.

Establishing a desired culture within an organization is a complex task. The call for mass cohesion requires an individual not to set aside her personal pursuits, but to realize that a unified effort in which all members share and pursue a single organizational purpose will bear the best individual result. It is the responsibility of organizational leaders to define and communicate purpose to their executive and management teams so that they may be further communicated to front-line staff members. This is why sharing of top management’s vision with employees is very important through the use of a ‘quality policy’ or a ‘vision statement’.

The worlds of music and athletics have known this, even if only intuitively, for centuries. In music, one conductor of an orchestra may consistently elicit a superior performance compared to another conductor, even though they are given professional instrumentalists of equal skill level. What is it that one conductor does that makes the performance noticeably better than the other? The answer is simple yet profound. The successful conductor unifies the group to achieve the purpose of putting on the best possible performance. The successful conductor is able to make the musicians realize that by understanding the balance and relationship that each instrument should have with one another, a far better sound is produced than if they were to all play single-mindedly at the same time.

The unified sound produced by a musical group is more powerful than any individual player or collection of individual players could hope to achieve.

In athletics we see examples of extremely talented, hard-working individuals who cannot find a team that will accept them because coaches are simply uninterested. The experienced coach would much prefer to protect the unified group than jeopardize the team’s cohesion by introducing a high-performing individual who acts as a silo and disunites the group. The successful professional coach knows that the collective unified team can accomplish much more than any one self-interested player.

Group musicians, athletic clubs, and business organizations win and lose as teams. High-performing individuals, as well as others, must be made to realize that their efforts and their individual desires will be better fulfilled by serving the team than by simply serving themselves.

In generating this understanding, most business leaders fail. Leaders must intimately know and demonstrate a strong sense of purpose. This purpose must be articulated and well communicated to every corner of the organization, as well as reflected through its actions. Leaders must provoke a profound experience of improved functioning within the organization by enlightening people about how each of them, as single instruments, must understand their role in the context of the whole, and best contribute to the overall performance of the business. When leaders are able to enlighten people to the uplifting feeling of unified functioning, people become attached to it, crave it, and are motivated to contribute to it. This trend of contribution to a unified purpose is commonly referred to as business culture.

Leaders must not be too afraid or indecisive to lead. It is time for today’s organizational leaders to make concrete decisions about their purpose and to take the lead in influencing culture. Leaders must initiate and stand behind a strong sense of organizational values, driving collective performance, and giving their people a sense of purpose that is much more emotionally powerful than reporting revenue numbers.

Quality Management System (QMS) Overview:

2011-04-18T00:19:00.000-07:00

www.aiqmindia.com

Every organization would like to improve the way it operates, whether that means increasing market share, driving down costs, managing risk more effectively or improving customer satisfaction. A quality management system gives you the framework you need to monitor and improve performance in any area you choose.

ISO 9001 is by far the world’s most established quality framework, currently being used by 1,064,000 organizations in 178 countries worldwide, and sets the standard not only for quality management systems, but overall management systems.

It helps all kinds of organizations to succeed through improved customer satisfaction, staff motivation and continual improvement.

ISO 9000 series of standards:

ISO 9001 QMS standard can help bring out the best in your organization by enabling you to understand your processes for delivering your products/services to your customers. The ISO 9001 series of standards consist of:

ISO 9000 – Fundamentals and Vocabulary: this introduces the user to the concepts behind the management systems and specifies the terminology used.

ISO 9001 – Requirements: this sets out the criteria you will need to meet if you wish to operate in accordance with the standard and gain certification.

ISO 9004 – Guidelines for performance improvement: based upon the eight quality management principles, these are designed to be used by senior management as a framework to guide their organizations towards improved performance by considering the needs of all interested parties, not just customers.

Who is it relevant to?

ISO 9001 is suitable for any organization looking to improve the way it is operated and managed, regardless of size or sector. However, the best returns on investment come from those companies that are prepared to implement it throughout their organization rather than at particular sites, departments or divisions.

In addition, ISO 9001 is designed to be compatible with other management systems standards and specifications, such as BS OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System and ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.. They can be integrated seamlessly through Integrated Management. They share many principles so choosing an integrated management system can offer excellent value for money.

How ISO 9001 enhance quality standard in ONGC: A Case Study

2011-04-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

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After rigorous and comprehensive audit by the certifying agency — International Certification Services (ICS) Pvt. Ltd., ISO 9001:2008 certificates have been awarded to 16 work centres of ONGC (Oil & Natural Gas Commission) : Western Onshore Basin, Baroda, Sub Asset, Cambay, Ankleshwar Asset, Ahmedabad Asset, Mehsana Asset, Jodhpur Forward Base, Tel Bhavan, Frontier Basin, A&AA Basin, Jorhat, MBA Basin, Kolkata, CBM Basin, Bokaro, Tripura Asset, Agartala, Cachar Forward Base, Silchar, KG PG Basin and Cauvery Basin, Chennai, KG Asset, Rajahmundry and HR/ER of Delhi Office, ONGC officials said.

ONGC CMD A K Hazarika appreciated human resource/employees relations (HR/ER) for this initiative which will foster quality parameters and guidelines in the firm. According to Mr. Hazarika the greatest advantage of implementing the quality management system is that it would help inculcating a disciplined work culture for employee safety and benefits.

This certification will help in the following ways as per Mr. Hazarika’s expectation:

Work centres will have a better disciplined work disposal system.
A fixed guideline about the timelines of clearing various issues and files.
Effective grievance handling system.

ISO Certificate was already awarded to four work centres of ONGC and with the 16 work centres to get the certification now, the tally is 20.

The documentation process under this certification would help in the following manner:

Informed decision making. Its emphasis on system and processes, objectives, record keeping and measurement means that information is clearly understood and shared throughout the organisation. Since important information is part of the regular process and management reviews, everyone can see how it is used in decision making.

ISO 9001:2008 is a quality management system which provides benchmark for practices, processes and quality system of the organisation with the aim to providing services to meet the needs of our employees and other customers. It also aims to enhance employee satisfaction through effective applications of process and practices of the organisation, along with attaining regular feed back for continual improvement.

What is the ISO 14001?

2011-04-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

The set of ISO certifications is a group of international standards that the organisations are expected to adhere to, to do their business without any restrictions all over the world. The ISO 14001:2004 is one of those set of international standards, followed by organizations all over the world. This standard is set for environment management system. This plays a major role in controlling and managing the environmental systems of the organisation.

The ISO 14001 certification controls all the factors of environment namely:

Use of resources including natural

Complete storage

Handling, transportation and the treatment of the waste materials and

Efficient management of the energy.

Contents of ISO 14001:2004 Certification

The ISO 14001 is a systematic approach to the bigger picture, i.e. environment. The law is internationally based and adherence involves planning, executing, reviewing and editing to improve the actions a company takes for successfully meeting its environmental obligations. The set of rules are followed through the complete documentation of the acts, periodic management review, relevant trainings and internal audits time and again.

Benefits of ISO 14001 certification to the organisations:

There are two sided benefits of the ISO 14001 accreditations. One is the internal benefit and other is the competitive benefit.

The company finds improvements in the overall environmental performance and the compliance. The EMS objectives are successfully met. There is successful promotion of predictability and the consistency in the obligations of managing environment. Also, it provides a good name to the company in a global market.

The set of competitive benefits include significant cost cutting of the company in resource consumption. There are improved utilization of the by-products along with conversion of the waste of the company into commercially more valuable forms. There is marked reduction in the use of energy, cost of the emission and cost of waste handling.

What is a Fishbone diagram?

2011-04-11T22:50:00.000-07:00

Fishbone diagram is a tool of analysis that provides a systematic way of finding the various causes that lead to a particular effect. It is very useful when we want to carry out brain-storming within a team.

The design of the diagram looks like the skeleton of a fish, hence it is referred to as the fishbone diagram.

Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa, a Japanese quality control statistician, invented the fishbone diagram also referred to as the Ishikawa diagram.

It is also referred to as a cause-and-effect diagram.

Fishbone diagram helps in categorizing potential causes of a problem in a systematic way which can ultimately help us in identifying the root causes.

When do we use it:

· The team needs to study a problem to determine the root cause.

· Want to study all the possible reasons why a process is having difficulties, problems, or breakdowns.

· Need to identify areas for data collection.

· To study why a process is not performing properly or not producing the expected results.

Creating a Fishbone Diagram:

1. Draw a fishbone skeleton.

2. List the problem (effect) to be studied in the head of the fish.

3. Label each bone of the fish. The major categories typically used are:

§ The 6 M’s: Method, Machine, Material, Manpower, Measurement,
Management

§ The 4 P’s: Place, Procedure, People, Policies

§ The 4 S’s: Surroundings, Suppliers, Systems, Skills.

4. Repeat this procedure with each factor under the category to produce sub-factors. Continue asking, "Why is this happening?" and put additional segments under each factor.

5. Continue until you no longer get useful information as you ask, "Why is that happening?"

6. Next step is to collect data with respect to frequency of occurrence of each factor and sub-factor. The frequencies of occurrence are plotted on a Pareto Chart.

7. The vital few causes appearing on the Pareto chart are the important root causes leading to the problem.

8. Once the root causes have been identified, the team can further brainstorm to find solutions in respect of the root causes.

CTQs in Six Sigma

2011-04-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

Defining CTQs in Six Sigma:

After starting a project and gathering the voice of the customer (VOC), it is time to define the critical-to-quality outputs (CTQs).

CTQs are the key measurable characteristics of a product or process whose performance standards or specification limits must be met in order to satisfy the customer.

These outputs represent the product or service characteristics defined by the customer (internal or external). They may include the upper and lower specification limits or any other factors related to the product or service. Typically, a CTQ must be interpreted from a qualitative customer statement to an actionable, quantitative business specification.

Establishing CTQs is vital for a company to meet customer needs and keep up with the competition.

