ICQCC 2012 (the 37th Edition) will be held in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia from 14th to 17th October,2012 at KL Convention Centre.This is the 2nd time Malaysia will be host to this International Conference for QCC.

To many Top Mgmt in Malaysia and also Rest of the World maybe Quality Control Circles (QCCs’) is no more important and an important Tool of Mgmt not like when QCC was initially started in Japan in 1962!Why?

Top Mgmt basically is so busy trying to make Great Profits to satisfy the greed and pockets of Shareholders and Stakeholders!True or False?

Nowadays,Top Mgmt like CEO,CFO or even CTO all have contractual terms and mostly for 2-3 years and subject to renewal or extension if so desired by Top Bosses!So,with a term of 2-3 years there is not much time for employee development work let alone coaching and mentoring session.Its all about performance and more profits!Sad to say,they forget that QUALITY PEOPLE MAKE QUALITY COMPANY AND THAT LEADS TO GREAT PROFITS AND PERFORMANCE!

QCC is one of the Tools of MGT developed in 1962 to help unleashed the talents of employees to infinite possibilities or performance.Like Dr.JM Juran he explained this by his PROJECT BY PROJECT approaches in work and by people in teams.

If you have read or attended the course on Quality Improvement Tools (QIT) by Juran Institute then you will realized the importance of this Project by Project approaches in work.Only by project (problem for solution) can organisations or companies improve or get BREAKTHROUGHS!

So,QCC was a similar approach to get all the problems at shop floors resolved and make the system better or in Juran terminolgy Go For Breakthroughs!

Top Mgt like in Malaysia all want FAST BIG RESULTS and many ignore the PDCA system of problem or improvement approaches and quickly want results at all costs!So,they get results but the problem keep coming back again and again because the root cause/s are not eliminated just shifted from one place to another!Like bad habits or poor discipline!

QCCs around the world since 1962 with Prof.Ishikawa from Japan and also JUSE have helped companies saved many millions and now billions of USD from wastages or COPQ appearing in processes and QCCs helped to eleiminate them and saved money from all the QCDSME subjects of improvements.

So thats why this QCC Movement is still around BUT looks like its death is coming unless new ways of promotion,marketing,training,exploration,R&D and other innovations are introduced,expanded and followed!QCC is good and is always good as Tool of MGMT if done the Right Way!

Now,in Malaysia especially they called QCC as Innovative & Creative Circle (ICC) for the private sector promoted by MPC and the Public Sector they also rebranded Kumpulan Meningkat Mutu Kerja or KMK before to Kumpulan Inovatif dan Kreatif (KIK) since Nov,2009 ( I think ).

OK,the rebranding is done well and good BUT the key performance,growth,participation by all like participation ratio of employees to total staff looks bad maybe on the downfall!True or False?

Ramli have been involved with QCC since he work in Matsushita in 1976 and later with Affin Bank in 1993 and got involved in all aspects of leadership,training,motivation,promotions,conventions,judging etc..Ramli also help introduce Managers Quality Teams (MQTs) with Affin Bank as a way to get all levels (TOP and Bottom) to really do Project by Project approaches in making the company Great in all aspects of Performance.

So,this ICQCC 2012 held in Malaysia again after the last one in 1996 (ICQCC 21st Edition) will hopefully be a “springboard” or booster to QCC@ICC@KIK in Malaysia to become Greater and position itself as a Greater Tool of MGMT in getting Great Results of Profits,People and Branding of the Company or Organisation to World Class Levels!Inshallah.

Contact Ramli Abu Hassan at hp:+6-019-2537165 or email: ramlipromoter for all training and consulting for QCC,MQT and World Class Performance subjects.Read Ramli’s Profile also at http://www.linkedin.com/in/ramlipromoter.

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Malaysia wastes lots of money for introducing new “things” when the older ones are as good or even better than the new ones!Whose fault?Of course the Leaders because they are the prime movers!Why?read on…..

The need for change is always important in a country like Malaysia because as they say the only thing that is constant is CHANGE!

However the “new things” or ideas made like a new establishment,a new methodology, a new guide,a new way of doing things and all that is new seem to leave a lot of question marks?Why?

These are what the modern world now called Management Fads!These are ideas created with such WOWs and then disappear from the Corporate Map as fast they appeared earlier on!Why?

