CONTENTS

Introduction to Total Quality Management

Sumanths 5 pronged approach

ISO - International Standard for Quality Management

Concepts for productivity improvement

Quality Improvement Just in Time Kaizen Incentives Schemes Financial or Non-financial means of motivation Encouraging creativity Suggestion Schemes

Case Study Voltas Company

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Introduction to Total Quality Management

It is important to understand the definition of the term quality before discussing the total quality management, which is a much more broader term.

Definition of Quality

There is no single definition of the term quality. Quality means different to different people such as:

1. Customer-Based: Fitness for use, meeting customer expectations. 2. Manufacturing-Based: Conforming to design, specifications, or requirements. Having no defects. Quality is the degree to which a specific product conforms to a design or specification 3. Product-Based: The product has something that other similar products do not that adds value in other words quality refers to the amounts of the unpriced attributes contained in each unit of the priced attribute 4. Value-Based: The product is the best combination of price and features or quality means best for certain customer conditions. These conditions are (a) the actual use and (b) the selling price of the product.” 5. Transcendent: It is not clear what it is, but it is something good or it may also be defined as quality is neither mind nor matter, but a third entity independent of the two…even through Quality cannot be defined, you know what it is.”

Definition of Total Quality Management

TQM is the enhancement to the traditional way of doing business.It is a proven technique to guarantee survival in the world-class competition.TQM is for the most part common sense. Analyzing three words (TQM), we have:

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 Total—Made up of the whole Quality—Degree of excellence a product or service provides Management—Act, art, or manner of handling, controlling, directing, etc.

Therefore, TQM is the art of managing the whole to achieve the excellence.

TQM is defined as both philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represents the foundation of a continuously improving organization.

It is the application of quantitative methods and human resources to improve all the processes within an organization and exceed customer needs now and in future.

TQM integrates fundamental management techniques, existing improvement efforts, and technical tools under disciplined approach.

The key features of the TQM are as follows:

Continuous improvement embodies the fundamental principle of TQM. Both incremental and breakthrough improvement are encouraged by using improvement tools and techniques and learning from within the organization and through external benchmarking. Education and training reinforce this role for everyone in the organization

TQM blurs the boundaries between the organization and the external customers and suppliers. Customers and suppliers are considered as part of the work processes. Customer needs drive the key processes, while suppliers assume an important role in the organizational goal of satisfying the customers.

The top management is the main driver of TQM. Senior executives assume responsibility for visioning quality philosophy, determing and communicating quality policies, establishing a system of quality management, actively demonstrating commitment to quality as the number one corporate priority, and creating an enablinh environment that can produce quality outcomes. Success of TQM resides primarily with the top management.

TQM calls for pro-active and systematic reviews and measurement of key processes that add value.

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TQM is a management philosophy to guide a process of change and starts at the top. TQM ensures that quality be recognized as a corporate strategic priority, along with financial and other priorities.

TQM is about achieving results by process-based approach and focuses on the customer.

Sumanths 5 pronged approach

Sumanth proposed a 5 pronged approach based on the 5 basic types that are technology, employee, product, process and material.

1.Technology based techniquesComputer-aided design (CAD) The use of computer technology to aid in the design and particularly the drafting (technical drawing and engineering drawing) of a part or product, including entire buildings. It is both a visual (or drawing) and symbol-based method of communication whose conventions are particular to a specific technical field.Other techniques include the laser beam technology, computer graphics and so on.

2.Employee based techniquesQuality Circle It is a volunteer group composed of workers who meet to talk about workplace improvement, and make presentations to management with their ideas, especially relating to quality of output in order to improve the performance of the organization, and motivate and enrich the work of employees.Financial incentives, fringe benefits, management by objective etc. are other techniques used for improving the productivity.

3.Product based techniquesResearch and development

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It is the creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of human, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications.

4.Task based techniquesComputer data processingThe computer systems integration and data processing industries include companies that develop and modify computer systems. Establishments in these industries provide expertise on network and systems administration, computer-aided design and manufacturing systems, office automation and administration, and are generally involved in all phases of systems development from design through installation.Other techniques used are the works measurement, job safety and so on.

5.Material based techniquesInventory control systemAn inventory control system may be used to automate a sales order fulfillment process. Such a system contains a list of order to be filled, and then prompts workers to pick the necessary items, and provides them with packaging and shipping information.Material recycling, materials handling are the other techniques used for increase the productivity of the firm.

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ISO - International Standard for Quality Management

Growing international competition, new product liability laws and the increasing significance of the ISO 9000 series of standards within the European Union demand a change in quality policy and even corporate policy when executing public orders, in the long run, it will be mandatory to align corporate policy with customers’ needs. Customers satisfaction or, to be more precise, the extent to which customers satisfaction is reached, will become the major quality objective. In order to achieve this goal, customer oriented quality has to be integrated into the production process. Management have to define the necessary guidelines and realize them with quality management systems.

Why was ISO established?.In 1946, delegates from 25 countries met in London and decided to create a new international organization, of which the object would be “to facilitate the international coordination and unification of industrial standards”..The new organization, ISO, officially began operations on 23 February 1947.ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer of standards.

Although ISO’s principal activity is the development of technical standards, ISO standards also have important economic and social repercussions. ISO standards make a positive difference, not just to engineers and manufacturers for whom they solve basic problems in production and distribution, but to society as a whole.

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ISO 9000 Series

The ISO 9000 series consists of five primary parts numbered as 9000 through 9004. If we were to display them on a continuum of an operating firm, the series would range from design and development through procurement, production, installation and servicing.

