Total Quality Management (TQM)

In each different people, the quality definition is varied and some might say that quality
definition refers to ‘conformance to specification’ and others ‘fitness for use’. As we see it
there is no definite definition of quality. TQM is defined as an integrated effort designed to
improve quality performance at every level. The main concept of TQM is to meet the quality
expectation of customer. TQM is a management style that implies non-stop process of quality
improvement of products, processes and personnel work. This is a bunch of methodologies
that drive company to strategic goals achievement through unceasing quality development. It
is focused on production of goods and services that possess high-quality from viewpoint of
customers. TQM was elaborated on basis of Edward Deming's theory. W. Edwards Demings
defines Total Quality Management as a philosophy which advocates four basic principles:

(1) Intense focus on customer satisfaction

(2) Accurate measurement of activities

(3) Continuous improvement of products and processes

(4) Empowerment of people

Quality management is concerned with controlling activities with the aim of ensuring that
products and services are fit for their purpose and meets the specifications. TQM recognizes
that all businesses require "processes" that enable customer requirements to be met. Process
in this case refers to the management of resources and activities to produce the product or
service. TQM focuses on the ways in which these processes can be managed with two main
objectives which is, total customer satisfaction and zero defects. In order to achieve these
objectives, a set of concepts is developed to ensure the objectives met.
Concept Main Ideas
Customer focus Goal is to identify and meet customer needs.
Continuous improvement A philosophy of never-ending improvement.
Employee empowerment Employees are expected to seek out, identify, and correct quality
problems.
Use of quality tools On-going employee training in the use of quality tools.
Product design Products need to be designed to meet customer expectations.
Process management Quality should be built into process; sources of quality problems
should be identified and corrected.
Managing supplier quality Quality concepts must extend to a company’s supplies.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

TPM is a method, which involves total participation on all levels and functions in an
organization in order to raise overall effectiveness of equipment used in the production. TPM
could be considered as result of Preventive Maintenance (PM) and TQM combination
because major elements of TPM are employees, processes, and equipment. In manufacturing
industries, TPM is one of the very important factory maintenance methodologies that are used
throughout a product life cycle that try to optimize the effective use of production
installation. TPM seeks to engage all levels and functions in an organization to maximize the
overall effectiveness of production equipment. This method further tunes up existing
processes and equipment by reducing mistakes and accidents. The goal is total elimination of
all losses, idling and minor stoppages, reduced speed, defects and rework, spills and process
upset conditions, and starts up and yield losses. The main goals of TPM are zero equipment
breakdown and zero product defects, which lead to improved utilization of production assets
and plant capacity.
The 8 pillars of TPM to eliminate waste (MUDA):

1. Focused improvement (Kobetsu-Kaizen): for eliminating waste.

2. Autonomous maintenance (Jishu-Hozen): in autonomous maintenance, the operator is the

key player. It involves daily maintenance activities carried out by the operators themselves
that prevent the deterioration of the equipment.

3. Planned maintenance: for achieving zero breakdowns.

4. Education and training: for increasing productivity.

5. Early equipment/product management: to reduce waste occurring during the

implementation of a new machine or the production of a new product

6. Quality maintenance (Hinshitsu-Hozen): This is actually “maintenance for quality”. It

includes the most effective quality tool of TPM: “poka-yoke”, which aims to achieve zero
loss by taking necessary measures to prevent loss.

7. Safety, hygiene, and environment: for achieving zero work-related accidents and for
protecting the environment.

8. Office TPM: for involvement of all parties to TPM since office processes can be improved
in a similar manner as well

Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

VSM is a lean manufacturing technique used to analyse and design the flow of materials and
information required to bring a product or service to a consumer. At Toyota, where the
technique originated, it is known as "material and information flow mapping” and can be
applied to nearly any value chain. VSM can act as a tool to visualize mapping of products
production path, both material and information, and ease the communication of all process
and change the management to eliminate waste.

Advantages of VSM:

1. Helps identify source of waste and eliminates them.

2. Reduce inventories; raw material, in-process and finished goods.
3. Act as one common language for discussing processes.
4. Improved quality by 100% inspection at the source.
5. Shows the link between information flow and production.
6. Shows how lean concepts and techniques can be linked together.
7. Forms the basis of an implementation plan.

The use of VSM can help to map out the process cycle times, down times, in-process
inventory, material movement, and information flow path. From this information, a new
improved VSM can be developed and implementation of improved VSM can lead to desired
change in manufacturing techniques and programs such as JIT, 5S, Kanban, and
manufacturing cells can be planned to reduced and eliminate waste.
 Process Activity Mapping

SMED

In production management, SMED stands for Single Minute Exchange of Die: tool change
(few) minutes. This concept introduces the idea that any change in general machine or
initialization process should take no more than 10 minutes, hence the phrase single minute
(minute express the single digits). Means for tool change time from the manufacture of the
last piece of a series valid until obtaining the correct part of the first series following, not only
the time of change and physical adjustments in the machinery. There are two types of setup:

1. Internal times: Applies to operations performed at a standstill, after hours of production.

2. External times: Applies to operations performed (or can be) with the machine running, or
during the production period.
Internal and external setup

In traditional settings, the internal and external setup is mixed. It is a preliminary phase,
where, what could be converted from external setup to internal setup are made. It is necessary
to study in detail the real conditions of the machine. A good approximation is a continuous
analysis of production with a stopwatch. A more efficient way is to use one or more video
cameras whose footage will be analysed in the presence of the same workers.

