Total Quality Management Tools Research Articles

In-Depth Analysis and Defect Reduction for Ethiopian Cotton Spinning Industry Based on TQM Approach

Competition is truly global. Higher product quality is required for a company to become more competitive both locally and in international markets. Any textile company basically competes on its reputation for quality, reliability, and capability of processes and costs of quality and delivery. Currently, most of textile industries in Ethiopia are suffering from quality-related problems due to high process variations. These problems include poor performance of manufacturing products in the export market, insufficient qualitative raw material supply, customer dissatisfaction, low productivity, and poor utilization of the resources. These problems led to the manufacturing of low-quality products with a high cost, and because of this, most of the Ethiopian textile companies in the country are not competitive and profitable. The main objective of this study is to examine the existing traditional models of quality and to introduce an improved and emerged quality measuring system based on a methodological approach by using six sigma total quality management tools and analyzed by STATA 14.0 software. The analytical findings show that the application of total quality management (TQM) programs, tools, and techniques has been expanded beyond the traditional quality concepts and has improved the acceptable quality level of the product by 57.96% with a low cost.

Quality services in public library using tqm tools: A study of State Central Library of West Bengal, Kolkata

Public libraries, among various types of libraries, are most complex organizations because of their diverse categories of users and collections. State central library being the apex public library of the state has the responsibilities to collect, organize and provide quality library services to people as per their needs. It acquires and preserves the knowledge of the society for the future. The study attempts to evaluate the quality library services of the West Bengal State Central Library (WBSCL) by applying Total Quality Management (TQM) tools and techniques to enable the library to provide better library services to its users.

Evolution and future of total quality management: management control and organisational learning

The competitive position achieved by the Japanese and Western industries during the 1970s to mid-1990s, and 1980s to mid-1990s, respectively, derived from understanding, implementing, and developing Total Quality Management (TQM) as a comprehensive management philosophy. Several research and/or company studies provided evidence of this development and its impact on leading companies’ efficiency and effectiveness. Despite that, research on TQM seemed on the surface, after a boom from about 1990–1995, to have declined. However, one recent detailed study from 2013 concluded that TQM is now at a more mature stage where focuses have shifted from being initially on TQM to the methods, tools, techniques and core values which are needed to implement TQM and to build a quality and BE (Business Excellence) culture. This study is an extension of the 2013 study, where we extend the previous study on TQM publications to 2017, and further analyse more detailed not only which methods, tools and techniques are used, but also at what organisational level they are used – strategical, tactical or the operational level. We collect data on research about TQM and its methods, tools and techniques, and we analyse further the shift of focus from TQM as a comprehensive management theory/ philosophy to a focus on the TQM methods, tools and techniques to be used at various management levels of a company. We use two of management’s basic functions – management control (MC) and organisational learning (OL) – to unveil the challenges faced by TQM and to help converting these challenges into new research opportunities to be jointly addressed by companies and research communities such as the Quality Management and Organisational Development (QMOD) Research Community. In light of the findings in this research, it became clear that MC and OL are two sides of the same coin. MC can never be effectively implemented without OL, and OL needs to be supported by a comprehensive MC system.

A Research on Failure Mode and Effect Inquiry on Tea Leaves Processing - Leaf Shredder Machine

India is a large exporter of tea leaves and has industries involving in Tea Leaves processing. There are generally three stages in the processing of tea leaves and many machines are involved that cater to various process to convert the raw tea leaves to usable products. In the first stage there is a machine titled Leaf Shredder that is critical in the process as the entire process is a product based and a breakdown of this machine in particular affects the entire process from that point. This study focuses on the failure modes of the Leaf Shredder machine and its effect. The Total Quality Management (TQM) tool - Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is used in this study. The critical functional components of the Leaf Shredder are five in number. Through the study, data has been collected and the Risk Priority Number has been calculated. Based on the Risk Priority Number value it is seen that the Cutting Knife, Main Shaft and the Bearing are the components that are having a tendency to fail. The Reason of failure was analyzed. From the analysis it is seen that the main cause of failure is due to improper maintenance of the components and unbalancing of the cutting knife weight. A well thought of plan of action to maintain the Tea Leaf Shredder will bring down the failure rate and improve the reliability of the product layout