VOC Becomes CTQs:

The flowchart in Figure 1 provides an overview of the requirements necessary to translate the VOC into usable CTQs.

Operational definitions of the flowchart steps are:

· Characteristics of product or service: A word or phrase that describes some aspect of the product or service. For example: T.A.T. (Turn Around Time to dry-clean a garment).

· Measures and operational definitions: A definition of how the product’s characteristic will be quantified. There may be several ways of quantifying a given characteristic. For example: the unit used to measure time between when the cleaner receives clothes and when the clothes are ready for pickup (measured in hours).

· Target value(s): The aim for a product or service, assuming that there is no variation in the product - this is the value that is the desired level of performance. For example: clothes ready for pickup in 24 hours.

· Specification limits: How much variation is the customer willing to tolerate in the delivery of the product or service? Specification limits are performance limits that are acceptable to the customer. For example: Upper specification limit for dry cleaning process time maybe 28 hours.

· Defect rate(s): This is how often the producer is willing to produce a product outside the specification limits. For example 3.4 defects per million opportunities for error.

Figure 1: Flowchart for VOC to CTQ

CTQ Tree:

CTQ tree is actually the abbreviated form for Critical to Quality tree. The CTQ tree indicates key measurable aspects of that process or product whose specification limits or performance standards must be met to fully satisfy the customer. It aligns developments or helps in designing efforts to adapt to customer requirements. More specifically, it is mainly applicable for decomposing broad customer requirements and change them into more easily quantifiable requirements. The CTQ Tree is often used in Six Sigma methodology.

The steps for creating and using a Critical to Quality Tree (CTQ Tree) are as follows:

Step 1

Identification of the key customer requirements - The team identifies the key requirements that the customers have for the product or service. This is done through a process of open discussion / brain storming.

Step 2

Identification of customer's first level of requirements - The team gets to identify two to three requirements which are able to resolve major customer needs as pointed out Step 1. Good customer service refers to the phones which are answered quickly by staff who are knowledgeable about the product.

Step 3

Identification of customer's second level of requirements – In this step, the team gets to identify two to three needs which further resolve each customer requirement as pointed out in Step 2. The phones which are answered quicker may be defined as being answered within 2 rings. Then a knowledgeable staff member may be able to answer 90% calls before transferring them to another individual.

Step 4

Stop after quantifiable requirements are reached - This step applies to a situation when the team reaches a level of requirement which can be measured. The team would then halt the process of identifying needs if these requirements become distinctly measurable.

Step 5

Confirm the final requirements with customers – This is actually the final step taken which is applied after all customer requirements over a CTQ Tree have been pointed out and identified to a certain quantifiable degree. Each of these requirements should actually be confirmed again with customers.

Design for Six Sigma

2011-04-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

DFSS stands for Design for Six Sigma is an approach to designing or re-designing a new product or service or process with a measurably high sigma-level from day one.Most new products or processes are seen to perform at 2 to 3 sigma level till people learn lessons and improve the process. The intention of DFSS is to launch such new products / processes / service with a process performance of around 4.5 sigma with respect to the customer requirement. This requires a very good understanding of the customer needs and to design and implement the new offering with a high reliability of delivery before launch.

DFSS at a Glance:

DFSS is an approach and attitude towards delivering new products and services with a high performance as measured by customer critical to quality metrics. Just as the Six Sigma approach has the DMAIC methodology (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) by which processes can be improved, DFSS also follows a structured methodology by which new products / services / processes can be designed and implemented.

DMADV (Design, Measure, Analyse, Design, Verify) is one approach used in DFSS. However there are several other models in use. In many engineering design departments, DFSS is regarded as design optimisation, and the IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimise, Verify) methodology prevails, however this is focused very much on final stage engineering optimisation, and may miss many of the issues involved in actually selecting good products and features that will meet customer needs!

To deliver a good methodology that is customer focused, encompasses the entire business-to-market process, and deals effectively with both products and services.

Difference between Six Sigma and DFSS

Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology, whereas DFSS is centred on designing new products / services processes. The main differences are that Six Sigma focuses on one or two CTQ (Critical To Quality) metrics, looks at processes, and aims to improve the CTQ performance by about +1 process-sigma at a time. In contrast, DFSS focuses on every single CTQ that matters to the customer, and aims to bring forth a new product /service / process with a performance of about 4.5 sigma from the start.

Other differences are that DFSS projects are often much larger and take longer, and are often based on a long term business need for new products / services / processes rather than a short term need to fix a customer problem.

Lean Six Sigma: Key Concepts and Benefits

2011-04-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

Lean Six Sigma implementation is driven by top management, using data analysis and cross-functional teams to:

o Improve processes

o Lower defects

o Reduce process variability

o Reduce costs

o Increase customer satisfaction

o Eliminate waste.

The basic theme in Lean Six Sigma is that if you can measure how many "defects" you have in a process, you can systematically figure out how to eliminate them and get as close to "zero defects" as possible. Specifically it means a failure rate of 3.4 parts per million or 99.9997% accuracy.

Key Concepts of Six Sigma:

At its core, Six Sigma revolves around a few key concepts.

• Critical to Quality : Attributes most important to the customer.

• Defect : Failing to deliver what the customer wants.

• Process Capability : What your process can deliver.

• Critical to Process : Parameters that have major impact on achievement of the

CTQs.

• Variation : What the customer sees and feels. Six Sigma focuses first

on reducing process variation

• Stable Operations : Ensuring consistent, predictable processes to improve what

the customer sees and feels.

• Design for Six Sigma : Designing to meet customer needs and process capability.

Myths about Lean Six Sigma:

There are several myths and misunderstandings about Lean Six Sigma, like:

• It is only concerned with reducing defects.

• It is only for manufacturing organizations.

• It uses difficult-to-understand statistics.

• It ends with training and certification.

The Benefits of Six Sigma:

Six major benefits of Lean Six Sigma that attract companies.

• Generates sustained success.

• Sets a performance goal for everyone.

• Enhances value to customers.

• Accelerates the rate of improvement.

• Promotes learning and cross-pollination.

• Executes strategic change.

Bharati Broadband Case Study

2011-04-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

Bharti Broadband saves with Six Sigma:

Six Sigma helped the service provider improve its customer service.

Bharti Broadband Networks (BBNL) is a leading integrated broadband service provider operating in the broadband, Internet and VSAT markets. It provides customised and integrated solutions to corporate customers. The company had a goal of delivering error-free services to customers by doing the job right the first time, every time.

Why Six Sigma:

With the quality objective having been decided, an executive committee (EC) comprising nine officials, including the CEO, was formed. The committee studied various other quality tools and processes like ISO and TQM in addition to Six Sigma. The choice for Six Sigma was made as it was closely aligned with the outlined quality objective. According to Ashok Juneja, CEO, BBNL, "We realised that the telecom industry is undergoing rapid change and so are customer requirements. Six Sigma met the requirements of this changing environment." There were already several case studies of successful Six Sigma implementations in large companies like GE, Motorola, Wipro, TCS and Satyam.

Making the customer a priority:

The Six Sigma initiative was formally launched in June 2003 with the tagline: 'Six Sigma-my customer, my priority'. The company has outlined that improving customer satisfaction is the business objective for first year of the initiative. The executive committee identified the processes that were in conjunction with this focus area.

In the first phase, critical business processes were aligned with business objectives. The critical objectives identified were customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, improving revenue and free cash.

First, the projects with processes mapped against these objectives were to be undertaken. And then the quality improvement projects for existing and new products were to be undertaken. Almost 85 percent of Six Sigma projects at BBNL are based on customer satisfaction.

A cross-functional team was formed to tackle each project. The team consisted of a champion, a Black Belt and four to five Green Belts. The duration for each project can range between 4 to 6 months. For the first phase the team chose 15 critical projects that offered substantial gains. Black Belts are involved full-time in the quality improvement process while Green Belts spend around 25 percent of their time on the quality improvement initiatives.

Each project followed the five-phase DMAIC methodology. These include defining and quantifying the problem, measuring the defect rate, i.e. the baseline. This is followed by the analysis phase where analysis is done on when, where and how the defects occur. The fourth step is improvement, finding probable solutions and applying them. The final step is control in terms of sustaining the improvements.

BBNL has applied Six Sigma to processes for timely complaint resolution, timely order implementation and timely invoice submission.

When the teams started measuring critical business processes they found that the baseline was not as per customer expectations. There were gaps of around 30-40 percent in some processes. The baseline having been measured, targets were set for improving the processes. After analysing defects, process improvements were kicked in. Simplifying the process instead of changing the entire process brings in the improvement. The tool essentially requires fine-tuning the process and eliminating those that do not add value. "When you are simplifying the projects, productivity goes up within the same resources, thereby leading to optimum utilisation of the resources," says Juneja. One of the ways of simplifying processes is to use IT for automating processes.

The executive committee continuously monitored the projects. A quality dashboard was created, wherein every month performance is reported. The CEO and the COO monitor whether the objectives are being met.

Benefits:

The Six Sigma process improvements have translated into productivity enhancements, improved customer satisfaction and process effectiveness. BBNL targeted a saving of around Rs. 100 million in the first year of operation. The target was to achieve 99 percent (i.e. approximately four Sigma level) Right First Time on all critical processes.

Within six months BBNL had achieved timely complaint resolution 66 percent from the baseline, Timely order implementation up 70 percent from baseline and Timely invoice submission up 51 percent from baseline.

Six Sigma methodologies :: DMAIC and DMADV

2011-03-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

DMAIC Vs DMADV

DMAIC and DMADV are two Six Sigma methodologies that eliminate defects from a process or product. It’s important to understand DMAIC and DMADV and when it is most appropriate to use each methodology.

