Quality Management Tools Research Articles

Developing a variables modified chain sampling plan with Taguchi capability index

AbstractAcceptance sampling plan has been a practical tool in quality management, which provides both the producer and the consumer a general rule for sentencing lots. In recent years, a new strategy, chain sampling plan, considering disposition of historical lots for sentencing the current lot has been discussed. However, reviewing results of preceding lots only happens when the quality of current lot is on the undefined region, which may not be completely utilized. Therefore, in this study, we develop a variables modified‐ChSP (VMChSP) for variable inspection based on the Taguchi capability index to improve above situation. Optimization model of the proposed plan is formulated to solve plan parameters by minimizing the required sample size. Plan parameters under various allowable risks and quality levels are also provided for practical purpose. Finally, further analysis and comparisons between the proposed plan and conventional plans are provided and discussed in this research.

The Use of Pestel Analysis Tool of Quality Management in the Health Care Business and its Advantages

Background and Objective: The main theme of this article is to discuss the use of PESTEL Analysis tool of quality management in the health care business and its advantages.

Coping with diversity ratings in prioritizing design requirements in quality function deployment: A consensus-based approach with minimum-maximum adjustments

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a powerful customer-driven quality management tool that improves product quality by translating customer requirements (CRs) into design requirements (DRs) of a product. It is essential in QFD to obtain the importance ratings of DRs from the importance ratings of CRs and the relationship between CRs and DRs. However, two basic challenges hinder the effective implementation of QFD: (i) vague assessments of the relationship between CRs and DRs due to the inherent uncertainty in human judgement; and (ii) diverse importance ratings of DRs owing to the heterogeneity of the QFD team members. To this end, this study provides a consensus-based QFD to derive the consensual importance ratings of DRs, where linguistic distributions are used by the QFD team to express their assessments of the relationship between CRs and DRs. In the consensus-based QFD, a minimum–maximum adjustment consensus model is presented to assist the QFD team in deriving a consensual assessment regarding the relationship between CRs and DRs. This model is designed by minimizing the maximum adjustment between the original and the adjusted linguistic distribution assessments. Moreover, some desirable properties of the minimum–maximum adjustment consensus model are investigated. Finally, a case study, a detailed sensitivity analysis, and a comparison analysis are presented to illustrate the validity of our proposal.

Incorporating customer profitability analysis into quality management systems

PurposeThe specific purpose of this article is to describe customer profitability analysis and evaluate its compatibility with quality management systems. Besides, its more general objective consists in shedding further light on the links between management accounting and quality management, which is still an emerging topic.Design/methodology/approachThe first part of the document presents a theoretical description of the disciplines and tools that are relevant to the study. Afterward, an explanation of the way in which customer profitability analysis is operationalized in practice is provided. Subsequently, a framework for the incorporation of customer profitability analysis into a quality management system is introduced. The final section includes some recommendations for future research.FindingsThrough the analysis of the benefits of the incorporation of customer profitability analysis into an ISO 9000 model, the study provides further support to the premise that the joint consideration of management accounting techniques and quality management tools is beneficial to organizations.Originality/valueThe article combines two disciplines closely related in practice but seldom concurrently addressed in the literature.

Solid Waste Management as an instrument of sustainability in protestant denominations

Nowadays, there is a worldwide concern about issues related to the environment and one of the biggest environmental problems caused are generated by inadequate solid waste management and the lack of society's involvement. The present work deals with the management in Protestant Christian religious institutions, which are also producers of solid waste and, therefore, deserve to be studied scientifically, in order to answer the following guiding question: Solid waste management in Protestant Christian institutions in the city of Manaus asserts itself as an effective instrument for the concept of sustainability? The main purpose objective of this work is to evaluate how Protestant Christian religious institutions act in the management of solid waste, identifying if such these institutions do any kind of management of this generated waste, in order to monitor how it is done using quality management tools, methodology and analysis of the results achieved. The applied methodology will be descriptive, through observation, registration, analysis and correlation of the object or facts under study, however, without manipulating them. With the information collected from selected churches in all areas of the city, in equal quantity and, through a practical formulary and checklist based on Brazil’s the National Policy on Solid Waste (PNRS), it will be possible to build a DMAIC framework and sequentially apply the GUT tool, to notes on of the most urgent problems. The results of these notes will be put into the PDCA cycle for improvement planning and, finally, the 5W2H will be used to propose improvements, which will facilitate observation, data collection and analysis of the information obtained. The survey results showed a great possibility of these Christian communities to serve as environmental schools, and that if it would be carried out, could bring a real mass awareness of society, thanks to its enormous scope.

