managing quality

Six Sigma is SO 2007.

Posted on by f1223cmandoza

 

This is an article that focuses on Six Sigma and the fact that many companies view it as an outdated certification. While there are some very credible benefits in being Six Sigma certified, there are some major costs as well. According to the article it was a way to improve quality, but the major reason it gained so much popularity was because of its ability to cut costs and increase profitability. However, there were two standout problems with Six Sigma.

First, having such a process oriented company reduced morale. Employees were being evaluated so much on process that they were not being recognized for their hard work or outstanding customer service. Their employee results were just based on numbers. The second problem was that customer sentiment dropped. As a process focused company, the bottom line is to produce as much as possible with as little defects as possible. This may be great for a manufacturing plant, but for a company that works in customer service, it is ignoring a very important factor, the customers. Often times how a customer is treated will weigh more heavily on their decision to come back than the speed of their purchase.

Furthermore, the article goes on to state process is key, but they also need to focus on things such as innovation and creativity to keep a company moving forward. A company can be an outstanding process performer but if they are behind the times with their products or customer service, then having an excellent process doesn’t mean a lot.

In fact, Home Depot, which was a company mentioned in the article, dropped from first to worst among major retailers on the American Customer Satisfaction Index in 2005. This was a company that was Six Sigma certified and had a CEO who placed a very high value and emphasis on Six Sigma. Another example, which was meant to be an example supporting Six Sigma certification, was the desire by financial institutions to be Six Sigma certified. One of the banks mentioned was Bank of America, and we all know what has been happening with them in the recent news…

In conclusion, as we learned in our class, Six Sigma is an outstanding certification to have. It shows that a company is operating at a capacity with an extremely low rate of defect. However, in my opinion, in the case of the article, it sights that there may be more to a company’s success than excellence process. I tend to go with the belief similar to one mentioned in the article, that Process management is a good thing but it must be leavened a bit with a focus on innovation and customer relationships.

 

With the article in mind, I have a couple of questions I’d like to open up to the class.

First, would you go out of your way to be a customer of a Six Sigma company?

Second, what is more important to you, a customer connection or Six Sigma certification?

 

Article Site: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-06-10/six-sigma-so-yesterday

Is “Lean Government” the Solution to Economic Problems?

Posted on by f1211kdebiase

In the last class, we learned about Six Sigma, a methodology that is used to eliminate waste from business activities, while benefiting a company’s financial performance. Six Sigma uses the idea that all activities are processes that can be evaluated with the DMAIC process (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control). By using data analysis methods and focusing on customer knowledge and core processes, companies can reduce defects significantly, with the ideal target being 3.4 defects per million opportunities.

Private companies have been successfully using Six Sigma to improve their methods and reduce costs for years, and even service sector companies, like hospitals, are using Six Sigma to analyze their processes for areas of improvement and greatly reducing treatment times for patients. In class, we discussed Motorola’s introduction of the Six Sigma process and saw examples of how companies like Caterpillar have used Six Sigma to reduce defects and costs. Forbes.com ran an article a few months ago about the expanding types of organizations that are bettering their operations through Six Sigma, such as the Department of Defense and even Iowa’s state government. Looking at these cases, author Kellan Giuda, questions why top government is ignoring the proposition of using Six Sigma to reduce the national deficit in his article “Lean Government Six Sigma? Why Do Politicians Ignore it?”

As everyone is aware, the economic crisis in 2007 and 2008 has caused a lot of criticism on how the U.S. government functions. Because of this many advocacy groups, specifically seen when Newt Gingrich was running for candidacy, are arguing for higher-tier adoption of this system in order to reduce debt. The argument behind this movement is the $2.45 billion saved by the U.S. Military after introducing Six Sigma in 2008 and the Department of Defense’s integration of the system into their operations. Giuda believes that these cases prove that Six Sigma can be beneficial to organizations outside of the private sector, such as government agencies. He argues that this would provide an opportunity for top government officials to undertake the public debt problem head-on and that Lean Six Sigma is a viable solution for the problems the U.S. government faces.

