1

2

Participative Quality Management is a process of empowering people, moving from bureaucratic structure to a self-managed democratic structure for delivering quality for customer satisfaction.

It is the essential and unique means for attaining the spirit of TQM.

Team spirit is the key to the success of participative quality management.

3

The concept of “Participative Quality Management” dates back to early 1960s when “Quality Control Circles” (QCC) was introduced in Japan. First Japan, and then the western countries, became aware of the need for “workers’ involvement” and participation in assuring quality. If total quality has to be implemented in a company, all employees must be motivated, inspired and drawn into the quality activities. Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa was the pioneer in popularizing this company-wide quality control by introducing group activities in managing the quality.

4

• It suggests no to reward the participants in participative quality management programmes, because it breaks the team spirit.

• It believes that people work not only for money, but also for self satisfaction, praise, recognition and job satisfaction.

• It requires people to unite, form team, cooperate with each other and contribute to create a synergy of ideas and solutions.

• It requires that individual in the team should not be spoilt by financial gain proportional to the value of improvement suggestion.

• Its primary task is to keep the spirit and togetherness of all members in the team to the most vibrant level, allow freedom to participate, support their thoughts and actions, and facilitate.

• Its aim is to bring about a situation by which the team can design and control their own performance, both individually & group wise.

5

Skills required for Participative Quality Management :• Interest and concern

• Recognize and enhance talents in others

• Recognize and work around weaknesses in others

• Communication, particularly listening

• Conflict resolution

• Self control

• Negotiation

• Compromise

• Synergy

• Teach ability

• Flexibility

• Correction

6

People restructure their own workplace – they make their own choices and no designs or decisions are ever imposed.

Once people of the area have made their plan of quality improvement in consultation with the supervisor, they take responsibility for that quality improvement.

The location of responsibility for coordinating and controlling work moves away from supervisors to the people who are actually doing the work.

7

It is a philosophy in working the quality solutions, where people have to use various tools & techniques of TQM. Hence, the team members should be trained, provided support & guided whenever necessary.

Its activities must not always merely be simple, mechanical & repetitive, but must be rich in variety & must help in exercising people’s creative abilities.

People are driven by their self-satisfaction, recognition, & self esteem.

Quality improvements effected by participative methods result in lower cost, higher customer satisfaction & higher productivity.

This technique can be gainfully used for new products development with attractive qualities that meet customers’ true needs at definite cost advantage.

It is a philosophical change in the company, & calls for defining its “Quality Policy” appropriately so that it inspires & motivates all employees for participating into the process of quality improvement.

8

The role of employees in the participatory process will depend on the scope of delegation of responsibilities from supervisors. It is the task of top leaders to ensure that an environment of delegation to front-line staff is ensured for company-wide participative quality management. Staff close to customers & close to service delivery processes is in a better position to improve the level of product/service satisfaction, because they know better where the problems lie. This is a process to empower & train people to take higher responsibility in quality management.

9

For success of the process, following rules should be followed : The participation should be voluntary.

Appropriate training, teamwork & skill development in using statistical techniques should be provided.

No top directed instruction for choosing the problems.

Support & facilitation by middle management who are in regular touch with first level employees for work.

Core group may be formed, but by self-choice, & supported by “support groups” for special tasks.

Presentation of results to colleagues & superiors for correction, comments & improvement towards the aimed objectives.

10

Small Group Activities (SGA)

Project – by – Project Improvement

Quality Improvement Projects (QIP)

11

SGA is a method for problem solving in teams by structurally searching for the root causes and eliminating them. After standardization of the solution the reoccurrence of the problem is prevented. The feeling of ownership is intensified because those who are directly involved solve the problem in a multifunctional team.The members of the team learn to use techniques (e.g. cause and effect diagram, Fishbone-diagram) to find and eliminate root causes. The team is also taught communication skills, working in teams and decision making, in order to use each other's knowledge and experience.Results of Small Group ActivityThe introduction of SGA leads to the following results:• Team-building • Improved communication • Higher involvement • Learn how to analyze and solve problems

12

Structural approach

The structure of an SGA project is derived from the PDCA-cycle from Dr. W. Edward Deming and exists of 8 steps on the basis of the SGA cycle. The SGA team works independently and reports the progress by means of communication boards.

13

Project – by - Project Improvement is part of an integrated approach to project management and is based around a series of questions which should highlight any areas of weakness or vulnerability in planning.

As a result of performing regular PI checks, team members should find that their attention will be focused on those areas that are not going as expected & special attention can be given to those 'early warning' signs and indicators.

• Accurate & Timely Information

• Compare Project Productivity

• Estimating

• Focus on Problem Areas

• Improve Quality

• Exception Reporting

Major Benefits include:

14

Quality Improvement Projects (QIP) are popular improvement schemes where a group or a team is formed by the management to solve an identified problem under the management action.

15

Quality Circle

5-S Principles

Suggestion Box Scheme

16

The concept of “Quality Circle” was first introduced in Japan in 1962, & ever since it has become a buzzword in the management of quality all over the world.

“Quality Circle” is defined as a small group of working people who, under the leadership of their own foreman or supervisor, are trained to identify, analyze, and solve quality related problems on a voluntary basis and present their solutions to their managers.

The idea is to train and stimulate the people of a work area for solving their problems on their own by teamwork, brainstorming and learning to be creative in the workplace.

The effect of this combined work was not only to boost the self confidence of the team members, but also to make the team more involved and recognized by top management.

