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ASSIGNMENT

Quality Circle-A way to Quality Improvement

BY,

Shamiya shaikh (48)

MMS 4th sem

PROF,

BHOLE SIR


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TABLEOFCONTENT

No TOPIC PAGE NO

1. Introduction 02

2. Background 03

3. Meaning & objectives 04

4. Organization structure 05

5. Pitfall & problem 06

6. Name of tools 07

7. Benefit of QC 08

8. Process of operation 09

9. Various technique in problem solving 11

10. Applicability of QC in govt organisation 15

11. conclusion 16


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Quality circle

INTODUCTION

Quality Circle is one of the employee participation methods. It implies

the development of skills, capabilities, confidence and creativity of the people through

cumulative process of education, training, work experience and participation. It also implies the

creation of facilitative conditions and environment of work, which creates and sustains their

motivation and commitment towards work excellence. Quality Circles have emerged as a

mechanism to develop and utilize the tremendous potential of people for improvement in product

quality and productivity.

A quality circle is a participatory management technique that enlists the

help of employees in solving problems related to their own jobs. In their volume Japanese

Quality Circles and Productivity, Joel E. Ross and William C. Ross define a quality circle as "a

small group of employees doing similar or related work who meet regularly to identify, analyze,

and solve product-quality and production problems and to improve general operations.

Other potential benefits that may be realized by a small business include greater operational

efficiency, reduced absenteeism, improved employee health and safety, and an overall better

working climate.

The circle is a relatively autonomous unit (ideally about ten workers),

usually led by a supervisor or a senior worker and organized as a work unit." Employees who

participate in quality circles usually receive training in formal problem-solving methodssuch

as brainstorming, pareto analysis, and cause-and-effect diagramsand then are encouraged to

apply these methods to either specific or general company problems. After completing an

analysis, they often present their findings to management and then handle implementation of

approved solutions. "the best means today for meeting the goal of designing quality into a

product."


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BACKGROUND

The concept of Quality Circle is primarily based upon recognition of the

value of the worker as a human being, as someone who willingly activises on his job, his

wisdom, intelligence, experience, attitude and feelings. It is based upon the human resourcemanagement considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality &

productivity. Quality Circle concept has three major attributes:

(a)Quality Circle is a form of participation management.(b)Quality Circle is a human resource development technique.(c)Quality Circle is a problem solving technique.

Quality circles were originally associated with Japanese management

and manufacturing techniques. The introduction of quality circles in Japan in the postwar years

was inspired by the lectures of W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993), a statistician for the U.S.

government. Deming based his proposals on the experience of U.S. firms operating under

wartime industrial standards. Noting that American management had typically given line

managers and engineers about 85 percent of the responsibility for quality control and line

workers only about 15 percent, Deming argued that these shares should be reversed. He

suggested redesigning production processes to more fully account for quality control, and

continuously educating all employees in a firmfrom the top downin quality control

techniques and statistical control technologies. Quality circles were the means by which this

continuous education was to take place for production workers.

The principles of Deming's quality circles simply moved quality control

to an earlier position in the production process. Rather than relying upon post-production

inspections to catch errors and defects, quality circles attempted to prevent defects from

occurring in the first place. As an added bonus, machine downtime and scrap materials that

formerly occurred due to product defects were minimized. Deming's idea that improving quality

could increase productivity led to the development in Japan of the Total Quality Control (TQC)

concept, in which quality and productivity are viewed as two sides of a coin. TQC also required

that a manufacturer's suppliers make use of quality circles.


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MEANING

Quality Circles are (informal) groups of employees who voluntarily meet

together on a regular basis to identify, define, analyze and solve work related problems.

Usually the members of a particular team (quality circle) should be from the

same work area or who do similar work so that the problems they select will be familiar to all of

them. In addition, interdepartmental or cross functional quality circles may also be formed.

It's a small group comprising of 6 to 12 employees doing similar work They meet together voluntarily on a regular basis for identifying improvements in their

respective work areas.

Their aim to achieve and so also to sustain excellence towards mutual upliftment ofemployees as well as the organization.

