Quality control

Quality control

It is an approach to prevent  the defects rather than detecting the defects.

The ultimate aim of quality control is to provide products which are dependable, satisfactory and economical

Objectives of quality control

•Adherence to organization’s quality policy.

•To decide the std.of quality of a customer accepted product.

•Preparation of quality plan in accordance with the stated

objectives.

•Verification of the standards of the predetermined quality.

•To take different measures to improve the standard of quality.

•To develop quality consciousness in the various sections of the

unit.

•To reduce the wastage of the raw materials, men, money and

material.

Quality assurance

•Activity of providing  adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy given requirement for quality.

Benefits of quality control

1.Minimum scrap or rework costs

2.Reduced cost of labor

3.Uniform quality and reliability

4.Reduced inspection costs

5.Reduced customer complaints

6.Higher operating efficiency

7.Better utilization of resources

Statistical Quality Control

•SQC is the application of statistical techniques to accept or reject products already produced, or to control the process while it is being carried out.

SQC makes inspection more reliable and at the same time less costly. Its main objective is to control the quality of the outgoing products.

Using statistical techniques, SQC collects and analyses data in assessing and controlling product quality.

SQC can be broadly divided into 3 categories

- Descriptive Statistics

- Statistical Process control

- Acceptance Sampling

Descriptive Statistics

•It is used to describe quality characteristics and relationships. Included are statistics such as mean, standard deviation and the range etc.

Statistical Process Control

•Statistical evaluation of the output of a process during production.

It involves inspecting a random sample of the output from a process and deciding whether the   process is producing products with characteristics that fall within a predetermined range. SPC answers the question of whether the process is functioning properly or not.

Acceptance Sampling

•Acceptance sampling is a process of randomly inspecting a sample of goods and deciding whether to accept the entire lot based on results.

•Acceptance sampling determines whether a batch of goods should be accepted or rejected.

Advantages of SQC

•It helps in preventing defects from occurring.

•It also helps in avoidance of risk of accepting a bad lot.

•SQC avoids inspection of the entire lot.(sample)

•Ensures maintenance of high standards of quality.

Quality Management

What Is Quality?

•“The degree of excellence of a thing”   (Webster’s Dictionary)

•The totality of features and characteristics  that satisfy needs

•Fitness for use

Quality : Ability of a product or service to consistently meet or exceed customer expectations.

From the view point of consumer the quality may differ from each persons 

Dimensions Of Product Quality

 1. Performance

        basic operating characteristics

2. Features 

       “extra” items added to basic features

3. Reliability 

       probability product will operate over time

4. Conformance

       meeting pre-established standards

5. Durability

       life span before replacement

6. Serviceability

        ease of getting repairs, speed & competence

 of repairs

7. Aesthetics

 look, feel, sound, smell or taste

8. Safety

 freedom from injury or harm

9. Other perceptions

          subjective perceptions based on brand name, advertising, etc

Dimensions of Service Quality

1. Time & Timeliness

customer waiting time, completed on time

2. Completeness

customer gets all they asked for

3. Courtesy

treatment by employees

4. Consistency

same level of service for all customers

5. Accessibility & Convenience

ease of obtaining service

6. Accuracy

performed right every time

7. Responsiveness

         reactions to unusual situations

Determinants of Quality

•Quality of design

•Capability of production (M/C, equip.,labor)

•Quality of conformance

•Ease of use

•After sales service quality

Quality Of Conformance

•Ensuring product or service produced according to design

•Depends on

–design of production process

–performance of machinery

–materials

–training

Vertical integration | Forward integration | Backward integration

Vertical integration

Vertical integration is the degree to which a firm owns its upstream suppliers and its downstream buyers.

vertical integration is takes place when one firm is engaged in different parts of production

    e.g. growing raw materials, manufacturing, transporting, marketing, and/or retailing.

Backward integration

A company exhibits backward integration when it controls subsidiaries that produce some of the inputs used in the production of its products.

   

For example, an automobile company may own a tire company, a glass company, and a metal company. 

Forward integration

A company tends toward forward integration when it controls

distribution centers and retailers where its products are sold.

The combination or any one of the integration is called vertical integration

Benefits of Vertical Integration

Vertical integration potentially offers the following advantages:

•Reduce transportation costs if common ownership results in closer geographic proximity.