Everything in business is a process. Sales people have a list of companies and contacts that they work in a certain fashion to produce a sale, production receives an order and schedules the manufacturing, the product is built, packaged, shipped and invoiced. If the packing department has a problem with their process then should they fix it with a DMAIC or DMADV (also referred to as DFSS) type project?

The Similarities of DMAIC and DMADV

Let's first look at the DMAIC and DMADV methodologies and talk about how they're alike. DMAIC and DMADV are both:

Six Sigma methodologies used to drive defects to less than 3.4 per million opportunities.
Data intensive solution approaches. Intuition has no place in Six Sigma -- only cold, hard facts.
Implemented by Green Belts, Black Belts and Master Black Belts.
Ways to help meet the business/financial bottom-line numbers.
Implemented with the support of a champion and process owner.

The Differences of DMAIC and DMADV

DMAIC and DMADV sound very similar. The acronyms even share the first three letters. But that's about where the similarities stop.

DMAIC	Define		Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables
	Measure		Measure the process to determine current performance
	Analyze		Analyze and determine the root cause(s) of the defects
	Improve		Improve the process by eliminating defects
	Control		Control future process performance
DMADV		Define		Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables
		Measure		Measure and determine customer needs and specifications
		Analyze		Analyze the process options to meet the customer needs
		Design		Design (detailed) the process to meet the customer needs
		Verify		Verify the design performance and ability to meet customer needs

When to Use DMAIC

The DMAIC methodology, instead of the DMADV methodology, should be used when a product or process is in existence at your company but is not meeting customer specification or is not performing adequately.

When to Use DMADV

The DMADV methodology, instead of the DMAIC methodology, should be used when:

A product or process is not in existence at your company and one needs to be developed
The existing product or process exists and has been optimized (using either DMAIC or not) and still doesn't meet the level of customer specification or six sigma level

Training Calender :: Lean Six Sigma (Green Belt, Black Belt)

2011-03-31T05:47:00.000-07:00

*For the Kind Attn. of: GM, HRM, Training Managers, Quality Professionals...*
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Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Course: ASCB (Europe) - UK Accredited ISO 9001:2008 QMS Internal Auditor Course Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Course: ASCB (Europe) - UK Accredited	4 Days 2 Days 4 Days	Pune Mumbai Mumbai	2nd , 3rd & 9th , 10th 14^th & 15^th 16th , 17th & 23rd , 24th
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Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Course: ASCB (Europe) - UK Accredited Lead Auditor Course for ISO 9001:2008 QMS: IRCA-UK Approved Hands - on training on use of MINITAB	4 Days 5 Days 1 Day	Mumbai Pune Mumbai	5th to 8th 18th to 22nd 28th


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For Registration & Details Call us on Cell: 09323812989 / 09223351834; aiqmtraining@gmail.com; manager@aiqmindia.com; web: www. aiqmindia.com
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Case Study :: how a process was digitized to produce fewer defects through the use of Six Sigma tools.

2011-03-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

Case Study

A case study describing how a process was digitized (converting paper documents into electronic documents) to produce fewer defects through the use of Six Sigma tools.

This work described below was carried out in a large company based in the US and India. The project dealt with converting printed paper from US customers into electronic copies. The material was quite heterogeneous in nature - consisting of assorted magazines and legal papers. It is part of an ongoing operation that services several customers. The results obtained have wide applicability in the back rooms of industries processing large amounts of data - IT enabled services, banks, insurance companies, hospitals etc. - and computer based office processes.

This project was taken up as a demonstration example within the framework of building a Six Sigma mind-set in the organization, while training a core group in the use of the techniques and the teamwork required. The problem solving methodology consisted of seven steps, combined with quality tools to create a dramatic improvement in the quality of the output far beyond the expectations of anyone in the organization.

The narrative unfolds in the same sequence as the project followed - through each of the seven steps of problem solving accompanied by education in and application of the six sigma techniques relevant to the problem.

1. Selection of the Problem

1.1) A meeting of the senior management of the company was held and a brainstorming session produced a list of over 30 problems. These were classified into two categories:

"End result" problems faced by the external customers
Internal problems that were causes of customer problems rather than basic problems themselves.

The realization that the first category of problems was the one to be attacked (customer focus) came spontaneously.

Then prioritization was done to select the most important problem using the weighted voting system followed by a quick discussion to produce a consensus. The theme (CTQs) selected was "Consistency of Quality and Timeliness".

1.2) The problem area: Within the theme, intuitively the management recommended a particular customer line. When asked to collect data for different customer lines and present it, to their surprise they found that another major line had a bigger problem. This was the line selected. The realization of the importance of data based had begun!

1.3) Definition of the problem: Data (including errors) was collected for 30 days. During this exercise it was realized that different auditors were classifying the same error in two different ways, leading to measurement system discrepancies. This led to a reclassification of the errors, and training of the auditors.

From the data then collected and analyzed the problem was defined as follows:

Customer requirement: <50 ppm errors

Current process average errors: 510 ppm

Variability (sigma): 710 ppm

(Average + 3 sigma): 2640 ppm

Note: Errors were collected before rework to ensure that the root causes would be exposed.

Problem definition: Reduce error density to assure 3-sigma quality under 50 ppm from the current 2640 ppm (i.e. 98%).

2. Finding the Vital Few to Attack

The errors collected were categorized using a Pareto diagram. Prioritization was required at three levels:

Level 1: Four categories, C1 to C4 - one category (C1) constituted 85% of the errors

Level 2: C1 into 4 categories, C11 to C14 - one (C11) category constitutes 98% of the errors

Level 3: C11 into 4 categories, C111 to C114 - one (C111) constituted 85% of the errors
Category C111 was attacked as it constituted approximately 65% of the total problem.

3. Idea Formulation for Countermeasures

Seven error types were found in C111 in two broad categories. They were examined to determine why each one could have occurred, and a brainstorm for possible countermeasures was done. The most likely measures to "Kill the Problems" were selected for trial implementation.

4. Idea Testing and Modification

The selected countermeasures were analyzed and tested for each error type and the successful countermeasure was short-listed for implementation.

5. Implementation of Countermeasures

Training instructions were prepared for the new procedures and all the operators were trained. Implementation of all the countermeasures was done across the system from a particular date.

6. Confirming the Results

The team was trained in control charts and the X bar-sigma charts were introduced to monitor the results. A dramatic reduction occurred from the day of implementation ,and the first three weeks confirmed that a drop of 90% in error density had been achieved from 2640 ppm to around 300 ppm.

Tremendous enthusiasm was generated in the team as the result of this project far exceeded their expectation

7. Maintenance of Improvement - Continuous Small Improvements

Standard operating procedures (SOP) were drawn up for the process changes. A special session with the operating personnel emphasizing regular review, and killing any abnormal peaks that may have occurred in the control chart was explained. An SOP covered the frequency of review meetings for each level of supervision and management and a review format was introduced. The line supervisor who was part of the team became the enthusiastic owner of quality and the control chart, as well as the leader of the team charged with maintaining quality and continuously improving it. The slogan "If you do not improve, you deteriorate" was introduced.

This effort gradually brought down the (average + 3 sigma) error density further from 300 ppm to <50ppm.

The Quality Improvement (QI) Story

A QI Story was prepared for presentation to senior management detailing the improvements that occurred:

Tangible

Customer delight: Customer reported 100% quality in his sampling consistently over six months. He could not find errors at such a low density.
Productivity and Cost: Inspection and rework reduced to almost zero. 99.7% first pass efficiency. Sampling sizes were reduced. These resulted in savings of US $ 50000 per annum at Indian wage levels (in US equivalent US $ 300,000 per annum).
Volume Increase: Approximately 50% by the customer. The production went through without increased manpower.
Turnaround of the documents was improved dramatically due to no rework and started meeting customer requirements.

Intangible

Senior management time saved
Motivation of the operations personnel very high
Team work between Operations, Instruction and tool development and QA personnel
Mind-set Changes
Producing quality saves money
The importance of data and six sigma techniques.
If you don't improve, you deteriorate

Future plans for improving the turnaround by 50% using just in time methods are being implemented now.

Conclusion, Six Sigma - Techniques and Mind-set

The case here emphasizes the importance of Six Sigma techniques implementation being accompanied by building a culture and mind-set of continuous improvement and change in all employees. In the author's view and experience it is the creation of synergy between people and techniques that ensures maximum and continuing benefits from a Six Sigma/TQM initiative.

Bill Smith :: Father of Six Sigma

2011-03-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

A Tribute to Bill Smith

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1929, Bill Smith graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1952 and studied at the University of Minnesota School of Business. In 1987, after working for nearly 35 years in engineering and quality assurance, he joined Motorola, serving as vice president and senior quality assurance manager for the Land Mobile Products Sector.

Bill Smith, the Father of Six Sigma, introduced the statistical approach while working at Motorola, where it garnered the company financial benefits and numerous awards.

Bill Smith spent years convincing higher-ups that he really had invented a better mousetrap. Then he spent the rest of his life spreading the word to business professionals, government leaders and educators.

Smith's mousetrap? It was Six Sigma, the TQM spin off that has generated billions of dollars for Motorola, the company where Smith introduced his statistical approach aimed at increasing profitability by reducing defects. Smith, who earned the appellation, Father of Six Sigma, would probably be tickled to know Six Sigma has become so important that it even appears periodically in the widely syndicated comic strip, Dilbert.

As a Motorola employee, Smith did not share directly in the profits generated by the company's Six Sigma applications. However, over the years, he and Motorola garnered numerous awards and recognition for his vital work to improve profitability in America's manufacturing sector. He was especially proud of his role in Motorola's winning the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Baldrige Award came in 1988, two years after Motorola implemented Smith's Six Sigma principles.

Smith's death, only five years later, caught everyone by surprise. He died of a heart attack at work.

Baldrige Award winners agree to share their quality programs with anyone who is interested. Hook said that since Motorola was the first company to win, others were eager to learn more about Six Sigma.

