Seven New Management and Planning Tools- good to use for cases like MH370 where data or information are in chaotic condition and not yet structured….

Seven New Management and Planning Tools
In 1976, the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) saw the need for tools to promote innovation, communicate information and successfully plan major projects. A team researched and developed the seven new quality control tools, often called the seven management and planning (MP) tools, or simply the seven management tools. Not all the tools were new, but their collection and promotion were.
The seven MP tools, listed in an order that moves from abstract analysis to detailed planning, are:
1. Affinity Diagram: organizes a large number of ideas into their natural relationships.

2. Relations Diagram: shows cause-and-effect relationships and helps you analyze the natural links between different aspects of a complex situation.

3. Tree Diagram: breaks down broad categories into finer and finer levels of detail, helping you move your thinking step by step from generalities to specifics.

4. Matrix Diagram: shows the relationship between two, three or four groups of information and can give information about the relationship, such as its strength, the roles played by various individuals, or measurements.

5. Matrix Data Aanalysis: a complex mathematical technique for analyzing matrices, often replaced in this list by the similar prioritization matrix. One of the most rigorous, careful and time-consuming of decision-making tools, a prioritization matrix is an L-shaped matrix that uses pairwise comparisons of a list of options to a set of criteria in order to choose the best option(s).

6. Arrow Diagram: shows the required order of tasks in a project or process, the best schedule for the entire project, and potential scheduling and resource problems and their solutions.

7. Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC): systematically identifies what might go wrong in a plan under development.
Excerpted from Nancy R. Tague’s The Quality Toolbox, Second Edition, ASQ Quality Press, 2004.

List of Categories of Books & Standards at ASQ Knowledge Center-see the list below..

Categories of Books at ASQ Knowledge Center

Join ASQ.Visit http://www.asq.org

Aerospace
Agriculture
Architecture
Arts/Entertainment
AS9000
Auditing
Automotive
Aviation
Awards
Baldrige National Quality Program
Basic Quality
Benchmarking
Best Practices
Biomedical
Career Development
Certification (ASQ)
Certification/Registration (management system standards)
Change Management
Chemical
Compliance
Continuous Improvement
Cost of Quality
Criteria for Performance Excellence
Customer Experience Management
Customer Requirements
Customer Satisfaction and Value
Data Quality
Design and Construction
Design of Experiments
Economic Case for Quality
Education
Electronics
Energy/Utilities
Engineering
Environmental Manag. and Sustainability
Finance
Food
Food Safety
Global Quality
Government
Healthcare
Hospitality
Human Resources
Information Management
Innovation
Inspection
Insurance
ISO 14000
ISO 22000
ISO 26000
ISO 9000
ISO/TS 16949
Laboratory
Leadership
Lean
Manufacturing
Medical Devices
Metrics
Metrology
On Sale
Pharmaceutical
Problem Solving
Process Capability
Process Management
Product Development and Recall
Product-Service Design
Project Management
Quality Assurance
Quality Control
Quality Function Deployment
Quality Management
Quality Tools
Real Estate
Reliability
Retail/Wholesale
Reward and Recognition
Risk Management
Safety
Sales
Sampling
Service
Six Sigma
Small Business
Social Responsibility
Software and Technology (for statistics
Software Development
Software Quality
Sports/Recreation
Standards
Statistical Process Control (SPC)
Statistics
Strategic Planning
Supplier Quality
Teams
Telecommunications
Theory of Constraints
TL 9000
Total Quality Management
Transportation

Malaysian Companies MUST promote their BRAND all over the world through their PEOPLE like Quality Teams,Project Teams and other types of Team based activities.Here is a great opportunity to participate in ASQ’s Team Presentation Events..read more about it below.

ASQ Announces 2012 International Team Excellence Award Finalists

For Immediate Release

Organizations Recognized for Best-in-Quality Processes

Milwaukee, Wis., Feb. 29, 2012 — ASQ, the world’s largest network of quality resources and experts, has announced that 32 global teams from nine countries have been named finalists in the 27th annualInternational Team Excellence Awards process.

The teams will be part of the quality impact sessions and live case study presentations May 21-23 at ASQ’s annual World Conference on Quality and Improvement at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Teams representing a broad spectrum of industries including manufacturing, service, education, health care, and government will vie for the coveted ASQ gold, silver and bronze awards. Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony Wednesday, May 23, and will serve as benchmarks of organizational excellence in all industries for years to come.

The finalists’ projects showcase creative and innovative solutions and organizational cost-savings. Conference attendees can observe team project presentations that demonstrate the real-life application of quality tools to achieve valuable business results.

The following finalists have been invited to participate in the 2012 International Team Excellence Award process. Project summaries can be found at  wcqi.asq.org.

Education

• Ramaiah Institute of Management Studies — Bangalore, Karnataka, India
• Tropic Isles Elementary — Fort Myers, Fla.

Government

• CGI Federal — Fort Campbell, Ky.
• Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) — Singapore, Singapore
• NAVFAC-Navy Medicine-HDR-Clark/McCarthy — Camp Pendleton, Calif.
• National Reconnaissance Office — Chantilly, Va.
• URS Federal Services — Stockton, Utah

Healthcare

• BJC Healthcare — St. Louis

Manufacturing

• Alcoa Inc. — Morristown, Tenn.
• Altos Hornos de México S.A.B.de C.V. — Coahuila, Mexico
• Anheuser-Busch InBev — St. Louis
• Boeing — Long Beach, Calif.
• Continental Automotive System Co. Ltd. — Tianjin, TJ, China
• Continental Automotive Systems Corporation — Icheon-city, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• CSX Transportation/General Electric — Jacksonville, Fla.
• Ford Motor Company — Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Ford Motor Company — Saarlouis, Saarland, Germany
• Ford Motor Company — Dearborn, Mich.
• General Motors — Milford, Mich.
• Hewlett Packard — Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
• Reliance Industries Ltd. Dahej — Dahej, Gujarat, India
• Reliance Industries Ltd. Hazira — Surat, Gujarat, India
• Suzlon Energy Limited — Pune, Maharashtra, India

Service

• Firstsource Solutions Ltd. — Amherst, N.Y.
• HCL Technologies — Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• Housing and Development Board — Singapore, Singapore
• Pruksa Real Estate Public Company Ltd. — Phayathai, Bangkok, Thailand
• Telecom Personal SA — Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, Argentina
• Telefonica Argentina — Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Tgestiona — Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans — Coconut Grove, Fla.
• Wyndham Consumer Finance — Las Vegas

Since 1985, more than 1,000 teams from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and the United States have participated in this team recognition process — the only one of its kind in the United States. Organizations such as 3M; Alcoa; Bayer; Boeing; Humana; Reliance Industries Ltd., the largest business enterprise in India; and Telefonica, a major cell phone operator in Argentina, have all showcased proven results with long-term implications, resulting in cost-savings of millions of dollars.

Conference Speakers

Speakers at this year’s WQCI, where the Team Excellence Awards takes place, include:

• James Albaugh — Executive Vice President of The Boeing Co., and President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes
  James Albaugh is responsible for Boeing’s commercial airplanes programs and services, is a member of the Boeing Executive Council and serves as Boeing’s senior executive in the Pacific Northwest.
• Carletta Ooton — Vice President and Chief Quality, Safety and Sustainable Operations Officer for The Coca Cola Co. 
  Carletta Ooton, who has more than 20 years of quality and operational experience, has overarching accountability for the policies and standards, audits, analytical services, food safety, customer quality, performance measures and operations support delivered by the global quality organization.
• Majora Carter — President of MCG Consulting
  Named one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company magazine, Majora Carter is known for her sustainability leadership in pioneering the nation’s first urban green-collar job training and placement system.
• Simon Sinek — Leadership expert and author of “Start With Why”
  Simon Sinek teaches leaders and companies to inspire people, and his unique approach has earned him invitations to meet with high-profile leaders around the country, including Microsoft, U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• Joseph A. DeFeo — President and CEO of Juran Institute
  Joseph A. DeFeo is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on transformational change systems and breakthrough management principles. DeFeo is co-author of several books, including the go to resource for deployment leaders, “Juran’s Quality Handbook Sixth Edition, The Complete Guide to Performance Excellence.”

