Sikkim Manipal University

A PROJECT REPORT
on
QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
ON VARDHAMAN WATER TANK

Under the guidance

Of

Submitted by

RANIMA YASMIN

In partial fulfillment of the requirement

for the award of the degree
Of
MBA
In
Total Quality Management
Sikkim Manipal University
December 2010
Sikkim Manipal University of Health, Medical and Technological Sciences Distance
Education Wing Syndicate house, Manipal- 576104

1
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

If words can be considered as a symbol of approval and token of

acknowledgement then let the words play the heralding role of expressing my
gratitude acknowledgement.

At the very outset, I take the privilege to convey my gratitude to those people
whose cooperation, suggestion and heartfelt support helped me to accomplish the
project report works successfully.
I acknowledge my sincere gratitude to my Centre Head M M Sarma for
permitting me to do the study.

My sincere thanks to my faculty guide Mr. Abidur Rahman for his careful
supervision, valuable guidance and constant encouragement right from the
inception to the successful completion of my summer project.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the faculty members of the
Deptt. Of Business Administration for their support.

My profound gratitude to Shri. P.S. Ghosh DGM (HR&ES) and Shri. Dilip
Kr Borthakur Senior Manager (HR&ES) for giving me the opportunity to do my
project work in their esteemed organization.

Last but not the least. I express my heartfelt thanks to all other staff
member of Vardhaman, my parents and friends for the timely help and support
they have rendered in bringing my study, so its relevance in a faithful manner.

2
 STUDENT DECLARATION

I here by declare that the project report entitled at “An Analytic Study on Quality
Management of Vardhaman water tank” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Business Administration to Sikkim Manipal University,
India, is my original work and not submitted for the award of any other degree,
diploma, fellowship, or any other similar title or prizes.

Place: RANIMA YASMIN

Date: MBA Fourth Semester
Reg.No.:510925092
PVI Computer Training
Centre, Nagaon
Assam.

3
 EXAMINER’S CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that Ranima Yasmin has successfully completed the project titled
“Quality Management System” adopted at “VARDHAMAN WATER TANK” for the
requirement of partial fulfillment of Master of Business Administration (MBA),
program conducted at PVI Computer Training Centre, a University study centre of
SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY.

I wish her all success in her further Endeavour.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

4
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report entitled

”An analytic study on Quality Management of Vardhaman water tank”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

Of

Master of Business Administration

Of

Sikkim Manipal University

Of

Health, Medical and Technological Science

He has worked under my guidance and that no part of this report has been
submitted for the award of any other Degree, Diploma, Fellowship or other similar
titles or prizes and that the work has not been published in any journal or
Magazine.

RANIMA YASMIN Certified by

Reg.No.: 510925092 (Guide’s Signature)

5
 UNIVERSITY STUDY CENTRE CERTIFICATE

Certified that Ranima Yasmin is a student of MBA Final semester holding

University Roll No.510925092 under the roll of my College, a University Study
Centre of SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY of Health, Medical & Technological
Sciences, has completed his project entitled ”An analytic study on Quality
Management of VARDHAMAN WATER TANK” as Submitted in partial fulfillment
of the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA) of the
said University.
He has worked under my supervision. The Report submitted is genuine & no
part of this report has been submitted anywhere for the award of any degree from
any University.
He was sincere & obedient during his tenure of study having an amiable
behavior & good character.

I wish him all the Best.

( M M Sharma)
Centre Head
PVI Computer Training Centre

6
 PREFACE

Projects are an indispensable part of any kind of formal education. They help
us to have a practical exposure as well as better outlook of the subject, which we
are studying. In a professional course like M.B.A, the students are equipped with
strong theoretical knowledge about the business operations and the time-tested
methods of running a successful business. To make this theoretical knowledge
stronger, the students are assigned certain projects in various organizations to get
an idea of practical working styles.

I was assigned to work in Vardhaman. The topic of study was “An analytic
study on Quality Management of Vardhaman water tank”. The project
commenced from 03rd Sep 2010 to 4th NOV 2010.

In order to make the data and findings easily understandable, efforts have
been made to present the information in a simplified, lucid and organized manner.
It gives me immense practical exposure to the practical working patterns and the
environment. I will be satisfied if the organization gets benefits from the study and
the findings.