He used to spend the last few years of his life traveling around, teaching and introducing Six Sigma to people. He was so appreciated wherever he went and people were really interested in it. Not surprisingly, the man behind the methodology was a passionate visionary and a great communicator. Bill Smith was also a perfectionist. Even at home.

In honor of Smith's talents and dedication, Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management established an endowed scholarship in Smith's name. Dean Donald P. Jacobs of the Kellogg School notified Motorola's Robert Galvin of the school's intention less than a month after Smith died. It was a fitting tribute to a man who influenced business students and corporate leaders worldwide with his innovative Six Sigma strategy.

As the one who followed most closely in his footsteps, Marjorie Hook is well-positioned to speculate about Bill Smith's take on the 2003 version of Six Sigma. "Today I think people sometimes try to make Six Sigma seem complicated and overly technical," she said. "His approach was, 'If you want to improve something, involve the people who are doing the job.' He always wanted to make it simple so people would use it."

ISO 9001:2008 Quality management systems

2011-03-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

Introduction

Two of the most important objectives in the revision of the ISO 9000 series of standards have been

to develop a simplified set of standards that will be equally applicable to small as well as medium and large organizations, and

for the amount and detail of documentation required to be more relevant to the desired results of the organization’s process activities.

ISO 9001:2008, Quality management systems – Requirements has achieved these objectives, and the purpose of this additional guidance is to explain the intent of the new standard with specific regard to documentation.

ISO 9001:2008 allows an organization flexibility in the way it chooses to document its quality management system (QMS). This enables each individual organization to develop the minimum amount of documentation needed in order to demonstrate the effective planning, operation and control of its processes and the implementation and continual improvement of the effectiveness of its QMS.

It is stressed that ISO 9001 requires (and always has required) a “Documented quality management system”, and not a “system of documents”.

What is a “document”? - Definitions and references

The following are some of the main objectives of an organization’s documentation, independent of whether or not it has implemented a formal QMS;

a) Communication of Information

It is used as a tool for information transmission and communication. The type and extent of the documentation will depend on the nature of the organization’s products and processes, the degree of formality of communication systems and the level of communication skills within the organization, and the organizational culture.

b) Evidence of conformity

It takes care of the provision of evidence that was planned, has actually been done.

c) Knowledge sharing

It is important to disseminate and preserve the organization’s experiences. A typical example would be a technical specification, which can be used as a base for design and development of a new product.

ISO 9001:2008 Documentation Requirements

ISO 9001:2008 clause 4.1 General requirements requires an organization to “establish, document, implement, and maintain a quality management system and continually improve its effectiveness in accordance with the requirements of this International Standard”

Clause 4.2.1 General explains that the quality management system documentation shall include:

documented statements of a quality policy and quality objectives;

a quality manual

documented procedures required by this International Standard

documents needed by the organization to ensure the effective planning, operation and control of its processes, and

records required by this International Standard;

The notes after Clause 4.2 make it clear that where the standard specifically requires a “documented procedure”, the procedure has to be established, documented, implemented and maintained. It also emphasizes that the extent of the QMS documentation may differ from one organization to another due to:

the size of organization and type of activities;

the complexity of processes and their interactions, and

the competence of personnel.

All the documents that form part of the QMS have to be controlled in accordance with clause 4.2.3 of ISO 9001:2008, or, for the particular case of records, according to clause 4.2.4.

Guidance on Clause 4.2 of ISO 9001:2008

The following comments are intended to assist users of ISO 9001:2008 in understanding the intent of the general documentation requirements of the International Standard.

a) Documented statements of a quality policy and objectives:

Requirements for the quality policy are defined in clause 5.3 of ISO 9001:2008. The documented quality policy has to be controlled according to the requirements of clause 4.2.3.

Note: Organizations that are revising their quality policy for the first time, or in order to meet the amended requirements in ISO 9001:2008, should pay particular attention to clause 4.2.3 (c), (d) and (g).

Requirements for quality objectives are defined in clause 5.4.1 of ISO 9001:2008. These documented quality objectives are also subject to the document control requirements of clause 4.2.3.

b) Quality Manual:

Clause 4.2.2 of ISO 9001:2008 specifies the minimum content for a quality manual. The format and structure of the manual is a decision for each organization, and will depend on the organization’s size, culture and complexity. Some organizations may choose to use the quality manual for other purposes besides that of simply documenting the QMS

A small organization may find it appropriate to include the description of its entire QMS within a single manual, including all the documented procedures required by the standard.

Large, multi-national organizations may need several manuals at the global, national or regional level, and a more complex hierarchy of documentation.

The quality manual is a document that has to be controlled in accordance with the requirements of clause 4.2.3.

c) Documented procedures:

ISO 9001:2008 specifically requires the organization to have “documented procedures” for the following six activities:

4.2.3 Control of documents
4.2.4 Control of records
8.2.2 Internal audit
8.3 Control of nonconforming product
8.5.2 Corrective action
8.5.3 Preventive action

These documented procedures have to be controlled in accordance with the requirements of clause 4.2.3

Some organizations may find it convenient to combine the procedure for several activities into a single documented procedure (for example, corrective action and preventive action). Others may choose to document a given activity by using more than one documented procedure (for example, internal audits). Both are acceptable.

Some organizations (particularly larger organizations, or those with more complex processes) may require additional documented procedures (particularly those relating to product realization processes) to implement an effective QMS.

Other organizations may require additional procedures, but the size and/or culture of the organization could enable these to be effectively implemented without necessarily being documented. However, in order to demonstrate compliance with ISO 9001:2008, the organization has to be able to provide objective evidence (not necessarily documented) that its QMS has been effectively implemented.

d) Documents needed by the organization to ensure the effective

planning, operation and control of its processes:

In order for an organization to demonstrate the effective implementation of its QMS, it may be necessary to develop documents other than documented procedures. However, the only documents specifically mentioned in ISO 9001:2008 are:

- Quality policy (clause 4.2.1.a)
- Quality objectives (clause 4.2.1.a)
- Quality manual (clause 4.2.1.b)

There are several requirements of ISO 9001:2008 where an organization could add value to its QMS and demonstrate conformity by the preparation of other documents, even though the standard does not specifically require them. Examples may include:

Process maps, process flow charts and/or process descriptions

- Organization charts
- Specifications
- Work and/or test instructions
- Documents containing internal communications
- Production schedules
- Approved supplier lists
- Test and inspection plans
- Quality plans

· All such documents have to be controlled in accordance with the requirements of clause 4.2.3 and/or 4.2.4, as applicable

e) Records:

· Examples of records specifically required by ISO 9001:2008 are presented in Annex B.

· Organizations are free to develop other records that may be needed to demonstrate conformity of their processes, products and quality management system.

· Requirements for the control of records are different from those for other documents, and all records have to be controlled according to those of clause 4.2.4 of ISO 9001:2008.

Organizations preparing to implement a QMS

For organizations that are in the process of implementing a QMS, and wish to meet the requirements of ISO 9001:2008, the following comments may be useful.

· For organizations that are in the process of implementing or have yet to implement a QMS, ISO 9001:2008 emphasizes a process approach. This includes:
- Identifying the processes necessary for the effective implementation of the quality management system
- understanding the interactions between these processes.
- documenting the processes to the extent necessary to assure their effective operation and control. (It may be appropriate to document the processes using process maps. It is emphasized, however, that documented process maps are not a requirement of ISO 9001:2008.)

· These processes include the management, resource, product realization and measurement processes that are relevant to the effective operation of the QMS.

· Analysis of the processes should be the driving force for defining the amount of documentation needed for the quality management system, taking into account the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. It should not be the documentation that drives the processes.

Organizations wishing to adapt an existing QMS

For organizations that currently have a QMS the following comments are intended to assist in understanding the changes to documentation that may be required or facilitated by the transition to ISO 9001:2008

An organization with an existing QMS should not need to rewrite all of its documentation in order to meet the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. This is particularly true if an organization has structured its QMS based on the way it effectively operates, using a process approach. In this case, the existing documentation may be adequate and can be simply referenced in the revised quality manual.

An organization that has not used a process approach in the past will need to pay particular attention to the definition of its processes, their sequence and interaction.

An organization may be able to carry out some simplification and/or consolidation of existing documents, in order to simplify its QMS.

Demonstrating conformity with ISO 9001:2008

For organizations wishing to demonstrate conformity with the requirements of ISO 9001:2008, for the purposes of certification/registration, contractual, or other reasons, it is important to remember the need to provide evidence of the effective implementation of the QMS.

Organizations may be able to demonstrate conformity without the need for extensive documentation.

To claim conformity with ISO 9001:2008, the organization has to be able to provide objective evidence of the effectiveness of its processes and its quality management system. Clause 3.8.1 of ISO 9000:2005 defines “objective evidence” as “data supporting the existence or variety of something” and notes that “objective evidence may be obtained through observation, measurement, test, or other means.”

Objective evidence does not necessarily depend on the existence of documented procedures, records or other documents, except where specifically mentioned in ISO 9001:2008. In some cases, (for example, in clause 7.1(d) Planning of product realization, and clause 8.2.4 Monitoring and measurement of product), it is up to the organization to determine what records are necessary in order to provide this objective evidence.

here the organization has no specific internal procedure for a particular activity, and this is not required by the standard, (for example, clause 5.6 Management Review), it is acceptable for this activity to be conducted using as a basis the relevant clause of ISO 9001:2008. In these situations, both internal and external audits may use the text of ISO 9001:2008 for conformity assessment purposes.

Total Quality Management ( TQM )

2011-03-20T00:11:00.000-07:00

Total Quality Management (TQM) is an integrated system of principles, methods, and best practices that provide a framework for organizations to strive for excellence in everything they do.