An ideal size of quality circle is seven to eight members. But the number of

members in a quality circle can vary. Other Names of Quality Circles:

Small Groups Action Circles Excellence Circles Human Resources Circles Productivity Circles

OBJECTIVES OF QUALITY CIRCLE:

Promote job involvement Create problem solving capability Improve communication Promote leadership qualities Promote personal development Develop a greater awareness for cleanliness Develop greater awareness for safety


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Improve morale through closer identity of employee objectives with organization'sobjectives

Reduce errors. Enhance quality Inspire more effective team work Build an attitude of problem prevention Promote cost reduction Develop harmonious manager, supervisor and worker relationship Improve productivity Reduce downtime of machines and equipment Increase employee motivation Quality Circle Meetings Meetings are important part of quality circle's working. Meetings are attended by all the members of the quality circle. In general, meetings take place once a week or once in a fortnight. Each meeting lasts for approximately one hour, though variations are possible. Apart from the frequency of the meetings, what is important is the regularity of the

meetings.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

A Quality Circle has an appropriate organisational structure for its

effective and efficient performance. It varies from industry to industry, organisation to

organisation. But it is useful to have a basic framework as a model. The structure of a Quality

Circle consists of the following elements.

A steering committee: This is at the top of the structure. It is headed by a senior executive and

includes representatives from the top management personnel and human resources development

people. It establishes policy, plans and directs the program and meets usually once in a month.

Co-ordinator: He may be a Personnel or Administrative officer who co-ordinates and supervises

the work of the facilitators and administers the programme.


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Facilitator: He may be a senior supervisory officer. He co-ordiates the works of several quality

circles through the Circle leaders.

Circle leader: Leaders may be from lowest level workers or Supervisors. A Circle leader

organises and conducts Circle activities.

Circle members : They may be staff workers. Without circle members the porgramme cannot

exist. They are the lifeblood of quality circles. They should attend all meetings as far as possible,

offer suggestions and ideas, participate actively in group process, take training seriously with a

receptive attitude.The roles of Steering Committee, Co-0rdinator, Facilitator, Circle leader and

Circle members are well defined.

What Quality Circles are Not? (Misconcepts)

Quality Circles do not tackle just quality problems. Quality Circle is not a substitute or replacement for task forces, product committees, joint

plant councils or works committees, quality assurance department, suggestion schemes.

Quality Circles do not change the existing organizational structure or the chain ofcommand.

Quality Circles are not a forum for grievances or a spring board for demands. Quality Circles are not a means for the management to unload all their problems. Quality Circles are not just another technique. Quality Circles are not a panacea for all ills.

PITFALLS AND PROBLEMS:

Lack of faith in and support to Quality Circle activities among management personnel Lack of interest or incompetence of leaders/facilitator Apathy, fear and misunderstanding among middle level executives Delay or non-implementation of Circle recommendations Irregularity of Quality Circle activities Non-application of simple techniques for problem solving Lack of or non-participation by some members in the Circle activities Circles running out of problems


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Antagonism of non-members towards Quality Circle operations Inadequate visibility of management support Complexity of problems taken up Non-maintenance of Quality Circle records Too much facilitation or too little Language difficulty in communication Communication gap between Circles and departmental head Change of management Confusing Quality Circle for another technique Resistance from trade unions

PROBLEM SOLVING TOOL AND TECHNIQUES USED BY QUALITY

CIRCLE(QC):

Given below are the most commonly used tools and techniques. These are called the: Old QC

tools:

Brainstorming. Pareto analysis. Cause and effect diagram (or fish bone diagram or Ishikawa diagram). Histogram. Scatter diagram Stratification Check sheet Control charts and graphs


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New QC Tools

Quality circles started using additional seven tools as they started maturing. These are:

Relations diagram. Affinity diagram. Systematic diagram or Tree diagram. Matrix diagram. Matrix data analysis diagram. PDPC (Process Decision Program Chart). Arrow diagram.

BENEFITS OF QC: Self development. Promotes leadership qualities among participants. Recognition. Achievement satisfaction. Promotes group/team working. Serves as cementing force between management/non-management groups. Promotes continuous improvement in products and services. Brings about a change in environment of more productivity, better quality, reduced costs,

safety and corresponding reward


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PROCESS OF OPERATION:

The operation of quality circles involves a set of sequential steps as under:

1) Problem identification: Identify a number of problems.2) Problem selection : Decide the priority and select the problem to be taken up first.3) Problem Analysis : Problem is clarified and analysed by basic problem solving methods.4) Generate alternative solutions : Identify and evaluate causes and generate number of

possible alternative solutions.

