Innovative Quality and Productivity Promotions:Selected Best Practices

8/14/2019 Innovative Quality and Productivity Promotions:Selected Best Practices

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Innovative Quality and Productivity Promotions:Selected Best Practices

Miflora M. Gatchalian, PhDCEO, Quality Partners Company, Ltd.

APQO Secretary General Emeritus, Philippine

Abstract

In a dynamic global society, the winners are those who can innovate and then promote ideas and best practices particularly in the quest for quality and productivity improvement. For instance, innovations towards strengtheningrelationships between suppliers and buyers provide a mutually beneficialarrangement that allows both parties to achieve a common goal. The solar system program or EBESE , developed by the ECOP Institute for Productivity

and Competitiveness provides an innovative means for both big enterprise (BE)buyers and small enterprise (SE) suppliers to assist each other in their commonquest for quality and productivity improvement. This methodology is promoted nationwide by the very nature of its innovative implementation mechanism.

To go deeper into how people can become active participants in innovative programs like the EBESE, simple approaches to making quality a way of life(QWL) was introduced as a starting point for promoting the quest for totalquality management (TQM). Success in making QWL a company-wide practice

provides the avenue for the manager-leaders to build the workplace partnerships-council (WP-C). The latter is both a process and structure for sustaining TQM. The

EBESE program, QWL and WP-C are selected innovative approaches being

promoted to ensure effective and measurable quality changes.

Keywords: quality as a way of life, total quality management,, workplace partnership,EBESE, solar system approach

Introduction

The competitive edge of any business today is its capability to develop and sustain successfulquality and productivity practices which should enhance profitability and competitiveness. Globallyshared information reveal that various approaches had been utilized to provide continuousimprovement in the companys search for excellence. For every country situation, however,approaches to be effective, need to be so designed to fit the countrys unique conditions. Formany developing countries, the urgency to achieve successes in quality and productivityimprovement encouraged innovations to be initiated and its approaches promoted nationwide.Thus, to speed-up the promotion of increased profitability and competitiveness, various meanshad been employed (Gatchalian, M.M. 2008). These were deemed necessary so that economicdevelopment can be facilitated to enable developing nations to catch up with the very rapidpace of economic growth in more advance neighboring countries.


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Three approaches were selected to represent some best practices which were seen to beeffective in the development, promotion and sustainability in the quest for total qualitymanagement (TQM) in the organization. These selected innovative best practices include: a)the EBESE solar system program; b) promotion of quality as a way of life for everyone in

the company; and c) workplace partnerships as the process and structure to sustain the TQMimplementation. Promotion of these practices are on-going in different ways and places wheremeasures are utilized to determine levels of successes through time.

Selected Best Practices

In the Republic of the Philippines, many concerned groups have introduced variousinnovative approaches which could facilitate the countrys growth and developmentparticularly that of the small and medium scale enterprises (SME). The EmployersConfederation of the Philippines (ECOP), an organization of big scale companies thencreated the Quality and Productivity Division (QPD) as one of its working arms. In theyear 2003, this Division was headed by ECOP Vice-President, Feliciano Torres, a multi-

awarded, philanthropic businessman whose major goal is to provide unselfish dedication todevelopment of SMEs. Among the many approaches he discussed with his personallyselected QPD members was the idea of expanding the concept of productivity across allindustries. This led to the formation of the ECOP Institute of Productivity andCompetitiveness (EIPC) with Mr. Raul Hernandez, a seasoned businessman and formerundersecretary of the governments Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as President.The officers and members of EIPC Board of Directors shown in Figure 1 include pastgovernment officials, current industry leaders, quality gurus and respected internationallyrecognized quality and productivity Consultants.

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Ecop institute for Productivity and competitiveness Ecop institute for Productivity and competitiveness Ecop institute for Productivity and competitiveness Ecop institute for Productivity and competitiveness (EIPC) Officers and Members (EIPC) Officers and Members (EIPC) Officers and Members (EIPC) Officers and Members

Front : Marie Villar, Feliciano Torres, Raul Hernandez, Miflora Gatchalian

Marilou Calzado, Ranulfo Payos, Serafin Pantaleon,Roberto Sison, Eduardo Rondain, Reylito Elbo

Figure 1. Officers and members of the EIPC Board of Directors (2003 to present)

The achievements of EIPC were facilitated by a hard-working Secretariat headed by Ms.Jean Maligaya (Project Director) with support staff composed of project specialists JoanIgnacio and GeePee Gonzales. With the Teams unrelenting desire to properly implementdirections emanating from the EIPC Board of Directors, most projects saw immediate andeffective implementation. This was , in fact, one of the most important secrets of success


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of the EIPCs innovations for quality and productivity promotion and practice in variousindustries.

