What is Poka-yoke? Shigeo Shingo advocated the concept of zero quality control by arguing that inspection processes or the use of statistical control should be completely eliminated. He believes that quality should be controlled at the source of the problem and not after the problem has manifested itself. He recommends that inspection should be incorporated […]
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What is Kaizen? Move a mountain beginning with small stones. Definitions It is derived from the Japanese words kai which means change or to correct and zen which means good), Kaizen is a Japanese word means change for the better. Kaizen is a participative and democratic approach that involves every employee – from upper management […]
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5S is a workplace improvement tool. It was invented in Japan. It stands for five (5) Japanese words that start with the letter ‘S’: Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke. 5 S 5 C English Equivalent Explanation Seiri Clear out Sort (Tidiness) Throw away all unrelated materials in the workplace Seiton Configure Set in Order […]
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The Kano model was developed by Noriaki Kano. It classifies the attributes of a product into three groups. 1. Basic or Threshold Attributes. Customers assume that these attributes will be present. If they are not present or are of low quality, customers will be dissatisfied. If they are present, customers’ satisfaction will not increase. Example: […]
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What is a Defect? A flaw or weakness in a system that causes the system to fail Non-conformance to a standard A disorder in the system or process which can cause a failure or discrepancy in the delivery of product or services. Expectations are not meet. A defect can be seen as an opportunity for […]
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Many people have asked me about the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control. Here is the summary: ISO 9000 DefinitionsQuality Control:A part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements.Quality Assurance:A part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled.Other DefinitionsQuality Control is defined as The operational techniques and […]
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Poor Quality The market is customer-centric. Competition is very high. Still, most of the companies face the problem of poor quality. In spite of various quality models, quality improvement processes and methodologies the issue of poor quality is there. Why is it so? What are the causes of poor quality? Causes of poor quality may […]
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The challenge in defining quality is that it is a subjective concept, like beauty. Everyone has a different definition based on their personal experiences. Definitions The totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated and implied need. Quality is the ongoing process of building and sustaining relationships by assessing, […]
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Benefits to CompanyMakes it easier to satisfy customer needs.Better management control and reporting.Requiring organizations to continuous improvement.Fewer problems with failures in service or product quality.Better management control and reporting.Greater employee awareness about quality.A marketing tool for sales promotion.Increased credibility.Benefits to EmployeesEmployees know what to do and how to do it.Enhanced communication among employees.Clarity in the […]
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As a Six Sigma Black Belt, you will have to deal with teams. You will have a project team doing the project with you and you being the leader of that improvement project team. To perform that function of a team leader, you need to understand how teams work? What makes teams successful? How to […]
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In a team, different individuals have different roles to play. Here are four roles for a team: Leader, Facilitator, Coach or a Member. All these are the components of a team, but remember that these need not be exclusive. A leader can act as a facilitator and a coach as well at different times. It’s […]
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Customer Types Broadly speaking, there are two types of customers: internal customer and external customer. The concept of the internal customer was popularized by quality Guru Joseph Juran. In an organization, the next process is the customer. For example, if the first step is manufacturing parts and the second step is assembling these parts, then […]
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