Chapter 13: Quality Tools and Approaches Flashcards
What are quality tools used for
- identify problems and their root cause
- solutions can then be planned
- implementation of solutions by means by quality improvement techniques
What are quality tools
- Flowcharts: a flow chart/process map is a picture of the separate steps of a process in sequential order
- Run charts: are graphic representations of process performance
- Control charts: it is a graph used to study how a process changes over time and the data are plotted in time order
- Check sheets: is a structured, prepared form for collecting and analyzing data. Check sheets have a dual purpose - to ensure that certain activities and tasks are completed, and to serve the purpose of data connection
- Histograms: they are simply graphic representations of data in a bar format
- Pareto analysis: pareto analysis uses charts to identify and prioritize problems to be solved
- Cause and effect diagrams: also known as a fish bone diagram, moves away from identification of the symptoms of a problem towards identification of the real causes of the problem. It identifies as many causes as possible for an effect or problem
- Scatter diagrams: the scatter graphs pairs of numerical data with one variable on each axis, to look for relationships between them
- Failure mode, effects and critical analysis (FMECA): by using the FMECA technique organizations can determine and identify potential causes of performance failures during the design phase of goods and services. The primary objective of FMECA is to identify critical failures and probable causes for these with the aim of reducing them
What are the three elements of FMECA
- Failure mode - the anticipated operational conditions are used as the background of the study of the good or service
- Failure effect - the potential failures are studied to determine their probable effects on the performance of the good or service
- Failure criticality - the potential failures of the various components of the good or service are examined to determine the severity of each failure
What are the methodologies that can be applied when using FMECA
- identify the good service or components of them
- list all probable failures
- identify the effect of each failure
- rate the probability of the occurrence of each failure
- score the seriousness of the failure on a scale of 1 to 10 (S)
- score the difficulty of detecting the era when used by the customer from 1 to 10 (D)
- calculate the critical index: C = P x S x D
- rank the critical indices
Define benchmarking
A process of comparing key performance measures to those of the best performers and subsequently identifying areas for improvement
What are the four categories of benchmarking
> internal: look at the best practices within the organization to compare them
> functional: involves seeking the best functional practices outside the industry
> generic: involves a comparison of outstanding processes
> competitive: comparisons between competitors
What are the five steps involved in the benchmarking process
Step 1: decide on the aspect of the organization on which the benchmarking will focus
Step 2: determine what to measure
Step 3: select the benchmarking partner
Step 4: study and compare the measures and activities of the performance of the benchmarking partner and identify the opportunities for performance improvement
Step 5: improve and reinforce the performance
What is six-sigma
Six-sigma was developed by Motorola in the 1980s with the aim to reduce quality costs and number of mistakes. It is a top down and highly disciplined approach that includes four stages namely: measure, analyse, improve, control
What are the benefits of six-sigma
- reduced time to market for new or revised products
- increase understanding of customer expectations
- reduce number of product design changes
- enhance quality and reliability
- reduce warranty costs
- improved employee satisfaction
- improve measuring accuracy
Phases of the six-sigma methodology (pg 365)
Define lean manufacturing
It is a process of designing systems to reduce costs by getting rid of any waste. The emphasis is on eliminating any non-value activities such as production of defective items
Explain the deming cycle
Is also called the PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) cycle. The methodology is based on the premise that improvement comes from applying knowledge which makes processes easier, more accurate, faster, less costly, safer and more cost effective
What four fundamental questions need to be answered when using the deming cycle methodology
- What are we trying to achieve?
- What changes have to be implemented that will result in improvement?
- How will we know that a change occurred after the implementation?
- How can the change be sustained?
What are the four phases of the deming cycle
> plan phase: consist of studying the current situation Gathering data and planning for improvement
> do phase: consist of implementing the improvement plan on a trial basis
> study phase: consist of determining weather the trial plan is working correctly and making any further adjustments or changes to the improvement plan
> act phase: consist of ensuring that they improvements can be standardized and practice continuously in the real world
What is pokayoke
It is an approach for error proofing a process and the use of devices to prevent human error