The EBESE solar system approach.

Figure 2 shows a graphic presentation of the EBESE solar system approach. This innovativeprogram believes that quality and productivity improvement emanates from the Sun or theBig Enterprise (BE) . This cascades to the 1st tier suppliers, which are small enterprises (SE)servicing the BE, then cascades further to 2nd tier suppliers of the first tier SEs anddown to the 3 rd tier suppliers. This is a modified approach to a multiplier effect whereeach SE supplier in the higher numbered tier (i.e. 3 rd tier) is linked to their respective SEbuyers in the lower numbered tiers (i.e. 2 nd and 1 st tiers). Eventually, as quality andproductivity improvement are sustained through time, the 1 st tier SE may become newSuns (BE) themselves and can create another solar system of their own

Figure 2. The EBESE solar system approach showing the sun BE and SE tiers

The approach follows the philosophy that the BE, a buyer or customer of respective SEshas the moral obligation to persuade their SE supplier to immediately initiate activities thatwould lead to quality and productivity improvement. Assistance in this direction would beprovided by the BE through the EBESE program. Generally, acceptance by the SE tostart the improvement process is facilitated by the fact that the request comes from theirown buyer which have themselves demonstrated improvement successes. Besides, the BEsare known to already have technical capability, which the SEs still lack but which they maylater appreciate and then eventually adopt.

Expected benefits from program participation include: 1) the BE customer could, after theprogram, expect from their SE partner to eventually become more efficient and quality-


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oriented; 2) SE supplier could then, continue to provide the BE with excellent on time-deliveryand quality products at least cost; 3) SE partner becomes more competitive as their revenuescontinue to increase through time; and 4) SE supplier develops more effective productivity-oriented operations to become globally competitive and eventually serve as BE in another

solar system. These benefits start as a theoretical basis for cooperation and later, after 6 to8 months or towards the programs end,. most of the SEs find that these benefits are real.

The EBESE approach followed three major stages in the implementation of thisinnovative program. The stages included: Stage I Securing government support andprogram pilot-run; Stage II- First trial run in Metro Manila ; and Stage III Replication of Stage II in the Visayan region with required modifications. For Stages I and II, financialand moral support was obtained from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)and training and consultancy support from National Wages and Productivity Commission(NWPC) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). For Stage III, the trainingand consultancy support was obtained from the Center for Industrial Competitiveness(CIC)of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Hand-in-hand, private and governmententities worked together for a common cause--- quality and productivity improvement of the local enterprises. As part of this innovative approach, regular evaluation of results perstage were done, public presentations of successes were shared with as many delegates aspossible and press releases and other forms of information-sharing were utilized tofacilitate promotion of the on-going program.

Figure 3 presents the processes employed in every stage of the EBESE program. Withsupport from the NWPC, an experienced training and consultancy arm of the governmentsDOLE, the process took about 6 to 8 months to complete. Through all the implementationstages, the EIPCs Secretariat kept their sustained vigilance in providing the necessaryfollow-through and support to ensure program success. The EIPC Board also met regularlyto discuss progress and to resolve potential and actual barriers to success.

Figure 3. The EBESE program process for every stage of the EBESE


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Some results of the EBESE program implementation in the three stages are shown inFigures 4, 5 and 6.

Figure 4. Stages I and II showing respective number of BE and SE company participants

Figure 5. Public presentation of completed trainee companies (Stages II and III)

Figure 6. Stage III participants and sample productivity improvement output.


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Latest data show the following EBESE program achievements:

EBESE GENERATED/INVOLVED 30 Big Enterprise Partners

125 SME Beneficiaries and involved 4 Regions (Regions: 3, 4, NCR, 7) 3 Government Partners (DOST-TAPI, DTI-CIC, DOLE- NWPC) 4 Industry Partners ( CFIP, CCCI, MCCI, Philexport- Cebu) 12 Industries (automotive, semi-conductor, plastic,

printing and packaging, chemicals, metal fabrication,processed food, furniture and home furnishings, handicrafts,

Quality as a way of life.

In the quest for excellence, very often the important role that people play is forgotten. Yet

it is the human resource in the organization that determines its fate! It is, thus, imperativethat total quality management (TQM) must seriously start with building peoples capabilityto be active participants in the progress of the business process. It may be recalled that of the 5Ms of quality ( Manpower, Materials, Methods, Machines and Measurement) , it is thefirst M (Manpower and womanpower) that controls the rest of the company activities.