Place: Nagaon
Date: 0-12-2010

7
 CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO. TITLE

1. Executive Summary:

2. An overview of the organization:

Introduction
History of the organization

3. Project Overview:

Introduction to the Study

Objectives the Study
Scope of the Study
Research Methodology
Limitation of the Study
Data Analysis
Recommendation
Conclusion

4. Others:

Questionnaire
Bibliography
References
Glossary

8
 Chapter-1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Project Title : An analytic study on quality management system in

Vardhaman.
Duration of study : 3rd Sep to 4th Nov 2010.
Place of study : Vardhaman, Assam.
Name of the company : Vardhaman Industries.
Major project :To study the Quality Management System in Vardhaman.
Methodology : A structured questionnaire was developed and
Administered among the selected sample for effective
analysis.
Major finding : Quality Management system have been contributing
to the overall growth of Vardhaman through cost reduction,
waste elimination, process improvement and greater
productivity. There seems to be ignorance among the
support staffs and casual workers to some extent.

Major Recommendations : To maintain quality maintaining proper parameter

during process operation is essential. Also for
production of quality tank, if the raw material in
plastic it may give law cost and with minimum error’s.

9
 Chapter-2

An overview of the organization

Introduction:

Established in the year 1999, we, Vardhaman Polymers, Solapur are one of the leading
manufacturers and suppliers of superior quality PVC pipes, rigid PVC pipes & HDPE
pipes. The collection is globally accepted for its features such as rugged construction,
corrosion resistance, low maintenance and leak proof. Hence, we are honored as an ISO
9001:2000 certified company.

Under the insightful guidance of the owner Mr. Shirish Chankeshwara, we have carved out
a niche for ourselves in the industry for offering quality PVC pipes and HDPE pipes.
Moreover, we are duly supported by dynamic, energetic and experienced team.

Further, we are backed by a strong dealer network of 200 dealers around Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh &.Maharashtra. It assists in prompt delivery of the ordered range to
various clients spread across India within agreed time.

History :
The industrial city of Ludhiana, located in the fertile Malwa region of Central Punjab is
otherwise known as the "Manchester of India". Within the precincts of this city is located
the Corporate headquarters of the Vardhman Group, a household name in Northern India.
The Vardhman Group, born in 1965, under the entrepreneurship of Late Lala Rattan
Chand Oswal has today blossomed into one of the largest Textile Business houses in
India.

At its inception, Vardhaman had an installed capacity of 14,000 spindles, today; its
capacity has increased multifold to over 8 lacs spindles. In 1982 the Group entered the
sewing thread market in the country which was a forward integration of the business.
Today Vardhaman Threads is the second largest producer of sewing thread in India. In
10
1990, it undertook yet another diversification - this time into the weaving business. The
grey fabric weaving unit at Baddi (HP), commissioned in 1990 with a capacity of 20,000
meters per day, has already made its mark as a quality producer of Grey poplin, sheeting,
shirting in the domestic as well as foreign market. This was followed by entry into fabric
processing by setting up Auro Textiles at Baddi and Vardhaman Fabric at Budhni,Madhya
Pradesh. Today the group has 900 shuttleless looms and has processing capacity of 90mn
meters fabrics/annum.

In the year 1999 the Group has added yet another feather to its cap with the setting up of
Vardhman Acrylics Ltd., Bharuch (Gujarat) which is a joint venture in Acrylic Fibre
production undertaken with Marubeni and Exlan of Japan. The company also has a strong
presence in the markets of Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, UK and EU in addition to the
domestic market. Adherence to systems and a true dedication to quality has resulted in
obtaining the coveted ISO 9002/ ISO 14002 quality award which is the first in Textile
industry in India and yet another laurel to its credit.

Manufacturing Unit :

We possess state-of-the-art manufacturing unit which is regularly upgrade to

enhance the production capacity. Further, it has scope to enhance its area with
increase in demand of our vast range by various clients. The unit is installed with
sophisticated and Fully Automatic modern Extrusion Machines such as Koliste,
Windsor including:

11
 • Water Tank
• Haul-off
• Automatic cutting
• Electro polishing

These machines are regularly checked, serviced and lubricated for its smooth
functioning. If required, these can be replaced by latest and new one. These
machines are handled by our proficient team of engineers.

Our manufacturing unit is duly supported by an in-house design unit assisting in

development of latest designed pipes.

Vision: To be globally recognized as a Leading Supplier of Quality Fabrics"

Mission:
“Our mission is to break into the golden circle of the globally acclaimed Information
Technology Services Companies by achieving sustainable and profitable growth
through delivery of exceptional IT services to customers by our outstanding people
who take pride in the quality of our services, our business ethics, and our passion
to exceed customer’s expectations”

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRODUCTS BY VARDHAMAN

12
13
Ontrack is an ISO 9001:2000 Certified Company with Total Customer Satisfaction as
its quality policy objective. The emphasis is on basic process discipline enabling timely
delivery, and quality assured deliverables. Well-defined and documented quality
standards and procedures have been laid down for project management that helps
monitor projects on a real-time basis and ensure that the customer is never out of
touch.
Quality is our forte and can be found in every business activity of our company. We
follow stringent quality measures at every stage of production right from procurement
of raw material. We have been conferred with ISI approved: 4985:2000; CM/L:
7227366 and 4984:1995; CM/L: 7497294. Further, our collection is also developed in
compliance with ISO 9001:2000 certification and BIS (Bureau Of Indian Standard).

