HW requirements are in the file

QM 456, HW5

Steps 2-18 of QCP. Take a first pass at addressing these 17 points. There will be holes in your QCP, so develop a research plan to fill those holes. Part of that plan will include questions you need to ask your contact. I will review you research plan and set of questions and then make some suggestions.

Process to create an effective process and associated quality control policy (QCP) for that process

1. Determine context of the production process relative to best of practice and why that specific context exists. Determine what portion of the context should be changed and if it can be changed, and what it would take to create that change? Evans and Lindsay (E&L) Ch 1-5 and 10-13, and Question set 1-2

Context is organizational structure, organizational culture, approach to human resource/capital, and attitude towards and use of quantitative and qualitative tools to make sound decisions. How effective is the firm relative to the three main ideas of QM (stakeholder centric, goal congruency (employee involvement), continuous improvement) and their skill in executing management/leadership, assessment, design, conformance, and control (MADCC ) in all levels of the organization. Production process means you are making something: a good, a service, a decision, a strategy, a report, a … These processes encompasses both support and primary processes (Michel Porter’s value chain). Context will constrain process management, that is why it is necessary to understand context if you are going to do a good job of process management.

1. Determine what is the product the production process is currently creating and why is it that product, is it the correct product, what is the delta between what is produced and what is wanted by the customer? E&L CH2&3 and Question set 1-2

Needs analysis: characteristics of product (Garvin 7 or 8, Kano 3, Juran 3). Correct product: one that provides greater value to customers than competitor’s at a price that satisfies all stakeholders to the extent that cash flows are not negatively affected. Remember that a process can be a product.

1. (from here down Question sets 3-5) Determine the current production process for producing the product in question (process flow diagram E&L CH5).

This step in conjunction with the next step is a ‘lean’ analysis.
What steps of the production process determines appropriate levels of the characteristics delineated in number two above?
What is done at each step? Why is it done that way?
What inputs, resources, business rules, and information are utilized at each of the above steps?
What are the duration times?
What are the bottleneck, Takt time, throughput time, and capacity?
How well is the bottleneck managed?
How are they controlling and assessing the current process?
What is wrong with the current production process and control process, if anything (Pareto Analysis and other mgt tools)?
What ‘waste’ (lean) is apparent?

What are the pain points?

This process is the current production process, not the proposed production process or its associated control process.

1. Determine what level of performance (actual product) is currently achieved relative to expected (correct product, specification and/or DPMO) and the degree to which the process addresses those expectations. What does the current level of performance cost them in lost revenue, rework, inspection, and/or additional costs relative to possible/desirable outputs? E&L CH 6-9 Current and expected level of performance of the production process, one should also delineate what level of capability the control policy should have based on what is possible with current technology. This step is a lean/waste analysis.

2. Develop a set of primary controls, assessment and/or process changes you think would achieve expected performance and an over arching, general statement of the purpose for the various control methods and process changes you propose. E&L CH 6-9 For each step of the production process, determine if it is needed and/or what can be done to increase performance of the process. Determine how you are going to control the activities of each of your revised steps. Really, you are creating a better production process, then a control process for that production process. The control portion of your manuscript should address how you propose to maintain real time control and should contain such statements as, ‘To determine overall effectiveness of the production process and control process we will perform end of production process evaluation by …..’

To get here, the information from 3 above or your new improved process steps and characteristic thereof are absolutely necessary. Do you control the inputs and/or the resources used to alter/shape/evaluate the inputs, how do you know the information received and sent is correct (step 18 below)…..

1. Referencing the production process, how good does this production process have to be to satisfy customers (Cp and DPMO)? Where will you set the control limits for those steps that you are using SPC? Will you use the standard +/- 3 standard deviations, more than 3, or less than 3? E&L CH 6-9 The answer to this question will determine how ‘good’ (Cp, DPMO’s) the control process has to be and help you calculate the costs of Type I and Type II errors, which determines how many standard deviations you set your control limits at, how often you measure, and the sample size you take when you measure.

2. For each of the controls and assessments in number five above, determine what to measure (inputs, outputs, durations…) that will insure ‘correct product’ status. E&L CH 6-9 referring to the new production process. Measures are what is graphed on control charts, which are often secondary controls to know when to adjust the ‘as is process’. Charts are also used for benchmarking to show how changes impacted a process. Measures can be a primary control, for instance, measuring an input to make sure it is correct before using it in a change process.

3. Express why the above measures are necessary and why others are not. E&L CH 6-9

4. Determine how each of the different measures will be made. E&L CH 6-9 This step helps to delineate your control process and includes how the control or measure will be done. For instance, will a person take a sample and then analyze that sample with something, or will a machine take the sample and analyze that sample, or will a machine measure continuously and a software program analyze the results, compare to a standard and then direct another machine to adjust the process, or…

5. Determine where on the product, input, and/or process-time-line each measure will be performed. E&L CH 6-9 this step helps to delineate your control process

6. Determine where in the production process the product, input, and/or process time line each measure will be performed. E&L CH 6-9 this step helps to delineate your control process (think “The Goal” by Goldratt)

7. Determine who and/or what should perform each of the measures. E&L CH 1-13 This step helps to delineate your control process do the operators measure their own work or does QC do it for them

8. Determine sample size for each of the measures. E&L CH 6-9 This step helps to delineate your control process (think rational sub-group and probability of catching a given shift in the mean, measured in standard deviation, and cost of measuring versus cost of mistakes happening.)

9. Determine how often each of the measures should be performed. E&L CH 6-9 This step helps to delineate your control process. Robustness of process, cost of mistakes, and cost of measuring and analyzing should all be considered.

10. Determine how process operators should react to the data generated from each of the measures. E&L CH 1-13 This step helps to delineate your control process (is it common or special cause of error, is the measure a real time feedback mechanism or an end of production step or process evaluation).

11. Determine how (and why) the data from each of the measures should be displayed (most likely a control chart of some type or large board in the production/office area). E&L CH 6-9 This step helps to delineate your control process.

12. Determine who (and why) should have access to the displayed data. E&L CH 1-13This step helps to delineate your control process and stakeholder relationships.

13. Determine how the effectiveness of the QCP should be determined E&L CH 8 Metrology pp385-393 how are you going to ensure that your control process is working (calibration of measuring tools and measurer, is the measure being done).

14. Conduct a cost to benefit analysis to ensure that the NPV/IRR/Pay Back Period of your proposed quality control process and/or process improvement is positive. In addition, conduct a sensitivity analysis that demonstrates breakeven and the range of possible results depending on variation of input variables. Attachments and E&L CH6-9 Area under the curve, Taguchi cost curves, Solver.