About ASQ
ASQ is a global community of people dedicated to quality who share the ideas and tools that make our world work better. With millions of individual and organizational members of the community in 150 countries, ASQ has the reputation and reach to bring together the diverse quality champions who are transforming the world’s corporations, organizations, and communities to meet tomorrow’s critical challenges. ASQ is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., with national service centers in China, India, and Mexico. Learn more about ASQ’s members, mission, technologies, and training at www.asq.org.

Ramli have been a Full Member of ASQ for many years already.Contact Ramli for Training & Consulting needs mobile:+6019-2537165 or email: ramlipromoter@yahoo.com

Here are the Teams Project Summaries as provided by ASQ.

Project Summaries for Quality Impact Sessions/Live Team Case Studies

Finalist teams will be invited from the 2011-12 ITEA participant list below and will present their case study/quality impact session at the

World Conference. Visit wcqi.asq.org for live presentation schedule and updates.

Alcat el-Lucent Shanghai Bell

Team Name: Zero Defect Delivery Project Team

Type of Team: Improvement

Shanghai, China

After identifying a huge opportunity and deciding the project was

best acheived through external partnership, the Zero Defect Delivery

Project Team used various quality tools over three years to achieve

zero-defects and zero-delay in product delivery to its strategic

business partner. Its product has been validated by its partner as a top

marketing opportunity in the coming years.

Alcat el-Lucent Shanghai Bell

Team Name: Defects Ratio of CNC Bending Process Reduction

Team

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Shanghai, China

Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell used many quality tools, including

Six Sigma, DOE, and lean, to reduce defects from 2 percent to .

76 percent on its CNC bending process.

Alcoa Inc.

Team Name: Ceramic Core Excellence Team

Type of Team: Lean

Morristown, TN, USA

The Ceramic Core Excellence Team drove significant culture

change. Using A3 thinking to define its target, the team used process

management, workflow designs, and DMAIC to achieve target

conditions. The project team improved delivery time by 63 percent,

reduced the OSHA recordable rate by 23 percent, and reduced cost

by 26 percent annually. In addition, the PPM defect rate went down

52 percent, and employee absenteeism was reduced by 30 percent.

Alt os Hornos de Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V.

Team Name: No Planos

Type of Team: Six Sigma (DMADV)

Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico

Offering its steel products to the construction, food, and automotive

manufacturing industries, this project’s goal was to reduce

manufacturing costs. There were savings of 9 MMUSD per year

since 2009. The team also reduced energy and resource consumption,

reduced emissions, and helped improve the company’s image.

WC12 | 28

Quality Impact Sessions

Anheuser-Busch InBev

Team Name: Liner Continuous Improvement Team

Type of Team: Improvement

St. Louis, MO, USA

The Liner Continuous Improvement Team was formed to optimize

placement of the liner compound used to create an airtight seal on

cans. Following a standardized improvement team process, several

designed experiments determined how to successfully optimize the

compound placement. These innovations reduced the possibility of

potential quality issues and reduced cost while maintaining efficiency.

BJC Healthcar e

Team Name: Pressure Ulcer Prevention Team

Type of Team: Lean Improvement

St. Louis, MO, USA

In April 2010, three unit teams participated in an event to develop

standard criteria for hospital-acquired pressure ulcer prevention. Each

team participated in a local rapid improvement event to integrate the

criteria within patient care and workflow processes. It resulted in a

combined decrease of 58 percent (p value = <.02) of ulcer occurrence.

the Boeing company

Team Name: C-17 Nose to Fuse Project Team

Type of Team: Improvement

Long Beach, CA, USA

The C-17 fuselage has benefitted from multiple, successful

improvement projects. A new project was initiated to determine the

root cause and resolve the team’s latest joint alignment issue. Root

cause identification and correction requires womb-to-tomb process

knowledge and a structured reasoning approach. Utilization of

the ASQ ITEA process criteria as a foundational project template,

lean methodology, advanced quality metrology methods for large

structures, and simulations facilitated the team’s success.

CGI Federal

Team Name: DOL Automotive Inspection Program Improvement

Type of Team: Lean Six Sigma

Fort Campbell, KY, USA

This project focused on improving the automotive inspection program.

Utilizing the DMAIC methodology, the team employed gage R&R, Pareto

chart, cause-and-effect diagram, 5 whys, multi-voting, and a number of

other valuable tools for root cause identification and final improvement

recommendations. The improvement provided the potential for a

$1.6 million USD cost reduction by creating an easily reproducible

inspection program that guarantees uniformity across all operations.

Continental Automotive System

(Tianjin) Co. Ltd.

Team Name: The Great Wall

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Tianjin, TJ, China

The Great Wall team focused on reducing customer returns. The team

implemented Six Sigma and DMAIC. Customer complaints were

high at 1,200 PPM defects. The new process had less than one defect

from a shipment of 10,000, and the total saving was higher than

$13,000 USD per year.

Continental Automotive Systems

Corporati on

Team Name: Cornerfill Team

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Icheon-city, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

The Cornerfill Team’s objective was to enhance solder strength on

an assembly process. The team launched a new process through

benchmarking and developed new epoxy material to maintain good

adhesion level under SMD process. The project achieved increased

solder strength and cost savings of about $771,000 USD.

Continental Guadalajara

Team Name: Scrap in Daimler

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Jalisco, Mexico

The Scrap in Daimler team’s goal was to reduce scrap. So far the

project shows savings of more than $81,000 USD, and waste has been

reduced. The improvement in quality contributed to Daimler giving

the next ECU airbag platform to Continental GDL.

CSX Transportati on

Team Name: CSX–GE Fuel Conservation Team

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Jacksonville, FL, USA

CSX Transportation and General Electric partnered in a fuel and

emissions conservation project that documented an astounding 6.9

percent fuel savings for their pilot trains and a potential 390,000-ton

reduction in greenhouse gases annually. Using the DMADV project

discipline, the team executed multiple pilots to validate the results.

This project improves the air we breathe and reduces our dependency

on an increasingly scarce natural resource.

Embrac o

Team Name: QCC CT 28

Type of Team: Improvement

Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil

This project aimed to eliminate waste and improve the welding

process of refrigerator equipment. It was a breakthrough project

since the solution wasn’t covered by welding technical literature. It

produced savings on internal indicators, such as OEE, customer line

rejection, production rate, quality, raw material (process), safety,

OTIF, and people satisfaction.

Firstsource Solutions Limited

Team Name: Firstsource Solutions Limited

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Amherst, NY, USA

The webpay improvement project, developed by the Firstsource

Advantage Six Sigma team, improved the total customer experience

and the number of payments taken on the virtual collections website.

This resulted in an increase of $880,000 USD in client revenue and

$380,000 USD to Firstsource revenue over a 12-month period.

Intangible benefits included building key collaborations, encouraging

a process excellence focus and data-driven culture to sustain results,

and driving further successful Six Sigma programs.

WC12 | 29

Quality Impact Sessions

Ford Motor Company

Team Name: Electrical Variability Reduction Team

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Ricardo Rojas (ex Gral Pacheco), Buenos Aires, Argentina

The challenge was customer dissatisfaction due to dead batteries, and

the goal was to increase battery voltage capability by 70 percent and

reduce 70 percent of discharged batteries. Six Sigma methodology and

tools were used to identify the root cause and solve it.