These new management fads just cannot exist anymore or stand the test of time due to being a copy of some older ones and actually the originator have not be honest enough to tell the world that he/she/they copied from some old management tool/s to now tell the world they have a new tool!

Ramli have been taught and practice Total Quality Management ever since he started work with Matsushita in 1976 in Sg.Way FTZ,Malaysia.From these early days Ramli learned about the fundamentals or basic of TQM@TQC@CWQC.Here we learn about the important role of Top Mgmt,Middle Mgmt and Employees as to how to make a Quality Product or Service through Quality People and Company.We learm about all the Basics of Quality,Quality Control and Quality Assurance.We also learn about the importance of Team Work,Projects,Tools&Techniques and many others.

We learn about Gurus of Quality like Deming,Juran,Crosby,Ishikawa,Imai and also Mgmt Gurus like Drucker,Matsushita,Henry Ford.We also learn from Business Leaders like Walton,Welch,Morita,Honda and many others including Gates,Packard and others.

The problem of new management ideas are being developed or “coined up” by Academia Experts and not so from Business Leaders and thats where the real deal is realized.How can people in air conditioned rooms or inhouse locations tell the whole world that their ideas are workable when there is no “hands on” or gemba(at site) situations?You cannot tell the world to cook delicious steaks if you describe or teach from reading books only but it will be better if you are a chef that have cooked many times the steaks concerned and you know whats its like to have a steak cooked with medium rare or just fully cooked!The tastes are different depending on the customer requirements!

Crosby will never agree with all these 6 Sigma stuff since he was the real man propagating ZERO DEFECT in all areas of work.Why?

Zero Defect can be debated many times as to the real objective of its existence.Was it only a mind set goal or really to make it happen at all workplaces?

Zero Defect or ZD really helped the world to go for the ultimate in quality performance because like in the 4 Absolutes of Quality that Crosby profess,ZD is the standard of performance n our work.No defect at all.How can we practice 6 Sigma in the airline industry where we allow a tolerable  3 air crashes per 1 million flights.The main aim is NO Air Crashes at all for as long as we can!Air crash means lost of lives and creating lots of sorrows and hardships to all involved and that include other businesses like heart transplants,delivering babies and marraiges.We want if possible all to be ZD!

In Malaysia the “war cry” for the need of innovation and creativity in the govt sector as well as private sector is going on everyday BUT actually this so called campaign have started way back in 1983 when Tun Mahathir launched the Look East Policy where what Japan or Korea or Taiwan do,Malaysia will copy and make it better!

The start of the QCC or KMK activities involving the “sokongan” group and workers group have all emphasised the importance of suggestions@ideas and these are done through creative and innovative ways or at time known as quality improvement or breakthroughs!

QCC@KMK now more popularly known as ICC@KIK (new branding only in Malaysia) have all focus on getting improvements made via their projects usually half yearly and yearly duration.All QCC@KMK projects produced great results and stats have shown from MPC and INTAN (the coordinating bodies for private and govt sectors) the savings of many millions of Ringgit all this while!

So,no need to shout to tell Malaysians of the need of innovation and creativity when in the first place all these basic foundations are done and deleivered already since 1983 BUT was not monitored well and continual improvement made to the existing processes or system!Thats the problem!

Malaysia have so many actions or activities introduced by all the PMs in our history of 54 years of Independence BUT as a new PM comes into office or a new KSN or CEO comes into office,they too want their ideas to be implemented and “kick out” the old or former ones!

This is a sheer wastes of Public Funds and the wheel keep on rotating with no concrete results or holding the gains stuff just more actions and more waste of public  or shareholders money.

Lets FOCUS on all we have done since 1957 and all good actions or projects we maintained and improved upon and all poor results or methodologies lets stop or discard them!

The Malaysian Education System is one area we must seriously review and all these problems of “nak bahasa atau inggeris” as our medium of communication and education syllabus be studied and that have produced the best results be used and not become a “political game” for all those politicians and interested people with selfish vested interests dictate our future!

So as Ramli analysed it is all about having Malaysian Leaders and Followers with Positive Personalities ie.with Great Faith in Allah SWT (God Almighty) who will lead and manage with sincerity,honesty,passion,dedication,discipline and all because of Allah First and Me Last attitude.

The Quran and Hadiths have been in existence almost over 1400 years ago together with all the Old Kitabs since Prophet Adam a.s. and they are still relevant and MUST be adhered to since Allah SWT have informed Prophet Muhammad pbuh that Islam is already made perfect and it is just for all Muslims to abide to it all the time and without need for any revisions since Allah SWT Knoweth’s Best and HE is the Almighty and Merciful.

