Speak about control goals, sensors, decisions to be made of Work-Force Levels and at managerial levels.

 

Strategic Quality Management.

An approach - подход

To be similar to – быть подобным

A hierarchy - иерархия

Infrastructure - инфраструктура

Reward - награда

Participation - участие

Investment - инвестиция

Key words – ключевые слова

 

 

What is Strategic Quality Management.

SQM is a systematic approach for setting and meeting quality goals throughout the company.

SQM is the apex of the broader system of managing quality throughout the company. This broader system is variously called companywide quality management, total quality management, and so forth.

In this book the apex (SQM) is discussed in the present chapter. The middle sector of the pyramid is discussed in the next chapter, “Operational Quality Management”. The base of the pyramid is discussed in chapter 8, “The Work Force and Quality”.

In this connection it is instructive to look at the list of features of Japanese companywide quality management as identified by a committee of Japanese experts (Ykezawa and others 1987).

The Finance Parallel.

The methodology of SQM is quite similar to that long used establish and meet other broad company goals, notably financial goals. The similarity is so striking that is worthwhile to review briefly the well-known approach to companywide financial management, before getting deeply into the corresponding means for SQM.

Many companies manage for finance by use of a structured, coherent approach that can be described as companywide financial management. This approach consists of establishing financial aims.

 

1. President-led QC Activities in which. All Personnel participate

2. Top Priority consistently assigned to Quality by Management

3. Policy Dissemination and Control by Delegation

4. QC Audits and Their Implementation

5. Quality Assurance Activities ranging from Planning and Development to Sales and Servicing

6. QC Circle Activities

7. QC Education and Training

8. Development and Implementation of QC Techniques

8. Extension of Applications from Manufacturing to Other Industries

9. Nationwide QC Promotion Activities

 

Certain features of this approach are generic: they can be applied to other functions, including the quality function. These generic features consist of largely of the following:

 

A Hierarchy of Goals. The major financial goals – the corporate budget – is supported by a hierarchy of financial goals at lower levels, such as divisional and departmental budgets, sales quotas, cost standards, and project cost estimates.

 

A Formalized Methodology for establishing the goals and for providing the needed resources.

 

An infrastructure that (usually) includes a finance committee, a full-time controller, and supporting personnel.

 

A Control Process that includes system for data collection and analysis, financial reports, and reviews of financial performance against goals.

 

Provision of Rewards. Performance against financial goals is given substantial weight in the system of merit rating and recognition.

 

Universal Participation. The financial goals, reports, and reviews are designed in hierarchical form to parallel the company’s organizational hierarchy. These hierarchical designs make it possible for managers at all levels to support upper managers in managing for finance.

 

A Common Language. This is centered on a major, common unit of measure: money. There are also other common units of measure, for example, ration such as return on investment. In addition, key words (such as budget, expense, and profit) acquire standardized meanings, so that communication becomes more and more precise.

 

Training. It is common for managers at al levels to undergo training in various financial concepts, processes, methods, and tools. Companies that have so trained their managers, in all functions and at all levels, are well poised to outperform companies in which such training has been confined to the finance department.

 

 

Tasks:

Answer the questions:

1) What is SQM?

2) What is the methodology of SQM similar to?

3) How can the approach, used by many companies be described?

4) What does this approach consist of?

5) What are the generic features of this approach?

 

Speak about the generic features of the approach.(A hierarchy of Goals,a Formalized Methodology, An Infrastructure and so on).

Discuss the problem of SQM in pairs.

Summarise the texts.

 

 

Metals.

Metals are used in industry be cause of their properties. The separation between the atoms in metals is small. That is why metals are malleabte. Metals vary greatly in their properties. The properties of metals depend on the size, shape, orientation and composition of these grains.

Heat treatment controls the nature of the grains and their size in the metal.

All metals can be formed by different, but some require hot - working. Metals can be worked using different machine – tools.

 

 

Plastics

 

Plastics are non-metallic, synthetic, carbon-based materials. Plastics are synthetic polymers. Polymers consist of identical small molecules. Molecules are called monomers. The molecules can be either natural or synthetic. The natural polymers are cellulose, wax, and natural rubber.