5) Select the most appropriate solution : Discuss and evaluate the alternative solutions bycomparison in terms of investment and return from the investment. This enables to select

the most appropriate solution.

6) Prepare plan of action : Prepare plan of action for converting the solution into realitywhich includes the considerations "who, what, when, where, why and how" of solving

problems.

7) Present solution to management circle members present solution to management foreapproval.

8) Implementation of solution : The management evaluates the recommended solution. Thenit is tested and if successful, implemented on a full scale.


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PROCESSOFOPERATION


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VARIOUS TECHNIQUES IN PROBLEM SOLVING:

The effective techniques generally are:-

a) Brainstormingb) Cause and Effect Analysisc) Check sheetsd) Pareto Analysis

(a) Brainstorming

Brainstorming can be defined as the methodology used to encourage

every individual in the Circle to express freely their opinions or give ideas in an open discussion.

Brainstorming can be used to list down all the problem faced by an

organization, their causes and the potential effects if a certain suggestion is implemented.

To ensure the success of the brainstorming process, it is important for the

Circle to flow the following rules:

1) The subject for brainstorming should be clear and accurate. For example, members maybrainstorm to identify the causes and reasons why a certain task cannot be completed on

schedule.

2) Each member will give only opinion/idea at each turn regardless of the number of ideashe/she may have.

3) A tension-free atmosphere must be maintained to encourage free expression of ideas.4) Every idea expressed should be written on the black/white board, flip chart or noted

down by a secretary.

5) At the end of the brainstorming session, all the ideas expressed should be evaluated oneby one and short listed.

6) Voting is used to list the ideas according to priority. The prioritization is based onnumber of votes received for each idea.

(b) Cause and Effect AnalysisThe Cause and Effect Analysis is also known as the Fish-Bone Analysis. This

technique is used to analyze problems with the identification of causes of a problem through

brainstorming. This technique is easy to use as it summarizes, arranges and explains all the


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causes of a problem which has been identified in the form of a diagram. It also allows for the

identification of many possible causes of a problem.

There are five steps in the construction of a Cause and Effect Diagram.

Step 1: Identify a Problem

The first step is to identify the problem and to state the problem accurately.

For example the problem identified is `Reports Cannot be Printed Within The Time Period

Specified'. Start the Cause and Effect Diagram with an arrow pointing from left to right towards

the problem:-

-----------------------------------------------------------

EFFECT

CAUSE--------> Reports Cannot be Printed Within The

Time Period Specified

----------------------------------------------------------

Step 2: Determine the Main Causes

A problem is caused by various factors. These factors can be categories

according to the resources of production such as man, machine, material and method like:-

Material Man

\ \

\ \

-------------------------> Reports cannot be printed

/ / On Time

/ / Machine Method


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Step 3: Determine the Sub-Causes under the Main Causes

Through a process of brainstorming, the sub-causes of the problem are

identified and entered below the appropriate main causes. Where possible, the sub-causes are

further broken down into more detailed sub-sub-causes.

Material Man

\ \---------------Attitude

\ \ |

\ \ going on emergency leave too often

--------------------------------> Reports cannot be Printed on time

/ /

/ /

/ /

Machine Method

For instance, the sub-cause to the main "Man" is "attitude" and "Going on

emergency leave too often" is the sub-sub-cause. this is because a negative attitude results in an

officer going on emergency leave too often. When all the sub-causes and the sub-sub causes

have been identified, the Cause and Effect Diagram will appear as:-

Material Man

\ \

\----Shortage \---- Lack of manpower

\ of printing \---- No detailed checking

\ supplies \---------------Attitude


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c) Check Sheets:-

Check Sheets are an effective means of gathering data in a helpful and

meaningful way. Kaoru Ishikawa is often credited with "democratizing statistics." This relates

to his desire to spread quality control ideas throughout the workplace. His tools make it easier to

comprehend raw data, making quality improvements simpler.

