Homework Assignment 6

Due Date: May 1, 2016

IE 673 Total Quality Management (eLearning)

1.

Explain why continual quality improvement is important.

Continual quality improvement is fundamental to success in the global marketplace and

is important make a company to still in race with others competitor in their same areas.
According to the textbook maintaining the status quo in such key areas as quality, new
product development, adoption of new technologies, and process performance is like a
runner who is standing still in a race. Because customer needs are not static; they change
continually. A special product feature that is considered innovative today will be
considered just routine tomorrow. A product cost that is considered a bargain today will
be too high to compete tomorrow.

2.

What is managements role in continual quality improvement?

According to the textbook management can play the necessary leadership role and that
essentially is its role in continual improvement. Management will help establishing an
organization-wide quality council and serving on it. Working with the quality council to
establish specific quality improvement goals with timetables and target dates. Providing
the necessary moral and physical support. Moral support manifests itself as commitment.
Physical support comes in the form of the resources needed to accomplish the quality
improvement objectives. Scheduling periodic progress reviews and giving recognition
where it is deserved. Building continual quality improvement into the regular reward
system, including promotions and pay increases.

3.

Discuss the Kaizen approach

Kaizen means making changes for the better on a continual, never-ending basis. The
improvement aspect of Kaizen refers to people, processes, and products. Every part of a
company play a role in this system. The following sketches explain better the Kaizen
system.

Customer Focus
Total Productive
Maintenance

Labot/Manage
ment
Cooperation

Teamwork

Elements of
Kaizen

Automation

Figure 1: Elements of Keizen

Just-in-Time

Quality Circles

WHO?

HOW?

WHAT?

The 5 W's
and 1 H
WHY?

WHERE?

WHEN?

Figure 2: The 5 W's and the H

Man (Operator)
Machine
Material

Methods
Measurement
Figure 3:The 5 M's Of Processes

4.

How would you describe a lean system?

Lean system was created to produce better products or delivery better services using
fewer resources. Created by Toyota as a Toyota Production System focus on the
overproduction waste, inventory waste, motion waste, transportation waste, over
processing waste, defects waste, waiting waste, and underutilization waste. In general is
based and focus in waste waste waste.

5. What is lean six-sigma and how would you apply it to a quality management system?

Lean Six Sigma is a small variation, but a linking of Lean and Six Sigma that
synergistically combine the benefits of both. I would apply lean six-sigma to quality
management focus on the following:

6.

Cost reduction
Waste
Productivity improvement
Market-share growth
Customer retention
Cycle-time reduction
Culture change
Product/service development

Define benchmarking

Benchmarking is a process for comparing and measuring an organizations operations or

processes with those of a best-inclass performer from inside or outside its industry. Has
become a popular tool among companies trying to become more competitive and striving
for world-class performance.

7.

How can you apply benchmarking data?

According to the textbook details benchmarking data would be apply to help a company
close the gap with the best-in-class performer without having to reinvent the wheel. So
that mean is very useful to get improvement in your processes without taking apart every

single detail of the process. This must be approached in an organized, planned manner,
with the approval and participation of top management.

8.

What is a JIT system?

According to the textbook JIT is a management philosophy that seeks to eliminate all
forms of waste. As a production system, JIT/Lean produces only what is needed, when it
is needed, in the quantity needed. The root justification for JIT/Lean is improved product
quality with lower costs.

9.

What are the benefits of JIT/lean?

JIT/Lean benefits are many, they are as follow:

Improved product quality with lower costs.

Inventory reduction
Shortened cycle time
Continual improvement
Elimination of waste

10. Discuss automation system ideas for JIT/lean

JIT/Lean is successfully employed around the world in situations where automation is

nonexistent and equally successful in the most highly automated plants on the planet.
The automation system ideas for JIT/Lean are very focus on process, time, space and
future.

Reference: Goetsch, David L.; Davis, Stanley (2012-06-19). Quality Management for
Organizational Excellence: Introduction to Total Quality. Chapters 19 - 21. Pearson
Education. Kindle Edition.

Social Networking Articles

Article 1 - Assignment. 6 - What I Gained from Choosing the Rocky Road

by Danny Martinez - Sunday, May 1, 2016, 9:05 PM
What I Gained from Choosing the Rocky Road

This is a short story of the life of Ban Ki-moon the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. He is telling how he developed his career when he was young and how he made
relations with another countries like India. He graduated in his country Korea and he had
the opportunity of choosing his first experience and he choose to do it in India. Today his
daughter is married to a Indian guy and they still have that connection. Mr. Ki-moon say
how he evaluate the new candidates in the United Nations, he asked the people what
they did in the beggining of their career to be who they are, because when you are young
the future is open and also the world.
Reference:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-i-gained-from-choosing-rocky-roadban-ki-moon?trk=eml-mktg-inf-m-career-launch-0301-cta-p5

Article 2 - Assignment 6 - Georgia Tech Will Build Nations First Open Robotics Lab
by Danny Martinez - Sunday, May 1, 2016, 9:06 PM
Georgia Tech Will Build Nations First Open Robotics Lab

This article is giving some good news for a lots of students that like technology. Georgia
Tech University is going to the first Robotic Laboratory in the nation. Everything should
be ready by 2017 and a lots of students are going to be able to enjoy it. They are telling
that middle and high school students will be able to go to this lab, learn more about this
Robot thing and participate in new experiments. This new lab is going to be called
Robotarium. And also this lab is going to be able to collaborate with other colleges and
institutions to do new reaserches. This is a great opportunity for all young people that
does not have places like this one to develop their habilities.
Reference:http://news.wabe.org/post/georgia-tech-will-build-nation-s-first-open-roboticslab

Michael Failla
Re: Article 2 - Assignment 6 - Georgia Tech Will Build Nations First Open Robotics Lab
by Michael Failla - Sunday, May 1, 2016, 9:47 PM

Danny,

This is a great stride for the new age of learning in DL or distance learning. It will provide
resources to other universities and even high schools to use these resources to apply to
their learning criteria without having to spend mass amounts of money on robotics in
house for their students to learn. It will give these students something they probably never
had access to in the high school level. And they will even be able to control some of the
robots from the other side of the country. This is a new form of education which is a great
tool for them.

Article 3 - Assignment 6 - McCarthy Defends Handling Of Flint Water Crisis

by Danny Martinez - Sunday, May 1, 2016, 9:08 PM
McCarthy Defends Handling Of Flint Water Crisis

The administrator of the EPA, McCarthy, is defending the way that the administration is
handling the situation of the contaminated drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan. This is
a big problem that is affecting a whole community. The people is asking to the authorities
to fix the millions of contaminated pipes and they are requesting the money that they need
for that. I think that this is very serious problem that can come with another consequences
like deaseses and death. The residents of this community have to keep asking for
answers and protests so they can be heard.
Reference:
http://mailview.custombriefings.com/mailview.aspx?m=2016011901asee&r=28715377ff7#S1