The Shortcomings of the Existing Economic Theory and Their Elimination

Th e paper analyzes the state and management of country’s economics. A tuple of event-driven optimal management as a method of artifi cial intelligence has been developed. Th e characteristics of event-driven quality management of associative and structurally complex systems and processes are given. Th e events and probabilities in the management of economics and the state are considered. A measure of invalidation has been introduced for parameters. Th e method of synthesis of the probability of an event based on expert information is presented. Th e necessity of orthogonalization of the logical function and the transition to the probabilistic function have been substantiated. Th e eff ect of repeated initiating events is considered. One-dimensional optimization of the system on a logical model instead of arithmetic multiparameter optimization is presented. Schemes for managing of development and exit of economics from stagnation are given. Th e tools for event-driven quality management of systems and processes are described. Th e analysis of the shortcomings of the existing economic theory and the possibility of their elimination is carried out.

Model of Diagnosing and Searching for Incompatibilities in Aluminium Castings.

An essential element of any industry is castings, which is determined by the technical conditions for their reception. However, conducting production in the foundry technology is burdened with many difficulties associated with, for example, the inability to control all of the parameters that may affect the casting quality. Therefore, it is essential to undertake improvement actions in this area. Efforts are being made to use non-destructive testing (NDT) as a part of quality control, but these methods are rarely combined in a single diagnostic run. As a part of quality improvement, it is also essential to identify the root cause of the problem. For this reason, it is justified to develop a model of diagnosing and searching for non-conformities, which would combine NDT tests and quality management tools. The model included the visual, ultrasound, and eddy current examination in the diagnostic part, and the Pareto–Lorenz diagram correlated with ABC method, histogram, and 5WHY method (asking five questions why). The study’s originality is manifested in the combination of several NDT methods with quality management methods in one model. Using integrally configured methods in the proposed model, it was possible to: reduce diagnostic uncertainty, characterize the critical group of non-conformities, and identify the root causes of the quality problem. The model is a new and universal method that can be implied in any foundry company in order to ensure the stability of the production processes. The application of the model contributes to an increase in the detection speed and enables the reduction of non-conformities in aluminium castings, thus increasing the quality level of the offered products.

Application of a six sigma model to evaluate the analytical performance of urinary biochemical analytes and design a risk‐based statistical quality control strategy for these assays: A multicenter study

BackgroundThe six sigma model has been widely used in clinical laboratory quality management. In this study, we first applied the six sigma model to (a) evaluate the analytical performance of urinary biochemical analytes across five laboratories, (b) design risk‐based statistical quality control (SQC) strategies, and (c) formulate improvement measures for each of the analytes when needed.MethodsInternal quality control (IQC) and external quality assessment (EQA) data for urinary biochemical analytes were collected from five laboratories, and the sigma value of each analyte was calculated based on coefficients of variation, bias, and total allowable error (TEa). Normalized sigma method decision charts for these urinary biochemical analytes were then generated. Risk‐based SQC strategies and improvement measures were formulated for each laboratory according to the flowchart of Westgard sigma rules, including run sizes and the quality goal index (QGI).ResultsSigma values of urinary biochemical analytes were significantly different at different quality control levels. Although identical detection platforms with matching reagents were used, differences in these analytes were also observed between laboratories. Risk‐based SQC strategies for urinary biochemical analytes were formulated based on the flowchart of Westgard sigma rules, including run size and analytical performance. Appropriate improvement measures were implemented for urinary biochemical analytes with analytical performance lower than six sigma according to the QGI calculation.ConclusionsIn multilocation laboratory systems, a six sigma model is an excellent quality management tool and can quantitatively evaluate analytical performance and guide risk‐based SQC strategy development and improvement measure implementation.