Global education: using lean tools to explore new opportunities

PurposeAs markets, economies and institutions are increasingly globalized, there is a growing understanding of the need to introduce intercultural learning alongside business learning. Participating in a study abroad program is potentially one of the most important experiences for any college student. Such programs provide students the opportunity to immerse themselves in different cultures and gain new perspectives. The purpose of this paper is threefold: to identify the main factors that students consider when selecting a program; to integrate quality function deployment (QFD), benchmarking and Hoshin Kanri in the analysis of student expectations and to examine the implications for research and practice.Design/methodology/approachThe study was based on primary data collected from 180 students at four universities. To design an approach that helps students in the selection of a program that best satisfies their expectations, a self-designed questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were analyzed using the techniques of QFD/benchmarking. Finally, a long-term strategy is proposed based on the Hoshin Kanri theory.FindingsThe great variability in student expectations presents a challenge in designing a methodology of selection; however, it does help in identifying the most important student expectations. A key, balanced relationship among academic quality, having fun and cost cannot be ignored in this study because they represent the factors that are altogether influential in the decision to study abroad. In the current literature, the key variables of study abroad programs are discussed; however, most studies fail to incorporate student expectations. This paper will fill this gap by incorporating both key academic variables and the voice of the customer (student).Research limitations/implicationsGiven the diversity of the population, the authors developed several methodologies to standardize the array of student responses to the questionnaire. Using this standardization along with several total quality management (TQM) tools allows us to simplify and categorize the different student expectations. The gathering of students’ expectations directly provided by students (voice of the customer) allows international programs to focus on the real problems and expectations that have been acknowledged, thus yielding student satisfaction with their experience, most importantly, in their field of study.Practical implicationsFor universities, the current study identifies new means by which to improve the quality of international programs with the use of TQM tools including QFD, benchmarking and the Hoshin Kanri Planning Process with an evidence-based real case.Originality/valueThis paper presents a conclusive application of QFD, benchmarking and Hoshin Kanri and an analysis of how these tools can help international programs with future improvements incorporating the needs of students in their programs. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first application of these techniques to improve the international experience for business undergraduate students.

School Teachers’ and Administrators’ Opinions about Disability Services, Quality of Schools, Total Quality Management and Quality Tools

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study is to determine primary school administrators’ and teachers’ opinions about the quality of their schools; the school administrators and teachers’ knowledge about Total Quality Management and quality tools and the quality tools used in primary schools. The research has been carried out with a qualitative approach and it is in the case study pattern. The participants consisted of 16 teachers and 4 school administrators working in primary schools in North Cyprus. The participants were chosen via maximum sampling method. The findings show that the current situation in schools contradicts with the basic principles of Total Quality Management. It was determined that school administrators were ignorant about Total Quality Management and none of the teachers and school administrators had previously heard the concept of quality tools. Teachers and school administrators mentioned disabled students as an issue. It seems like teachers have problems in behaving in the right way towards these students. They do not know how to improve these students’ talents because they are not educated on the subject. Via tools of quality teachers and school administrators may find reasons and solutions for issues like people with disabilities and plan events to promote disability awareness.