While ISO 9000 and 9004 only establish guidelines for operations, ISO 9001, 9002 and 9003 are well- defined standards.

Quite a bit of work and expense may be needed for a firm to be accredited at ISO 9001, which is the highest level. Furthermore, some firms may not need ISO 9001 accreditation at all. For example, ISO 9003 covers quality in a productions final inspection and testing.

A firm can be accredited only at this level of final production. This would essentially guarantee the firms quality of final output and it would be attractive to customers. A broader accreditation would be ISO 9002, which extends from purchasing and production through installition.

There are 20 elements in the ISO 9000 standards that relate to how the system operates and how well it is performing. These are contained in section 4 of the ISO 9000 guidelines. Each of these elements applies in varying degrees to the three standards, 9001, 9002 and 9003 (IOS 9001 contains all of them).

ISO 9000 Certification

There are three forms of IOS 9000 certification

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First Party: A firm audits itself against IOS 9000 standards. Second Party: A customers audits its supplier Third Party: a qualified national or international standards or certifying

agency audits the firm.

The best certification of a firm is through a third party. Once passed by the third party audit, a firm is certified and may be registered and recorded as having achieved IOS 9000 status, and thus becomes part of a registry of certified companies. This third party certification also has legal advantages in the European Community. For example, a manufacturer is liable for injury to a user of the product. The firm can free itself from any liability by showing that it used the appropriate standards in its production process and carefully selected its supplier as part of its purchasing requirement. For this reason, there is strong motivation to choose ISO 9000 certified suppliers.

If a manufacturer wants to purchase parts from a noncertified supplier, he should visit the supplier and examine its processes, past performance, worker credentials and so on to verify that the supplier can meet the required quality levels.

The future evolution of ISO 9000

In order for the ISO 9000 family to maintain its effectiveness, the standards are periodically reviewed in order to benefit from new developments in the quality management field and also from user feedback. ISO/TC 176, which is made up of experts from businesses and other organizations around the world, monitors the use of the standards to determine how they can be

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improved to meet user needs and expectations when the next revisions are due in approximately five years’ time.

ISO/TC 176 will continue to integrate quality assurance, quality management, sector specific initiatives and various quality awards within the ISO 9000 family.

ISO’s commitment to sustaining the ISO 9000 momentum through reviews, improvement and streamlining of the standards guarantees that your investment in ISO 9000 today will continue to provide effective management solutions well into the future

CONCEPTS OF PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT

Quality Circles

Some organisations have successfully implemented the use of quality circles as part of an ongoing improvement programme. Others have experimented with quality circles with the best intentions and faced several obstacles, but what is true is that this type of participatory management brings several benefits to all concerned.

Functions

Quality circles are also commonly known as work improvement or quality teams, but no matter the name, their functions share similar characteristics. Generally, the quality circle is a small group of employees who voluntarily meet at regular times to identify, analyse and solve quality and other problems in their working environment. Quality circles can recommend and implement improvement strategies and be a useful reservoir for the generation of new ideas. Normally, members of a quality circle face and share similar problems in their daily work lives and create a programme to tap human creative energy that is capable of generating handsome rewards.

Problems

Feedback from all types of industries and business sectors has indicated some common problems arising from the development of quality circles. Some of the problems can cause serious setbacks if not properly resolved.

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One of the most common problems was that after a few successes, most organisations were willing to declare victorious results and abandon the circles. In this scenario, the quality circle was not used as part of the overall long term planning process and the circle lost momentum. Other problems related to the level of commitment and support from top and middle management, mainly because the objectives of the circle were not communicated effectively. Management viewed the circles as a vehicle for employees to get their own way over management decisions and tended to be suspicious and uncommitted when dealing with the circles recommendations.

Successful Factors

The success of any type of quality circle is dependent on several factors, but the most critical influences are strong management commitment and support. Like all business processes, quality circles have to be managed and a prerequisite should include a document endorsed by management setting out the purpose, policy and objectives of the quality circle. The basic philosophy of quality circles must be known to everyone before the programme is started. Employees and managers of all levels must be aware of the roles they have to play whether they are participants, facilitators or agents for change.

Employees must be willing to participate and contribute to discussions to generate recommendations to improve the working lives for all members of the organisation.Individual desires and preferences should not be ignored, but settled within the context oforganisational objectives to give recognition to the desire for circle achievement. The importance of management commitment and support cannot be emphasised enough. Management has to accept the principles of participatory management and be receptive to the recommendations made by the quality circle. It makes sense that the person doing a job on a daily basis is in a very good position to anlayse it and recommend ways to improve it.

Quality circles were first established in Japan in 1962, and Kaoru Ishikawa has been credited with their creation. The movement in Japan was coordinated by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE).The use of quality circles then spread beyond Japan. Quality circles have been implemented even in educational sectors in India and QCFI (Quality

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Circle Forum of India) is promoting such activities. However this was not successful in US as it turned out to be a fault finding exercise.

There are different quality circle tools, namely: The Ishikawa diagram - which shows hierarchies of causes contributing

to a problem The Pareto Chart - which analyses different causes by frequency to

illustrate the vital cause

Ishikawa diagram

Ishikawa diagram, in fishbone shape, showing factors of men, machines, milieu (workplace), materials, methods, measurement, all affecting the overall problem. Smaller arrows connect the sub-causes to major causes.