Under the guidance of quality controllers, we do quality check at all stages of

production. The finished array is also quality tested on various parameters in
accordance with international quality standards. These parameters include:

• Dimensional accuracy
• Leakage

Corrosion resistance

Quality whether of the people, product or of the services rendered, is of utmost

importance improve employee productivity and overall general development.
Mandatory training courses on programming practices and software quality assurance
have been identified for Ontrack's human resource, the actual practitioners of quality
processes.
Vardhman is among the few fully integrated fabric suppliers in the country. An
exquisite range of fabrics for shirting and trousers enables Vardhman to offer fashion
solutions to the leading clothing manufactures in the world. The state-of-the-art
manufacturing facilities having 900 shuttleless looms and producing 90 mn meters per
annum processed fabric are located in North and Central India, which cater to the
highly customized fabric needs of the buyers. An integrated fabric supply chain 14
Expectations from the Customers:

The expectations from the customers are usually stated in the tender documents
and
subsequently in the purchase order. Any ambiguities are resolved through the
‘Contract Review’ mechanism established, implemented and maintained as per the
ISO 9001 Quality Management System.
Ensuring Customer Satisfaction:

To ensure Total Customer Satisfaction, the following initiatives are taken. Various
business processes of the company are defined and managed with the sole
objective of meeting and exceeding the explicit and implicit customer expectations.
The Strategic Business Unit structure is effectively deployed to clearly identify,
understand and ensure total adherence to customer requirements. In the case of
export market, the customer requirements are verified by the respective QA
agencies of the export house or designated agencies of the country or within the
organization. The products are manufactured only after evaluation of all
parameters set for bulk production to the satisfaction of the customer. The Quality
Management activity based on the ISO 9000 Quality Management System and is
usually prevention-oriented. Product quality is assured through Process Control &
Stage Inspection and final quality is assured through Final Product Testing. The
status of customer satisfaction is measured through two principal interventions:

• Customer Satisfaction Survey

• Handling Customer Complaints

15
• Complaint Handling System

Customer Satisfaction Survey:

This is carried out by sending structured questionnaires to major customers and

eliciting their opinion about the products and services being offered. The data
collected are analyzed by the corporate Standards and Quality Assurance Group.
The results of these reviews are used to update the systems and procedures, thus
institutionalizing continual improvement processes.

Customer Complaint Handling:

A comprehensive and clearly documented system is implemented through out the

company to handle complaints more systematically. The number of complaints
pending and their age as well as the cycle time for attending to them are
continuously monitored and regularly reviewed for speedy redressal of complaints.

Complaint Handling System:

The calls and complaints from the customers are systematically processed for
timely response and solution. Complaints are handled to the satisfaction of the
customers acknowledgements are taken to act as an input for further improvement
of the product or service. The complaint status is reported at regular intervals to
the manufacturing units for review and necessary corrective & preventive action.

16
Organization Chart of HPC-Corporate Level:

Chairman Cum
Managing Director

ED(HR&ES)/ Director Director GM

(Operation) (Operation) (Finance) (Finance)

GM
(HR&ES)

17
 SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT

GM
(Marketing)

GM
(HR&ES)

ED/CE ED/CE

ED/MD MD ED

Chief Vigilance Officer

Company Secretary

MD- Managing Director

ED- Executive Director
GM- General Manager

18
Workings of the various component of paper mill are as follows:

Electrical Department:

Electrical Department basically deals with maintenance and repairs of equipment

and machine. The electrical department is basically divided into two parts
depending upon the area of work on the plant.
The electrical department consists of 30 officers, Among them both Degree and
Diploma holder engineer. In addition, to this there are 60 technicians are there.

Civil Department:

The NPM has well organized civil department which is engaged in modification
and rectification of civil construction like road, trains, buildings etc.

The civil department consists of 12 engineers and it is-

1. Civil Plant.
Civil Township looks after the civil construction of township and civil plant looks
after the civil construction of plant.

19
Corporate Citizen

As a responsible corporate citizen, HPC is committed to social uplift and

development of the areas near its mills. It has made significant contribution to the
development of the local community by encouraging ancillary industries in
Greenfield areas. It provides health-care facilities and encourages education,
sports and cultural activities in the near-by villages. Vardhaman has also
contributed to the construction of roads in the villages near its mills. In many
adjacent villages, It provides safe drinking water.