Lets hope Malaysia become a Great Nation with Great People (Talent) and only with prudent management and right usage of public funds and acknowledging past good or best practices rather than creating new useless ones can make Malaysia greater to greatest!

Call Ramli at hp:+6019-2537165 or emailed at ramlipromoter@yahoo.com

see Ramli’s profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/ramlipromoter

any financial support,please banked in at Ramli Abu Hassan,Maybank Acc: 164173649135

Thank YOU.

The agendas of 2010 especially the New Normal and Thriving on Uncertainty just shows how “Bad to Worst” the Global Leaders have become and ignore the Teachings of the Old Gurus especially Deming,Juran,Crosby and many others who have died peacefully…Why the new Global Leaders behave like this?read on..

Ramli although living in Malaysia all his lifetime of almost 55 years realized that with the Great Technology and Innovation our Great Inventors have made like the Internet,Web 2.0&3.0,Mobile gadgets for easy communications and all the Wifi services easily available HAVE made our learning faster,better,maybe cheaper also,wider and so many good things or “wow” factors we experienced!

However the Human Values,Human Spirit of Leadership,Human Respect for the Teachings of Past Gurus and Leaders all seem to be “crumbling” and whats the word “forgotten and dont care” anymore!The present Global Leaders think they are too smart and dont need to learn from the past as the past have gone away and the future is what so important,really!Really?

Todays world is all about speed,fast results,immediate “do” factor,change is key,managing all ways as long we get results and escape the “big problem” and all others “instant” remedies!Why we behave such ways?Yes,the world is now populated to almost 7 Billion inhabitants maybe on 1stNov,2011 (Ramli’s birthday) and that 7thBillion person will be born in India.

We seek fast results because our New Gen of Z,Y and X especially are people whose lives are dealth with the Computers,Internet,Mobile,Entertainent,Fast Food,Global Travellers,Social Networking and almost all things using the Social Media for Learning,Interactions or Collaborations and thriving in the New Social Culture of the 21st Century!Even to some global citizens RELIGION is considered out of fashion and no need!For Muslims the Belief in Allah SWT and Prophet Muhammad pbuh as the Messenger of Allah SWT is still the fundamental stance and the Quran and Hadiths are still the guide for all Muslims and any deviation or non adherence is regarded unIslamic and unacceptable to the Muslim World.Maybe thats what make Islam so different with other religions of the World.

The agendas of the New Normal and Thriving on Uncertainty as many Leaders & Professionals around the world accepted and studied have just showed us the need to revisit our Fundamentals Belief as what is Good and Bad to leading and managing our nations,companies and even homes!We need to know our ACTUAL STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE  and not compromise to lower our standards and agree to all things that are not so good than actually must be good!If we ignore Dr.Crosby teachings of his 4 Quality Management Absolutes like “quality has a performance standard of ZERO DEFECTS” then we are in GREAT DANGER! Why?

Then it means we make our aeroplanes where there will be great  likelihood they will “fall from the skies” due to errors of manufacturing,servicing and flying!We also allow our many hospital patients to die due to errors of operations,drug prescriptions,wrongly treated and diagnosed of sickness!So many errors can happen if we ignore Dr.Crosby teachings.Dr.Crsoby also taught us about MAKING QUALITY CERTAINED

Dr.Juran also advised us on the need to CONTROL AND IMPROVE (BREAKTHROUGH) our processes all the time and we must do them on a project by project basis.We must learn to be EFFECTIVE & EFFICIENT through Teamwork!

Dr.Deming also taught us many things about Quality Leadership just like Dr.Juran.Dr.Deming’s PDCA Cycle have been made so easy to understand to shop floor workers and also to Top Mgmt and Statisticians alike.

Looking back at all these MahaGurus of Quality (as what Ramli prefer to recoqnised them) means Masters of Quality ,they have showed us the way to be CERTAINED,PERFECTION,DO THE RIGHT THINGS RIGHT FIRST TIME philosophy and mindset.It is the new wave Thinkers,Leaders,Writers and what have you that want to be or act different and start introducing “an almost carbon copy of the MahaGurus teachings” like the 6Sigma,The New Normal,Thriving on Uncertainty and many others with a NEW NAME and PACKAGING but still with reference to the MahaGurus teachings and thoughts!