The Ishikawa diagram (or fishbone diagram or also cause-and-effect diagram) are diagrams, that shows the causes of a certain event. A common

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use of the Ishikawa diagram is in product design, to identify potential factors causing an overall effect.

Ishikawa diagrams were proposed by Kaoru Ishikawa in the 1960s, who pioneered quality management processes in the Kawasaki shipyards, and in the process became one of the founding fathers of modern management.

It was first used in the 1960s, and is considered one of the seven basic tools of quality management, along with the histogram, Pareto chart, check sheet, control chart, flowchart, and scatter diagram.

Mazda Motors famously used an Ishikawa diagram in the development of the Miata sports car, where the required result was "Jinba Ittai" or "Horse and Rider as One". The main causes included such aspects as "touch" and "braking" with the lesser causes including highly granular factors such as "50/50 weight distribution" and "able to rest elbow on top of driver's door". Causes

Causes in the diagram are often based on a certain set of causes, such as the 6 M's, 8 P's or 4 S's, described below. Cause-and-effect diagrams can reveal key relationships among various variables, and the possible causes provide additional insight into process behaviour.Causes in a typical diagram are normally grouped into categories, the main ones of which are:

The 6 M'sMachine, Method, Materials, Maintenance, Man and Mother Nature (Environment) (recommended for the manufacturing industry).Note: a more modern selection of categories used in manufacturing includes Equipment, Process, People, Materials, Environment, and Management.

The 8 P'sPrice, Promotion, People, Processes, Place/Plant, Policies, Procedures, and Product (or Service) (recommended for the administration and service industries).

The 4 S'sSurroundings, Suppliers, Systems, Skills (recommended for the service industry).Causes should be derived from brainstorming sessions. Then causes should be sorted through affinity-grouping to collect similar ideas together. These groups should then be labeled as categories of the fishbone.

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They will typically be one of the traditional categories mentioned above but may be something unique to your application of this tool. Causes should be specific, measurable, and controllable.

Pareto chart

Simple example of a Pareto chart using hypothetical data showing the relative frequency of reasons for arriving late at work.A Pareto chart is a special type of bar chart where the values being plotted are arranged in descending order. The graph is accompanied by a line graph which shows the cumulative totals of each category, left to right. The chart is

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named after Vilfredo Pareto, and its use in quality assurance was popularized by Joseph M. Juran and Kaoru Ishikawa.The Pareto chart is one of the seven basic tools of quality control, which include the histogram, Pareto chart, check sheet, control chart, cause-and-effect diagram, flowchart, and scatter diagram. These charts can be generated in Microsoft Office or OpenOffice as well as many free software tools found online.Typically on the left vertical axis is frequency of occurrence, but it can alternatively represent cost or other important unit of measure. The right vertical axis is the cumulative percentage of the total number of occurrences, total cost, or total of the particular unit of measure. The purpose is to highlight the most important among a (typically large) set of factors. In quality control, the Pareto chart often represents the most common sources of defects, the highest occurring type of defect, or the most frequent reasons for customer complaints, etc.The Pareto chart was developed to illustrate the 80-20 Rule that 80 percent of the problems stem from 20 percent of the various causes.

Just-in-time ( JIT )

Just-in-time (JIT) is an inventory strategy implemented to improve the return on investment of a business by reducing in-process inventory and its associated carrying costs. In order to achieve JIT the process must have signals of what is going on elsewhere within the process. When implemented correctly, JIT can lead to dramatic improvements in a manufacturing organization's return on investment, quality, and efficiency.Quick communication of the consumption of old stock which triggers new stock to be ordered is key to JIT and inventory reduction. This saves warehouse space and costs. However since stock levels are determined by historical demand, any sudden demand rises above the historical average demand, the firm will deplete inventory faster than usual and cause customer service issues.

History

The technique was first used by the Ford Motor Company The technique was subsequently adopted and publicized by Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan as part of its Toyota Production System (TPS). However, Toyota famously did not adopt the procedure from Ford,. Although Toyota visited Ford as part of its tour of American businesses, Ford had not fully adopted the Just-In-Time system, and Toyota executives were appalled at the piles of inventory laying around and the uneven work schedule of the employees of Ford.

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It is hard for Japanese corporations to warehouse finished products and parts, due to the limited amount of land available for them. Before the 1950s, this was thought to be a disadvantage because it forced the production lot size below the economic lot size. (An economic lot size is the number of identical products that should be produced, given the cost of changing the production process over to another product.) The undesirable result was poor return on investment for a factory.The chief engineer at Toyota in the 1950s, Taiichi Ohno examined accounting assumptions and realized that another method was possible. The factory could implement JIT which would require it to be made more flexible and reduce the overhead costs of retooling and thereby reduce the economic lot size to fit the available warehouse space. JIT is now regarded by Ohno as one of the two 'pillars' of the Toyota Production System.

Philosophy

The philosophy of JIT is simple - inventory is defined to be waste. JIT inventory systems expose the hidden causes of inventory keeping and are therefore not a simple solution a company can adopt; there is a whole new way of working the company must follow in order to manage its consequences. The ideas in this way of working come from many different disciplines including statistics, industrial engineering, production management and behavioral science. In the JIT inventory philosophy there are views with respect to how inventory is looked upon, what it says about the management within the company, and the main principle behind JIT.Inventory is seen as incurring costs, or waste, instead of adding and storing value, contrary to traditional accounting. This does not mean to say JIT is implemented without awareness that removing inventory exposes pre-existing manufacturing issues. With this way of working, businesses are encouraged to eliminate inventory that does not compensate for manufacturing process issues, and then to constantly improve those processes so that less inventory can be kept. Secondly, allowing any stock habituates the management to stock keeping and it can then be a bit like a narcotic. Management is then tempted to keep stock there to hide problems within the production system. These problems include backups at work centers,

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machine reliability, process variability, lack of flexibility of employees and equipment, and inadequate capacity among other things.In short, the just-in-time inventory system is all about having “the right material, at the right time, at the right place, and in the exact amount”, without the safety net of inventory. The JIT system has implications of which are broad for the implementors.