Thousands of companies worldwide embrace Six Sigma as a tactical improvement system and seeing the various types of organizations that are implementing it shows the transferability of the system. Do you think that using Six Sigma would reduce costs in a national government? Would it be difficult to implement?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/09/09/lean-government-six-sigma-why-do-politicians-ignore-it/

http://www.isixsigma.com/new-to-six-sigma/getting-started/what-six-sigma/

What kind of tablet would you like for Christmas? Maybe a Nook?

Posted on by f1224srokicki

NOOK HD Snow 8GB

As more and more people have begun to steer away from physical books to e-books, e-readers and tablets have begun to establish themselves as the next big product. Barnes & Noble entered into the Tablet industry with its first tablet, the Nook Tablet, last November in order to compete with Apple’s iPad and as well as Amazon’s Kindle Fire. With this introduction of the Nook HD, Barnes & Nobles has begun the phasing out of its previous tablets, the Nook Tablet and Nook Color. This new design, which introduces an upgrade in hardware and software, comes in two different sizes, one with a 7-inch screen and the other with a 9-inch screen. This has come on the brink of Amazon’s announcement for four new varieties of its Kindle which also offers larger screens to compete with the iPad’s 9.7 inch screen.

In order to compete with the offerings of its main competitor, Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble has also introduced a new video service in conjunction with major television and movie studios like Warner Brothers and HBO to allow its users to watch and buy movies and televisions shows on their mobile devices and TVs. Amazon currently offers more services which include a larger app store and video library as well as also providing its customers with its huge product offerings. However, due to the constant threat of Amazon’s online retail operations, retailers like Wal-Mart and Target refuse to carry the Kindle which allows for more opportunity for the Nook to be reached by possible consumers without the extra competition of the Kindle.

The tablet category has seen rapid expansion with many competitors entering the industry. According to Forrester Research, approximately one-third of U.S. adults will own some form of a tablet by 2016. That doesn’t even account for the amount of families that own multiple tablets for their children to use. So for Christmas, which kind of tablet would you like? Is it possible that the cheaper prices of the Nook and the Kindle can sway even more consumers towards it rather than going for an iPad?

Sources:

http://www.suntimes.com/technology/15389281-478/barnes-noble-launches-new-nook-hd.html

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook-hd-barnes-noble/1110060426

Drug Dealers Beware!

Posted on by f1213spalreddy

 

How can improved quality control and diminishing quality control both work to save lives?

 

In the world of quality assurance, it is a rare thing to talk about quality within the public sector.  The public assumes that quality exists but nothing is ever thought of in regards to the measures are needed to make sure things are done correctly.  While reading this you will find two sides of the FDA.  One side of the FDA ensures the safety of people through increased quality control measures.  The other side of the FDA is hoping to remove some quality control measures in hopes of saving lives.

 

The FDA has begun rigorous efforts to take counterfeit and harmful drugs off of the internet.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/04/us-fda-baddrugs-idUSBRE8930SN20121004

 

In a time of rising health care costs and pricey prescriptions, consumers have looked to various other sources to save money.  A great source to purchase prescription medication is online.  However, many of these online retailers are distributing “counterfeit and illegal” medicine.   The FDA has joined forces with international regulatory and law enforcement agencies in an effort to take some of these dangerous drugs off the market.    18,000 online pharmacies have been shut down in the matter of just one week starting September 25th.    This is essentially a form of quality checking within the public sector.  The FDA is hoping to make sure that the medicines available to the public have gone through the testing process.  All of these regulatory agencies are working towards a pharmaceutical industry with high standards of quality.

 

In contrast, the FDA is also working to remove some of the quality processes associated with the drug approval process.  This comes mainly from a Republican push hoping to remove regulations across the board.  These deregulations are not meant to send harmful drugs out on the market prematurely.  This measure is hoping to assist immediately ill individuals that cannot wait through the testing process.  The FDA has been doing this since the 1990’s.  Currently patients within this characterization include aids and cancer patients.  However, the FDA is hoping to include various other threatening diseases/conditions to this “accelerated approval” process.  “Of 35 medicines termed innovative by the FDA and approved during fiscal 2011, 16 have some sort of shortened review or expedited approval” (Burton 2012).  The key is that people with “life threatening” conditions are more willing to try riskier drugs.  These people do not have the luxury of time to wait through the quality assurance process.