All these improper ways and in some ways signs of disregard or disrespect of the teachings of the Old Gurus or MahaGurus have allowed or build our NEW LEADERS with minds of plastic not steel,patience of a kid not a real man,anything goes not want to want to be a perfectionists and many other BAD TO WORST kind of thinking and actions.

So,as Dr.Juran once taught us if we have abnormalities happening in our processes and if we do not eliminate or bring them in control back then we are actually lowering down our standards of performance and living in crisis after crisis because we have not got back to our normal zone or zone of control.So,we live in chaos and we say “thriving in uncertainties or chaos conditions”.Who said we must live in such ways?We can come back to our normal self and bring back to our control conditions.Only when we are in control conditions can we now work our improvements or Breakthroughs!We need so many breakthroughs to improve from a status of 100 defects to 1 defect a month in our manufacturing processes for example.So,only by many Breakthroughs can we become Better to Best and not declare thats the way life is or the New Normal as some people like to call!

Like what Ramli heard and read that in 2010 at the World Economic Forum in Davos the Leaders there realized the need to Relearn the Fundamental Skills of Managing and Leading Rightly for Top Executives both in Business and Governments.The many problems of businesses and govrnments have occured rampantly in the last 5 years or so and maybe its time to “go back to school” rather than “making money like mad” with poor quality results and products offered to the customers or citizens alike eg.the million of cars being recalled from the market by many Top Automobile Manufacturers and also not so happy employees with businesses collapsed and unemployment rates on the high side and no new jobs made available anymore and saying its the New Normal.

Leaders especially have to “get the act together and rightly” so that their roles of Leaders that have been the essence of human existence become still as relevant as their predecessors before like Muhammad pbuh,Churchill,Roosevelt,Gandhi,Sukarno,Tunku Abdul Rahman and many more Great Leaders whom Ramli belief will not agree to all these new thoughts of the New Normal or Thriving on Uncertainty when actually the Control and Improve status was never done rightly and in full where Being Certained in Making Things Right must be the norm and practiced.We just cannot be at above par to win a game of golf,right?

Contact Ramli for your feedbacks or suggestions at mobile:+6019-2537165 and emailed at ramlipromoter@yahoo.com

DO SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATE RAMLI’S PLANNED CONFERENCE ON CORP U & WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCE THIS 20TH&21ST SEPT,2011 IN SHAH ALAM,MALAYSIA.RAMLI NEED CORPORATE SPONSORS AND PARTICIPANTS.

 

Quality in the Airline Industry esp Safety must be ZERO Defect not 6Sigma or 1 ppm level?Why?Read on…

The recent mishap by Air Asia of their plane skidding the runway at Kuching International Airport is for the Malaysian Airline industry to take note SERIOUSLY.

Although,thank Allah SWT there’s no human trajedy or fatalities with some minor injuries as reported in the newspapers,this incident must be studied thoroughly whether the pilot is not experience to land the plane in heavr rain conditions or there was a problem with the plane or the airport or runaway was faulty or whatever meaningful or thoughtful theories?

Only with a ZD mindset can Malaysian Airlines or companies be 100% safe or great assurance to their millions of customers who fly with Air Asia,Fire Fly and Malaysian Airlines all the time.

Lets hope we see this ZD mgmt in place and no “tidak apa” attitude is around especially from the Top Mgmt.

 

This great quality problem or your product branding is tarnishing (among the World’s Auto Manufacturers) like “wildfires.”First,we heard of Toyota then Honda,Ford and now Proton!Whose Next?

Quality is the cornerstone of Good Business so when companies make product recalls from the market that means her quality is BAD and thats not good for business.Surprisingly,it looks like the consumers around the world,doesn’t bother maybe many Top Auto Manufacturers all seem to recall their cars for quality problems in the markets…

Here is an article from Star Online:

Saturday October 9, 2010

Recall to cost Proton RM5mil

By EUGENE MAHALINGAM
eugenicz@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: The recall of 15,911 of Proton Holdings Bhd’s Gen.2 and Satria Neo models made between 2004 and 2008 due to a clock spring malfunction is likely to cost the company an estimated RM5mil, according to analysts.

Based on reports, the clock spring connects switches and airbags to the radio, horn and cruise control.

OSK Research in its report yesterday said assuming that all the cars were affected, the repairs, which would involve replacement of the driver’s side airbags, would cost RM300 to RM400 per car.