Kaizen

Is a system of continuous improvement in quality, technology, processes, company culture, productivity, safety and leadership.Kaizen was created in Japan following World War II. The word Kaizen means "continuous improvement". It comes from the Japanese words "Kai" meaning school and "Zen" meaning wisdom.Kaizen is a system that involves every employee - from upper management to the cleaning crew. Everyone is encouraged to come up with small improvement suggestions on a regular basis. This is not a once a month or once a year activity. It is continuous. Japanese companies, such as Toyota and Canon, a total of 60 to 70 suggestions per employee per year are written down, shared and implemented.In most cases these are not ideas for major changes. Kaizen is based on making little changes on a regular basis: always improving productivity, safety and effectiveness while reducing waste.Suggestions are not limited to a specific area such as production or marketing. Kaizen is based on making changes anywhere that improvements can be made. Western philosophy may be summarized as, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Kaizen philosophy is to "do it better, make it better, improve it even if it isn't broken, because if we don't, we can't compete with those who do."

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Kaizen in Japan is a system of improvement that includes both home and business life. Kaizen even includes social activities. It is a concept that is applied in every aspect of a person's life.In business Kaizen encompasses many of the components of Japanese businesses that have been seen as a part of their success. Quality circles, automation, suggestion systems, just-in-time delivery, Just In Time and 5S are all included within the Kaizen system of running a business.

Kaizen involves setting standards and then continually improving those standards. To support the higher standards Kaizen also involves providing the training, materials and supervision that is needed for employees to achieve the higher standards and maintain their ability to meet those standards on an on-going basis.

While kaizen (at Toyota) usually delivers small improvements, the culture of continual aligned small improvements and standardization yields large results in the form of compound productivity improvement. Hence the English usage of "kaizen" can be: "continuous improvement" or "continual improvement."

Kaizen is a philosophy that defines management’s role in continuously encouraging and implementing small improvements involving everyone. It is the process of continuous improvement in small increments that make the process more efficient, effective, under control, and adaptable.

Improvements are usually accomplished at little or no expense, without sophisticated techniques or expensive equipments. It focuses on simplification by breaking down complex processes into their sub-processes and then improving them.

The Kaizen improvement focuses on the use of:

1. Value-added and non-value-added work activities.2. Muda, which refers to seven classes of waste-overproduction, delay,

transportation, processing,inventory, wasted motion, and defective parts.

3. Principles of motion study and use of cell technology.4. Principles of material handling and use of one-piece flow.5. Documentation of standard operating procedures.

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6. The five S’s for workplace organization. (Already explained in Lean Production Post)

7. Visual management by means of visual displays that everyone in the plant can use for better communications.

8. Just-in-time principles to produce only the units in the right quantities, at the right time, and with right resources.

9. Poka-yoke to prevent or detect errors.10. Team dynamics, which include problem solving, communication

skills, and conflict resolution.

Kaizen relies heavily on a culture that encourages suggestions by operators who continually try to incrementally improve their job or process.

Incentive Schemes

An incentive program is a formal scheme used to promote or encourage specific actions or behavior by a specific group of people during a defined period of time. Incentive programs are particularly used in business management to motivate employees, and in sales in order to attract and retain customers.

Program design considerationsIf programs are to be effective, all the factors that affect behavior must be recognized, including: motivation, skills, recognition, an understanding of the goals, and the ability to measure progress.Many companies mistakenly assume that what works for one organization will work well for all organizations. Companies often attempt to create

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incentive programs without thinking in detail about how each program feature will best suit their targeted audience.To facilitate the creation of a profitable program, every feature must be tailored to the participants’ interests. A successful incentive program requires clearly defined rules, suitable rewards, efficient communication strategies, and measurable success metrics. By adapting each element of the program to fit the target audience, companies are better able to engage program participants and enhance the overall program effectiveness.An incentive program represents a substantial investment to most organizations. Receiving a sufficient return on that investment requires the full participation of the program participants. Incentive programs are based upon the concept that effort increases as people perceive themselves progressing towards their goal. Therefore programs should offer participants a variety of products and services based on their unique interests and diverse needs. Successful programs need to carefully develop their reward methods to keep participants eager to approach a new goal once they have achieved a reward.Objectives should be drawn up on the basis of the organization's strategic goals and should be straightforward and specific so that participants clearly understand the expectations. They should be challenging, yet achievable; if they are viewed as unattainable, the program will be destined for failure. Objectives may include motivating employees, recognizing performance, persuading customers to make a purchase, or even reinforcing a marketing message. Once the program goals have been determined, every aspect of the program must be measured against this goal in order to ensure the program's success in goal achievement. If successful, objectives should provide measurable results allowing the organization to track performance and measure the overall success of the program.Types

Points Program

Points-based incentive programs are a type of program where participants collect and redeem points for awards. Depending on the program type and the organizational objectives, points can be awarded on a number of criteria including positive employee behavior, the demonstration of organizational values, repeat customer purchases, the sale of new products, increased overall sales, or even the use of proper safety precautions. In addition to point awarding, the levels at which points can be redeemed can be customized by the organization and set at virtually any level. Points programs are a way for organizations to motivate behavior over time while improving the organizations’ overall performance.