Choosing a Collegiate-training Aircraft with Confidence

Qualitative preference is frequently used to make significant, programmatic choices between competing suppliers and products. Translating qualitative choice into defensible quantitative representation is possible with patience, method and, care. One example of this translation is the application of a popular Total Quality Management (TQM) tool, known as Quality Function Deployment (QFD), in the choice of a new/replacement, collegiate-training aircraft. Using QFD is especially important when a fleet replacement is being considered as the cost of a new, current aircraft can easily approach $500,000; thus a significant fiscal commitment is incurred in replacing a multi-aircraft fleet. A choice of this magnitude deserves multiple stakeholder inputs and requires respect from differing viewpoints. The successful outcome of any decision process ultimately hinges upon confidently exercising the best choice. The decision tool needs to be transparent, easy-to-understand and easy-to-apply. The corresponding choice of a preference scale can either mask or illuminate driving criteria in the decision process. This paper explores the application of QFD to the decision process across competing training aircraft choices and offers justification of the QFD non-linear “0, 1, 3, 9” preference scale. Application research into the mechanics of human preference showed that if 95% reliability in choice between alternatives is desired, then the perceived difference between the choices needs to be a factor of 3.0, as is the case in the employed QFD scale. Selection criteria used in the training aircraft decision, their dissimilar weighting, and the evaluation of competing aircraft in a recent collegiate-training aircraft selection are displayed as exemplars.

Improving customer satisfaction of a healthcare facility: reading the customers’ needs

Purpose Customer satisfaction refers to the extent to which customers are happy and satisfied with the products and services provided by a business. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to integrate lean tools in the analysis of customer satisfaction and, second, to examine its implications for research and practice. Design/methodology/approach The author proposes the combination of three lean tools in order to design a service quality system that has customer expectations (CEs) as the first input. These tools are quality function deployment (QFD), Hoshin Kanri planning process (HKPP) and benchmarking. The author uses a case study to show the functionality of these tools and the final design of a service quality system for a medical center. Findings Interaction between the service provider and the customer is the primary core activity for service-oriented businesses of different natures. A key relationship between trust in service quality and customer satisfaction cannot be ignored in interpersonal-based service encounters. However, there is a gap in the literature in terms of standardized lean-based procedures or methodologies that lead to improved customer satisfaction that are based directly on CEs. Research limitations/implications Given the variety of the population, the authors developed several methodologies to standardize the customer responses. Using several total quality management tools, the standardization allows the authors to separate the different CEs. The gathering of customers’ expectations (voice of the customers) allows the companies to focus on the real problems expressed by the users of the service, increasing their loyalty and, most importantly in the field under study, the customer’s satisfaction with the service received. Practical implications For practitioners, this study helps with the use of lean tools such as QFD, benchmarking and HKPP and attempts to bridge such a gap with an evidence-based real case. Social implications With the incorporation of all the customer needs, additional elements must be considered in the design of new services. Availability for all and sustainability play an important part of the CEs. Originality/value This paper presents a real application of QFD and Hoshin Kanri and how they may help the service organizations with future development.

The impact of the innovative Total Quality Management tool in small and medium-sized enterprises

he present paper falling into the field of innovative management tools explores using the Total Quality Management (TQM) tool in the SME sector in Slovakia, attempting to identify barriers to the use of this tool in the given segment. TQM can be ranked among the innovative management tools that are under investigation and in our contribution, we want to bring a new overview of the use of this tool. Our research was based on foreign research in which the TQM management tool is at the forefront of use. On the other hand, we know from the research conducted so far on management tools in our business environment that the use of innovative tools is relatively low. The present research is based on the formulated hypotheses verified using statistical methods, namely the chi-square test of independence. In this research, we worked with hypotheses arguing that there are statistically significant relationships between the lack of personnel and financial resources on the one hand and the use of the innovative TQM management tool on the other hand. These relationships were statistically proved because in both examined hypotheses the expected value of p was lower than 0.05. We can, therefore, conclude that the lack of financial resources and the lack of skilled labour are among the important barriers to the use of TQM. In the determination of the third hypothesis, we assumed that managers could not agree on the establishment of TQM. This fact can, therefore, contribute to its relatively low use in our business environment. We also consider the incongruity of managers´ ideas as a barrier that may have an impact on the use of TQM, and these dependencies were examined by the Chi-square independence test. In verifying this hypothesis, the p-value was calculated to be p˃0.05 proving that this factor has no effect on the use of TQM and there is no dependency between these variables. In the present paper, we also focus on juxtaposing the present investigation with the research conducted to date in the field of innovative management tools. The present research is aimed at identifying barriers to the use of this management tool in an SME environment and at presenting TQM as a modern innovative instrument to be used by companies to manage and measure their performance. By using TQM, the company can align the financial and non-financial factors together and thus increase its competitiveness and meet the expectations of investors and other stakeholders. Keywords: Total Quality Management, innovative management tools, small and medium enterprises, performance.