A model for organization excellence

The roots of Total Quality Management (TQM) go back to the teachings of Drucker, Juran, Deming, Ishikawa, Crosby, Feigenbaum and countless other people that have studied, practiced, and tried to refine the process of organizational management. TQM is a collection of principles, techniques, processes, and best practices that over time have been proven effective. Most all world-class organizations exhibit the majority of behaviors that are typically identified with TQM.

No two organizations have the same TQM implementation. There is no recipe for organization success, however, there are a number of great TQM models that organizations can use. These include the Deming Application Prize, the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, the European Foundation for Quality Management, and the ISO quality management standards. Any organization that wants to improve its performance would be well served by selecting one of these models and conducting a self-assessment.

The simplest model of TQM is shown in this diagram. The model begins with understanding customer needs. TQM organizations have processes that continuously collect, analyze, and act on customer information. Activities are often extended to understanding competitor's customers. Developing an intimate understanding of customer needs allows TQM organizations to predict future customer behavior.

TQM organizations integrate customer knowledge with other information and use the planning process to orchestrate action throughout the organization to manage day to day activities and achieve future goals. Plans are reviewed at periodic intervals and adjusted as necessary. The planning process is the glue that holds together all TQM activity.

TQM organizations understand that customers will only be satisfied if they consistently receive products and services that meet their needs, are delivered when expected, and are priced for value. TQM organizations use the techniques of process management to develop cost-controlled processes that are stable and capable of meeting customer expectations.

TQM organizations also understand that exceptional performance today may be unacceptable performance in the future so they use the concepts of process improvement to achieve both breakthrough gains and incremental continuous improvement. Process improvement is even applied to the TQM system itself!

The final element of the TQM model is total participation. TQM organizations understand that all work is performed through people. This begins with leadership. In TQM organizations, top management takes personal responsibility for implementing, nurturing, and refining all TQM activities. They make sure people are properly trained, capable, and actively participate in achieving organizational success. Management and employees work together to create an empowered environment where people are valued

G. K. K. Director AIQM, Delivers Six Sigma Lecture Part - 2

2011-02-28T00:57:00.000-08:00

G. K. K. Director AIQM, Delivers Six Sigma Lecture Part - 1

2011-02-17T20:53:00.000-08:00

Improving Internal Communication as required by ISO 9001 QMS

2011-01-14T22:39:00.000-08:00

by Denise E. Robitaille

The nuns at St. Anthony’s Catholic school used to tell a cautionary tale of a woman who’d spread a vile bit of gossip about her neighbor. Horrified by the consequences of her actions, she went to church to confess her transgression. She explained to her priest that she regretted the gossip and wished to confess, atone for her sin and make reparation. The priest granted absolution and then assigned her the following task:

“Take a pillow and climb to the top of the steeple,” he said. “When you reach the bell tower, rip open the pillow and scatter the feathers to the wind. After you’ve finished, come back to see me.”

The contrite penitent did as she was told. When she finished, she descended and went to the priest. “Now, go and gather all the feathers,” he told her.

“But that would be impossible,” she exclaimed. “I could never find them all.”

“That’s true,” he replied. “In the same way, it’s impossible for you to fully repair the damage that your gossip has done.”

This parable demonstrates both the intricacy of communication and the exponential consequences of losing control over this fundamental element of our shared humanity. What we say (or don’t say), the care with which we target our listener, the veracity of the content and the accountability we assume for the actions that ensue are all issues that we must control.

The costs of inadequate communication

Communication is the means by which we inform one another, give instructions, exchange ideas, grant permission, conduct commerce, shout warnings and express satisfaction, etc. Implicit in any of our verbal or written interchanges is a presumption that the information is reliable both in substance and authority. We must be confident that we can trust the message and that the person who composes it is both qualified to communicate the message and in some way accountable for its content.

Well-controlled communications are accurate, timely, complete, directed to all appropriate or required recipients, and crafted in a way that’s understood by the intended audience.

Communications are incomplete until the recipient confirms that the messages have been received. They’re of limited value if the recipient doesn’t fully comprehend what’s being communicated, and they’re worse than useless if the information is wrong.

Within the context of ISO 9001 QMS, failing to control internal communication engenders the following risks:

Incorrect information might be disseminated.
Updated information might not be available in a timely manner.
Information might be correct and timely but inaccessible.
Interested parties might be inadvertently omitted from a distribution list.
Recipients might misunderstand or misinterpret what’s being communicated.

Examples of probable outcomes from these failures include:

A customer’s concession to a deviation never gets acted upon.
The latest revision of a specification doesn’t go to production.
Modified quality objectives aren’t shared with employees.
Revised safety protocols aren’t implemented.
Material is purchased from a disqualified supplier.
Operators miss an important training session.
Customer complaints don’t get appropriate attention.
New-product rollout is delayed because of multiple miscommunications.

The ultimate consequence in all instances is a breakdown of one or more processes that will adversely affect your ability to fulfill customer requirements. In some cases, poor communication guarantees you’ll ship the customer the wrong item or fail to make on-time delivery.

If you don’t control your internal communications, you don’t know where messages are going. You lose the means of knowing what actions were taken by those who received your messages. You have no way of tracing or retrieving them if the information is wrong. You don’t know if the data originated from a reliable or authorized source. And you can’t even be sure that everyone is hearing the same thing.

Failing to establish effective internal communication creates a systemic breakdown comparable to a problem with your document control process or any other feature that pervades your organization. For example, the relationship between communication and document control is that the documentation describes the requirement, and communication is the conduit for getting it to the appropriate process owner. If you have problems with document control, you could communicate the wrong specification. The input to your communication process is directly influenced by the data’s integrity; therefore, you must ensure that the content is factual.

The other aspect of communication to consider is the relationship between sender and receiver. A message’s author is responsible for ensuring that the intended audience will understand the language and format. He or she must also make the message accessible. Posting an important notice on a server that only a small population is authorized to access is nearly equivalent to not communicating at all.

Establishing appropriate channels

In order for an organization to control its internal communications adequately, there must be consensus as to process, protocols, authorizations and records.

How do you communicate a change to a customer order? Who has the authority to tell you to change your production schedule? Who must know about a revision to a subassembly? Who lets salespeople know if a customer’s order will be late? How does the company ensure that all affected functions sign off on the organization’s capacity to service a new contract? Whom do you tell about customer complaints? Where and when do people go for companywide notifications?

Clause 5.5.3, Internal communication, is one of the important requirements in ISO 9001. Good internal communication has always been a prerequisite for organizational efficiency--especially across departmental boundaries.

It is not necessary to write a procedure about how you control internal communications. However, it is required that communications relevant to your quality system activities are adequately controlled to facilitate the fulfillment of organizational goals. Your communications conduits must work for you.

For the purpose of your ISO 9001 registration, it’s your registrar’s responsibility to assess the implementation of your internal communication methods as they relate to your company’s quality policy, objectives and procedures. It must be evident to the auditor that your mechanisms for communicating information are consistently applied, adequately controlled and effective.

A typical question might be, “Does the e-mail system for schedule change notifications work?” To answer that, an auditor might look upstream for issues that prompted a schedule change and then look downstream to see if they were resolved in a timely manner.

For example, a customer might have sent an e-mail stating, “Switch purchase orders 22345 and 22361 on the schedule because we’ve had a change in projections.” Your accepted protocol is to e-mail the scheduler, flag the message as urgent and wait for a confirmation. The auditor would follow the trail from the customer request to the evidence indicating what was ultimately shipped out. If the schedule wasn’t revised soon enough to switch the orders, the customer probably didn’t get the needed parts.

Conversely, if things happened as requested, there’s verification that the company has adequate control of this particular communication conduit. This is one of many examples of using an alternative to a documented procedure to define and control a process.

Communication as process

Communication is a process. In keeping with the process approach, it’s appropriate to apply the inherent concepts of input and output to this group of activities. The input is the information that creates the need for the communication. The nature of the information determines the method and flow. The output of the process is the successful transmission. The message content creates input for the next step in the series of processes. If the input (i.e., message) is, “Part X73 is going to be late; skip to the next job,” then the output (or response) might be: “OK, confirmed. Will post Job 4876 next.” The messages’ traceability ensures that requirements--even when they change frequently in a volatile market--are controlled and effectively communicated.

When you consider internal communication as a process, you can begin to ascribe to it some of the same features you apply to other quality management system processes. Let’s look at them individually.

Definition

Consider the methods and nature of your communications. Types of communications might include:

Customer concessions
Changes to work instructions
Revisions to customer specifications
Rescheduling
Project status
Training requirements
Objectives
Process deviations
Changes to supplier qualifications
Personnel assignment
Segregation of material

The methods you’ll use to communicate are equally diverse and might include:
Color-coding or other nonverbal status indicators

Signatures
E-mails
Meetings
Bulletin/white boards
Engineering change notice forms
Internal audits
Lockout/tag-out protocols
Memos
Physical placement (e.g., finished goods on marked shelf)
Newsletters
Threaded discussions
Tags

Even if you don’t have a defined procedure, you must have consensus on the communication conduits. Designers must know where on the server they can consistently find the latest updates to customer specifications. Operators must demonstrate consistent awareness that a red tag means a job has been rejected and a yellow one means it’s awaiting inspection. Employees must know that the cafeteria bulletin board is where they sign up for training sessions. Whatever communication method you use must be uniformly practiced in order to be adequate and effective.

Responsibility

Who’s responsible for making sure information gets to the appropriate recipients? Who’s authorized to initiate certain messages, such as production schedule changes? Who must receive the information? Does the recipient have to respond? Who should archive the messages? Who handles your e-mail system?

Resources

Does the organization provide the means for effective communication to occur? Are there bulletin boards, adequate access to computer terminals or e-mail, suggestion boxes or readily available forms? Sometimes breakdowns occur simply because the organizational culture doesn’t foster communication. People must be able to express concerns and ideas as well as information. Are supervisors intimidating or inaccessible?