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Employee

Employee incentive programs are programs used to increase overall employee performance. Employee programs are often used to reduce turnover, boost morale and loyalty, improve employee wellness, increase retention, and drive daily employee performance.

Consumer

Consumer incentive programs are programs targeting the customers and consumers of an organization. In a recent study conducted by Bain & Company’s research, researchers found that a simple 5% increase in a company’s customer retention rates will increase the average lifetime profits per customer. Consumer programs are becoming more widely used as more companies realize that existing customers cost less to reach, cost less to sell, are less vulnerable to attacks from the competition, and buy more over the long term.

Dealer/Channel

Dealer incentive programs are used to improve performance for dealer and channel resellers using sales incentive programs. These programs help companies capture market share, launch new products, reduce cost of sales, increase product adoption, and ultimately drive sales.

Sales

These programs are primarily used to drive sales, reduce sales costs, increase profitability, develop new territory, and enhance margins. Sales incentive programs have the most direct relationship to outcomes.

Online programs

When first emerging in 1996, the use of online incentive programs was extremely rare. According to the Online Incentive Council (OIC), since its emergence, the number of online programs has almost doubled in size every year. At present, nearly every traditional incentive company offers an online component in programs including employee motivation and recognition,

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sales performance, channel programs, and consumer promotions. Companies that run their programs online experience efficient communication, reporting, and awards fulfillment. Online incentive programs pose an attractive alternative to traditional offline programs since online programs save money and time and allow organizations to have much greater control.

Financial or non-financial means of motivation

Job enrichment

Job enrichment means giving workers more interesting, challenging and complex tasks. Workers should also be given the opportunity to complete a whole unit of work rather than individual separate tasks.

This is motivating for several reasons:It gives workers the chance to test themselves and use their full range of ability.

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It is more motivating than job enlargement or job rotation (see below) as it increases the complexity or challenge involved in the task, rather than just simply providing more variety to the work.

Workers should obtain a greater sense of achievement and possibly more praise or recognition of their work when they have successfully completed a tougher task.

Workers respond better as managers have shown trust in the fact that they possess the ability to handle the increasing complexity and pressures of the work.

The managers need to judge carefully however what an appropriate task is for a worker to handle- if it is too complex for the workers or they do not possess the correct skill level, then expensive mistakes could be made.

Job enlargement

Job enlargement means simply giving workers more tasks to do of a similar nature or complexity. This will reduce the monotony or repetition involved in a persons work but over time this will not increase a person’s satisfaction or sense of achievement. Job rotation is a part of this and involves having a wider variety of tasks to do, perhaps rotating jobs with other members in your team, but not increasing the challenge of the job.

Team working

Team working is where employees work in groups or teams. This can meet a worker’s social needs as a person can more easily build friendships and feel a sense of belonging to a unit or group and hopefully to the business as a whole. This applies in much the same way as being a member of a sports team or any other team representing a school or college. A business can create a number of different types of team; examples include production teams (often known as cells), quality circles and management teams.

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Teamworking has other advantages to a firm over and above improving motivation. It can lead to greater flexibility of production, as employees are likely to be multi-skilled (able to do more than one persons job) as they have learnt from other team members or undertaken formal job rotation. This means they can cover any absences and can quickly adapt to a new production technique.

Empowerment

Empowerment is like delegation. It is when power or authority is given to employees so they can make their own decisions regarding their working life. For instance workers have control over how to use their time and deciding the priority of tasks that need to be done. They are encouraged to consider problems they face and come up with some solutions.For empowerment to be successful, workers must have adequate training and/or good skill levels in order to be trusted to make the correct decisions. If they do not, then expensive mistakes can be made that could affect the whole business. It is the manager’s job to judge whether a subordinate can cope with more authority and decision-making power. It should be noted however, that even if managers pass down authority to their subordinates, they are still responsible for the work that is done by them.

Encouraging Creativity

A creative temperament is something that probably does exist. Some people are especially motivated in finding new ideas and these people spend more time than others looking for them. They derive pleasure from being creative in their decision making and they enjoy successes that creativity brings them.

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However, creativity is not just for people with these talents. Lateral thinking and its formal techniques can be learned and used deliberately by everyone. You can learn and apply creativity in the same way that mathematics can be learned and applied. Of course, some people will be better than others, but that goes for any skill. Creative thinking can never offer certainty of finding a great idea. But as the thinker's skill grows, it becomes increasingly likely that interesting ideas, including some great ideas, will follow. Applying creativity is not without some risk. You might put off using an adequate and routine solution because you are hoping for a better one. This is a question of strategy and pressure of time. You allocate some time to creativity, reverting to the routine solution if your creative thinking has not been successful. You need to use your judgment and decision making skills. But there is never a reason not to try creativity at all.

Trying out a new creative idea might be costly and that might not appeal to you. You must assess the costs against the potential rewards. You have to use your judgment to decide which ideas are likely to work and calculate the potential income from such ideas.

Being creative and being sensible are not at all mutually exclusive. A combination of the two can be most powerful. You should be prepared to be creative at any time. You might be taking part in a meeting and see that a new approach is necessary, so you must seek such an approach. You can make the effort in a formal creative session designed to produce new ideas. Allocating some fixed time to creative effort can be very effective – as long as it does not mean that creativity is only used during this designated time! When a deliberate time is set aside the habits and techniques of creative thinking are more easily developed because there will be a reluctance to sit there doing nothing at all.