“Assuming a worse-case scenario that would affect all 15,911 cars relating to deployment of the driver’s side airbags, this could see the total costs of the recall hovering between RM4mil and RM5mil, which is 1.4% of our financial year 2011 (net profit) forecast.”

MIDF Research in its report said it expected minimal impact to earnings as the number of cars affected was small and the parts affected not too costly.

“The recall affects 15,911 cars out of a total of 660,000 produced and sold by Proton over the four-year period. A quick check revealed that the replacement cost is relatively inexpensive (around RM300) and the work can be done fairly quickly in about one hour.

“The total cost for Proton is estimated at RM4.8mil,” it said.

OSK said the impact was likely to be minimal, given that the recall affected the company’s non-core models.

“On a positive note, however, the recall so far is limited to Proton’s non-core models although we do not rule out that this could affect its key models, such as the Saga, Exora and Persona, though we think chances of this would be quite minimal as Proton has stepped up its efforts to improve its quality given its improved rating,” it said.

OSK said it was making no changes to its forecast currently pending more clarity and guidance from Proton.

An analyst said the real impact would be on Proton’s brand image.

“Proton has always had issues over the quality of its vehicles, though the company has been doing a good job in recent years to help rectify this,” he said.

“News of its cars having defects will only refresh the memory of potential car buyers on the quality issue and this could steer them towards other makes that have a more sound track record. The uphill climb of assuring buyers about its quality just got harder.”

OSK also said the stock could face temporary negative reaction as the improved quality perception on Proton might be reassessed by potential buyers and also investors.

Proton’s shares closed down 4 sen to RM4.87 at 5pm yesterday on news of the recall.

HwangDBS Vickers Research in its report said there could be a knee-jerk reaction to the recall.

“This should drive Proton to be more diligent in sourcing its parts and improve the quality of the vehicle it produces,” it said.

Given that under 16,000 vehicles are affected against an annual sales volume of about 160,000 units, HwangDBS Vickers expects the impact on earnings on Proton’s financial year ending March 31, 2011 (FY11) to be minimal.

For FY10, Proton posted a net profit of RM239.09mil from a net loss of RM301.81mil a year earlier. Revenue increased to RM8.23bil from RM6.49bil previously.

Total sales volume increased 11% to 174,481 units from 156,845 in FY09.

AmResearch in its report said it did not think Proton would bear the full recall cost as part of the fault lied with the suppliers.

“While the recall may have a certain amount of impact on Proton’s sales volume, we note that Satria Neo and Gen.2 only account for 4% of Proton’s average monthly sales volume in 2010,” it said.

“Additionally, the quantum of recall is much smaller compared with the 34,000 units of the Savvy model that were recalled back in 2008 for wheel bearing problems.”

OSK also concurred that the recall of the Savvy in 2008 had a minimal impact on the company.

“Despite the concerns, earnings were not affected as Proton’s sales remained resilient given that the Savvy is a not a key contributor to total sales due to its small volume.

“Given the earnings potential from the newly-released Saga back then (January 2008) amid the negative news on the Savvy recall, Proton’s share price did not take any hit at all as the stock price ended in positive territory,” it said.

In a statement on Thursday, Proton group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said although the number of vehicles affected was small, the safety of its customers was paramount.

The cost of replacing the clock spring at its authorised service centres would be borne by the company, Proton said in the statement , adding that it would be sending letters to affected customers alerting them to the defect.

A History of Managing for Quality in Malaysia -What was it like?Who were the Heroes?How actually did Malaysia benefit?

Ramli was able to retrieve from his personal library a book written by Dr.J.M.Juran one of our Great Quality Gurus titled “A History of Managing for Quality-the Evolution,Trends and Future Directions of Managing for Quality.”This book was edited by Dr.J.M.Juran and published in 1995.

While reading this book on subjects like what was the story of Quality in countries like US,Germany,ancient Rome,Russia,India,Japan and UK,Ramli then pondered as to what was the story of Quality for Malaysia herself then and now?

Malaysia’s history must be traced back a long time ago during the great years of The Malacca Sultanate because this was the Period of Malacca’s prominence in this part of the World esp the Far East where international trading,cultural exchange and politics were really happening at the greatest pace and historic significance.