Most plastics are synthesized from organic chemicals or from natural gas or coal. Plastics are good electrical insulators.

Plastics can be classified into several broad types.

1. Thermoplastics

2. Thermosetting plastics

3. Elastomers

Thermoplastics soften or heating and harden when cooled.

Typical examples are polystyrene polythene, PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Thermosetting plastics are less flexible, and less subject to creep. Examples are urea-formaldehyde, polyesters.

Elastomers have sufficient cross-linking between molecules to prevent stretching.

 

Termoplastics - термопластмасса

Thermosetting plastics – термореактивные пластмассы.

 

Texts for Reading

 

Inspection and the Role of Quality Control

 

We have seen that by controlling the process we can consistently produce a product of the same quality at the same price. It would then be logical to suggest that inspection is unnecessary and that the term “Quality Control” is meaningless. This is basically true, yet this function and the people performing it are generally found in our operations no matter how well the manufacturing process is controlled. We must understand their purpose and the way that their objectives, authorities, and responsibilities have changed from those used in an uncontrolled process.

 

 

The Role of Inspection

 

How often have we heard the phrase “You can t inspect quality into the product”? But how many people really believe it to be true? Not too many if we look at the way most products are made. In many plants the products are made. In many plants the product is inspected at several points in the production phase and almost all have a “final inspection” station. If you ask what all of this inspection is for, the answer is almost always that it assures that the product is sound and that nothing leaves the plant that is not manufactured completely according to the standards set by management. In other words, the in-line inspection is there to be sure that the correct materials are used, and that the operators do their job correctly. The final inspection is to check everything once again to be sure that both the operators and the prior inspectors carried out their tasks erectly and did not miss any errors.

 

 

Inspection Accuracy

 

The answer given above cannot be accepted as anything more than wishful thinking, however, if all of the factors involved in inspection are considered carefully. The first question to be asked is whether the inspectors can consistently determine if every part of the product is correctly made and assembled. If the operators are incapable of doing their jobs properly all the time, it is illogical to suggest that the inspectors can carry out their inspection accurately all the time. As far as final inspection is concerned, once the assembly operation is complete it is usually impossible to do more than inspect the external appearance of the product. The inspector may be able to derive some idea of quality from this, but it is a far cry from checking the overall product reliability (Figure 16).

As suggested above, we have to consider whether a human inspector can consistently work to a constant standard. Again the answer is in the negative. Many studies have been carried out on this subject and all indicate the same inefficiency and inaccuracy, especially when subjective decisions have to be made. One military contractor presented the same product to the same inspector on two separate occasions; the inspector` s finding only agreed in about 45% of the defects originally indicated. When four inspectors were used in the test agreement fell to around 15%. Yet these very inspectors were the people who were deciding whether the products met the specification or whether they should be reworked or rejected. If a final inspection is necessary to check the prior work and inspection, it is logical to suggest that there should be a post-final, final inspection in case the final inspector missed a defect. Of course, this procedure can continue ad nauseam until we have more inspectors than operators. Although this is ridiculuous, it has actually occurred and is not far from what exists in some manufacturing operations.

For example, a senior member of one of the armed services pointed out that almost half the cost of some military electronics is solely to pay for the inspection that is carried out by the inspectors, top assure that the contractor complies with the myriad specifications and standards that are imposed in the contract. We note that in these cases the words reliability and quality are rarely used; “meeting the specification” is everything. But the specification is only man’s attempt to describe in words some of the product changes that may be caused by variations to the process. They can be difficult to define and describe and the specification can never be anything but imperfect.

These comments are not intended to decry the abilities of inspectors but rather to show that we expect them to do work that a normal human begin is incapable of performing consistently. All too often we ask them to inspect by rote, to compare results to pictures or diagrams, or to use some other indirect measurement. If only we trained our inspectors correctly they would be able to inspect with intelligence.

Although it is true that we cannot inspect quality into the product, we attempt to do so day after day. Yet a moment’s thought tells us that if the process is correct – if everything is always done in exactly the same materials – the product quality will always be the same. Somehow we fine great difficulty in accepting these simple truths.