Ford Motor Company

Team Name: Park Brake Assembly Dash Pass-through Seals

Type of Team: Design for Six Sigma

Dearborn, MI, USA

This project is a case study on how to rapidly solve noise transmission

problems through the numerous holes in a vehicle body. Development

and deployment of design rules for controlling noise that can pass

through the various holes in the vehicle institutionalized the knowledge.

As a result, new products have delivered quieter interior cabins, which

in turn contributed to higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Ford Motor Company

Team Name: Six Sigma Team Body Construction Saarlouis VO

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Saarlouis, Saarland, Germany

A complex body construction production process challenged this team,

which chose DMAIC as the appropriate discipline. The team achieved a

savings of $700,000 USD per year and reduced defects by 15 percent at

the beginning (based on 3,000 opportunities) to zero defects (actually based

on 1,500,000 opportunities), documenting the power of a cross-functional

team using DMAIC, working together with the suppliers, breaking down

barriers, and demonstrating the power of Six Sigma by results.

Ford Motor Company

Team Name: Team Ford–Body Engineering

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Dearborn, MI, USA

Six Sigma DMAIC discipline was used to solve a paint quality defect

on hood panels of the Ford Explorer. Through use of the y=f(x)

cascade, measurement systems analysis, hypothesis testing for attribute

and continuous data, and graphic analysis, employees tackled the

issue. Results from the project included an increase in the paint shop’s

first-time-through metric to 98.6 percent, a reduction of $400,000

USD in nonvalue-added labor, and the assembly plant meeting fullvehicle

production targets.

General Motors

Team Name: General Motors Technical Problem Solving

Type of Team: General Motors Red X

Milford, MI, USA

This project shows how seemingly different tools can be

complementary. The team was able to leverage the power of lean while

protecting critical creative and adaptive strategic needs. The resulting

improvements include a 368 percent and 169 percent improvement

in two critical processes. These improvements resulted in the

ability to increase by two and one half times the number of quality

improvements the team was able to deliver to General Motors vehicles

and to its customers.

HCL Technologies

Team Name: Operational Excellence Through Intuition

Type of Team: Lean and Six Sigma

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

This project applies artificial intelligence and mass communication.

Average handling time was reduced by 20 percent, while

simultaneously eliminating defects completely. These also led to

diverse improvements giving identifiable bottom-line benefits of

$6 million USD per year by reducing costs, wastes, and defects.

HCL Technologies

Team Name: Operational Excellence With a Human Face

Type of Team: Lean and Six Sigma

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

This project applies production and psychological theories to BPO,

focusing on reducing order turnaround time from 24 hours to four

hours while simultaneously improving from a 95 percent quality

score to a 99.5 percent score in an outsourced complex global order

management process. These led to improvements in the visibility,

velocity, and reliability of the client’s global supply chain, giving

identifiable bottom-line benefits of $10 million USD per year.

Hewlett-Pac kard

Team Name: HP Way

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

This project team comprised of team members from India, Mexico,

the United States, Poland, and England focused on the HR shared

services organization that, among other things, provides the human

talent to the whole company. Using DMAIC and innovation tools,

this project aimed at improving the performance of the “on-time

hirings” for the United States, which went from 65 percent to more

than 98 percent, completely eliminating complaints from clients and

legal risks. Additionally, the project yielded $108,000 USD in annual

savings and created a paperless process.

Housing and Development Board

Team Name: RQUEST 4

Type of Team: Innovation and Quality Circle

Singapore

The sand ban by Indonesia has affected Singapore’s construction

industry severely, including housing and development since its

construction of public housing required reinforced concrete, which is

made from sand and granite. Using reengineering techniques the team

achieved significant reduction in building concrete usage, thereby

minimizing disruption to the building program and overcoming sand

shortage issues in the long term.

WC12 | 30

Quality Impact Sessions

Jubilant Lifesciences Limited

Team Name: Renaissance

Type of Team: Lean Six Sigma Improvement

Noida, UP, India

This pharmaceutical industry team faced a serious backorder situation.

The service level was less than 60 percent, demand was on the

rise, and capacities were not sufficient. The team used appropriate

improvement methodologies like lean, Six Sigma, modeling, and

supply chain operations reference to accomplish improvements.

Following were the benefits to customers: improved service levels

to >95 percent in six months, reduced backorder to almost nil, and

increased plant capacities by 12.3 percent with no capital investment.

Media Servic es Center

Team Name: Media Services Center–Project Team

Type of Team: Six Sigma DMAIC

Chantilly, VA, USA

Using Six Sigma DMAIC methodology, this project was implemented

to facilitate critical communications, reduce production defects, and

implement sustainable improvements to the process of gathering,

creating, and managing customer requirements. Accuracy rose from a

baseline sigma of 1.5 to 3.3, which is a 96.96 percent improvement

score. Project creation average cycle-time decreased by seven minutes,

generating significant cost savings, and customer satisfaction scores

rose from 97.8 percent to 98.7 percent.

Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)

Team Name: Blue Sapphire

Type of Team: Work Improvement

Singapore

The Triple Ejector Rack-9A is equipment that multiplies the number

of bombs carried on the F-16. Testing of each TER-9A requires

30 minutes. The team designed a portable field tester that

accomplishes the test in less than 10 minutes. With the new field

tester, 100 percent confidence on the serviceability of all TER-9As

is ensured before they are installed on to the aircraft.

Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)

Team Name: Five Stars

Type of Team: Work Improvement

Singapore

This project aimed to improve the process of removing a part from

an engine to send it for repair/service by the OEM. After finding the

root cause using the PDCA methodology and QC tools, a solution

was found that led to substantial cost and time savings and delighted

partners from Fleet.

Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)

Team Name: Planning Ahead

Type of Team: Improvement

Singapore

Learn how this team improved protective gear for safeguarding

soldiers. Considering factors like mobility, body temperature, and ease

of getting in and out of gear, the team designed an integrated body

armour (iBA) to function as both a load-bearing and bullet-proof

vest. This allowed the soldiers to configure three different levels of

protection based on their requirements.

Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd.

Team Name: Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Type of Team: Business Process Excellence

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

This project was aimed at improving the productivity of direct sales

teams of one of the leading financial service providers in India.

The project was executed using DMAIC with the objective of

improving the number of customers acquired per day. The sustainable

processes put in place resulted in a 28 percent improvement in sales

productivity, besides breaking down existing paradigms and making

stakeholders more receptive to new process improvement initiatives.

Pruksa Real Estat e Public

Company Limited

Team Name: Pruksa Excellence Team

Type of Team: Continuous Improvement

Phayathai, Bangkok, Thailand

To increase home construction capacity and improve quality, the

Pruksa Excellence Team used Six Sigma methodology and lean.

Initial data shows a big improvement—67 percent in capacity and an

increase of more than 70 percent in quality. These numbers help the

team to easily convince all stakeholders to implement these solutions.

This project saved the company more than $1.13 million per year

and contributed to improved working relationships and a new way of

managing real estate in Thailand.

Ramaiah Institute of Manag ement

Studies

Team Name: Employability

Type of Team: Radical Improvement

Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Ninety-eight percent of students in a business graduate program

cite employability as the primary criterion, but studies show only

25 percent of students graduating are employable. In response, the

Employability team undertook a comprehensive project to improve

placement quality, attract star recruiters, ensure students receive offers

quickly, enhance salary levels, retain employers, attract new recruiters,

and earn revenue from placement. A variety of tools yielded results,

including an unprecedented $90,000 USD revenue from placements.