Malacca with her strategic position and international trade involving traders from all over the world coming to Malacca City Port to meet and exchange their products and services grew and grew in prominence until the feeling of greed and dominance now slowly entered into the minds of some of the foreign visitors like from Portugal,Holland,Great Britain and Spain etc…

As history records,Malacca was then occupied by the Portuguese in 1511 and that saw the lost of powers of the Malacca Sultanate who all fled to neighbouring Malay states and some even to Indonesia and Thailand.

Only in 1957,did Malaya got her independence and the date 31stAugust,1957 finally gave back Malaya’s soveriengty and Malaya being an independant nation and free from any colonialists or dominance.However,Malaya was still “dominated economically” where her economy was still in the hands of foreigners and Malaya was still dependant on these foreign powers for her financial support and prosperity.

Only in the later years especially with the arrival of Dr.Mahathir as Malaysia’s 4th Prime Minister from 1981 where Malaysia have taken many bold steps to get out of this “economic cocoon” to understand why being strong economically,stable politically and rich culturally can lead Malaysia to be a Great Nation that stands on her own not for a year but for all the time and forever.Dr.M have really “shaken up” all Malaysians to know how good a feeling to be World Class,Self Sufficient,Malaysia Boleh Spirit,and many others that have propel our industries and Business Leaders as well as Govt Leaders to “get out to the world” and try to become Super Brands and World Class Companies or Organisations that other nations or people want to benchmark and learn from Malaysia like what Malaysia also learn from others from 1957 and maybe till now..learning is a continual process because you can be the best today BUT no more tomorrow.Competition is so great nowadays and the Greatest Company or Nation are those that keep on learning,applying and making it better all the time,thats Quality and to be a Quality Nation with all the World Class attributes we must build Quality People and thats what our journey is all about since the fall of Malacca Sultanate,to build Quality Malaysians for a Quality Malaysia!

Ramli is planning to write a book on this “Malaysia’s story of Managing Quality through the years since 1511” and hopefully Ramli is motivated enough to complete the book.Do you like to read this book if it is completed?Please buy Ramli’s books especially his first book “Revolusi Aksi” and 2 more books ready to print soon.Inshallah.

For enquiries,please contact Ramli at +6-019-2537165 or email: ramlipromoter@yahoo.com

Maybe this 21st Century is like what Dr.Juran have predicted “The Quality Century” and all the latest Mgmt buzz words must relate to Quality!More news on the impact of Quality to World Class Companies…

Ramli was happy that his many articles on subjects that relate to QUALITY received responses from viewers around the world and it goes to show that (still) many people value Quality more than others.Actually Quality is linked to areas like Cost,Delivery,Safety,Morale,Envioronment and also Innovation&Creativity or in acronym form Q-C-D-S-M-E + I&C

Quality is the cornerstone of good business!

Juran’s Trilogy consists of Quality Planning,Quality Control and Quality Improvement (Breakthrough)!

Quality is made in the Boardrooms!

Make Quality People Before Make Quality Products!

Rule No.1 is Customer is King and Rule No.2 please refer to Rule No.1!

The 21st Century needs Quality Leaders who understand the above statements and not only understand them but execute them with great passion and compassion following the PDCA Cycle and ensuring the process gets better all the time plus all the Quality Assurance made on time  and in full!

Good Quality Brings Good Business and with Profits!

Some updates on what Top Mgmt are doing to Bring Back Quality in their Businesses and also providing Total Customer Satisfaction and Guarantee of Excellent Service Round the Clock!

Published: Sunday February 14, 2010 MYT 6:59:00 AM

Report: Toyota chief visits dealership, apologizes

TOKYO (AP): Toyota’s president visited a dealership in Tokyo on Saturday and apologized over troubles that have prompted the world’s biggest automaker to recall some 8.5 million vehicles, a news report said.

Akio Toyoda, a grandson of the company founder, told at least one customer having a Prius repaired that the company had “caused concern,” Kyodo News agency reported.

Toyoda also asked an official at the dealership in Musashino if the recall process was going smoothly and offered encouragement, Kyodo reported. The news agency said the appearance was an attempt to show Toyoda is taking the lead on the recall issue.

Toyota’s top executive has been criticized for the company’s perceived slow response to the recalls that have sullied the company’s image for quality and safety. He kept a low profile during the initial recalls late last year but has been more visible recently, giving two news conferences and publishing an opinion column in The Washington Post.

Officials at Toyota could not be reached late Saturday for comment on the Kyodo report.

Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling about 8 million cars for a gas pedal that can stick in the depressed position and floor mats that can get stuck under the accelerator.

On Tuesday, the company announced a recall of 437,000 Prius and other hybrids over brake problems.

Toyoda has apologized repeatedly and vowed to win back customer trust. The company is setting up a special committee focused on improving quality and plans to disclose vehicle problems even when it is not legally required to do so.

The U.S. Congress is scheduled to hold hearings on Toyota’s recalls on Feb. 24-25 and March 2. Toyoda is expected to visit the United States early next month, though the company says nothing has been decided on whether he will attend any hearings.

REmembering the Quality Gurus -some of them Ramli have met and got their autographs…you will learn from these videos that cooperation is the key for business success and not competition..

videos from YouTube.com

First Toyota now Honda..whose NEXT to fall (brand damage) because of Poor Quality..but remember they have more than 5,000 car parts suppliers..they are also the culprits!

Do you know actually what is the definition of Quality and all that matters in Quality?

The many Great Gurus of Quality have stated:

Dr.Deming:Quality is delighting the customer.

Dr.Juran: Quality is Fitness for use.

Dr.Crosby:Quality means Conformance to Requirements.

Dr.Kaoru Ishikawa:Total Quality Control is a Thought Revolution in Management

Dr.Imai:Kaizen means Improvement.

and many more quality definitions by Quality Gurus.

Now,beginning this year we hear about Toyota (No.1 Auto Manufacturer in the World) “BIG Quality Problem” and today Ramli read about Honda’s “BIG Quality Problem” and soon maybe more Giant Auto Manufacturers are ready to announce in public their same “BIG Quality Problem” so that this kind of public announcements may “soften the blow” from the market (customers) for any serious quality problems reported or found in the market (customers) or “still in the company’s premises” ie.cars not sold yet to the market.

Ramli once taught Quality Control Circles (QCC) to Malaysia’s Proton car manufacturer based in Shah Alam Plant  and from Ramli’s observation of the factory and office premises plus the Proton People (including Leaders) that is  ” to see with his own eyes,listen with his own ears and sense with his own heart”   Ramli believes a “Quality Car can be made with Quality People” all the time BUT they must adhere to all the teachings of Quality Gurus like  Quality Management Absolutes as described by Dr.Crosby plus Dr.Deming’s “System of Profound Knowledge ” and Dr.Juran’s “Juran Trilogy”

Nowadays because demand is so good and globally the case and supply need to be as fast as possible (afap) or as soon as possible (asap) the great tendency of that “greed factor” will surfaced and thats where ZERO DEFECT become secondary what more 6Sigma (yes,you can telerate 3 defects in a million) also become not important (this is Ramli’s theory need to confirm with all the facts and datas like doing the cause verification in the fishbone diagram study by the QCCs)

Furthermore like PROTON,all major car manufacturers are supported by their car vendors or suppliers which maybe over 5000 of them supplying to the main car manufacturer like PROTON regularly right from the screws,windows,brake pads,car seats,safety belts,air bags,horns,etc…so many actually…normally all the body,painting,assembly of parts and final inspection will be done in the main car manufacturing factory and only after all this are done well with final approval by QC will these completed cars then send to the market either domestically or overseas.Even that their car sales company will also do some standard checking before releasing the cars to the rightful buyers.

So,if you understand QUALITY all the checking you make on the cars your factory produced will not give 100% guarantee that there will be no error or quality problem (customer complaints)

QUALITY MUST BE BUILD AT THE DESIGN STAGE

MAKE QUALITY PEOPLE BEFORE MAKE QUALITY CARS

These are the important quality slogans well worth thinking and acting everyday by all people in your company either you make cars,biscuits or underwears….

What Ramli suggests to World Business Leaders are the following:

1.Study again what is Quality for this 21st Century? And like Juran once remarked “the 2oth century is the century of productivity and this 21st century is the century for quality” maybe what this Quality Guru said is true…

2.Remember “Make Quality People before Making Quality Products” as what Tan Sri Konosuke Matsushita once remarked a long time ago.

3.Always follow the “PDCA” cycle in doing things like Dr.Deming have taught the Japanese Top Mgmt also a long time ago..

4.New thoughts or buzz words are good nowadays but with no strong evidence of R&D,success stories and people building,they must be used with CAUTION not WITH THE WOW FACTOR  since without deep thoughts,research and applications they can become “sleeping volcanoes” and a danger to human lives and business turmoils..