ESTIMATION OF QUALITY OF DRIFTING MODELS OF BASIC STRUCTURES OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

In the era of the transition processes associated with the change of technological structures, the growth of the intensity of information support for new products, and the growing threats of unauthorized copying of the results of intellectual activity, the problem of assessing the technical and consumer novelty of experimental products remains relevant. Solving the problems of assessing the significant changes (drift) of requirements to the consumer parameters of new products or the introduction of new functional capabilities into the technological processes of innovative enterprises creates a core competitive advantage - technical and consumer novelty. In order to complement existing methods and approaches to the problem posed, in this article we present models of functionally necessary and functionally sufficient structures that differ on the basis of the basic structures represented by the point of a multidimensional space of functionally significant parameters that take into account existing limitations imposed by the level of development of scientific and technological progress and the evolution of the social environment, allow to exert control effects on the drift functionally significant parameters at any stage of the life cycle of innovation, subject to the use of specialized Total Quality Management tools.

The Implementation of Total Quality Management in Greek Higher Education: The Case of Electronic Administrative Services

The basic aim of this paper is to investigate the contribution of Total Quality Management (TQM) approach to improve the quality of electronic administrative services of the Department of Primary Education of the University of the Aegean. This research conducted during the second semester of the academic year 2016-17 and aims to implement specific TQM tools. A questionnaire responded by 128 undergraduate students were used to select the processes in which the TQM tools were implemented and an interview was conducted with two persons from the staff of the academic administration. The results of the survey show that the causes of failures were the human factor (students, academic staff and administrative staff) and weaknesses in the electronic services. Corrective actions are also proposed to correct to some extent the identified failures. Finally, the triptych-man, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and TQM contribute to the quality of electronic administrative services.

Common Assessment Framework – Improving Organizational Performance of Municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Common Assessment Framework (CAF), a European Total Quality Management (TQM) methodology, has been applied by municipalities across Bosnia and Herzegovina for a number of years. Municipalities have used CAF as a self-assessment tool to identify and meet their own development needs and improve organizational performance. Along with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Business Friendly Certificate (BFC) standards, CAF has been promoted by domestic non-governmental and international organizations as a TQM tool for public sector. This article provides an insight into experience of municipalities in BiH with implementation of CAF by focusing on their thematic priorities, organizational efficiency, output, outcome and citizens’ satisfaction.

Implementation of Total Quality Management Tools based on Effective System

Implementation of Total Quality Management Tools based on Effective System

Principal Management Concepts in Greek Public Sector: Part I – The Common Assessment Framework

AbstractIn the modern era of internationalization, interconnection and rapid technological changes the obligation of the public sector to provide the best possible services to citizens have become challenging tasks. The incorporation of Total Quality Management principles and tools in public services can prove to be decisive given that they contribute to the improvement of the services provided, offer better customer service, help in understanding how the agency is organised and operates, as well as contribute in changing the attitude of employees towards the adoption of a quality culture. Since the mid-00’s, several programmes have been implemented in Greece in order to improve the quality of public services which was, up to that point, dictated only by the need to consolidate relative EU financial resources. This paper is the first part of a study about the application of principal management concepts in Greek public sector since year 2004 when Law 3230/2004 was introduced. In particular it tries to record and assess the experience of the implementation of the “Common Assessment Framework” in Greek public services. Towards this end, the views and opinions of experts from the public sector are analysed with the use of interviews and questionnaires.