Quality is a state of mind and is a very important vehicle in the search for excellencein everything one does. State of mind is guided by values which are associated with beliefsor ideas about what is good, right or true and it determines ones attitude & behavior.How a person acts and performs in an organization is, therefore, dictated by his/her state of mind. Everyday of ones life either at home or at work is guided by his/her mind-setwhich in turn determines ones way of life. The latter is defined as a habit or the wayone does things in his/her daily life such that the activity is done automatically orperformed without much thought. Examples of habits are activities like regular brushing of teeth or taking a bath daily or eating meals three times a day.

In the company, when the desire to delight ones customers becomes a habit, a way of thinking or doing things, this could imply that quality has began to be ones way of lifeat work or at home. Collectively when everyone in the organization has made quality away of life, a quality culture will soon emerge, and a collective behavior can be observedby people in and outside the company. Quality characteristics like cleanliness, promptness,keeping promises, concern for others satisfaction, respect for others and other visiblemanifestations of good behavior are easily seen in the organization.

How does one start to make quality a way of life? First, one must know who is his/hermost important customer! Have you ever analyzed yourself as the first person who mustreceive your own services? Very often, self is taken for granted and, as such, given theleast attention or even respect. Yet, unless there is quality in ones own life there willbe no quality to share with others! In business, making quality a way of life must startwith the MANAGERS (Watson, 2004) Modeling is very important!!! Everyone needs towork very hard to make quality a habit, an important part of ones daily activities! Thisbecomes less difficult when the management shows the way.


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Figure 7 presents the cycle of ones personal responsibility for making quality a way of life. It starts with knowing ones most important customer. To ensure customer satisfaction,it is necessary to define their requirements and how these can be provided. Analysis of potential barriers to meeting customer satisfaction should be part of planning on how to

meet their requirements. It is very important to know how to overcome barriers to affordthe lowest risk of committing errors. Likewise, critical errors need to be identified at theearliest time possible. Should the mistake be committed, a well-planned corrective actionmust be immediately applied to speedily restore customer confidence. Then, another cyclestarts with determination of current customer level of satisfaction. Using past experiencesas the reference, the next cycle will have better ideas for improvement. If done as a regularactivity at home and at work, the cycle can progress on to making quality a way of life.

Figure 7. The cycle of ones personal responsibility for quality .

There are simple ways to make quality a way of life, but this requires two importantpersonal characteristics --- honesty and self-discipline . Unless these are part of a personsstate of mind, it would be very difficult to make quality a way of life. However, to acceptthat a person has some specific functions to perform in order to initiate quality practices, willalready provide a good starting point for one to develop these two characteristics. The qualityfunctions include: planning, prevention and monitoring (PPM) . Everyday in ones lifeplanning is needed. As a starter, perhaps before going to bed, some time could be allotted towrite his/her plan of activities for the next day. Planning makes it possible to see potentialbarriers to accomplishments of listed major tasks. This results to prevention of errors likelyto be committed. The plan ensures that activities are completed satisfactorily. Because tasks arewritten, a brief review of accomplishments at the end of the day can be made with leasteffort . Results of the review become a monitoring action that can be utilized forimprovement of activities listed for the next day. These simple PPM of quality functions can beaccomplished easily by an honest person ( does not cheat one-self) on a daily basis.Ultimately, the habit will, in fact be a form of self-discipline. These are simple personalcommitments to ones daily activities, which in due time will become a persons way of lifewith least amount of pain, yet with highest potential gains. This is a personal challengethat can make a significant difference in ones own life! . .


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In the quest for making quality as a way of life, a simple approach to self-assessment canbe utilized. The 3Ps of quality --- performance, pricing, punctuality --- can be used todetermine the extent of success in ones efforts to make quality a way of life.Performance is a persons output measured in terms of customers satisfaction, as seen

through their response to the products or services provided. Pricing is determined by thecost of production which is basically the amount of time, money and effort expended toproduce the desired goods or services. Finally, punctuality is delivery of goods andservices on time or as promised. Any missing P implies lack of quality. The 3Ps of quality, when used for self-assessment, provides a simple measure of your daily practice.

With leadership from management in the quest to make quality a way of life, it ishighly probable that a point will come when almost everyone in the company will beparticipants in this activity. The approach to total quality management (TQM) can thus,be facilitated since TQM is defined as a management philosophy that builds a customer-driven organization dedicated to total customer satisfaction through continuous improvement inthe effectiveness and efficiency of the organization and its processes (Corrigan, 1995). Theintegrated TQM principles expounded by various quality gurus (Juran, 1999; Henricks andSinghal, 1996; Watson, 2004 ) are summarized in the acronym ACCEPT and presented inFigure 8 ( Gatchalian, 1997).