In a production change, must define the operations to be performed:

1. The preparation of the machine, the job.

2. Cleanliness and order of the job.
3. Verifying raw material and chemicals.
4. The adjustment of the equipment.
5. The adjustment patterns, concerning manufacturing windows.
6. Implementation and testing.
7. Approval and release to production.

1st Stage: Separation of internal and external setup

It is the first stage of the SMED method, and is the most important distinction between
internal and external setup.

 Internal Activities: They have to run when the machine is stopped.

 External activities can be run while the machine is operating.

2nd Stage: Transformation of internal setup into external

The goal is to transform the external internal setups, therefore allowing the running of the
equipment as long as necessary. It is essential here to perform a detailed chronological list of
the operations that are performed during the machine stopped. It is therefore advisable to
monitor operations in at least 10 different batches/ sample. Then be evaluated in detail of the
operations to determine which can be moved and simplified.
3rd Stage: Evaluation of all aspects of the setting operation

The objective of this stage is to further minimize time settings. Though the conversion of
setup can save time by reducing external setup, the settings can be evaluated to further reduce
changeover time. This is done by relating and study the previous case with the new setup to
determine the reduced time achieved of the new setup method compared to the days before
the proposed and validate against them with at least 10 different batches/ sample.

Industrial Case Study

Industries Mold making Aluminium casting Medical Field-

industry-Plastic industry Hospital
Areas Injection Mold
 Improvement of  Improvement of  Company
quality in quality in management
conformance conformance
commits to
towards customer towards customer
satisfaction satisfaction improves quality.
 The presentation of  The presentation of  Devoted to
customer customer
customer
expectation using expectation using
quality function quality function satisfactory to the
deployment QFD deployment QFD service provided.
Total Quality  Elimination of  Elimination of
 Increase of
waste due to waste due to
Management company profile,
rework and rework and
(TQM) reduction of cost reduction of cost which can lead to
resulted from resulted from increase of profit
failure cost of failure cost of
product. This is product. This is by high intake.
from early from early  Utilization of seven
detection of non- detection of non- problem-solving
conformance and conformance and
root cause. root cause. tools to manage
 Use of seven QC  Use of seven QC quality and rectify
tools to solve tools to solve quality deformity.
problem. problem.
  Ensure equipment  Ensure equipment  Increase alertness
efficiency at the efficiency at the for equipment
maximum level maximum level functionality which
therefore reduce therefore reduce proves important as
risk of reject part risk of reject part it involves safety of
due to equipment due to equipment the customer.
failure (reduce cost failure (reduce cost  Increase the life
and time for and time for cycle of the
rework). rework). equipment.
 Increase the life  Increase the life  Ensure the
Total
cycle of the cycle of the equipment is safe
Productive equipment. equipment. and comfortable to
Maintenance  Reduce risk of  Reduce risk of be used by
waste (time) due to waste (time) due to customers.
(TPM)
downtime caused downtime caused  Give supplement
by equipment by equipment knowledge to
failure. failure. operator of
 Supplement  Supplement equipment.
knowledge to knowledge to
equipment equipment
operator, increase operator, increase
safety awareness safety awareness
and reduce cost for and reduce cost for
maintenance. maintenance.
 Allows rectification  Allows rectification  Helps fluent the
and understanding and understanding flow of process to
process flow to process flow to reduced time for
produced plastics produced plastics customer to be
part in a way easy part in a way easy attend.
to understand. to understand.  Reduce
 Reduce redundant  Reduce redundant unnecessary
Value Stream process which can process which can process which may
be eliminated and be eliminated and contribute to waste.
Mapping
reduce time cycle. reduce time cycle.  Can helps to
(VSM)  Reduce waste of  Reduce waste of determine the best
space due to proper space due to proper way to implement
process planning. process planning. quality process and
 Can helps to  Can helps to swift action.
determine the best determine the best
way to implement way to implement
quality process and quality process and
swift action. swift action.
  Reduced process  Reduced process  Reduce time to
time due to time due to attend customer by
excessive setup of excessive setup of hastening
equipment. equipment. procedure.
 Elimination of time  Elimination of time  Saves time by
Single Minute waste due to idling waste due to idling discern patients
Exchange of and equipment and equipment according to
downtime when downtime when specialist, in
Die setup. setup. addition helps to
(SMED)  Simplified process  Simplified process increase customer
setup. setup. service quality.
 Increase of quality  Increase of quality
due to elude of due to elude of
miss-installation of miss-installation of
jig. jig.