BASIC SQC IMPROVEMENT TOOLS:TOTAL QUALITY TOOLS DEFINED

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Total Quality Management MGT510

Lesson # 36

BASIC SQC IMPROVEMENT TOOLS

Tools for Continuous Improvement:

Many tools have been created or adapted from other disciplines (such as operations research and

industrial engineering) to facilitate the process of continuous improvement. Here we learn the most

common ones used in quality improvement applications.

One of the basic tenets of total quality is management by facts. Management by facts requires that each

decision, each solution to a problem, is based on relevant data and appropriate analysis. Problem solving

and decision making are fundamental to total quality. On the one hand, good decisions will decrease the

number of problems that occur. On the other hand, the workplace will never be completely problem

free.

Once we get beyond the very small business (in which the data are always resident in the few heads

involved, anyway), most decision points and problems will have many impacting factors, and the

problem's root cause or the best-course decision will remain obscure until valid data are studied and

analyzed. Collecting and analyzing data can be difficult. The total quality tools use will assure better

decision making, better solutions to problems, and even Improvement of productivity and products and

services.

Writing about the use of statistical methods in Japan, Dr. Ishikawa said:

The so-called seven indispensable tools . . . that are being used by everyone: company presidents,

company directors, middle management, foremen, and line workers. These tools are also used in a

variety of [departments], not only in the manufacturing [department] but also in the [departments] of

planning, design, marketing, purchasing, and technology." No matter where you fit into your

organization today, you can use some or all of these tools to advantage, and they will serve you well for

your future prospects.

PROBLEM SOLVING FOR TOTAL QUALITY

If you ask the typical manager to describe his or her biggest problem in today's work-place, the response

will probably include one or more of the following:

We spend all our time in meetings trying to resolve problems.

We are constantly fighting problems, and that doesn't leave us time to do our real jobs, such as

planning, leading, and so forth.

As soon as we "put out one fire," another pops up.

We've got more problems than we can handle, and it bogs us down.

The actual words may vary, but the message is the same. The workplace can be so burdened with

problems that managers and others spend so much time trying to fix them that nothing gets done right.

With problem solutions leading to process or products/service improvement,

product or service quality improves

costs decrease (through less waste and warranty action)

customer satisfaction improves

competitiveness improves, and

the probability for success improves

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Clearly all of these outcomes are desirable. And they are all achievable by applying the total quality

principles to problem solving.

TOTAL QUALITY TOOLS DEFINED

Carpenters use a kit of tools designed for very specific functions. Their hammers, for example, are used

for the driving of nails. Their saws for the cutting of wood. These and others enable a carpenter to build

houses. They are physical tools. Total quality tools also enable today's employees, whether engineers,

technologists, production workers, managers, or office staff, to do their jobs. Virtually no one can

function in an organization that has embraced total quality without some or all of these tools.

Unlike those in the carpenter's kit, these are intellectual tools: they are not wood and steel to be used

with muscle; they are tools for collecting and displaying information in ways to help the human brain

grasp thoughts and ideas. When thoughts and ideas are applied to physical processes, the processes yield

better results. When applied to problem solving or decision making, better solutions and decisions are

developed.

The seven tools discussed below represent those generally accepted as the basic total quality tools. A

case can be made that just-in-time, statistical process control, and quality function deployment are total

quality tools. But these are more than tools: they are complete systems under the total quality umbrella.

A tool, like a hammer, exists to help do a job. If the job includes continuous improvement, problem

solving, or decision making, then these seven tools fit the definition. Each of these tools is some form of

chart for the collection and display of specific kinds of data. Through the collection and display facility,

the data become useful information-information that can be used to solve problems, enhance decision

making, keep track of work being done, even predict future performance and problems. The beauty of

the charts is that they organize data so that we can immediately comprehend the message. This would be

all but impossible without the charts, given the mountains of data flooding today's workplace.

Tools for Data Collection and Analysis

Seven simple statistically based tools are used extensively to gather and analyze data. Unlike

the seven advanced management and planning tools, these tools are visual in nature and simple

enough for anyone to understand.

These seven basic tools of quality are

Flow-charts,

Check sheets,

Histograms,

Pareto diagrams,

Cause-and-Effect diagrams,

Scatter diagrams, and

Control charts

Historically, these tools preceded the seven management and planning tools and often are

called the "seven QC (Quality Control) tools." The seven management and planning tools

have been referred to as the "new advanced seven."

Flowcharts:

A flowchart is a picture of a process that shows the sequence of steps performed. Flowcharts are best

developed by the people involved in the processemployees, supervisors, managers, and customers. A

facilitator often is used to provide objectivity, to ask the right questions, and to resolve conflicts. The

facilitator can guide the discussion through questions such as "What happens next?" "Who makes the

decision at this point?" and "what operation is performed here?"