5.and many more…(contact Ramli for details at +6019-2537165 or email: ramlipromoter@yahoo.com)

Ramli have attached the article about today’s news on Honda’s BIG Quality Problem as well as the ongong Toyota’s BIG Quality Problem:

Honda airbag fault fuels Japan’s auto woes

AFP – Thursday, February 11,2010

TOKYO (AFP) – – Honda, Japan’s second-biggest carmaker after crisis-hit Toyota, Wednesday recalled more than 400,000 vehicles to fix airbags that it said can explode and spray out potentially deadly metal shards.

The recall, the third related to the defect since late 2008, includes top-selling Accord and Civic cars sold in the United States and Canada as well as models marketed in Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and Australia.

Honda said the defective airbag inflators could rupture, “resulting in metal fragments passing through the airbag cushion material and possibly causing injury or fatality to vehicle occupants”.

The expanded recall of 437,763 vehicles covers models made in 2001 and 2002, mostly in North America, and also includes family-friendly models such as the Odyssey and CR-V.

Honda said it knew of 12 incidents involving the defect and one fatality, but added that there had been no new reports since last year.

The latest safety recall adds to the woes of Japan’s auto industry, a key export earner of Asia’s largest economy, with Toyota making global headlines over its faulty accelerator and brake systems.

Hans Greimel, the Asia editor of Automotive News, said Honda’s airbag problem was “significant” but said the company was “coming under increased scrutiny now because of the Toyota problem”.

“I think all automakers are coming under pressure because of the increased intricacies and complicated nature of today’s cars,” Greimel said. “There are a lot of electronics in the cars. A lot of things that can go wrong.”

Toyota on Tuesday expanded its global recall to over 400,000 of its Prius and other petrol-electric hybrid models. The world’s biggest car maker has now pledged to fix 8.7 million vehicles worldwide. Related article: Toyota announces mass Prius recall

Toyota dealers in Japan have started fixing software problems that can make brakes slow to respond in the third-generation Prius, the company’s flagship hybrid.

Toyota has also said it is recalling more than 7,000 Camry sedans with power steering problems in the United States, while US authorities say they are “reviewing” complaints about steering problems from Corolla drivers.

Company president Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the Toyota founder, has publicly apologised and plans to fly to the United States soon, where his company faces a congressional grilling and a host of lawsuits. Related article: Toyota boss ‘expected’ to testify in Congress

Angry US consumers and Congress members claim Toyota knew about the dangerous problem of “sticky accelerators” for years but was slow to respond until it was forced into action by federal authorities.

Japan’s centre-left government — which took power last year promising to put the interests of consumers before those of big business — has also ramped up pressure on Toyota, one of Japan’s most iconic companies. Related article: Toyota crisis hits hometown

Transport Minister Seiji Maehara, after publicly upbraiding Toyoda on Wednesday, said he expected the company boss to face Congress if US lawmakers request his presence.

However, Toyota officials in Tokyo said they were unaware of such plans.

A House of Representatives committee in Washington postponed a hearing on the Toyota recalls from Wednesday until February 24, after huge snow storms engulfed the US capital.

The Asahi Shimbun daily reported that a contrite Toyota had turned down an energy efficiency award from the government in light of the recall troubles.

Greimel of Automotive News said that Toyota, a company not used to crises, was enduring a “perfect storm” after looking unstoppable during its rise to global dominance.

“They are having their first operating loss in 70 years. Now their quality has been questioned like never before,” he said. “It is a classic fall-from-grace story.”

Ramli and his Quality Journey-your brand the cornerstone of good business!

Ramli have involved in this Quality Journey since 1976 when he started work with Matsushita (now rebrand worldwide as Panasonic.)

Building a World Class Brand cannot be done overnight or in a few days,weeks or months..but need many years to make your brand well known and loved by all.However to destroy a brand just need a shorter time frame especially when your products are of bad quality and become harmful to human consumption or usage.Remember the milk powder problems etc…
In this video,you can see Ramli and others appearing in TV3 Money Matters Programme on QCC..now it is known as ICC (Innovative and Creative Circles..)You can also see the “Father of Malaysian QCC” ie.Allahyarham Tuan Hj.Ruslan bin Khatib -the former Deputy Director General of NPC (now branded as MPC)
For more infos,contact:
Ramli Abu Hassan
hp:+6019-2537165
email: ramlipromoter@yahoo.com