You need to have individual thinking time – not just group sessions. In a group session, there is a tendency to react to others instead of doing your own thinking and decision making.

Suggestion Scheme 

This is a method of cost reduction. The employees are working in the organization at the different levels. While on the job they get number of ideas in mind to do some or other improvement in the organization. Suggestion schemes have been used by organizations for a number of years as a way of gathering ideas from their employees to increase productivity, cut costs, or improve working conditions. A successful scheme has many

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positive effects on an organization; most importantly, employees believe that management cares and listens to them. Implementing a successful suggestion scheme is not an easy process; careful planning, involving much staff time, is needed throughout. Suggestion schemes should not be seen as an alternative to regular communication and hands-on management, but rather as a means to supplement them.   Definition  

A suggestion scheme is a planned procedure which enables an employee to make known an idea which will affect any aspect of work from cost savings and operational improvements to new product ideas and better customer service, and which may reward them for their initiative if the suggestion is implemented.

    Structure of suggestion scheme:  

There are four most important parts of suggestion scheme in any company:

1. Scheme coordinator2. Suggestion scheme committee3. The suggestion evaluator4. The suggestor

    (1)  Scheme coordinator:

  Suggestion coordinator plays important roll in the scheme. He is the

connection in between suggestor and the company. He has to work like proprietor. Thinking that if I work then only things will happen and they will not happen automatically. His aim is to get maximum suggestions implemented. By that there will be encouragement to the employees to put up many more suggestions.

(2)   Suggestion scheme committee:  

The committee is formed with persons from different departments such as marketing dept, design department, manufacturing department, quality department, methods department, etc. one of the senior person having knowledge of company activities is appointed as the chairman of committee. He acts as navigator of the committee. These persons meet at regular interval such as every month or ones in two months as per the need. They create rules of scheme. Also amend the rules as per the need time to time.

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At the time of meeting a member of union and a major suggestor is called to keep the sense of transparency.   (3)  Suggestion evaluator:

  Every suggestion has to be taken up by coordinator with the evaluator.

This is a person from the department in which the concerned suggestion has to be implemented. The implementation means changing the required documents. This document may be such as component drawing or bill of material or a process layout etc. unless this paper work is changed, the suggestion is not implemented. The evaluator is important member of structure of suggestion scheme. He has to study the suggestion and decide. Often he has to make some sample and take the tests. This may take long time. The coordinator has to keep on chasing the evaluators. They may have day-to-day work. The work of suggestion evaluation may get side lined. Often the evaluators are seen making comments that the suggestions dilute the quality of the work or the product. But this should not be permitted. The quality of the product should be maintained as per the need of customer.   (4) The suggestor:  

The suggestor is the main source of ideas. He gives his ideas and in return he gets award. The monitory gain is the main driving force for him. For hat purpose the company has to do all the required things. To keep suggestion scheme live the suggestions have to realize. The employees have to get award or sincere response for rejected suggestions. Suggestion scheme gives money to the company. The people on the job have good suggestions. When the company has to start the suggestion scheme following steps have to be taken.

Starting of Suggestion scheme in organization (1)    Appoint suggestion committee and suggestion coordinator. (2)    Coordinator need not be full time person to begin with. A knowledge

person from industrial engineering department or human resource department is good for job.

(3)    The suggestion committee should create suitable rules to suit the company culture. These rules can be later amended.

(4)    The form is prepared and got printed.

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(5)    The employees then informed through circular about the scheme. The rules of earning monitory gains should be cleared.

(6)    Union in the company should be taken into confidence. (7)    The suggestions after receiving should be scrutinized and awards

are declared. (8)    Total sincerity and transparency should be displayed.

CASE STUDY 1

VOLTAS COMPANY

Thane branch

INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPANY

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Voltas offers engineering solutions for a wide spectrum of industries in areas such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning, refrigeration, electro-mechanical projects, textile machinery, machine tools, mining and construction equipment, materials handling, water management, building management systems, indoor air quality and chemicals. The Company's strengths lie principally in the design and manufacture of industrial equipment; management and execution of air conditioning and public works projects; sourcing, installation and servicing of technology-based systems; and representation of global technology leaders, serving diverse industrial sectors and applications.

India's premier air conditioning and engineering services provider

Voltas Limited offers engineering solutions for a wide spectrum of industries in areas such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning, refrigeration, electro-mechanical projects, textile machinery, machine tools, mining and construction equipment, materials handling, water management, building management systems, indoor air quality and chemicals.

The Company's strengths lie principally in

The design and manufacture of industrial equipment Management and execution of air conditioning and public works projects Sourcing, installation and servicing of technology-based systems Representation of global technology leaders, serving diverse industrial sectors and applications.

Tools of Quality used in Voltas Company

Voltas company has adopted the tools which were proposed by Ishikawa, which are used in different processes of production.

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Kaoru Ishikawa developed seven basic visual tools of quality so that the

average person could analyze and interpret data.

These tools have been used worldwide by companies, managers of all levels and employees. Following are the tools that are used in the Voltas company:

Histograms

A histogram is a bar graph that shows frequency data. Histograms provide the easiest way to evaluate the distribution of data.