 

The point of this shows how quality assurance is paramount in some regards and in other circumstances it serves as handcuffs for progress.  The latter tends to be rare but it does point out that too many regulations have harmful effects.  We can clearly relate this to the upcoming elections as republicans and democrats battle over the topic of increased regulations.  There are clear positives for both sides.  Too many regulations impede progress and at times create a feeling of too much governmental control.  Not enough regulations also have catastrophic results.  Going back to the initial topic, if the FDA did not thoroughly check items that came through their department, people’s lives would be in danger.   People would not be aware of the harmful side effects of the things they are ingesting.  The perfect middle ground is a difficult thing to find and seems to be an ongoing battle within our society.

 

Sources:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444083304578018790623838634.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/04/us-fda-baddrugs-idUSBRE8930SN20121004

Screams in the House of Pain!: Tattoos and TQM

Posted on by f1223zmoy

I am a self proclaimed tattoo connoisseur with over twenty hours of needlework under my belt. One thing I found out about myself is that I apparently am not like most people who stay with one artist; I like to get tattooed by different artists and in different studios. I don’t know all the artists in Chicago, but I have been tattooed in five shops (visited a total of eight shops). My experience more than qualifies me to talk about this topic, as well as provide a general overview of the Chicago shops. I am here to analyze my experience with tattoos and total quality management (TQM).

Our book claims, “the tangible component of many services is important,” which certainly applies to the tattooing industry (207). All eight shops I have been to had a “greeter,” whose job includes tasks such as welcoming guests and filling out paperwork. Upon visiting a shop for the first time, I have only dealt with lukewarm greeters (not grouchy but not overly friendly) which more or less takes away from my experience. For the tattoo aficionados, do you not agree with me that most of the greeters in Chicago are lukewarm? I suppose if a greeter told me to get out of the shop just because I am a minority, I would not want to return to the shop. That has never happened to me, but that would be poor quality on the hypothetical shop’s part. On the flip side, tattoo shops do have a reputation to maintain. They have the right to kick drunk people out coming in at 2 A.M. A reputable shop will not want to be known as the shop that tattoos drunks.

As the book states, “9 out of 10 of the determinants of service quality are related to the service process” (207). I consider this part to be the time when the artist starts to sanitize his/her equipment to the time he/she bandages me up. Most people do not want to contract a disease such as hepatitis from a tattoo shop. The tattoo artist should follow safety guidelines such as putting on clean gloves and opening sterilized needles in front of the client.

While the tattoo artist is inserting the needle into the client’s skin, the client should not have to worry if the artist is incompetent. The artist should be able to make immaculate lines and properly complete their shading techniques. Most clients do not want a poorly finished tattoo that might require expensive removal.

Lastly, the book states “service quality is judged on the basis of whether it meets expectations” (207). As my photo shows, tattoo work is a creative form of art. However, not everything can be tattooed. On one of my visits to Insight Studios, I wanted to get a tattoo of this picture of a fire I found on the Internet. My artist honestly told me that that picture was more of a computer graphic design and that he would and could not tattoo it.

I’m interested if anybody has any experience with tattoo shops (with tattoos or even piercings). What aspects of quality do you think tattoo shops should work on?

Blogspot.com. Web. 5 October 2012. < http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QOVWkR0hFxw/UFlc686e5GI/AAAAAAAAAfU/3ZEK5adiikM/s1600/bellybuttontattoo2.jpgphoto>.

Heizer, Jay H., and Barry Render. “Managing Quality.” Principles of Operations Management. 8th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2011. 207. Print.

Loaded Radio. Web. 5 October 2012. < http://www.loadedradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/tommy_lee_001_080506-115×115.jpg>.