Check Sheets are a perfect example of this. Although they can vary a good

deal depending on the type of data being collected, the purpose of the check sheet is always the

same.

"The Check Sheet is used to facilitate the collection and analysis of data.

'Garbage in, Garbage out' is an old clich, but it is true. Therefore, the purpose for which data isbeing collected must be clear. Data reflects facts, but only if they are properly collected. The

number of defects and where they are found can be recorded and analyzed for causes"

d) Pareto Analysis:-

Pareto analysis provides the mechanism to control and direct effort by

fact, not by emotion. It helps to clearly establish top priorities and to identify both profitable and

unprofitable targets. Pareto analysis is useful to:

Prioritize problems, goals, and objectives Identify root causes Select and define key quality improvement programs Select key customer relations and service programs Select key employee relations improvement programs Select and define key performance improvement programs Address the Vital Few and the Trivial Many causes of nonconformance Maximize research and product development time Verify operating procedures and manufacturing processes Product or services sales and distribution Allocate physical, financial and human resources


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APPLICABILITY OF QC IN GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS :

The Public Works Department of Government of Maharashtra is

responsible for the construction and maintenance of about 2.00 lakhs km. of road net work in the

state and a large number of Government-owned buildings spread all over the state. The road net

work caters for national level traffic to the rural area traffic. The climatic and geographical

features also vary from place to place in the state. The ultimate customer of the Department is the

common man and it is not generally easy to satisfy the ultimate needs of this user to the fullest

extent merely by taking decision at the top management level. The sub-ordinate officers and staff

working in the field and who are well-acquainted with the day-to day problems in their work

areas, are the best judges to decide upon the line of action.

The top management in Maharashtra P.W.D. realized this need of the

time and introduced the concept of Quality Circle as employee participation method in the

organisation. The concept of Quality Circle was launched in the Public Works Department of

Govt. of Maharashtra on 18-11-1997. In a span of about a year 17 Quality Circles have been

formed in Mumbai Region wherein 22 problems have been solved so far. 48 Quality Circles have

been formed in Pune Region wherein, 8 problems have been solved. Nashik Region of the

P.W.D. has formed 9 Quality Circles and solutions to 3 problems have been found out .

Aurangabad Region has formed 21 Quality Circles and solved 7 problems. Nagpur Regions haveformed 47 Quality Circles and have found out solution to 57 problems, so far.

The results of a short period of one year are found to be very

encouraging so far and many of these Circles have already come up with solutions to the various

work related problems as evidenced from the last two state level conventions held at Mumbai

and Aurangabad respectively. Taking inspirations from these conventions, more staff of the

Department have come forward to form Quality Circles , emphasising the fact that Quality

Circles have come to stay in the Department.

Some of the problems solved by the Quality Circles in P.W.D. of

Maharashtra are as follows:

Eliminating delay in issuing observation memos after inspection of site. Preventing accidents on highways.


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Reducing electricity bill in office. Avoiding duplication of work. Removal of encroachment from Govt. land. Speeding up pot-hole filling on roads during monsoon. Upkeeping of service records of employees. Maintaining Govt. offices clean. Stream-lining reservation system of Govt. rest houses. Improvement in maintenance of Govt. Hospital at Solapur.

By solving this problem, it became possible to improve the quality of work

in the field which ultimately brightened the image of the Department. The formation of Quality

Circle also benefited employees by providing.

A systematic style of education that helped them grow. Freedom to modify their work habits. Opportunity to use their brain for development of the Department; and Opportunity to work as a team. The employees were also motivated to improve work culture, self improvement

recognition and creativity in work.

CONCLUSION

Quality Circles are not limited to manufacturing firms only. They are

applicable for variety of organisations where there is scope for group based solution of work

related problems. Quality Circles are relevant for factories, firms, schools, hospitals, universities,

research institutes, banks, government offices etc. The P.W.D. of Maharashtra has set an

example for the Government organisations marching on the path of Quality Improvement.

Quality management is not a one time effort but a continual long termendeavor which has to be recognized, reinforced and rewarded by continuous monitoring the

ongoing data collection, evaluation, feedback and improvement programmes. The top

management should have to create an atmosphere where the management and the workers

cooperate with each other for smooth functioning of the organization.

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