Training

Do people know how to use the e-mail system? Do they know how to use the various forms that are utilized to communicate requirements? Do they know who to ask if they don’t understand the nature of a message? Do people know the protocol or rules for contacting people at other facilities or remote locations? Does the company offer tuition assistance for “English as a second language” courses?

Implementation and verification

Do your employees consistently use the established methods to communicate? Are they communicating at all?

It’s necessary to verify that the process is effective in fulfilling the requirement.

As described earlier, it’s possible to assess the extent to which communication methods are working by reviewing a message’s outcome and determining if it resulted in the desired action. If the document revision got to the operator, if the supervisor confirmed that the equipment maintenance schedule was updated or if the customer’s complaint was acted upon in a timely manner, then you have verification that your internal communication process is effective.

Records

The same rules apply to this process as to any other. Records of requisite communications provide evidence. The ability to produce an amended contract, for example, isn’t just a good QMS practice; it can also be the means of avoiding litigation. Records of communications can also help you understand problems and breakdowns. When doing a root cause analysis, it’s helpful to know when messages were sent and to whom. It might be that the revised requirements were sent but weren’t available to the person who needed them. Or there might have been a delay with a communication. If there’s a misunderstanding about the message, a record affords you the opportunity to reassess the format and improve the way you craft subsequent communications.

Words into goals

Internal communication is the link between requirements and the people who must fulfil them. Commitment to consistent and effective communication is one of the tools you use to empower individuals to fulfil organizational goals.

STRATEGIC QUALITY PLANNING AND DEPLOYMENT:

2011-01-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

By Joseph A. De Feo

Strategic quality planning (SQP) is a systematic approach to defining long-term business goals, including goals to improve quality and the means (i.e., the plans) to achieve them. Many organizations have created a vision “to be the best,” toward a goal of outperforming competitors. Many of these organizations fall short in achieving this vision. Most do not align, or have difficulty aligning, their performance excellence initiatives like lean and Six Sigma to the annual business plan. This leads to lack of resources to complete projects, which in turn makes them hard to justify.

To achieve a vision it is necessary to align the annual goals to your major change initiatives or quality programs and integrate them into the strategic plan. This will ensure the new focus becomes part of the plan and sustainable.

Japanese quality leaders refer to this process as hoshin kanri or “policy deployment. Ho, shin, kan, and ri are actually four words that loosely translate to “focus, direction, alignment, and reason.”

Focus by creating goals that provide direction and alignment of the resources needed from the organization to meet those goals and the reasons for selection them. The reasons force management to understand why it is selecting these goals.

The potential benefits of strategic quality planning and deployment include:

• Clarification of goals
• Achievability of goals
• Scheduled reduction of chronic wastes and improved quality of products and services
• Better or new focus on customers

Strategic quality planning is the systematic process by which an organization defines its long-term goals with respect to quality and customers, and integrates them into a cohesive business plan. It enables an organization to execute organizational breakthroughs to achieve a competitive advantage and quality leadership.

The approach to providing organization wide financial goals has evolved into a more robust strategic plan, incorporating these goals into a hierarchy that includes the voice of the customer. A structured methodology must include a provision of rewards, universal participation, a common language, and training.

Launching a strategic plan

Creating a strategic plan requires that leaders be personally involved, eliminating the atmosphere of blame, and making decisions on the best available data. The strategic deployment process requires incorporating the customer focus. The elements needed are generally alike for all organizations. The ones in most widespread use tend to be:

• Mission
• Vision
• Values
• Policy

The mission is the reason for the organization’s existence. The vision is the desired future state of the organization. Values are what the organization stands for, and they tie into strategies, which are the means to achieve the vision. Policies represent a guide to managerial action, guiding day-to-day decision-making. And finally, the deployment plan is what turns vision into action.

Developing the plan

Strategic deployment begins with a customer-focused vision, which should define the benefits that can be expected. Good vision statements should be compelling and shared throughout the organization. But vision statements are only words—a reminder of what the organization is pursuing, which must be carried out through actions. When forming a vision, it’s important not to focus exclusively on shareholders, to properly explain the vision to everyone involved, and not to create a vision too easy or difficult to achieve.

A mission is often confused with a vision, but a mission statement should clarify an organization’s purpose. Together, a vision and mission provide an agreed-upon direction, which can be used as a basis for decision-making.

To convert the vision into an achievable plan, it must be broken into key strategies. Responsibility for them must be distributed to key executives. To determine what the strategies should be, five areas must be assessed:

• Customer loyalty and satisfaction
• Costs related to poor quality of products or processes
• Organization’s culture
• Business processes
• Competitive benchmarking

Each of these areas can form the basis for a balanced business scorecard. The key strategies can be modified to reflect long-term goals. An organization must set specific strategic goals that must be achieved for the broad strategy to be a success. Seven areas must be addressed to ensure that the proper goals are established:

• Product performance
• Competitive performance
• Business improvement
• Cost of poor quality
• Performance of business processes
• Customer satisfaction
• Customer loyalty and retention

Goals that affect product salability and revenue generation should be based primarily on meeting or exceeding marketplace quality. A widely used basis for setting goals has been historical performance.

Corporate values reflect an organization’s culture. Some organizations create value statements to further define themselves. Values are what an organization stands for, and must be supported with actions from management lest their publication create cynicism.

Policy declarations are a necessity during a period of major change. Most declare the intention to meet the needs of customers, and include language relative to competitiveness in quality. Some include specific reference to internal customers, or indicate that the improvement should extend to all phases of the business. Enforcement of new policies is a problem due to the relative newness of documented quality policies. Sometimes, an audit process is mandated to ensure the policy is carried out.

A fundamental step in establishing any strategic plan is the participation of upper management. The executives are responsible for ensuring all business units have a similar council at the subordinate levels of the organization. If a council is not in place, the organization should create one.

Once the strategic goals have been agreed upon, they must be subdivided and communicated to lower levels. Those who are assigned responsibility must determine the needed resources and communicate this to higher levels. The deployment process starts by identifying the needs of the organization.

Measuring progress

There are several reasons why an organized approach to measuring performance is necessary:

• Performance measures indicate the degree of accomplishment of objectives
• Performance measures are needed to monitor the improvement process
• Performance measures are required for periodic reviews by management

Once goals have been broken down into sub-goals, key measures need to be established. The best measures of the strategic planning process are simple, quantitative, and graphic. As goals are set and deployed, the means to achieve them must be analyzed to ensure they satisfy the objective they support. Once the system is in place, it must be reviewed periodically to ensure that goals are being met.

A formal, efficient review process will increase the probability of reaching the goals. The review process looks at gaps between what has been achieved and the target. Frequent measurements of progress displayed in graphic form help identify the gaps in need of attention. Success in closing those gaps depends on a formal feedback loop with clear responsibility and authority for acting on those differences.

Pursuing too many objectives at the same time will dilute the results. Trying to plan without adequate data can create an unachievable plan. If leaders delegate too much, there will be a lack of direction. The biggest disruption caused by strategic planning is created by imposing a structured approach on those who prefer not to have it. Resistance will be evident at the outset. Therefore, the most important prerequisite is the creation of an environment conducive to change.

Congratulations!!! Mr. Sajja Murali Mohan for Achieving 28 PDUs by PMI

2010-12-30T22:32:00.000-08:00

Mr. Sajja Murali Mohan from Tech Mahindra, Hyderabad who recently completed his Black Belt course with us has been granted 28 PDUs by PMI.

We congratulate him!! Congratulations on your continued effort to maintain your PMI credential!

PMI ID Number: 884314

Category: Cat 4: Other Program Provider
Activity Title: Six Sigma Black Belt
Date Started: 25 Nov 2010
Date Completed: 28 Nov 2010
For Credential: PMP/PgMP
PDUs Claimed: 28
PDUs Earned: 28

Each credential cycle lasts three years. During that time, you have to earn and report the required amount of PDUs to maintain your credential. Please refer to the section
Maintain Your Credential on PMI.org to see PDU requirements per credential. You can also review the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) section of the respective credential handbook online to review the criteria for PDUs.

You will be able to view this activity on your online transcript immediately by logging in to the CCR System.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact PMI at customercare@pmi.org.

Thank you - PMI Customer Care

" AEROSPACE’S AS9100 QMS STANDARD " by Eugene M. Barker

2010-12-24T21:34:00.000-08:00

Representing the first international effort to formulate a quality management system standard for the aerospace industry, the two-year-old AS9100 is beginning to show its long-term value.

The standard supplements ISO 9001 by addressing the additional expectations of the aerospace industry. Already, reports along this complicated manufacturing chain attest to among other benefits AS9100's contribution to more consistent verification methods and fewer verification audits.

Initially released in October 1999 by the Society of Automotive Engineers in the Americas and the European Association of Aerospace Industries in Europe, and shortly thereafter by standards organizations in Japan and Asia, AS9100 was a cooperative effort of the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG).

As such, it combines and harmonizes requirements outlined in the SAE's AS9000 and Europe's prEN9000-1 standards.

Recently, AS9100 was revised to align with ISO 9001:2000.

Separating "whats" from "how tos"

AS9100 defines additional areas within an aerospace quality management system that must be addressed when implementing an ISO 9001:2000-based quality system. Typically, these requirements are included within robust aerospace quality systems. The industry experts who wrote the standard and the representatives who approved it all agree that these additions are essential to ensure product, process and service safety and quality.

Although the standard outlines industry "whats" for a quality management system, the "how tos" were deliberately left out and remain the system designers' responsibility. This reflects the AS9100 writing team's, and my, belief that how-to information stifles continuous improvement.
All quality systems must be designed to meet the specific needs of the users. And although AS9100 identifies areas to address within the aerospace industry, system designers are encouraged to first establish a robust quality system that's both effective and efficient. This system should be a holistic entity with practices spanning multiple functions and processes within the business.