Reliance Industries Limited

Team Name: Reliance Dahej

Type of Team: Improvement

Surat, Gujarat, India

The Reliance Dahej team addressed the application of simulation

tools to optimize the cooling water flow to the plant process while

increasing plant production and improving energy efficiency at the

400 KTA Gas Cracker Plant (GCU) plant.

WC12 | 31

Quality Impact Sessions

Reliance Industries Limited

Team Name: Reliance Industries Limited–Vadodara

Manufacturing Division

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Vadodara, Gujarat, India

This project was undertaken to confirm the effect of different reactor

parameters on ACN conversion. An exhaustive list of 36 parameters

were considered for the study. Based on two test sample p-values,

10 variables were selected for further study. Based on the statistical

analysis using Minitab and partitioning using JMP, six variables were

defined for improved ACN conversion. This resulted in conversion

improvements to 80.92 with a reduction in standard deviation to

1.265 from an earlier value of 2.045. IP21 software has helped to

increase conversion up to 80.2 percent with a reduction in standard

deviation of 0.718.

Reliance Industries Limited

Team Name: Reliance Productivity Improvement Team

Type of Team: Improvement

Dahej, Gujarat, India

Reliance is the largest polyester POY producer in the world. The

challenge was to increase POY production without incurring any

capital expenditure, and to earn higher revenue by utilizing available

polymer capacity. Different tools such as mind mapping, causeand-

effect matrix, theory of constraints, simulation model, FMEA,

SCRAMPER, and DOE were used. The team achieved annual savings

of $3.1 million and increased productivity. This modification was also

incorporated in other sites of reliance and future projects.

The Ritz-Carlt on Hotel Company

Team Name: The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans–Housekeeping Project

Type of Team: Six-step Defect Reduction–Room Supply Missing

Coconut Grove, FL, USA

The project team used The Ritz-Carlton’s six-step problem-solving

process over five weeks to diagnose the cause of defects in the

housekeeping department, specifically missing room supplies. By

applying the principles of 5S and improving training and inspections

processes, the team reduced defects by 50 percent in the first year and

additional reductions in the second year. The project also reduced the

cost of guest supplies by 25 percent through better inventory controls

and management. The approach and results for this project have been

shared throughout Ritz-Carlton.

ROICC Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton

Team Name: Replacement Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton

Type of Team: Construction Project Team

Camp Pendleton, CA, USA

Drawing on the best practices and improvement initiatives within the

construction industry and government, a composite team consisting

of hand selected members of Naval Facilities Engineering Command

(NAVFAC) Southwest, Navy Medicine West, HDR Architects Inc.,

and Clark/McCarthy Joint Venture set out to program, design,

construct, and commission a new, state-of-the-art, $500 million,

1-million-square-foot Naval Hospital campus at Camp Pendleton,

CA. The team created and implemented a groundbreaking strategy

to reconstruct the entire project delivery timeline and adapt internal

business practices and organizational structure to not only meet but

exceed the unprecedented performance objectives, as well as setting

a new course for the execution of large, complex projects within

NAVFAC and Navy Medicine, as well as a new standard of care for

Our Nation’s Warriors.

Shanghai Guanghua Printing

Machin ery Co. Ltd.

Team Name: “New Concept” QCC

Type of Team: Improvement

Shanghai, China

Quality of a printing process improved through various quality tools, and

saved about $63,000 USD in manufacturing costs. Sale orders improved

greatly and enhanced the ability of members to analyze problems.

Shanghai Shentong Metro Group

Co. Ltd.

Team Name: Iron Army Team With Outstanding Performance

Type of Team: Improvement

Shanghai, China

The team’s goal was to have safe, efficient, punctual, and convenient

services. Using a 65-mile long transit line, the team brainstormed;

used systematic, radar, and permutation graphs; investigation tables;

and more. By means of retrofitting the overhead contact system

equipment as well as optimizing inspection and maintenance, the

hard points arising from the section insulator decreased from 100

occurrences to zero. As a result, the metro operation safety and

stability improved, $315,000 USD worth of equipment costs was

saved, and the work-time utilization rate increased.

Shanghai Yaming Lighting Co. Ltd.

Team Name: Newborn Calves Team

Type of Team: Improvement

Shanghai, China

The team’s goal was to reduce the reject rate of an assembly process.

This multi-disciplinary team focused on company policy and

objectives driven by performance. It investigated root causes through

brainstorming and verified key factors. It successfully reduced the

reject rate of a specific part from 5.8 percent to 1.7 percent, and

saved more than $4,000 USD for the company every year. The QC

activities encouraged teamwork, improved the ability to analyze, and

enhanced the awareness of on-site improvement and sense of service.

Suzlon Energy Limited

Team Name: IBU-PRD-R-DM-003

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Pune, Maharashtra, India

Using proven DMAIC methodology, this project addressed the goal

of improving availability of turbine for power generation. The study

and implementation, completed on 46 machines, resulted in reduced

interventions. The project outcome is applicable to more than 5,000

installations in India with total potential of $700,000 USD per year.

The savings have proved to be a morale booster for the team.

WC12 | 32

Quality Impact Sessions

Telecom Personal SA

Team Name: Activate Is Winning

Type of Team: Process Improvement

Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, Argentina

An increased volume of business customers led to longer activation

times, inefficiencies, and increased billing claims. To achieve the project

objective of reducing mean activation time to less than three days,

tools such as flowcharts, histograms, decision matrixes, control charts,

and hypothesis tests were used. Time reduction, increased customer

satisfaction, and cost savings of more than $200,000 USD resulted.

Telefonica Argentina S.A.

Team Name: Keeping the Pieces Connected

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Looking to solve reconnection problems, this team project encircled

more than 108,000 customers with these problems. Goals were

acheived using Six Sigma methodology and DMAIC discipline.

The project team achieved a savings of $1 million USD per year by

reducing the reconnection lead time from more than three days to less

than 14 hours, and reducing inbound calls by more than 23 percent,

to improve the image of the company, the service provided to its

customers, and the internal teamwork.

Tgestiona

Team Name: Delivering Quality

Type of Team: Six Sigma

Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Highly applicable to different service industries, this project encircled

more than 1,000 delivery points in Argentine territory to solve logistical

problems. Goals were achieved using Six Sigma methodology and

DMAIC. The project team achieved savings of $630,000 USD per year

by reducing unusual deliveries from 53 to one, and satisfying all the

service level agreement indicators at about 95 percent, helping to improve

the image of the company and the service provided to its customers.

Tropic Isles Elementary

Team Name: Tropic Isles Data Miners

Type of Team: Improvement

North Fort Myers, FL, USA

The Tropic Isles Data Miners team was developed to increase student

academic performance and improve customer satisfaction/employee

engagement. As a result, third grade improved in math from 81 percent

of students meeting or exceeding standards in 2007 to 94.9 percent in

2010. Reading and writing also improved. Student satisfaction increased

from 82.6 percent in 2008 to 95.7 percent in 2011. Workforce

satisfaction increased from 86 percent in 2008 to 96 percent in 2010,

which exceeds the results of a Florida Baldrige recipient.

URS Federal Servic es

Team Name: TOCDF VPP Leadership Team

Type of Team: Voluntary Protection Program Leadership

Stockton, UT, USA

This annual project known as the Element Owner Program is

focused on employee involvement through a team approach to selfassessment.

All levels of employees are involved. Results include a

safety recordable injury rate below .5 percent, and more than 12

million man hours worked without a lost-time accident. Workers

compensation claims have dramatically decreased and this program

has empowered personnel to commit to quality standards and

personal safety.

Wyndham Consumer Finance

Team Name: Red Pill

Type of Team: Lean Improvement

Las Vegas, NV, USA

This project focused on the telesales component of selling vacation

packages to customers. It was identified that 30.7 percent of vacation

packages sent to potential customers (by telesales) were not finalized,

resulting in $3 million USD in lost revenue annually. Utilizing the

DMAIC methodology, the team identified that 95 percent of the

problem was due to customers not signing and returning documents.