. Figure 8. Integrated TQM principles in ACCEPT

Workplace partnership-council

For TQM to be sustained, a process and structure need to be employed to ensureeveryones involvement in the pursuit of customer delight. In an organization whereworkplace partnership (WP) is in place, there is a Workplace partnership-Council (WP-C)which acts as the steering committee made up of representatives from staff andmanagement. The WP-C steering committee is focused on problem identification (includingareas for improvement) and the formation of task forces or Teams. Each Team ismade up of two or more staff and at least one management representative which would


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engage in joint problem-solving or quality improvement activities assigned to them by theWP-C. Each task-force is disbanded after completion of their problem-solving activitiesand the implementation of their recommendations. Members of the disbanded Team areencouraged to form another Task Force with different members as recommended by WP-C.

This practice is repeated until everyone in the organization gets the opportunity to participatein problem-solving and/or succeeded in quality improvement implementation. Keeping theseapproaches continually alive sustains the quest for TQM.

Figure 9. Generic workplace partnership-council (WP-C)

To systematize TQM development in the organization, the approach follows a six Phasecycle as shown in Figure 10. This is a repeatable process that promotes a never-ending

Figure 10. Six phases in the cycle of the TQM journey .


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process of continual improvement that requires active participation from everyone in thecompany. The WP-Council serves as the nerve center for the whole company. Its majorgoal is to sustain joint activities between management and staff so that opportunities foreveryone to be involved in quality-improvement activities is maximized. As the organization

moves from one Phase to the next, some measurable changes are observed and everycycle of six phases completed, implies a higher level of quality practice in the next cycle.

Figure 11 shows the International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), one of the biggestport services in the world that adopted the Workplace Partnership in their quest for TQM.

Figure 11. International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) .

Table 1 presents a parameter measured before and after the WP-C introduction at ICTSI .Note the continual significant increase in sales volume after three years of WP-C in the

Table 1. Sales/Revenues trends before and after WPC introduction


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First two Phases of the TQM approach. Table 2 show a parameter measured from EBIFoundry Manufacturing Company before and after WP-C. The number of accidentsdramatically declined after the introduction of WP-C in Phases I to III.

Table 2. Total accidents at EBI before and after WP-C.

Figure 12. summarizes some of the outputs after making quality as a way of life part of the quest for TQM. When quality becomes part of everyones life in the company, aquality culture will emerge indicating that TQM may already be in place. Managementand staff singing and working together are indicators that quality is already in personsas shown in their work relations and ultimately in the level of customer satisfaction of their products and services.

Figure 12. Effects of quality as a way of life and WP-C in the TQM journey


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Summary and Recommendation

There are various innovative approaches being continuously developed to facilitateimprovements in quality and productivity. Particularly in developing countries trying to

catch-up with their more advance neighbors, the EBESE solar system program showed highpotentials for productivity improvement. To provide a good foundation for TQM success,making quality as a way of life has been promoted in many companies. To sustain theefforts of TQM promotion, workplace partnerships was employed to allow for jointmanagement and staff problem-solving activities for quality improvement.. These innovativeapproaches were shown to produce measurable positive quality changes. For those interestedto improve their company performance these innovative approaches are highly recommended.

References

Corrigan, James P. 1995. The Art of TQM. Quality Progress , July 1995. P61-64. AmericanSociety for Quality (ASQ), 611 E. Wisconsin Ave. P.O. Box 3005, Milwaukee, USA.

Gatchalian, Jose C. 2008. Workplace Cooperation for Quality, Productivity and IndustrialHarmony. Proceedings : 2 nd MEQA Annual Congress. April 7-9, 2008. Dubai, UAE

Gatchalian, Miflora M. 1997. People Empowerment, the Key to TQM Success. TQM Magazine .Vol. 9 no.6. MCB University Press. 60/65 Toller Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.

Gatchalian, Miflora M. 2008. The Solar System Approach in the Quest for Excellence.Proceedings : 2nd MEQA Annual Congress. April 7-9, 2008. Dubai, UAE

Gatchalian, M.M. Gatchalian, J. C. Mamon, M. and Torres, L. 2004. Partnerships forQuality: A Philippine Experience. Proceedings: 58th AQC, Toronto Canada. American

Society for Quality, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Hendricks, Kevin B and Singhal, Vinod, R. 1999. Dont count TQM out. QualityProgress, April, 199. Pp.35 42 American Society for Quality (ASQ), 611 E. Wisconsin Ave.P.O. Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201 3005 USA

Juran, Joseph. 1999. Quality Handbook . 5 th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies

Watson, Greg. 2004. The legacy of Ishikawa. Quality Progress . April 2004. AmericanSociety for Quality. Milwaukee Wisconsin, USA

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Innovative Quality and Productivity Promotions:Selected Best Practices