Reduction of cost in castings by the method of radiographic test

Foundry in developing nations endures from low quality and low output due to the incidence of defects that may occupy single or multiple causes. Hence casting is a process of uncertainty. It is not an easy task, since casting is a complex process and has connections among various process and operations. Casting defects can negatively impact the bottom line of a foundry. Here an attempt is made cost cutback of castings in radiographic test. There are many defects which can be identified through radiographic test and these defects are reduced or remedied by means of welding. This study focuses about the cost reduction of castings by means of “Total quality management tools”.

A Review of Literature and Identification of Total Quality Management Tools for Integrating Product Development and Design; and Ergonomics Principles for Customer Satisfaction

A Review of Literature and Identification of Total Quality Management Tools for Integrating Product Development and Design; and Ergonomics Principles for Customer Satisfaction

Total Quality Management: A Key for Sustaining Development of Libraries

Library in the 21st century has started to focus towards customer satisfaction which can be done only by providing quality products and services to its customer. Every organization in present scenario can survive only by continuous development of their product and services. Library by nature is committed to provide quality service to its customer and this can be done by applying tools of total quality management. The application of total quality management can change the thought process of every library and ensure right things are done in right way and at the right time. Here in this paper we are going to discuss various components of total quality management and how it can benefit library and its users in the long term.

Critical Success Factors and Tools for Working the Total Quality Management Revolutions in Management Practice: A Review

Objective: The objective of this review is to spotlight, based on contextual fit, the essence of the Total Quality Management (TQM) concept, advance the context-specific tools for its adoption, and suggest Critical Success Factors (CSFs) researchers and management practitioners should consider when considering any TQM initiative. Method/Analysis: The traditional narrative review design was used. Based on the authors’ extensive readings, a number of TQM tools and CSFs reflective of Lee’s conception of the paradigmatic shifts in management practice were identified from the extant literature. A synthesis of a selected set of TQM tools and CSFs form the paper’s argument. Findings: The results show that when conceptualised to reflect the appropriate management context (mechanical, biological, or social), TQM can impact organisational outcomes based on intervention in six areas. Five management tools and a set of three foundational CSFs form the operational grid for a typical TQM programme. Novelty: Against the backcloth of the five revolutions in management, this paper presents a set of five management tools that could be used across industry groups in implementing TQM programmes based on the pedestal of three foundational CSFs.

Design and Development of Mobile Phone Using Quality Function Deployment

The paper presents design and development of mobile phone using Quality Function Deployment. Quality Function Deployment is one of the total quality management tools used to convert customers’ needs into design specifications. A market survey is conducted to find out the voice of customer. The Voice of the Customer is converted into customers’ needs. Relative importance is assigned to customers’ needs. A list of technical requirements that could fulfill the customers’ needs is produced. A relationship matrix is developed between the customers’ needs and the technical requirements. The relationship matrix is converted into the House of Quality. Output from the House of Quality is used in concept generation of mobile phone. Concept generation is followed by concept selection. Final improved model of the mobile phone is presented.

The Relationship between TQM Practices with TQM Tools and Techniques in Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs)

Total Quality Management (TQM) is an approach which enforcing continuous improvement in all aspects in an organization for long term achievement. However, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have limited resources for implementing TQM tools and techniques in their organisation. Hence, the purpose of this research is to identify the extent level of TQM practices and TQM tools and techniques and to examine their relationship. Research hypotheses were examined while considering six dimension of TQM practices which considered important in TQM tools and techniques implementation. Random sampling and survey have been used by distributing questionnaire to 200 respondents for final study. The study result shows that the extent level in TQM tools and techniques is in high and moderate level. Furthermore, there is a significant relationship between TQM practices and TQM tools and techniques in SMEs. The study is important for SMEs to gain insight on the effect of TQM practices towards TQM tools and techniques in organizational performance and identify the most important tools and techniques for their companies in future implementation.