Creating a Histogram

1. Collect data and sort it into categories.2. Then label the data as the independent set or the dependent set.3. The characteristic you grouped the data by would be the independent

variable.4. The frequency of that set would be the dependent variable.5. Each mark on either axis should be in equal increments. 6. For each category, find the related frequency and make the horizontal marks

to show that frequency.

Histograms can be used to determine distribution of sales. Say for instance a company wanted to measure the revenues of other companies and wanted to compare numbers.

Cause and Effect Diagram

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The cause and effect diagram is also called the Ishikawa diagram or the fishbone diagram.

It is a tool for discovering all the possible causes for a particular effect. The major purpose of this diagram is to act as a first step in problem solving by creating a list of possible causes.

This tool helps workers spend time on concentrating on the causes of problems rather than focusing on improving the indications of problems.

Constructing a Cause and Effect Diagram

1. First, clearly identify and define the problem or effect for which the causes must be identified. Place the problem or effect at the right or the head of the diagram.

2. Identify all the broad areas of the problem.3. Write in all the detailed possible causes in each of the broad areas.4. Each cause identified should be looked upon for further more specific causes.5. View the diagram and evaluate the main causes.6. Set goals and take action on the main causes.

This is called the fishbone diagram because it looks like the skeleton of a fish. The problem is the head, the major causes of a problem are the “ribs”, and the detailed causes are the small bones.

Flow Charts

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A flow chart is a pictorial representation showing all of the steps of a process.

Creating a Flow Chart1. First, familiarize the participants with the flow chart symbols.2. Draw the process flow chart and fill it out in detail about each

element.3. Analyze the flow chart. Determine which steps add value and

which don’t in the process of simplifying the work.

Some examples of simple symbols are: the shape of a diamond symbolizes decisions, a parallelogram represents input or output, the rectangle is the processing symbol, an arrow for flow line and so forth.

Examples of When to Use a Flow Chart

Two separate stages of a process flow chart should be considered: The making of the product The finished product

Flow charts are used to define, standardize, or find areas for improvement in a process.

Run Charts

Run charts are used to analyze processes according to time or order.

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Run charts are useful in discovering patterns that occur over time.

Creating a Run Chart

1. Gathering DataSome type of process or operation must be available to take measurements for analysis.

2. Organizing DataData must be divided into two sets of values X and Y. X values represent time and values of Y represent the measurements taken from the manufacturing process or operation.

3. Charting DataPlot the Y values versus the X values.

4. Interpreting DataInterpret the data and draw any conclusions that will be beneficial to the process or operation.

When measuring data, the measurements must be taken over time and in sequential order.

When plotting the values, use an appropriate scale that will make the points on the graph visible.

An organization’s desire is to have their product arrive to their customers on time, but they have noticed that it doesn’t take the same amount of time

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each day of the week. They decided to monitor the amount of time it takes to deliver their product over the next few weeks.

By using a run chart, the organization can determine which day or days it is taking longer to deliver and can allow themselves more time for on-time delivery.

Control Charts

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Control charts are used to determine whether a process will produce a product or service with consistent measurable properties.

The process for developing a process chart is the same for almost all charts. The statistical computations is what makes it different and sometimes more complicated.

Steps Used in Developing Process Control Charts

1. Identify critical operations in the process where inspection might be needed.

2. Identify critical product characteristics.3. Determine whether the critical product characteristic is a

variable or an attribute.4. Select the appropriate process control chart.5. Establish the control limits and use the chart to monitor and

improve.6. Update the limits.

A variable is a continuous measurement. An attribute is the result of a binomial process that results in an either-or situation.

An Example of When to Use a Control Chart

Counting the number of defective products or services.Do you count the number of defects in a given product or service?Is the number of units checked or tested constant?Control charts focus more on acceptable limits of the process.

TATA BUSINESS EXCELLENCE MODLE (TBEM)

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In simple words, the progress of the companies on the path of all round excellence is measured on the platform of TBEM questions and core values, and the company earning the highest score gets the award for the year.

This model, called TBEM, gives a set of core values embedded in high performing organizations (close to "ideal"), and through a set of questions in all facets of management; asks the companies to describe how they imbibe these core values in their operations and have thus improved continuously.

The TBEM contains the following management structure:

1. Leadership:

Senior leaders acts as role models to create an environment to guide and sustain the organizational transformation.

2. Strategic Planning:

The Voltas Company follows a structured strategy development process, which is based on annual strategy calendar with active participation by the senior leadership team and managed by the manufacturing, marketing, product and respective supports function.

3. Customers group and market segmentation:

The Voltas Company takes the inputs from the industry assessments, internal and external sources and continuous feedback from the various stake holders about the market needs, expectations, preference on various products and services offered by and competition.

4. Measurement

Over here the operation which are in progress are checked and corrections are made if there are any problems. The problem is measured, analyzed and solved.

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5. Work Force

The HR efforts are delivered towards building capability and capacity for attaining its vision. The process for determining the factors that affect workforce satisfaction is same for all groups and segments of people as it is mainly derived through the process of personal interaction.

6. Process Management

The Voltas company has adopted process and system oriented approach to strengthen its competitive advantage and align itself towards emerging growth opportunity by offering customer-centric cost effective solution, value added products and services, reducing delivery lead times, increasing productivity and further improving quality and after sales service.

Voltas at Thane produces coils, semi hermatic compressor, open type compressor and vacuum absorption machines.

Voltas is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company and is applying for ISO 9001: 2009 certificates.

Voltas undergoes benchmarking with carrier, Hitachi and may more in various field for production.

The concept of Kaizen is also applied in the company but not at high level.