For example, regulatory requirements are critical functions within the industry. The requirements within AS9100 are complementary to contractual and applicable law and regulations. Those implementing a quality system compliant with AS9100 must ensure that the additional requirements of their customers, regulatory agencies (such as the FAA and the JAA) and local, state and national laws are also referenced within the system's documentation.

Aerospace requirements and ISO 9001

Within AS9100, additions and clarifications have been made to most areas of ISO 9001:2000. Although the specific requirements of that standard don't fall within this article's scope, a discussion of the primary areas where ISO 9001 overlaps with AS9100 will benefit those implementing the aerospace standard. Some additional expectations relevant to the aerospace industry follow. Most are based upon existing best practices, which are collected and formatted in AS9100 to ensure that manufacturers meet the industry's expectations.

The AS9100 standard provides guidance for managing variation when a "key characteristic" is identified. Keys are features of a material, process or part in which the variation has a significant influence on product fit, performance, service life or manufacturability. AS9100 requires that an organization establish and document a configuration management process.

Planning product realization is essential for effective and efficient processes. The standard emphasizes planning for in-process verification when a product can't be verified at a later point. Tooling design must also be considered when process control methodology is used to ensure that process data will be captured.

The AS9100 standard includes extensive supplementation in design-and-development functions. This isn't surprising given the complexity of aerospace products and customers' expectations for reliable performance during a protracted period of time. The European prEN9000-1 standard provided many of these additions. Both standards cover planning for design-and-development activities and ensuring interim control points during the design process. Design outputs are supplemented to provide identification of key characteristics, and the data essential for the product that will be identified, manufactured, inspected, used and maintained is detailed.

Notes are included for both design-and-development verification and validation highlighting traditional areas of emphasis. Additionally, AS9100 provides information on areas of verification documentation and validating testing and results.

Managing suppliers throughout the aerospace supply chain remains a major challenge for the industry. The chain is very long, and within the supply base, there are sources that serve multiple industries. Because the industry is so dependent upon this supply chain, it isn't surprising that AS9100 includes a number of additional expectations for identifying and maintaining suppliers. Supplier approval is just one step in the process of managing suppliers.

Effectively communicating requirements is essential. The standard lists seven specific areas for consideration. They range from clarifying engineering requirements to managing test specimens and right of access to suppliers' facilities.

The industry typically relies upon one of three methods for product acceptance. An organization might conduct a receiving inspection, perform the inspection at the supplier's facility or formally delegate product acceptance to the supplier. Procedures for determining the method of supplier control are required, as are the processes used when employing these methods.
But no element of supplier control is more important than understanding that a supplier is responsible for managing its suppliers and sub-tier suppliers. This includes performing special processes that are frequently subcontracted to processing houses. The supplier must use customer-approved sources; however, ensuring that the processing is properly performed is the supplier's responsibility.

Product safety and quality control

Manufacturing a product as sophisticated as an airplane or space vehicle requires special attention during the production processes. It's important, for example, to ensure that the correct revision of the engineering documentation is being used and documented within the work instructions, and that work performance is recorded. This frequently requires a specific reference to the person performing the work. Controlling production processes is essential to demonstrate that operations have been correctly performed. This is especially important when conducting special processes that don't lend themselves to after-the-fact inspection techniques.

The industry frequently relies upon tooling and other production equipment, including computer-controlled machines, to fabricate and assemble products. This equipment often forms the basis for product acceptance. In these cases, it's essential to demonstrate the integrity of these tools and machines and to develop a process that will ensure adequate oversight of the entire process.

Aircraft are designed to perform for 50 years or more, and properly maintaining the aircraft is essential for continued safe operation. Thus, servicing requirements are an important part of the total quality system. These include maintenance and repair manuals as well as the actual servicing work. Again, record-keeping is important in documenting the work performed, the equipment used and the people doing the work.

Some products require traceability of part or all of their components. This requirement may be imposed by contract, regulatory agency or internal need. In any case, AS9100 provides the essentials of an effective traceability program.

Using measuring devices of known accuracy and this may include computer-assisted measuring and test equipment is essential in the verification process. Maintaining a calibration history of this equipment and documented proof that it's reviewed and verified periodically underlies the entire metrology system.

Diagnosing the quality management system's health and using this information to guide improvement activity is important for efficiency and effectiveness. Internal audits performed by competent personnel are a vital input into this health measurement system. AS9100 provides some additional expectations regarding internal quality audits.

Detailed first-article inspections are frequently performed to demonstrate product conformance to engineering requirements. Documenting the actual inspection and test results is an established method of demonstrating initial item acceptance. The standard provides general direction in this regard and suggests that AS/EN/JISQ9102 be consulted for further guidance. Another international aerospace standard, called AS9102 and developed by the IAQG, outlines a methodology for performing and documenting first-article inspections.

When things don't go as planned, AS9100 gives directions for controlling and disposing nonconforming material. This includes specific requirements for contacting the customer for authorization when using or repairing a product that doesn't conform to engineering requirements.

Verifying compliance to AS9100

More than 60 percent of IAQG members have implemented the AS9100 standard internally and are flowing it down to their suppliers. Most members will require suppliers to comply to the updated version of AS9100 (which is aligned to ISO 9001:2000 and supercedes older ISO 9000 standards) beginning in December 2003. This is consistent with the transition from the old ISO 9001 standard to the new version.

Organizations within the industry differ in their compliance to AS9100 verification requirements. Some use their own external auditors to verify suppliers' quality management systems. Others share the results of their quality system audits with suppliers in the industry. Most provide suppliers with copies of external audits. Most permit suppliers to share the audit results with other customers, too.

Increasingly, the industry is using the results of third-party registrars as a means of demonstrating a quality management system's compliance to AS9100. The Americas Aerospace Quality Group, working with the Registrar Accreditation Board, has established a process and requirements for auditors performing audits to AS9100 and registrars granting supplemental registrations. The process includes additional training and practical experience and ensures that auditors are competent and that registrars are experienced in the industry. The AAQG has created a Registrar Management Committee to oversee this important function. Its methodology is defined in SAE AIR5359. Europe and Asia are developing equivalent methods.

The Federal Aviation Administration has determined that AS9100 is "a comprehensive quality standard containing the basic quality control/assurance elements required by the current Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 14, Part 21." Both the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA have reviewed the standard and have published guidance material on using the standard for contractual requirements.

As AS9100 becomes established within the industry, the standard's benefits become apparent. Two obvious ones are a reduction in multiple expectations and a consistency in verification methodology. Both prime manufacturers and their suppliers are pleased with the results. Suppliers report a reduction in verification audits and an increased consistency in expectations. As a direct result, suppliers' customers are seeing a reduction in oversight costs and an improvement in supplier performance.

Additional information on the philosophy behind the specific additions within AS9100 are available in the AS9100 technical requirements chapter found in The ISO 9000:2000 Handbook published by ASQ Quality Press in 2002.

About the author
Eugene M. Barker is a technical fellow at The Boeing Co. responsible for quality industry association interfaces. He led the industry writing team that drafted SAE AS9000 and chaired both Working Group 11 of ISO TC20 and the International Aerospace Quality Group that developed AS/EN9100. Barker is also a fellow of the American Society for Quality, a member of the Registrar Accreditation Board board of directors and a founding member of the IAQG.

ISO 9004:2009 Is Out and It Sure Looks Different

2010-12-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

by Denise Robitaille

The new revision to ISO 9004 came off the press in the last quarter of 2009. It is significantly different from its predecessor. ISO 9004:2009 embodies the quality management principle relating to continual improvement. The technical experts made bold strides in their quest to address market needs by producing a standard that would help organizations maintain and improve their quality management systems over time. While that was the stated intent with the 2000 version, the fact is that the majority of users considered it a road map for implementing ISO 9001.

Individuals who were familiar with the 2000 version will have several questions. The first is: “Where’s 9001?” In ISO 9004:2000 the entire text of ISO 9001:2000 was embedded into the standard. The clauses, by and large, mirrored ISO 9001 and the structure was identical. Those who utilized ISO 9004 as a how-to guide for ISO 9001 had no trouble finding the relevant clauses. The only problem with that approach is that ISO 9004 was not intended to be a handbook on how to implement ISO 9001. It was intended, as the title plainly indicated, to provide “Guidelines for performance improvements.”

“Performance improvements” sounds like a great idea. Until you ask yourself the next question: “Why?” What is the value in improving performance? Within the answer lies the crux and purpose of both ISO 9001 and ISO 9004. That answer is found in ISO 9004’s new title—“Managing for the sustained success of an organization—A quality management approach.”

It’s not good enough to achieve ISO 9001, proudly displaying the coveted certificate on the wall. To conform to the requirements of ISO 9001, it’s important to maintain the quality management system that has been established. It’s important to consistently fulfil requirements found in multiple sub-clauses relating to establishing objectives (5.4.1), monitoring and measuring product and processes (8.4), reviewing changes that could affect the quality management system (5.6.3), and striving for continual improvement (8.5.1).

So ISO 9004:2009 is about what you do after you’ve established and implemented your quality management system to keep it going and to make sure both you and your customers continue to derive benefit from your organization. They get a reliable supplier and you get to stay in business. It also addresses one of the basic truisms of our universe: things change. Hence, the new ISO 9004, and particularly the annexes, is heavily weighted toward monitoring and periodically assessing so that you can respond to change.

The new version of ISO 9004 was structured to facilitate this quest. The sub-clauses flow from the organization’s environment, to strategic planning, through resource management to managing processes, to monitoring and analyzing, and ending up with improvement, innovation, and learning.

Think of it like this: “This is who we are. This is the big plan for the organization. This is what we have to work with. This is how we do things. This is how we figure out what’s working and what isn’t. And these are the things that will allow us to still be around tomorrow—this is how we plan for our future.” Any of these can, and probably, will change over time. How your organization handles those changes will determine your “… sustained success.”

