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The Quality Manager and his team assembled once again for a recap of their activities over the week. The Task assigned was to educate the team on five quality management tools namely – Histograms, Check Sheets, Scatter Diagrams (or Scatter Plots), Cause and Effect Diagrams and Flowcharts – distinguishing the features, construct and use of each in detecting and solving quality related problems.
It was established that Total Quality Management (TQM) involves the effective management of all aspects of an organisation that impacts the customer. As such, knowledge of TQM tools is essential for the continuous improvement of the firm’s operations. Additionally, each of the tools examined provided insight to different aspects of the possible problem and, should be used in conjunction with each other, to gain an even better understanding of issues and point to probable solutions.
The team learnt that the Histogram was a tool that could be used in problem identification, since it graphically measures the frequency with which any particular event occurred. The frequency of complaints received about crumbling Tropical Paradise candy was charted over a four-week period, revealing the precise timeframe in which the problem dramatically increased.
Next, they noted that brain-storming sessions were usually the trigger for the tools used for idea generation. The Check Sheet – used to record data in a uniformed manner; Scatter Diagram (or Plot) – graphically measuring relationships between one variable and other; and the Cause and Effect Diagram – used to identify elements in the process that may be problematic or require improving; were all tools used for generating ideas.
The Flowchart was the tool selected to organise the data collected. In this case, the Flowchart provided a framework to describe the process, step by step. This tool not only allowed the team to clearly understand the candy-making process at work, but facilitated revisions to the process to address the problem identified.
Further, the use of graphs and charts seemed to be more effective in the team’s deliberations. They were easy to construct and understood not only by the team-members, but by other members of staff on the production floor. Therefore, systems for collection of data and monitoring of the process were made possible at various levels in the organisation, through the use of these tools.
Mr. George praised his team for their initiative and hard work, as they were able to identify and correct the source of the problem of the crumbling candy ahead of the targeted two-week deadline. Through the use of the Histogram, they were able to trace when the complaints started to peak. The Check Sheet allowed them to examine the different causes of the candy crumbling and identify which was predominant. Next, they were able to graph in a Scatter Diagram the brix levels in the crumbling candy and distinguish what relationship existed. The Cause and Effect Diagram graphically laid out all the possible causes of the crumbling candy; re-enforcing the findings of the Scatter Diagram that there was a problem with the brix level. Finally, the team in its recommendations constructed a flowchart of the process and included additional steps for both measurement of the brix level and handling of product not meeting the specifications, in solving the problem.
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