Bibliography36

TQM in the service sector by R.P Mohanty & R.R. Lakhe

http// www.google.com http://elearning.mfu.ac.th/mflu/1203141/

chapter2.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search http://www.bexcellence.org/Total-quality-

management.html

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Jaipur Ceramics Private LimitedFine Bone China

QUALITY & COMMITMENT are the hallmark of any good business.  People at the helm of affairs at JCPL have been known globally for both.  For the last 25 years, they have been one of the biggest & best carpet manufacturing units in India exporting throughout the World.

Today QUALITY is one word that separate two kinds of manufacturers all over the globe, and JCPL has paid its utmost attention to that, having even imported the latest machineries from Korea.

Having a network of over 70 Distributors in India, JCPL today has reached the remotest corners of India and can boast of being found at most of the retail counters across the Country. JCPL today is also exporting its wares to U.K., U.S.A., Australia, Germany, Canada, Italy, Holland, Korea etc having repeated orders from well known retail chains. This signifies the acceptance of quality in the International markets.

JCPL is the only Bone China Tableware Industry in India which has attained the perfection to get the coveted ISO-9001 Certificate.

Production Process

The raw materials used for producing plates, mugs, fine bone china products are the clay, china clay and many other substances. The raw materials are mixed together and their batter is prepared which is divided into two liquid and pluck milk. The liquid are used for making mugs and pluck milk batter is used for making plates.

The next process is to transfer the batter into the module in which they are heated. When they are baked the polish coat is applied. Similarly the baked products are checked and then the printing is done on the products and then transported.

The main manufacturing process is done manually. They produce products about 6 tones daily. They earn about 10% daily defects. The scrap which is

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earned is again recycled and transformed into finished products. One person in the company produces about 1000 items daily.

The company first fulfills the export demand and then goes for the domestic demand.

The company has adopted the labour incentive scheme in which a limit of a person is set for example 400 pieces he should produce, if he produces more than that he will get benefit in terms of cash.

The use of Just In Time process is also used for increasing the productivity. The goods which are produced are checked on the bases on the parameters set by the company.

The company also uses the Kaizen methodology to increase their productivity. The use of quality circles is not used as some of the people do not take interest in increasing the company’s performance.

Their main quality policy is to satisfy the customers demand in the best possible manner. Their main quality objectives are:1. To comply with the ISO standards.2. To provide customers satisfaction. 3. Training and motivating employees.4. Producing according to the supply.

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R. K MARBLE PRIVATE LIMITED

R. K. Marble Group was established in 1989 by Patni group to help serve increasing national and international demand for Indian marble. Since then we have enjoyed exponential growth and export to many markets worldwide. The Company dedicated to bringing the finest marble to the world. For over twenty years, the name is synonymous with grandeur, finesse and quality that can only be expected from the most superior class of marble. An ISO 9001:2000 certified company, R.K. Marble has set benchmarks in the mining, processing and finishing of marble. An annual production of over 1.5 Million Tonnes (equivalent to more than 60,000 sq. meters per day) has earned the company a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest producer of marble in the world, the group is now geared up to scale newer heights and achieve the impossible.

The company supplies marble for many major projects including palaces, temples, mosques, embassies, international hotel chains and office buildings as well as commercial works requiring large quantities of competitively priced materials.

The area of the plant is about 20 acres and about 700 employees are working. The machines which are used for polishing the marbles are imported from Italy. The company uses some chemicals as to fix some cracks.

The Rajasthan plant has about 14 marble cutting machine which works continues period of 5 to 6 hours with the use of water. An about 50000 gallons are used everyday which is then again recycled in the Water Treatment Plant.

Their daily sale is about 50000 sq. ft. They have a 90% market share. They mainly export in Middle-East, Europe and Africa countries. An about 150 trucks are dispatched everyday carrying finished goods. They also import their products from Vietnam, Spain, Italy and turkey.

As marble is a natural products no certain quality checks are performed.

The company provides incentives schemes to their employee on the bases of sales parameter.

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Jaipur Dairy

SARAS

Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation (RCDF) set up in 1977 as the implementing agency for dairy development programmers in Rajasthan is registered as a society under the Rajasthan cooperative societies act 1965. By this the SARAS dairy came into existence.

The daily sales of the dairy are about 5 lakh liters. Firstly the milk which is taken from the remote villages are scanned and tested according to the quality. Then it is pasteurized which is heated at 700C about 10 to 15 minutes and immediately it is cooled so that the bacteria cannot grow further. Then the milk is packed into four types first is the gold pack, double toned milk pack, toned pack and the standard pack.

The company does not provide incentives schemes to their labours. The company only exports the powder milk.

The dairy is being registered under ISO-9002 and HACCP-15000 systems.

RCDF possesses a specialized central quality control laboratory which

monitors adherence to quality standards through random sampling of milk,

milk products, cattle feed, packing material etc. Each dairy plant has its own

laboratory to which RCDF staff provides advice and technical support.

Established in the year 1990 the Central Quality Control Laboratory in RCDF

is engaged in monitoring the quality standards of milk and milk products,

packaging material, cattle feed and effluent treatment so as to ensure their

conformance with laid down respective standards of P.F.A., B.I.S., Ag-mark

and Pollution Control Board. Ambit of activities cover all aspects right from

collection of milk to finished products by programme such as clean milk

production, ISO-9002 and HACCP-15000 certification. In addition to this all

the major milk plants and cattle feed plants to have their own laboratories to

ensure the QAP and TQM at first place.

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