An e-signature solution shortened mailing time, reduced non-return

rate, and error-proofed the signature process. Control charts, box

plots, and hypothesis tests validated the success of the solution, and

$3,094,341 USD was added to revenue.

Want to know what makes a Good Teacher -please read this article highlighted by ASQ updates to Ramli…

Pa. tackling the question of what makes a good teacher (note: sorry the photos did not appear here only the texts)

Educators say a new evaluation system is coming that could include student performance. Taxpayers say they want it.

By ANGIE MASON
Daily Record/Sunday News

Updated: 01/22/2011 09:22:02 PM EST

Mack Warner, president of the South Western Education Association, teaches sixth-grade math at Emory H. Markle Intermediate School in Hanover. Warner said that if changes come in teacher accountability, teachers should be involved in the process. “I ve done a lot of initiatives in my teaching career,” he said, and those that included teachers are “much more successful than something that s driven from the top down.” (Daily Record/Sunday News — Kate Penn)

Mack Warner works with 11-year-old Job Brown on a problem during sixth-grade math class at Emory H. Markle Intermediate School. Even though student performance is not directly tied to teachers evaluations or pay, Warner said teachers are doing a lot of data analysis to track student achievement. “Obviously, we want to know what students know and what they don t know,” he said. (Daily Record/Sunday News — Kate Penn)
· Related coverage: Some observers criticize current teacher-evaluation system

· Related coverage: Examine teacher, school administrator salaries
York, PA –
Thomas Gluck predicted what a statewide survey will show regarding teacher and principal evaluations.

“Virtually no Pennsylvania school districts use student achievement . . . virtually everyone gets a satisfactory or better, virtually no one gets an unsatisfactory,” said Gluck, who was Pennsylvania’s acting education secretary until Dec. 31.

That will raise questions about the “nonfunctioning” evaluation system used in the state and across the country, he said.

“It’s not good for the profession, it’s not good for kids, and it’s not good for taxpayers,” he said.

Nationwide, districts have experimented with tying student performance to teacher evaluations or setting up merit pay, and the Obama administration has aimed money toward that cause. Numerous studies weigh the merits and drawbacks.

Local educators say the movement is likely to hit York County. But questions linger about how, when and whether it’s a good idea.

Great teachers and great education leaders are “absolutely key” to raising student achievement and having successful schools, Gluck said.

Educators have to figure out what effective teaching looks like and how it can be measured. Decisions such as hiring, compensation and promotions can be based on that, he said.

Pennsylvania is using a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to create a model for how districts can evaluate teachers and principals, with student performance included. A committee is expected to finish that work within a year, Gluck said. Taxpayers want to know what their money is paying for. Educators want a fair system.

If it’s going to work,

Laura Corsa, math teacher at York Suburban Middle School, looks at how students did on particular questions on a math test. The sixth-grade math teachers look at the data to determine what students need more instruction on. If the data shows several students having problems in the same area, for example, the teachers can create a group to focus on that skill. (Daily Record/Sunday News — Paul Kuehnel)

Gluck said, it will take everyone — school boards, teachers, unions, community members — agreeing to go down that path. It’s new ground, he said, and some of it will be hard to figure out. But it has to be done, he said, and “it can’t take forever.”
How do you measure teacher effectiveness?

Few people agree on what is effective teaching and how it should be measured, Gluck said.

It sounds obvious that student growth should be one of the measures, he said. But the science of what to measure, how to measure it and how to link it to teacher evaluations “are really the $50,000 questions.”

A committee led by the Team PA Foundation will produce the model evaluation system. Matt Zieger, the organization’s chief operating officer, said the group is analyzing how teachers help students do well and how that achievement is measured.

“What are the good things teachers do that we can help struggling teachers learn how to do?” he asked.

The committee started by building on a widely used evaluation model that looks at aspects such as classroom environment, establishing a culture for learning, communication with families, and managing student data.

Several school districts in the state are piloting a new evaluation system, and researchers will be looking at the students’ achievements in those classrooms. Then, the committee should have good data on how every child has grown and what that child’s teacher has done well or poorly.

What’s so hard about linking teacher, student performance?

On a gut level, it makes sense to many people that teachers should be graded on how well their students perform, said West York Area School District Supt. Emilie Lonardi. But it’s more complicated than that.

“We’re dealing with human beings,” she said.

Educators said things beyond a teacher’s control influence a student’s performance. There could be trauma at home. Students might come to school hungry. They have different abilities.

Teachers see a new kaleidoscope of students every year, said Tammie Houser, president of the Dover Area Education Association. Sometimes students might only be in a classroom part of the year.

That presents a challenge for teachers,

Greg Jean, Laura Corsa and Megan Hayman, all sixth-grade math teachers at York Suburban Middle School, meet twice every six days for what they call “data mining.” Using software to examine student test scores, they determine how they can plan lessons to better help their students. (Daily Record/Sunday News — Paul Kuehnel)

who try to meet the needs of all the students, she said.

Several local educators said teachers are spending more and more time looking at individual students’ scores to figure out where students are struggling and how to help them.

York Suburban Middle School Principal Victoria Gross said teachers there already write professional development goals each year and one always is student achievement.

If students are making a year’s worth of growth, “that’s success to me,” Gross said.

She said educators need to be careful if they link student achievement to teacher performance. Measuring a year’s growth is doable, she said.

Barbara Rupp, South Western School District superintendent, said the question is how to measure a year of growth. State required tests, local assessments or a combination are possibilities. But some kids have social growth or emotional growth, she said.

“It’s hard to calculate, but you can see it,” she said.

Jack Jennings, president and CEO of the Washington D.C.-based Center on Education Policy, said there are a number of problems in trying to tie students’ test scores to teachers.

Some standardized tests aren’t set up to show grade-by-grade progress, so it’s hard to see what one teacher has added. Some classes have remedial specialists who pull students out for assistance. Teachers will say they’ll have a great class one year and a disruptive one the next.

Chad Aldeman, with the nonprofit Education Sector, said value-added scores, which measure student growth, tend to fluctuate, so it’s hard to determine what bar teachers should aim for. And there are subjects, such as art or physical education, that aren’t regularly tested.

“Only about one-third of teachers could be evaluated on value-added data,” he said.

York Suburban School District Supt. Kate Orban said she’d hate to see any accountability systems that would discourage strong teachers from working with challenging students. Those students aren’t going to grow as fast, she said, so the teacher shouldn’t be penalized for that.

York Suburban School District resident Joel Sears, who runs a local technology company and is president of the York County Taxpayers Council, said he thinks it’s simpler than educators make it out to be. He believes students could be tested at the beginning and end of a school year, for any subject, to see how much they’ve grown.

“You ought to hold (the teacher) responsible for moving (students) from where they are to where they should be,” he said.

What’s the public’s stake?

A 2010 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll found that 71 percent of those polled thought teachers should be paid based on the quality of their work, and a majority also felt a teacher’s salary should be closely tied to students’ achievement.

The York County Taxpayers Council, a group of county residents aimed in part at promoting government accountability, put together a performance pay plan several years ago and presented it to several groups. It largely fell on deaf ears, Sears said.

“We all feel, everyone involved in the genesis (of that plan), performance at some point has to be factored in,” he said. “The question comes down to one of accountability.”

Warren Bulette, also with the taxpayer group, said in an e-mail that people are concerned that school spending has increased but student achievement has not.

Most schools in the city, for example, haven’t made required progress targets on state exams in recent years, but they have managed to negotiate salary increases.

“We just can’t afford to pay good teachers and underperforming teachers the same. Nor can we afford to pay underperforming teachers for an entire career,” he wrote.