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Example of a Flowchart for Training New Printing Press Operators

Hire Candidate

Training with operator checklist

Safety, quality, and procedures testing

Test

Yes

Four-week evaluation

Solo with lead operator support

90-day evaluation

Fail

Reevaluate

employee

Pass

Press-certifying

Flowcharts help the people involved in the process to understand it better. For example,

employees realize how they fit into a processthat is, who their suppliers and customers are. By

helping to develop a flowchart, workers begin to feel a sense of ownership in the process and

become more willing to work on improving it. Using flowcharts to train employees on standard

procedures leads to more consistent performance.

Once a flowchart is constructed, it can be used to identify quality problems as well as areas for

improvement. Questions such as "How does this operation affect the customer?" "Can we

improve or element this operation?" or "Should we control a critical quality characteristic at this

point?" help to identify such opportunities. Flowcharts help people to visualize simple but

important changes that could be made in a process.

Check Sheets

These tools aid in data collection. When designing a process to collect data, one must first ask

basic questions such as:

What question are we trying to answer?

What type of data will we need to answer the question?

Where can we find the data?

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Who can provide the data?

How can we collect the data with minimum effort and minimum chance of error?

Check sheets are data collection forms that facilitate the interpretation of data. Quality-related

data are of two general typesattribute and variable. Attribute data are obtained by counting or

from some type of visual inspection: the number of invoices that contain errors, the number of

parts that conform to specifications, and the number of surface defects on an automobile panel,

for example. Variable data are collected by numerical measurement on a continuous scale.

Dimensional characteristics such as distance, weight, volume, and time are common examples.

Figure below is an example of an Attribute data check sheet, and second Figure below shows a

Variable data check sheet.

Example of a Check Sheet for Attribute Data: Airline Complaints

Type

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

⏐

⏐⏐

⏐

Lost baggage

⏐⏐⏐ ⏐

⏐⏐⏐⏐

⏐⏐⏐ ⏐⏐⏐

⏐⏐⏐

Baggage delay

⏐⏐

⏐

⏐⏐⏐

⏐

Missed connection

⏐⏐⏐

Poor cabin service

⏐

Ticketing error

Example of a Check Sheet for Variable Data

Frequency

123456

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Time to process loan request (days)

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Pareto Diagram

The Pareto chart is a very useful tool wherever one needs to separate the important from the trivial. The

chart, first promoted by Dr. Joseph Juran, is named after Italian economist/sociologist Vilfredo Pareto

(1848-1923). He had the insight to recognize that in the real world a minority of causes lead to the

majority of problems. This is known as the Pareto principle. Pick a category, and the Pareto principle

will usually hold. For example, in a factory you will find that of all the kinds of problems you can name,

only about 20% of them will produce 80% of the product defects: 80% of the cost associated with the

defects will be assignable to only about 20% of the total number of defect types occurring. Examining

the elements of this cost will reveal that once again 80% of the total defect costs will spring from only

about 20% of the cost elements. Charts have shown that approximately 20% of the pros on the tennis

tour reap 80% of the prize money and that 80% of the money supporting churches in the United States

comes from 20% of the church membership.

Pareto analysis is a technique for prioritizing types or sources of problems. Pareto analysis separates the

"vital few" from the "trivial many" and provides help in selecting directions for improvement. The

Pareto chart below labels a company's customers A. B. C, D, E. and All Others. The bars represent the

percentage of the company's sales going to the respective customers. Seventy-five percent of this

company's sales are the result of just two customers. If one adds customer C, 90% of its sales are

accounted for. All the other customers' together account for only 10% of the company's sales. Bear in

mind that

"Other" may include a very large number of small customers. Which customers are the ones who should

be kept happy? Obviously, A, B, and perhaps C are the most critical.

This would suggest that customers A, B, and Care the company's core market and all the other

customers represent a marginal business. Decisions on where to allocate resources should be made

accordingly.

Pareto Chart: Percentage of Total Sales by Customer Customers

It is often used to analyze the attribute data collected in check sheets. In a Pareto distribution the

characteristics are ordered from largest frequency to smallest. For example, if the airline attribute data in

check sheet above is placed in order of decreasing frequency, the result below is shown as a Pareto in

descending order to focus on vital few is

Baggage delay

Poor Cabin service

Missed connection

Lost baggage

Ticketing error

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A Pareto diagram is a histogram of these data, as shown in above Figure. A cumulative frequency curve

is usually drawn on the histogram, as shown above. Such pictures clearly show the relative magnitude of

defects and can be used to identify the most promising opportunities for improvement (the few faults

which causing 80% of problems.) They can also show the results of improvement projects over time by

drawing Pareto after every project is complete.

Example of a Pareto Diagram

Frequency

Percent

100

Cumulative Percent

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