•Improve supply chain coordination.

•Provide more opportunities to differentiate by means of increased control over inputs.

•Capture upstream or downstream profit margins.

•Increase entry barriers to potential competitors, for example, if the firm can gain sole access to a scarce resource.

•Gain access to downstream distribution channels that otherwise would be inaccessible.

•Facilitate investment in highly specialized assets in which upstream or downstream players may be reluctant to invest.

Drawbacks of Vertical Integration

Vertical integration potentially has the following

disadvantages:

•Capacity balancing issues. For example, the firm may need to build excess upstream capacity to ensure that its downstream operations have sufficient supply under all demand conditions.

•Potentially higher costs due to low efficiencies resulting from lack of supplier competition.

•Decreased flexibility due to previous upstream or downstream investments. (Note however, that flexibility to coordinate vertically-related activities may increase.)

•Decreased ability to increase product variety if significant in-house development is required.

•Developing new core competencies may compromise existing competencies.

Operations Management

Operations Management

5 P’s of operations management

•Product

•Plant

•Processes

•Programs

•People

The design process

•An organization can gain a competitive edge through designs that bring new ideas to the market quickly.

Product design specifies the materials to be used, the appearance of the product.

Service design specifies the psychological benefits the customer is to receive from the service.

Process Design

 Process Designs defines the steps and processes in sequential order, detailing all the inputs and specifications of tools, machines, operations and/or processes to produce the desired product with the shortest possible route and best of engineering practices so as to meet the objects of quality, quantity and economy in the defined time frame.

Functional Design

•It is concerned with how the product performs.

•The two characteristics considered during the phase of the design are

-Reliability

-Maintainability

Reliability

•It  is the probability that a given part or product will perform its intended function for a specified length of time under normal conditions of use.

•The reliability information from product warranties.

•E.g.  A hair dryer might guarantee to function (blow air with a certain force at a certain temp.) for one year under normal condition of use. (defined to 300 hours of operation)

Maintainability

•Also known as  serviceability refer to the ease and/ or cost with which a product or service is maintained or repaired.

•Products can be made easier to maintain by assembling them in modules, like computers so that entire control panels cards or disk drivers can be replaced when they malfunction

DFMA

•Design For Manufacture and Assembly is the process of designing a product so that it can be produced easily and economically.

•DFMA not only improves the quality of the product but also reduces both time and cost  of the product design and manufacture.

Plant location

•Plant location can be understood as the function of determining where the plant should be located for maximum operating economy and effectiveness.

•Selection of a place for locating a plant 

Plant layout

•When a new plant is erected the question of placement of machinery, tool rooms , the location of the store and the like receive a priority consideration .

Definition

•A plant layout refers to the arrangement of machinery, equipment and other industrial facilities such as receiving and shipping departments, tool rooms, maintenance rooms and employee amenities. 

Click here : Factors influencing the layout

Factors influencing the layout

Factors influencing the layout

1. Materials

2.Product

3.Worker

4.Machinery

5.Type of the industry

6.Managerial policy

7.Location

The principles of layout

•The Principle of minimum travel

•Principle of sequence

•Principle of usage

•Principle of compactness

•Principle of safety and satisfaction

•Principle of flexiblity

•Principle of minimum investment

5 P’s of Production Management – Explained!

The division of production management functions into 5 P's (product, plant, programme, processes and people) will provide a useful conceptual framework for the various activities performed by production or operations manager.

The Five P’s:

1. The Product:

The product is the link between production and marketing. It is not enough that a customer requires product but the organisation must be capable of producing the product.

As per the product policy of the organisation, an agreement is reached between the various functions on the following aspects of the product,

1. Performance

2. Quality and reliability

3. Aesthetics and ergonomics

4. Quantity and selling price

5. Delivery schedule

To arrive at the above, the external and the internal factors which affect the various aspects such as market needs, existing culture and legal constraints and the environmental demands should be given due consideration. Thus the major policy decisions regarding variety of product mix is going to affect the producing system.

2. The Plant:

The plant accounts for major investment (fixed assets)

The plant should match the needs of the product; market, the worker and the organisation.

The plant is concerned with;

1. Design and layout of building and offices

2. Reliability, perfect, maintenance of equipment’s

3. Safety of operations

4. The financial constraint