Aldeman, from Education Sector, said teachers overwhelmingly get high marks, even in schools that are not performing well.

“I think, if we had better teacher evaluations, we might be able to at least tell the public we’re trying to get the best bang for their buck,” he said.

Gluck said one good outcome of a new evaluation system would be having a real measure of effectiveness. “I think that’s good news for building confidence and trust in and with the community about the decision-making in schools and the compensation that’s being provided.”
What have others found?

Several places have been testing systems to tie students’ achievement to teachers evaluations or pay.

Pittsburgh Public Schools received a $40 million Gates grant to make changes aimed at improving teachers’ effectiveness, including changing the way teachers are evaluated and tying student performance to pay.

Zieger said the state committee is watching what Pittsburgh is doing.

Baltimore teachers recently approved a contract hailed as landmark for its changes in the way teachers are paid, eliminating the step scale and adding performance measures. Tennessee, New York, Oklahoma and Colorado all passed legislation last year that would require teacher evaluations to include a certain percentage of students’ test score results, Aldeman said.

Jennings said a study on performance pay in Tennessee found that offering teachers bonuses for performance had no real effect on student achievement. That raises a fundamental issue with the idea of adapting a business approach to education, when it doesn’t really work that way, he said.

Should student performance be tied to teachers’ pay?

Teacher evaluation systems used across the country generally reward teachers for years of service and for additional levels of education achieved. Some experts say that those systems, while objective and easy to measure, are misguided.

“There’s really no research that shows a master’s degree makes a teacher more effective,” said Emily Cohen, district policy director for the National Council on Teacher Quality.

All the money spent on rewarding teachers for extra degrees could be redistributed and targeted to rewarding effectiveness, she said.

Bulette, with the local taxpayer group, said a performance-based plan could give teachers more control of their work and lead to more job satisfaction.

“It is inconceivable that all school boards don’t want to implement a pay system that will improve student achievement and empower teachers so they share a common goal with the student and parents,” he said.

Warner said ideas about performance pay are somewhat scary for teachers because they don’t know what’s involved.

The initial reaction is that they’re not in favor of it, he said, but “we’re also open enough to know if that’s the way things are going to go, then we want to have a say in how that’s going to look.”

Some educators defend the current pay system, saying that years of experience and furthering education does make a better teacher.

August Schulz, president of the West York Area Education Association, said that, when he decided to become a teacher, it was because he wanted to be a lifelong learner. Additional education has given him new ideas and inspired him to approach students from different perspectives.

If someone works out a merit pay system that is fair, he thinks teachers are willing to listen. But, if it just comes down to a student’s score on a test, “that’s missing the point of what education really is,” he said.

Gluck said decisions about changing teacher evaluations are up to districts — for now. But he thinks state and federal policymakers will want to move the conversation along because of achievement gaps between American students and those in other countries.

“They sort of have the hammer that says, ‘Get there,'” he said.

 

Mining data for better instruction

Three of York Suburban Middle School’s sixth-grade math teachers gathered recently for what they call “data mining.”

Using a program called “Study Island,” the teachers can see how their students fared on benchmark assessments given four times a year in preparation for the PSSAs. They can use the program to see if students are missing the same question, see which topics they need to work on, who made progress, or where instruction has improved students’ performance.

They’ll use that information to plan their lessons. If a few kids in each of their classes are having trouble on one skill, they can form a small group to focus on that. They can see if open-ended questions are where students are getting stuck and offer more practice there.

Teacher Laura Corsa said the math geek in her loves working with the data.

“I’m so curious to see (how they did),” she said.

And the students are motivated, too.

“They’re excited to see how they’ve grown,” said teacher Greg Jean.

Nationwide, movements toward education reform include changing teacher evaluations and pay systems to incorporate student performance data.

Asked what they thought about tying such performance data to their own evaluations, the teachers said they hadn’t even considered it.

“It never even crossed my mind,” Jean said.

“It’s all about the kids,” Corsa said.

Several educators said that just because student performance isn’t directly tied to their evaluations or pay, that doesn’t mean they’re not thinking about it.

“(Evaluations) are tied to the kinds of work teachers do relative to individual student data, what teachers do with his or her students,” said West York Area School District Supt. Emilie Lonardi.

Teachers have been trained to use that data to improve instruction focused on what students need, she said.

“We’re getting better and better at doing that,” Lonardi said.

 

Raises and performance

An argument for revamping teacher evaluations and tying them to student performance is that many teachers get raises even if their schools fall short of federal testing standards. Here is a look at some of the data for York County.

— In 2009, all 16 county school districts — except for York City and Red Lion Area — made “adequate yearly progress” on state reading and math tests, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

—  The state measures progress in districts as well as in individual schools. In seven districts, all schools made the required progress. In the rest, one or more did not make AYP.

— Schools that did not make AYP in 2009 are (in alphabetical order):

Crispus Attucks YouthBuild Charter School, Davis Elementary, Devers Elementary, Dover Area Intermediate School, Eastern York Middle School;

Edgar Fahs Smith Middle, Ferguson Elementary, Hannah Penn Middle School, Hanover Middle School, Hanover Senior High School;

Jackson Elementary, McKinley Elementary, New Hope Academy Charter School, Northern High School, Ore Valley Elementary;

Park Hills Elementary, Red Land Senior High School, Red Lion Junior High School, Red Lion Senior High School, William Penn High School;

York County School of Technology, York Township Elementary.

 

 

Let’s study how other people around the world TRANSFORM their organisation to WORLD CLASS!..here are some of them..plus Bill Gates inspiring speech at Harvard U..

see the selected videos:

Geared Toward Innovation -an article extracted from ASQ.ORG

Geared Toward Innovation

Quality has a crucial part to play but often falls through the cracks

by Søren Bisgaard

In 50 Words Or Less

• Innovation occurs when a company commits resources to move an invention through R&D to market introduction.
• Quality management provides the tools and methods needed for process, product and service innovation.
• The challenge comes from convincing top management that innovation and quality are connected.

With the forces of globalization creating rapid changes in the U.S. economy, the role of innovation is being vigorously debated among quality professionals and in society at large. It is therefore appropriate that innovation has been elevated to one of the most important strategic issues for the quality profession.¹

To make this discussion productive and avoid confusion, however, it is important to distinguish between invention, innovation, ingenuity and creativity. These terms are not synonyms, but rather refer to very different concepts and activities (see Table 1). It can be argued, though, that from an economic perspective, innovation can be considered an umbrella concept that includes quality improvement and Six Sigma as subsidiary functions.

Table 1

Defining characteristics

In economic terms, innovation is defined as the process of moving an initial invention through research and development to the eventual market introduction. Via this process, the invention becomes a new product or service, a new method of production or provision, a new method of transportation or service delivery, a new business model, a new market or a new way of organizing something.

We can therefore see how innovation and invention are not the same. Innovation involves invention and creativity as subsidiary concepts. This broad economic definition of innovation applies not just to hardware, but also to services, organizational advances, business models, and the development of new markets and supplies of materials and labor.

The economic definition implies that innovation is a process—a concept very familiar to the quality profession. The metric of success of an invention is typically the number of scientific papers or patents related to the invention. For an innovation, however, success in the economic sense means commercial return on the investment measured in dollars. For example, there isn’t a Nobel Prize waiting for the inventor who first attached wheels to suitcases. But this elementary innovation has greatly reduced the inconvenience of travel and has been a resounding commercial success.

Innovations can be of many types. They can be breakthrough or incremental and related to the design or delivery of a product or service. They can provide new features or result in the manufacture of the same product or the delivery of the same service at a lower cost. They can be related to new technologies, sources of supply or markets. Sometimes, they are classified as sustaining and disruptive innovations.²

Innovations can also be related to new ways to organize things. For example, the modern supermarket was a breakthrough innovation in organization that rendered the traditional grocery store concept extinct, or at least substantially modified it.