Quality Control Testing; Methods That Don’t Work

Posted on by f1211kdebiase

http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10336

“Study Suggests Raising the Bar for Olive Oil Quality Control”

Recently UC Davis conducted a study on the effectiveness of quality control tests for the commonly used food product Olive Oil. This seems like a small detail in food regulation and not something to think twice about, however the majority of oils sold to companies in the food-service industry was below standard. Researchers found that various brands of Olive Oils were able to pass the chemical tests that are used for quality control, however failed most sensory tests- done by blind tastings- where products were described as “rancid” and “musty.” Not necessarily the type of product you want to consume. Another fault that researchers discovered, was that most products did not list where or when the product was produced. This could lead to rotten oils or bad products being sold to consumers. Because of these results, researchers at UC Davis believe that quality testing of Olive Oils should be revised to create “more accurate and less expensive tests and to develop innovative packaging that will extend olive oil freshness” (www.news.ucdavis.edu).

This article reminds me of Deming’s Red Bead Experiment which we performed last week in class. The Quality Control for the test required two “Inspectors” to count all of the red beads that were produced in each workers batch and then have a “Chief Inspector” verify these results and submit them to be recorded. While there were always some defects in the batches produced, nothing was ever done to correct the process by which the product was created. The researchers at UC Davis mentioned that about 10% of the oils tested were “adulterated” and made of other oils such as canola oil, instead of pure olive oil. While the article did not say how many of the products tested did not pass the chemical tests, I would think that there were defective products in most batches- especially in the modified oils- that did not pass the chemical tests. I wonder how many Olive Oil companies then changed their processes and how many maintained the old process, factoring in defects as an expected occurrence.

The manufacturing of Olive Oil relates well to Deming’s Experiment. These companies may not realize that their production processes are flawed and are solely relying on the feedback of basic chemical testing for quality assessment. Two of Deming’s Fourteen Points for a better organization are “Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality” and “Constantly and forever improve the system of production and service.” It seems that based on the research done by UC Davis, most of the Olive Oil industry needs to look at Deming’s philosophies and revise their thinking on quality and the processes in production, something most companies may need to review in their operations.

Can you think of any other companies that base their quality measurements on testing that may not be relevant to the actual quality of their product?

Who cares about clothes?

Posted on by matthewl301s12

Recently I watched a special on CNBC, called “J.Crew and the Man Who Dressed America.” The special highlights the CEO, Mickey  Drexler, and demonstrates how he transformed the company from a state of free-fall to a booming power-player. In all honesty, fashion doesn’t really catch my eye, but the business of fashion, illustrated through Drexler’s performance, demanded my attention. Drexler took over this company and immediately made quality, supply chain management, and global sourcing critical priorities.

He started diving head first into all of the fine details, even customer complaints, which he sometimes personally takes care of. He takes the mistakes about clothes relayed by the unhappy customers-t-shirts getting holey, sweaters pilling, and actually targets those mistakes and directs his employees to improve upon them. The quality is hand inspected by him, the CEO. He does not just sit in the office somewhere and make decisions about products that he has very little contact with. On the contrary, he is in the store inspecting the product (the merchandise and the store itself) and he knows every single piece of product in each store. He even spends time analyzing with his team on whether to have push or pull doors at the front of the store, before finally settling on the push. Drexler says that 90% of studies show that people prefer a push door to a pull.

Drexler not only works with his suppliers but meets with them in person and inspects their product. He controls the supply chain very tightly and prefers to have the utmost control of both the production and the delivery of the product. J.Crew is a stand alone company that is not sold at department stores, uncommonly at malls and is not conglomerated with other clothes brands, except for its own offshoots. Drexler hand picks the finest fabric from family owned businesses in Italy and then has the fabric shipped to China, where nearly all of the products are assembled before being shipped to the U.S. and Canada. All of the actual design however, is all completely done at J. Crew’s headquarters in Manhattan.

Forever present in all the dimensions of the brand is an attention to detail so strong that it’s difficult not to notice. Not a piece of the company hasn’t been analyzed and rethought and it clearly shows. It’s no surprise that the message that  J. Crew sends does cross industries and it proves that a company must be completely synced with its product, no matter what it is.  As Mickey Drexler says, “Just have huge conviction about what you do…and don’t be afraid.”