17

1. Selecting the problem in areas of common interest, such as, cutting down wastes, housekeeping, QWL, productivity, safety & health, etc.

2. Naming & registering the circle with the “Quality Circle Steering Committee”, selecting the leader, facilitator & members of the Circle.

3. Assigning responsibility to each member.

4. Deciding on the schedule of the meeting, & communicating to all concerned.

5. Data collection & brainstorming on the problem & probable solutions.

6. Training of QC members in areas of data analysis & methods of control.

7. Finding out right solution & trial run in the workplace.

8. Fine tuning the solution in the corresponding work environment, implementation, & monitoring of results.

9. Data collection & analysis of improved methods/solutions, & presentation to higher management.

18

The group is comprised of people who do similar or connected work.

The size of the Circle is preferably 6-10, or 3-12 at most.

It is given an inspiring name, & registered with the Company.

It voluntarily meets as per the agreed schedule within working hours.

It meets regularly for at least about an hour per week.

Their own supervisor or a member of the team leads the group.

Decision making process is not forced upon the team (democratic).

Problem selected pertains to their own working areas.

Efforts are directed to finding solutions & further improvement.

The group makes presentation of their ideas to management.

Members take responsibility for implementation of improvement ideas.

19

Quality Circle work brings a cultural change in the work environment whereby people at all levels in the organization become a willing partner of the progress. It calls for a willing management who are committed to develop a consensus style of management & prepared to invest in training of its people. It is strictly not a reward based scheme. Returns from Quality Circles may not always be visibly high financial gains, but a continuous flow of small benefits that make the organizational functioning simpler, work environment healthier, & the organization stronger.

20

Quality Circles can be applied to all areas of business, namely :

Manufacturing

Maintenance

Design

Factory Lay-out

Recreational Facilities

Human Relations

Team Building

Waste Management

Productivity

Quality of Products

Work Environment

Pollution Control

Materials Handling

Logistics

Supply Chain Management

Customer Services

Housekeeping

Quality of Work Life

Safety and Health

Energy Economy

21

In India, many companies – namely TVS Group, Tata Group of Companies, Mahindra & Mahindra, BHEL, etc. have successfully introduced regular “quality circles” at the shop-floor levels as self motivated groups for changing the work culture & effecting long term improvements. In India, there are inter-company & intra-company competitions of “quality circles” to encourage the technique, bring a sense of pride in being associated with such work, & spread the message amongst other companies that the best way to get quality improvement is by this unique participative programme.

22

Quality Circles are expected to develop : Internal Leadership

Reinforce worker morale and motivation

Encourage a strong sense of teamwork in an organization

Higher Quality

Improved Productivity

Greater upward flow of Information

Broader improved worker attitudes

Job Enrichment

23

Quality Circles often suffer from : Unrealistic Expectations for fast results

Lack of Management Commitment and Support

Resistance by Middle Management

Resentment by Non-Participants

Inadequate Training

Lack of Clear Objectives

Failure to get solutions implemented

24

5-S is a concept of work culture for effecting improvement in performance mainly through creating good work environment and work culture. It is a system approach for improvement in productivity, quality and safety in all types of business, and it is now regarded as an essential part of any continuous improvement approach. The 5-S programme focuses on having orderliness, cleanliness, systems, discipline and organization in the workplace. As a result, the programme benefits the organization with improved efficiency, effectiveness, profits, safety and services.

25

Seiso --- Cleanliness

Seiketsu --- Clean-up Time

Seiton --- Orderliness

Seiri --- Tidiness

Shitsuke --- Discipline

26

SORT – Cleaning the workplace by keeping what is necessary in the workplace, and relocating or discarding what is not.

SYSTEMATIZE – Arrange a system by which the needed items are easy to find, use and return to original location in order to eliminate waste of time searching for them.

SWEEP – Clean the area by regular sweeping, shining, inspecting and carefully handling the tools and equipments in order to keep the workplace clean, bright and pleasant.

STANDARDIZE – Make the systems and methods so developed by first 3-S a standard practice in the workplace.

SUSTAIN – Make these rules of working natural and instinctive to practice by the people as a matter of self-discipline in order to sustain the gains.

27

Improved Quality and Productivity

Standardized working methods

Improved Safety in the workplace

Reduced inventory, storage space and costs

Reduced cycle times

Reduced machine down time

Decreased tool changeover time

Better work environment

Higher employee morale

28

Suggestion Box Scheme (SBC) is a reward-based programme that large number of companies run to get the benefits of participative quality improvement. The scheme attempts to generate thoughts, observations, and improvement suggestions for quality and cost by drawing all employees into the process of suggestion generation. These suggestions are further examined, scrutinized and tried-out whenever necessary before accepting by expert teams. If accepted and implemented, the suggestor is awarded by following the company norms. The entire process of suggestion generation, evaluation, and reward is handled by a specially appointed “Suggestion Box Committee”. Anyone can suggest improvement about any area, provided the proposed solution is a realistic one. It was reported that in Toyota Motors, Japan, 40,000 workers generate over 65 suggestions per year per employee, and nearly 90 % of them get accepted.

29

Books :

Quality Circles : A Guide to Participation and Productivity by Olga L. Crocker, Johnny Sik Leung Chiu, Cyril Charney

Total Quality Management – Second Edition by Poorinma M. Charantimath

Article :

Quality Circles – An approach to Productivity Improvement

Internet Websites :

www.wikipedia.org

www.slideshare.net

www.quality-circles.blogspot.com

30