When it comes to breakthrough and incremental innovations, the latter can be viewed in a negative light as being of minor importance. It is argued that only breakthrough innovations are important. Such a view is misguided and counterproductive. While it is true that many incremental innovations throughout history have been of marginal scientific or technological importance, they have been significant from a commercial point of view.

The cumulative sum of many incremental innovations has had major economic impact. In many cases, the real commercial success has come as the result of an initial breakthrough, followed by a sequence of incremental innovations.

For example, RCA invented the videocassette recorder, a breakthrough innovation. But it was Japanese and Korean manufacturers that improved the quality of the product and the process through many incremental innovations, some of which could be called kaizen innovations, and eventually reaped the financial benefits. Focusing solely on breakthrough innovation is a recipe for financial disaster. We need both.

The path of innovation

Innovations often follow a general pattern: A breakthrough invention leads to a breakthrough innovation. But the initial market introduction is often crude. Think, for example, of the first PCs, which were more of a novelty than a practical and useful product.

Like the first PCs, the initial innovation might be interesting to a few early adopters, but not to a larger consumer audience. If the firm has enough staying power and there are enough early adopters, what typically follows is a stream of incremental innovations that improves the quality of the innovation and makes the product, process or service more appealing and more useful to a larger customer base.

If the innovation is commercially successful, it attracts attention from other competitors because it will sell at a premium price and earn the innovator high profit. As competitors begin to market their imitations or improved versions of the product, the market volume starts to increase. The law of supply and demand kicks in, prices gradually fall, and the competition gets tougher.

As price pressures begin to set in, a series of incremental innovations aimed at efficiency and cost cutting follows to offset the competitive pressures. Typically, these innovations are geared toward the delivery process, which allows for better production economy. Firms also might focus on providing new and better features to differentiate the product. This is where quality enters the stage in a major way. Those incremental innovations, whether achieved through the application of kaizen, lean or Six Sigma, are typically considered quality improvements and are often the subject of Six Sigma projects.

As time marches on, the price of a product, if not subject to further innovations, often converges at a level at which there is hardly any profit left. Again, think of the PC. Eventually, the weaker competitors and those that do not innovate—from a quality perspective or otherwise—are acquired, merged or go out of business.

At some point during this life cycle, a new breakthrough innovation enters the stage, and a new cycle is initiated. Such an innovation might be the successful outcome of a planned effort, such as a design for Six Sigma (DFSS) project, or it might be more happenstance. Eventually, the new innovation renders the older one obsolete. The economist Joseph Schumpeter called this “the perennial gale of creative destruction.”³

For example, the typewriter was rendered obsolete by the PC, and lately the computer industry has been under pressure, resulting in major consolidations, mergers and acquisitions within the industry. As Schumpeter pointed out, the most powerful innovations command a decisive cost or quality advantage. Innovation-based competition, he claimed, strikes not at the margins of existing firms, but threatens their very survival.⁴ This is what makes innovation-based competition extremely effective.

Related concepts

Joseph M. Juran’s definition of quality as a fitness for use is helpful in this context because it focuses on the customers and their circumstances. The customers and the market define what constitutes value to them in a particular set of circumstances. But fitness for use is not sufficient. Recognizing this, Juran provided two subsidiary definitions in terms of features and freedom from deficiencies.⁵ We sometimes refer to these terms as design quality and delivery quality, respectively (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Design quality relates to features and grade of the product, process or service, and expresses intentions, or what we aspire to do. Delivery quality is about how well the intentions are actually executed. How many deficiencies were there in the entire process of delivering the product or service?

The drive for innovation comes from the desire to provide a product or service that is fit for use and, as a result, attractive to the customers. The firm hopes its market offering is better fit for use so customers prefer its offering and not the competitor’s. To do so, the firm must design a product or service with features that are attractive and deliver it with few, if any, deficiencies and delivery problems.

Thus, we see how quality and innovation are related. When we labor to improve quality, in terms of design or delivery, we are engaged in innovation to maintain or gain market share. It might be an incremental improvement to the product or the process, or it might be a breakthrough change, but it is nevertheless an innovation.

Quality’s economic effects

The economic relations relative to design and delivery quality are summarized in Figure 2 and were also covered in an earlier and much simpler model by Juran and Frank Gryna.⁶ Improving design quality—adding more or new features—typically increases the cost of producing a product. Better design quality, however, also might allow the firm to charge a premium price and help increase sales volume. Thus, added or improved features or grades usually have a beneficial, top-line effect.

Also shown in Figure 2, delivery quality is related to the reduction of deficiencies, defects, delays, snags, rework, waste, field failures, after-sales service and antagonistic customer relations—any problem in the entire value creation chain. Thus, reducing delivery quality problems usually reduces the variable costs for labor, materials and energy.

But it is not just the variable costs that are affected. Dealing with deficiencies puts more demand on management and drives up overhead costs. Primarily, improving delivery quality has a middle-line, cost-saving impact (most often on the variable costs) that immediately trickles down to the bottom line as increased profit. But there are additional benefits. In the long run, reducing deficiencies and improving delivery quality will improve a company’s market reputation and, ultimately, its brand. Therefore, improving the delivery quality also might allow for charging a premium price, increasing the market share or both.

Given the economic relations found in Figure 2, it can be seen that the common, but naive, perception that high quality costs more is not necessarily true. If we are talking about delivery quality, high quality costs less.

Figure 2

Quality as innovation

Improvements aimed at eliminating chronic sources of deficiencies from processes will reduce cost and improve an organization’s competitive position.⁷

When a firm has developed a reputation for defect-free delivery of high-quality products through its innovations related to the delivery process, it has achieved a competitive edge that is hard to match and difficult for competitors to copy. Firms that have differentiated their market offerings by focusing on a quality improvement strategy will therefore achieve a market position that allows for a higher profit. This kind of competition is typically more effective than price competition; entering into price wars invariably ends up being a race to the bottom.

But we cannot rely only on reducing deficiencies. Such a strategy is dangerous and will expose the firm to risks from competitors that might develop innovations that involve new features, entirely new products, or services that provide better value to the customers. We also need to engage in product innovation, an activity called quality planning by Juran⁸ and DFSS in Six Sigma terminology.⁹

We have now come to the main point: Quality management, from a broader perspective, constitutes a systematic approach and a set of tools and methods for process, product and service innovation—large and small, incremental or breakthrough. Of course, innovation entails more than quality. But quality improvement is clearly a major part of innovation.

Quality professionals have worked for years on problems that are not necessarily related directly to defects and deficiencies. In other words, quality is no longer just about defects. From a more global perspective, it is about value to the customers (whether internal or external) and fitness for use. Today, quality professionals engage in any project aimed at providing a market offering that provides better value to the customers and economic benefits to the firm.

Quality management provides important tools, methods and organizational structure for key aspects of innovation. Quality management also provides a well-developed system for managing quality-related innovations.

This is an area in which the general innovation literature has much less to say. In general, innovators can learn from the quality management literature when it comes to many of the operational aspects of the process of innovation, such as how to organize teams and manage projects.

Make the connection

The uninitiated might get the impression that quality management is only about the reduction of defects—often referred to as quality control. This is the perspective upper management has of quality management programs. Quality management often has a negative connotation. Defects are a nuisance and are best not talked about. Executives often embrace quality programs reluctantly. They often fail to comprehend the strategic and economic importance of quality.

To change this unfortunate situation, it would be wise if we referred to quality as a subject located squarely under the general umbrella of innovation. Quality is not separate from innovation. It is an important part of innovation, which is recognized by executives as a core strategic issue.