Under the first sub-clause we look at who we are. We also look at stakeholders, or as the standard refers to them, “interested parties.” This concept is situated early on in the standard because interested parties are directly relevant to our organization now and in the future. You could say they are an element of our identity. Interested parties can be customers, stockholders, employees, suppliers, and society at large, just to name a few. Changes with any of these interested parties affect our organization.

The next sub-clause talks about strategy and policy. I think this is a great step forward. It illustrates the very tight bond that should exist between the real business of the business and the quality management system. For too long top management in many organizations has considered the quality management system, and its requirements for management review and management involvement, as an odious infringement on their sanctum sanctorum. Time is overdue to recognize that a good quality management system is in harmony with strategic goals and planning.

Consideration of resources is another key factor that often changes over time. Monitoring what resources currently exist and which will be impacted by changes such as turnover of personnel, slower cash flow, cost of fossil fuel, and scarcity of raw materials, sequels directly into the next section dealing with managing processes. It’s impossible for processes to remain consistent when support such as resources and infrastructure are changing.

You’ll note throughout the emphasis on monitoring. This is carried through to annexes that give you tips on how to assess your organization. Doing it once gives you a starting point. But the assessments, just like any other effective monitoring tool, needs to be utilized cyclically to achieve any real benefit. The annexes are a useful guide; but you can also devise your own methodology to assess your organization. Whatever method you use, make sure that your assessment reflects inter-dependencies and interrelations between various factors. The results should help you identify what needs to be enhanced, what needs to be discarded, and what needs to be improved.

Use ISO 9001 to build a great quality management system. Use ISO 9004 to maintain it and to help it to become even greater.

Protecting Consumers from Poor-Quality Chinese Products

2010-12-19T21:36:00.000-08:00

by Mike Richman

Options for prevention and detection

Yes, it happened again. According to a recent Associated Press story, drinking glasses produced in China, featuring comic and superhero characters, have been discovered to contain extremely high levels of lead. Excessive amounts of cadmium were revealed in the glasses as well.

This has been a repeated and particularly troubling topic, especially because many of these products are marketed to children. It’s clear that the methods being employed to combat this problem have been unsuccessful. So what are some options?

“This is a systemic problem and the root cause for most of it belongs to the importers, not the manufacturers,” says Stan Salot, president of the ECC Corp. and co-author of the IECQ HSPM QC 080000 standard that certifies manufacturer compliance to hazardous substance process management.

“As an international third-party certification program, QC 080000 requires a self-assessment by the manufacturer to determine what its hazardous substance processes are,” says Salot. “Based on this knowledge, the manufacturer sets about putting the process and testing controls and procedures in place to ensure that its products are manufactured in accordance with buyer specification as well as applicable regulations.”

The first step in ensuring prevention is a willingness on the part of U.S. importers to demand compliance from their partners overseas. Cost is a key factor in these relationships from the outset, but U.S. importers must understand the true cost of poor quality if and when these consumer products are found to be defective. These risks cannot be simply assigned in terms of lost sales, either—the costs of bad public relations, lost customers, and potential fines and lawsuits are often incalculable.

“Companies go to foreign countries to have their products manufactured for many reasons, the main one being lower cost,” agrees Salot. “One of the primary ways this is possible is that there are fewer, in some cases no, regulatory control over the materials and /or methods used to produce the products.”

This may be changing, however. A recent Quality Digest Daily article reports that China has notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of prospective legislative changes to nation’s handling of hazardous substances in consumer products. It’s a small step that specifically addresses only electronics, but it is an acknowledgement that Chinese leaders recognize the problem and are addressing it.

China’s massive economic expansion has been fuelled by consumer product exports, and it’s clear that the nation’s government will do what it takes to ensure the continuance of that growth. OK, but let’s say that an importer does all its due diligence in terms of certification of its overseas manufacturing partners, but it still wants to inspect products for levels of hazardous substances. What kind of testing equipment is available to ensure compliance?

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) testing is one method. “XRF uses X-ray energy to determine what elements or metals an object contains and how much of those elements or metals are present,” explains Kim Russell, business development representative for Olympus Innov-X Systems, a manufacturer of testing and inspection equipment. In comparison with laboratory inspection methods, XRF testing is easier, faster, and less expensive—and non-destructive, too.

“Handheld XRF units incorporate a miniature X-ray tube, detector, and filters along with full data processing and presentation capabilities,” says Russell. “The analyzer window is placed on the object and the trigger is pressed to deliver enough energy to eject electrons of the inner atomic orbitals out of their resting place. When electrons from the outer orbitals replace the ejected inner orbital electrons, they give off energies that essentially are signatures of the elements or metals in the object. For instance, if lead is in an object, it will show up at 10.55 and 12.61 keV, the signature energy of lead. The intensity of the signal at the signature energy determines how much of the element or metal is contained in the object.”

XRF testing allows importers to spot-check finished products. Even better, inspection tools such as these can also be used further upstream, at the site of production, to confirm that products and components are within allowable ranges for toxic heavy metals—not only lead and cadmium, but mercury, chromium, and bromine, too. In this way, products that don’t meet specifications can be rejected and destroyed before they’re even loaded for export. Having this safety valve in place can also reduce the amount of product that slips through the cracks and gets into the hands of consumers, most likely via Internet marketers.

Snake Oil, Anyone? - By Taran March - contributing editor for Quality Digest (9th Dec 2010)

2010-12-09T21:10:00.000-08:00

Johnson & Johnson’s over-the-counter medications promise quality, deliver lawsuits.

All told, more than 200 million bottles of J&J products have been recalled this year.

Late last month the FDA filed another Form 483 on the Puerto Rico plant, a 10-page indictment clearly showing that neither McNeil nor J&J had managed to address basic quality issues. Among the report’s findings were distribution of drugs that failed quality requirements, failure to identify product defects during routine testing, failure to detect incorrect expiration dates on drug labels, failure to adequately investigate product problems, failure to follow laboratory controls, and inadequate training of lab staff.

Pretty sad, huh? This from a company founded in 1879 by Robert McNeil, who purchased a Philadelphia drugstore for $169 to use as a retail pharmacy. McNeil’s son helped establish McNeil Laboratories in 1933—the start of the Fort Washington facility that was closed this year—where early versions of acetaminophen were created. Johnson & Johnson bought the company in 1959. All the elements of can-do, feel-good American enterprise were scrupulously built in; all, in the space of a year, negligently stripped away.

And what about Johnson & Johnson, presumably McNeil’s guiding hand? Unlike Toyota, which also suffered expensive recalls and loss of face this year, J&J seems to have distanced itself from the McNeil epicenter. Where Toyota made a point of broadcasting its response to its own series of recalls (see this Quality Digest Daily article as an example), Johnson & Johnson has said nothing. At its news page, a single sentence in small type tersely directs consumers to McNeil’s recall page, www.mcneilproductrecall.com.

By contrast, when Toyota had its massive recall, it did not create a web page called “CTSacceleratorpedalrecall.com” (CTS is the company that actually manufactured the accelerator pedal systems used in the recalled Toyotas). Toyota’s recall site? www.toyota.com/recall. That’s what owning up to your mistakes is about. It’s called corporate accountability.

Johnson & Johnson is barely paying lip service to what quality assurance really means. Until it does better, its promises have about as much value as snake oil hawked at a medicine show.

First Set of 2011–12 Baldrige Criteria - Online - by NIST

2010-12-07T23:23:00.000-08:00

(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) --

The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program has announced that the 2011–2012 Criteria for Performance Excellence for businesses and nonprofit organizations are now available to download.

The criteria serve as the standard for selecting the annual recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and as a road map for organizations worldwide seeking improved strategy and operations by pursuing performance excellence.

The other two editions of the 2011—2012 criteria—for health care and education—will be available on the Baldrige website later this month.

The Baldrige criteria work as an integrated framework for managing an organization. They are simply a set of questions focusing on seven critical aspects of management that contribute to performance excellence: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; work force focus; operations focus; and results.

This year’s revisions to the Business/Nonprofit criteria emphasized two themes: dealing with the increasing complexity of enterprise leadership and management, and improving customer engagement. The criteria now include the concept of “intelligent risk-taking” and an improved “line of sight” set of links that should take an organization from a strategic environment to the execution of its operations in a logical sequence. The category on customer focus has been reorganized to improve the flow of logic and now addresses the use of social media as an important contributor to capturing the voice of the customer.

Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987 to enhance the competitiveness and performance of U.S. businesses. The award is not given for specific products or services. Since 1988, 86 organizations have received Baldrige Awards.

The Baldrige program is managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in conjunction with the private sector.

Paper copies of the criteria will be mailed on request. For more information,e-mail baldrige@nist.gov or call (301) 975-2036.

Green Belt & Black Belt Courses to be Held in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore between Dec 2010 to May 2011.

2010-12-06T02:24:00.000-08:00

AIQM: DATES SIX SIGMA COURSES BETWEEN DEC 2010 – MAY 2011

SR.	LOCATION	LEAN SIX SIGMA GREEN BELT COURSE DATES	LEAN SIX SIGMA BLACK BELT COURSE DATES
1.	MUMBAI	17,18,19 Dec 2010 25, 26, 27 Feb 2011 15,16,17 Apr. 2011	06,07,08,09 Jan 2011 05,06,07,08 May 2011
2.	PUNE	24, 25,26 Dec 2010 11, 12, 13 Feb 2011 01,02,03 Apr. 2011	26,27,28 Feb, 01 Mar. 2011 09,10,11,12 Apr. 2011
3.	BANGALORE	18, 19, 20 Feb. 2011	17,18,19,20 Mar. 2011

For further details contact at

E-mail - director@aiqmindia.com directoraiqm@gmail.com

AIQM India

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First Set of 2011–12 Baldrige Criteria - Online - by NIST

Green Belt & Black Belt Courses to be Held in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore between Dec 2010 to May 2011.