Research on Water Quality Simulation and Water Environmental Capacity in Lushui River Based on WASP Model

In recent years, the severe deterioration of water quality and eutrophication in the Yangtze River has brought much trouble to people’s lives. Because of this, numerous management departments have paid more and more attention to the treatment of the water environment. In order to respond to water environmental protection policy and provide management departments with a basis for refining water quality, this paper takes the Zhuzhou section of Yangtze River-Lushui watershed as its research object. First, we used the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP) model as a tool, and obtained the pollution load using the FLUX method formula. During the calibration process, the sensitivity analysis method, the orthogonal design method, and the trial and error method were used. Then, we verified the results by using water quality monitoring data published by Zhuzhou Ecological Environment Bureau. Following that, the water environmental capacity of the Lushui River in normal, wet and dry periods was calculated using the WASP model: the chemical oxygen demand (COD) was 14,072.94 tons/yr, 17,147.7 tons/yr and 10,998.18 tons/yr, respectively; ammonia nitrogen (AN) was 469.098 tons/yr, 571.59 tons/yr and 366.606 tons/yr, respectively; and total phosphorus (TP) was 93.8196 tons/yr, 114.318 tons/yr and 73.3212 tons/yr, respectively. The results show that the WASP model is applicable and reliable and can be used as an effective tool for water quality prediction and management in this area.

Assessing the Microbiological Safety Parameters of Minas Artisanal Cheese Samples in Retail Environments in São Paulo, Brazil

Minas artisanal cheese is the best known and most consumed type of cheese in Brazil. Prepared with raw bovine milk and starter cultures, these cheeses face many opportunities for post-processing contamination during their transport to commercial establishments as well as in how they are stored, displayed, and maintained for cutting/slicing at retail establishments. It is a common practice for retailers to purchase entire cheeses from the producers, cut them into smaller pieces for retail sale, and store them at room temperature instead of properly refrigerating them. This study evaluated the microbiological safety parameters of samples of Minas artisanal cheeses collected at retail establishments in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, to more realistically assess consumer exposure to the most common pathogens. Samples were submitted for investigation of Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, and the counts of total coliforms, Escherichia coli, and coagulase-positive enterotoxigenic staphylococci using culture and real-time PCR methods. A worrisome number of samples failed to comply with the current Brazilian legislation for foods in retail environments and presented more than one non-compliance issue. Results highlighted that quality and safety management tools, such as good hygiene practices and HACCP, in retail environments deserve more attention to reduce the possible risks to consumer health.

COMPARISON OF SOFTWARE METRICS FOR QUALITY ESTIMATION OF THE SOFTWARE PRODUCTS

There is a well known principle, that you can manage only what you can measure – therefore adequate measurement and estimation of different elements in any engineering area is a very important development factor, and software engineering is not an exception. Software metrics represent numeric values of software characteristics and are used for analysis of different aspects of the product in order to predict possible problems. Software metrics can be applied to any stage of the software life cycle. For instance, on a stage of requirement analysis and the problem formulation, these metrics help to estimate the required amount of work and, respectively, the amount of financial and work resources. In addition, the metrics can be used directly in estimation of the program code complexity to assess it’s performance, effectiveness and the ability to modify it if needed. Software metrics are an important part of the whole software quality management process as they can be easily automated and applied in order to achieve some valuable technical characteristics. Moreover, they can be combined with another quality management tools and are a beneficial addition to any software product development model. In general, measuring the attributes of software during any phase of development gives a number of beneficial results to the developers as it helps to use the time, finances and effort effectively. This is achieved because of early problems identification, estimation and prevention and because of that the size, cost, quality and simplicity of the maintenance of the product is always under control. This article describes the results of research on different software metrics types and the actual representatives of these types. It assesses the usage area and the convenience of it’s usage on evaluating the quality of both a finished product and a product in the development stage.

Effect of Aromatherapy with Lavender on Labor Pain: A Literature Review

Background: Controlling labor pains is now an essential part of midwifery care, and aromatherapy is a well-known medicinal treatment for easing labor pains. The aim of this research was to evaluate and analyze the most recent clinical trial results on the effects of lavender aromatherapy on labor pain management. Methods: Several keywords were searched in the MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases, including lavender, Lavandula, childbirth, labor, pregnancy, labor pain, aromatherapy, and delivery. Two authors extracted the data, and the Cochran quality management tool was used to assess the consistency of each study. Results: In general, 7 studies were reviewed after checking the titles and abstracts of the studies and eliminating obsolete or low-quality studies. Two studies were conducted in Egypt and Indonesia, and five studies were conducted in Iran. There were a wide variety of qualities in the studies, which could render more quantitative synthesis impractical. Massage aromatherapy was employed in three trials, and inhalation was applied in four studies. All findings suggested that lavender aromatherapy in both methods could reduce active phase labor pain. Conclusion: Although the results of this study showed that lavender aromatherapy suppressed labor pain, more detailed randomized clinical trials with higher precision are needed to achieve an accurate outcome for data generalization regarding the use of labor pain management.

Evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of fmea analysis (assembly of aircraft tail as-semblies at PJSC VASO)

The problems of improving the quality of technological processes in domestic enterprises due to their high relevance are reflected in numerous publications of both theoretical and practical nature. However, the performance assessment procedures in the standards are schematically not properly spelled out. This makes it difficult in practice to choose evaluation mechanisms and methods. The priority mechanism of improvement of the enterprise's activity in the field of quality is measurement of efficiency and efficiency of the current quality management system. In our opinion, any activity aimed at improving quality should be economically justified at the stage of its planning. The article proposes a mechanism for assessing the cost-effectiveness of using one of the tools of quality management – analysis of the types, consequences and causes of potential consequences of the industrial production process. The purpose of this analysis is to ensure that all process quality requirements with increased risk are met by developing corrective measures to eliminate the occurrence of probable failures. The article provides an example of such a process-specific analysis. The presented mechanism for assessing the economic efficiency of QMS is based on the real financial performance of the enterprise and can be used at domestic industrial enterprises to measure the costs and results of investments in product (work, services) quality management.

GESTÃO DE QUALIDADE - INTRODUÇÃO DA FERRAMENTA PDCA NAS ACADEMIAS DE GINÁSTICA

This article aims to work with a quality management tool called P (plan / plan), D (do / execute), C (check / verify) and A (act / act) - PDCA, which aims to maintain a standard of excellence within the academies, always in constant evolution, improving all services and necessary aspects until reaching its goal, which is customer satisfaction with the services offered, carrying out preventive and corrective actions and the commitment of employees to their good result requiring compliance with a sequence of steps that must be developed and constantly reassessed. Thus, it is a tool for continuous improvement, in which the desired end result needs to be aligned with employees, and it can be said that, nowadays, quality is much more associated with the perception of service excellence.

ANÁLISIS DE LA MEJORA DE LA CALIDAD DE LOS PROCESOS DEL HOTEL IBEROSTAR BELLA COSTA

At present, the institutions dedicated to tourism and especially hotels are oriented to develop strategies to boost business competitiveness, offer alternatives for actions that allow clients to function efficiently in new scenarios. The objective of the research was to analyze the improvement of the processes of the Hotel Iberostar Bella Costa, based on quality management tools. The techniques and tools used are: bibliographic review, bibliometric study, brainstorming, Pareto diagram, cause-effect, evaluation of cost items by extension of the accounting system or estimation, as the case may be. As a result, it is obtained that the macro indicator most affected is efficiency and it is determined that the causes that cause its deficient management are: costs for lost customers, losses and replacements, quality management, repairs and replacement of accessories, to which the improvement team proposes corrective measures.

A literature review on total quality management (models, frameworks, and tools and techniques) in higher education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of total quality management (TQM) models, frameworks, and tools and techniques in higher education (HE) over the last thirty years from 1991 till 2020, based on a literature reviewDesign/methodology/approach30 articles from 52 journals were used to perform this detailed literature review. For the detailed analysis, the focus was only on articles related to TQM in higher education and specifically related to models, frameworks and tools and techniques. The study has investigated the growth of research articles, research streams, research methodologies, models and frameworks in the higher education sector and tools and techniques related to those.FindingsThis review addresses the progress and gaps in the application of TQM in HE, including the shift in global research in this area from the USA and Europe to Asia in recent years. The articles have been classified into four research methodologies and two research streams which have been reviewed in detail. The findings include reasons for multiple models/frameworks in HE proposed by researchers over the years and the importance of tools and techniques used in TQM implementation.Originality/valueThis study, which tries to bring a perspective to the main trends in TQM application to higher education wrt models, frameworks, tools and techniques over the last thirty years, is expected to add to the body of knowledge in this area and help future researchers to focus on the relevant areas identified in this paper.

