Interrelationship Digraph for the Root Cause of Poor Quality
Interrelationship digraphs show cause-and-effect relationships and help analyze the natural links between different aspects of a complex situation.High number of outgoing arrows > Root cause or driver High number of incoming arrows > Key effect or outcome
Continue readingCost of Quality
The cost of quality (CoQ) can be categorized in four categories: Prevention Cost, Appraisal Cost, Internal Failure Cost and External Failure Cost
Continue readingFive Whys and Two Hows to Understand a Problem
5W2H stands for Who, What, When, Where, Why, How, How Much Some places you find reference to 5W1H. This includes Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.Application (When to use?):5W2H is an information-gathering technique. It helps in understanding the problem.Steps / Example:Who provides you this information?What do you do after getting the required information?Why you made […]
Continue readingDMAIC
DMAIC is a structured Six Sigma approach to process improvement. The DMAIC approach can be applied in any situation where a process has defined measurable results whether it’s manufacturing a specific products such as phones, table, chair etc. or services such as healthcare, designing, or hospitality etc. DMAIC process consists of 5 stages to improve […]
Continue readingSeven/ Eight Types of Wastes TIMWOOD
What is Waste?Waste is anything that does not add value to the existing process. We should avoid waste not only to reduce cost but also it increases the long-term performance of a process. Seven Types of Wastes (TIM WOOD)I suggest that you keep in mind TIM WOOD (the acronym for the seven types of wastes) […]
Continue readingPoka Yoke, Fool Proofing or the Mistake Proofing
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 […]
Continue readingKaizen
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 […]
Continue reading5S for Workplace Improvement
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 […]
Continue readingKano Model by Noriaki Kano
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: […]
Continue readingDefect – Definition and Causes
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 […]
Continue readingWhat is the difference between quality assurance (QA) and qualilty control (QC)?
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 […]
Continue readingCauses of Poor Quality
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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