Innovation with a subsidiary notion of quality improvement would be easier to anchor in business school curricula. That might help secure a long-term role for quality in business education and, we can only hope, in general business practice.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks two anonymous reviewers for helpful and constructive comments on previous drafts of this article. The work on this article was supported by the Eugene M. Isenberg Endowment at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

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References

1. Søren Bisgaard and Jeroen DeMast, “After Six Sigma—What’s Next,” Quality Progress, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 30-36.
2. Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor, The Innovator’s Solution, Harvard Business School Press, 2003.
3. Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, third edition, Harper and Row, 1950.
4. Ibid.
5. Joseph M. Juran, Juran on Leadership for Quality, The Free Press, 1989.
6. Joseph M. Juran and Frank Gryna, Quality Planning and Analysis, third edition, McGraw-Hill, 1993.
7. Søren Bisgaard and Johannes Freiesleben, “Six Sigma and the Bottom Line,” Quality Progress, Vol. 37, No. 9, pp. 57-62.
8. Juran, Juran on Leadership for Quality, see reference 5.
9. Søren Bisgaard, “Quality Management and Juran’s Legacy,” Quality and Reliability Engineering International, No. 23.

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Søren Bisgaard is a professor of technology management at the Eugene M. Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a professor of business and industrial statistics at the University of Amsterdam. He received a doctorate in statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bisgaard is an ASQ fellow and has received numerous awards, including the Shewhart Medal. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Quality Technology and Quality Engineering, and is on the management board of Technometrics, as well as ASQ’s publications management board.

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Let’s further study,understand and take the right actions (revolusi aksi-action revolution) after the mental revolution on the subject of Quality & Innovation and all related matters..

Read this printed texts from the discussion boards at ASQ…

Reference: from American Society of Quality Discussion Boards…. Process Control vs. Innovation Posted: Oct 11, 2006 11:09 AM Reply I just read an article by Joshua Greenbaum in the latest issue of Intelligent Enterprise magazine. Titled “Don’t Let Process Become an Innovator’s Dilemma,” he reinforces some earlier thoughts by others. I remember first reading about this on Tor Dahl’s site and his wonderful article on the Unfreezing of America. It seems that the more we map and refine and measure and lean-out our processes, the less innovation there is. Here’s a short exerpt from Joshua’s article: “It’s important to note that the companies Benner and Tushman researched had all implemented ISO 9000, Six Sigma or Total Quality Management–process improvement methodologies that, it turns out, were just as successful at creating a straitjacket for innovation as they were at making sure quality was a major company goal. In Cole’s case study, NTT was a former Deming Prize winner, the quality world’s equivalent of a Nobel or a Pulitzer. The bottom line: Even though these companies were good at process, they missed the opportunity to be innovators.” Just like the gambler needs to “Know when to hold ’em and know whan to fold ’em,” we in the quality profession need to understand when to promote freeze and when to promote thaw. Links: Tor Dahl: http://www.tordahl.com/ Unfreezing of America: http://www.tordahl.com/articles/Productivityorquality.htm Innovator’s Dilemma: http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=T4U1DTUDNSAJIQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=192700959 My blog on this: http://auditguy.blogspot.com

William Pflanz Posts: 1,400 Re: Process Control vs. Innovation Posted: Oct 11, 2006 12:25 PM Reply I read the article you suggested about Unfreezing of America. Here is a quote from it. One of the consequences of freezing is that waste is eliminated. That causes a significant gain in productivity. However, when all waste is removed, and no other change occurs, productivity improvement falls to zero. And that is why, in our opinion, Japan’s productivity growth has been negligible for the last 14 years.…The “freezing” of the U.S. coincides with the Quality Revolution, and it is not a coincidence. The rate of productivity improvement in the U. S. dropped dramatically with the start of the Quality Revolution and did not recover until 1995. I realize you are trying to create a discussion on innovation but do you really believe what Tor Dahl is saying? We have enough statistical knowledge to know that it is not enough to correlate two unrelated events and draw causal conclusions from it. There must be some basis for tying the two together. I see nothing in the article that supports his hypothesis. Just because you are labeled as a Six Sigma company does not tell you anything about its business management processes or whether or not it is innovative. Ignoring the fact that quality management practices may or may not be practiced correctly in any given company or industry in Japan, other economists have tied Japan’s lack of productivity to poor government and management policies. The example given for the computer industry is interesting in that the productivity gains were in hardware not software. The poor quality and lack of efficiency of the software were actually hidden by the technology improvements of the hardware. The faster chips meant that software producers could be wasteful. To quote the author again, here is his understanding of productivity and quality: To understand productivity, we must understand quality. · Quality happens when we remove all variation in a product or a service; productivity happens when we introduce variation in a product or service. · Quality freezes a process; productivity unfreezes a process. · If we freeze first, productivity improvement will drop to zero if no change occurs; if we unfreeze first, productivity will increase, and quality will help lock in the gains. · To improve productivity and quality, we must unfreeze first, and then freeze to lock in the gains—and then unfreeze again to avoid stagnation. Quality never removes all variation because that is not possible. If quality means continual improvement than it also never freezes the process. Every time a process is improved, a change in the process occurs that by its nature increases variation compared to the past. It does not have to come from innovation but it could. The author takes quality to mean that its only purpose is to institutionalize a process change so that it can be repeated. That is a very narrow view of quality. It does not appear to me that Tor Dahl has a very good understanding of statistics, variation and quality principles. In my opinion, (and I think Juran and Deming thought the same)innovation is a separate activity from quality. Quality does not prevent innovation but does benefit from it if it it increases customer satisfaction or provides new products and services that meet or exceed the customer requirements. I still think that this discussion on innovation would progress better if there was a more common understanding of what is meant by innovation. Bill Pflanz

Akio Miura Posts: 1,541 Re: Process Control vs. Innovation Posted: Oct 11, 2006 1:47 PM Reply I entirely agree with Bill. It does not appear to me that Tor Dahl knows what NTT and Deming Prize are. NTT learned quality from AT&T around 1948 and Ishikawa learned it from NTT after that. Old time NTT was Ishikawa’s teacher. So NTT had no difficulty in getting Deming Prize. By the way, Deming prize winner is not always good in quality management and productivity. I know it because I taught NTT people quality assurance and management at my courses. Also I helped a couple of big companies boasting of Deming Prize get certified to ISO 9001. Their smartness level was no different from that of small companies of only 10 employees in country town. Their “fishbonehead level” was above small companies. Moreover, I am monitoring NTT’s performance from the viewpoint of their customer. Seeing is believing. I think the way of Tor Dahl is “believing without seeing”, and it is quite baseless and risky. As I have not read Tor Dahl’s paper, my comment looks to be baseless, but I am based on comments of Bill who I believe 100%, as well as Dennis. Akio Miura

Brad Masters Posts: 555 Re: Process Control vs. Innovation Posted: Oct 11, 2006 11:48 PM Reply I read the Unfreezing of America, and the Innovator’s Dilemma. Honestly the image that came to mind? Don Quixote, out slaying the windmills. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote In my opinion, process control facilitates Innovation, not hinders it. You can have the greatest idea in the world. But if you can’t produce it reliably, no one will want it. If you’re really interested in learning about how to advance Innovation, I refer you to Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation. While formalized in 1962, he has published numerous papers advancing/revising/and improving his theories. By developing classifications based on human nature and their acceptance of change, and developing a five stage model for diffusing innovation, his work stands as a testament of good theory, and a building block for advancing innovation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations

Dennis Arter Posts: 45 Re: Process Control vs. Innovation Posted: Oct 26, 2006 3:55 PM Reply Thanks Guys! Your responses to my original posting of October 11 were relayed to Tor Dahl by one of his friends. This caused him to initiate – first by e-mail and then by telephone – some conversations with me. My life has been enriched!