Long‐Term Nitrate Trajectories Vary by Season in Western European Catchments

AbstractHuman alteration of nutrient cycles has caused persistent and widespread degradation of water quality around the globe. In many regions, including Western Europe, elevated nitrate (NO3−) concentration in surface waters contributes to eutrophication and noncompliance with environmental legislation. Discharge, NO3− concentrations and the vulnerability of the aquatic ecosystems to eutrophication often exhibit a distinct seasonality. Understanding spatial patterns and long‐term trends in this seasonality is crucial to improve water quality management. Here, we hypothesized that NO3− concentrations during high‐flow periods would respond faster to changes in nutrient inputs than low‐flow concentrations because of greater connectivity of shallow diffuse NO3− sources with the river network. To test this hypothesis, we compiled long‐term NO3− and discharge time series from 290 Western European catchments. To characterize the long‐term trajectories of seasonal NO3− concentration, we propose a novel hysteresis approach comparing low‐ and high‐flow NO3− concentration in the context of multi‐decadal N input changes. We found synchronous winter maxima of NO3− and discharge in 84% of the study catchments. However, contrary to our hypothesis, there were surprisingly diverse long‐term trajectories of seasonal NO3− concentration. Both clockwise (faster high‐flow NO3− response) and counterclockwise hysteresis (faster low‐flow NO3− response) occurred in similar proportions, potentially due to a high complexity in the underlying processes. Spatial variability of seasonality in NO3− concentration across the catchments was more pronounced and better predictable than its long‐term variability. This work demonstrates the value of seasonal and inter‐annual hydrochemical analysis and provides new tools for water quality monitoring and management.

Application of statistical methods for quality control of agro-industrial production processes

The article deals with the mechanism of quality control of agro-industrial production processes, namely, quality control of poultry farm processes. It also details the management of nonconforming products using simple quality control and management tools – a checklist and a Pareto chart. It was suggested that a checklist should be used to record nonconformities and their number for each nonconformity. Using this checklist form will allow you to analyze the production process, identify the causes of nonconformities, and quickly intervene in the process to prevent nonconformities from occurring. To analyze the inconsistencies and the causes of their occurrence, it was suggested to use the Pareto diagram, the use of which allows you to pay attention to the most significant problems.

PDCA Cycle – Tool for Improvement of the Business Processes – Case Study

The goal of this paper is to find suitable solutions for process optimization using PDCA methodology and quality management tools. It was realized in the company that is oriented on the assembly of key sets, locks and handles. It analyzes chosen assembly processes, their critical points and identifies root causes of problems that might occur during assembly. For this purpose, different quality methods and tools are used. In this paper there are also defined the corrective actions to avoid recurrence of identified problems, implementation of these actions in production process and its standardization.

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR STRATEGIC QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN BUSINESS LOGISTICS

Quality management in business logistics is a contemporary approach to the operation of logistics companies, ie all service, trade and manufacturing business entities. Especially now, when the transformation processes of the companies in the market are open, in a time of global changes and transformation of the existing business models, there is more talk about quality management in business logistics, especially about strategic quality management in business logistics that refers to achievement to all strategic and sustainable standards.
 The business aspects of logistics have contributed to the development of a contemporary scientific discipline, ie business logistics and supply chain management. Thus, business logistics as a contemporary scientific discipline is experiencing its peak right now. Namely, new concepts for management are being developed, ie trends in business logistics and supply chains are being designed and implemented, the logistics activity is increasingly supported by related technologies, etc. These innovations in science have led to a whole new framework of science and practice in this field, ie a new approach, which is to deliver pure value. This is not a simple goal at all and that is why business logistics as an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary contemporary scientific discipline relies on related sciences, ie economic, organizational, and even technological sciences. Thus, quality management in business logistics requires perfect knowledge of the field of quality management, ie logistics and quality management as a related area are integrated and create quality management in business logistics.
 The aim of this paper is to systematize the modern theoretical knowledge in order to create a sufficiently stable methodological framework that will be appropriate for dealing with modern problems of logistics companies. This goal inspires the author to apply an appropriate scientific research methodology characteristic of the social sciences. The subject of this paper is the applicable methods, techniques and tools for strategic quality management in business logistics. Namely, the paper consists of introductory notes where the author introduces the reader to the issue, while the content of the paper consists of two main theses. The first thesis refers to the conceptual definition of quality in business logistics and tactics for introducing quality in three areas of quality related to business logistics: marketing, functional and social area. The second thesis refers to building an appropriate methodological framework for strategic quality management in business logistics. In the final part of this paper, the author gives the general conclusion and presents the objective recommendations produced by this paper. In this paper, relevant and contemporary domestic and foreign literature is applied, which is necessary to provide scientific support to the topicality of the issue.