 

 

 

 

Tax Season

Posted on by levik301s12

I had an internship with a Big 4 accounting firm. I was practicing international tax which focused on individuals who were expatriates and foreign nationals. Not only did I have to know how to do a domestic return and understand the tax code for domestic issues, but I also had to take into account international tax issues and situations. If you’ve ever worked at a firm who does taxes, the process during the winter is huge and complex. Our department has a structure and the managers/directors really take on the management role while the lower-level associates will do most of the leg work in preparing the tax returns. Without getting to technical, tax returns were just one of the many services we were doing during this past busy season. Nevertheless, the volume and complexity of our clients made it imperative that there was strong management controls in place for work-flow to be smooth and consistent. After learning some management concepts these last couple weeks, I realized how my managers actually integrated these strategic techniques to deliver timely and quality deliverables to our clients.

Without getting into too mch detail and depth, I wanted to explain some techniques that they utilized. First some background information. We have multi-national companies as clients but we do not do the companies taxes, we do the employees taxes. This amounts to thousands of tax returns that need to be done by April 15 (sometimes sooner). The tax returns will either be done at the local office (Chicago) or be sent to our India processing center. The amount of work and complexity of the tax issues is what decides how the tax return will be handled whether it would be done by the local office or India. These are usually judgement calls by management so that they can utilize their resources to provide the highest quality at the lowest cost. In addition, the tax return has a long multi-step process.

This multi-step process had to use a project network – similar to what we did in class. A tax return has these steps. 1. Taxpayer fills out questionnaire 2. Tax Analysis (find missing information) 3. Tax Analysis review 4. Frontloading (input information to do tax return 5. Frontload Review 6. Send to processing for data input 7. Processing review 8. Deliverable

Each step has a set estimated time of completion but some steps can be started while others are being worked on. A critical path would be set and slack time existed in this chart. It was managements daily responsibility to analyze work-flow and see where the projects (tax returns) are in the path.

At many companies, we as college students usually start off in positions take don’t require much management techniques or strategies that are to be personally implemented by us but as we progess, our jobs get much more focused and oriented on developing these skill sets.

Has anyone else worked at a tax firm that experienced something similar to what I have?

Keep an Opened Eye on Consumption

Posted on by mahmoodk502

I am going to focus on the concept of car consumption and how it relates to the importance and sage of control charts in quality management for my company.

Control charts are used to monitor variations in given a variable for the purpose of making sure that the process is on control. The types of variations are assignable or common.

 The company I work for is in the entertainment business and we have a large set of cars assigned to track and off-track activities. Some of these cars are specific for racing activities are others are just tuned road certified cars. The process of maintaining these cars in a good operating condition involves a series of periodic general inspection, regular change of parts and oil and fuel filling not to mention the inventory of parts which accounts for the largest percentage of money spent on all. Expenses of which the company dedicates a substantial amount of money under the category of cost of doing business.

Our operations department utilizes control charts as an indicator if something is going wrong. One of the variables they focus on is fuel consumption. What was really interesting to me is how specific the process of putting control charts was. The process involved factors like the type of the car, the weather conditions it operates in and the car depreciation value which relates to its usable lifetime. Each one of those affected the level of consumption and it happens that we get a reading for one of the cars beyond the control limits that will indicate that there something wrong with the car and it has to be inspected. Other control charts are prepared in the same manner for the other variables affecting the condition of the car.

As per our operations director, gathering the right set of data is the most difficult part. You will be able to obtain most of the consumption and car wear and tear variables as per industry standards or from the manufacturers themselves. One of the common mistakes is that you will base all of your charts based on them. You will have to collect your own and have a variance analysis just to make sure that you do not get misleading results at the end of the day.

 What I would to add here is regardless of how prepared we seem to be by keeping an opened eye on consumption we had the occasional unexpected breakdowns of some of our vehicles. Despite the fact that the last check was completely perfect. We had other cases in which we were using the wrong limits for our charts and ended up being reactive at the expense of quality.

Would the concepts of quality management and your business relevant statistical process control charts make sure that you have the perfect quality product in the market? In my line of business, it would minimize the risks and based on experience it is not a guarantee. What about yours?