Employment:

Vardhaman has generated direct employment for about 17000 employees and on
average more than 10000 indirect workers employees each year. They created
employment opportunities both direct and indirect in this region.

Strategy:

The mission is pursued through the following initiatives in the supply chain:
• Enunciation of a Quality Policy and defining Quality Objectives in quantifiable and
measurable terms, clearly reflecting the commitment to achieve and continuously
improve Customer Satisfaction at all levels in the organization.

• Produce and deliver such quality of goods and services which are comparable to
the best in their class. Any non-conformity at any stage of operations throughout
the product’s life-cycle is seen not merely as a loss to the company but to the

20
entire nation. All employees are encouraged to feel that quality is an article of faith
and everybody’s responsibility rather than a narrow commercial obligation.

• Customer-First policy aimed at transforming the entire company into a customer-

focused organization. These objectives are realized by establishing, implementing,
maintaining and continually improving an ISO 9001 - based Quality Management
System in all Strategic Business Units in the organization.

Occupational Health and Safety Policy:

Vardhaman is committed to-
 Promote and maintain the occupational Health and Safety (OHS) standards
to protect its Human Resources (including interested parties and
environment from foreseeable work hazards associated with its integrated
polp and paper manufacturing process including captive units.
 Comply with all the relevant statutory provisions and other requirements in
respect of OH & S.
 Cotinually improve the OH & S standards through all reasonable effects of
risk reduction activities.
SWOT Analysis of the Company:
Strengths:
1. High Capacity of Utilization.

2. Good Level and Productivity of Plan.

3. Well Qualified Technology and Skilled manpower.

4. Good Reputation of Vardhaman Products in North Indian Market.

Weakness:

21
 1. The prices of finished goods are controlled by Government but the prices of
Input-Raw materials have been de-controlled.
2. No uniform facilities(No dress Code).
3. Lack of working machines.

Opportunities:
1. Strong marketing network in all over India.
2. 591 across of Land and Infrastructure facilities.
3. Operational efficiency and high capacity utilization.
Threats:
1. Transportation Problem.

22
 Chapter-3

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Introduction to the study:

As apart of fulfillment of MBA curriculum of Sikkim Manipal University .I have taken

up the title “A Analytic Study on Quality Management System of Vardhaman water
tank.”

The study is an attempt to understand the quality policies and quality

management system of Vardhaman.

Concept of Quality Management System:

A quality management system (QMS) is the means by which quality management

practices are made an integral part of an organization. A QMS is not a temporary
fad, but a permanent part of an organization with a direct bearing on how the
organization conducts its business. QMS is not a vague phrase; it has a very
specific meaning: a QMS has a structure, a defined scope, responsibilities,
necessary content (in terms of defined processes and supporting QMS
documentation), and required resources to accomplish quality planning, quality
control, quality assurance, and continuous quality improvement activities. If an
organization merely implements a few quality management practices in its
operations, it cannot claim to have a quality management system in place.

A QMS is not static, and by definition it must be improved continually in order to

enhance organizational effectiveness and efficiency. It may be formally defined as
follows. A quality (management) system consists of the organizational structure,
procedures, processes, and resources needed to implement quality management.

23
Quality management is the process for ensuring that all project activities
necessary to design, plan and implement a project are effective and efficient with
respect to the purpose of the objective and its performance.

Project quality management (QM) is not a separate, independent process that

occurs at the end of an activity to measure the level of quality of the output. It is
not purchasing the most expensive material or services available on the market.
Quality and grade are not the same, grade are characteristics of a material or
service such as additional features. A product may be of good quality (no defects)
and be of low grade (few or no extra features).

Quality management is a continuous process that starts and ends with the project.
It is more about preventing and avoiding than measuring and fixing poor quality
outputs. It is part of every project management processes from the moment the
project initiates to the final steps in the project closure phase.

QM focuses on improving stakeholder’s satisfaction through continuous and

incremental improvements to processes, including removing unnecessary
activities; it achieves that by the continuous improvement of the quality of material
and services provided to the beneficiaries. It is not about finding and fixing errors
after the fact, quality management is the continuous monitoring and application of
quality processes in all aspects of the project.

Definition of Quality:
Quality has been defined as "the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on
its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), Quality Management and Quality Assurance (Geneva,
Switzerland: ISO Press, 1994) stated and implied quality needs are the inputs
used in defining project requirements from the donor and the beneficiaries. It is

24
also defined as the “Conformance to requirements or fitness for use”; which means
that the product or services must meet the intended objectives. Joseph M. Duran ,
Quality Control Handbook (1951)of the project and have a value to the donor and
beneficiaries and that the beneficiaries can use the material or service as it was
originally intended. The central focus of quality management is meeting or
exceeding stakeholder’s expectations and conforming to the project design and
specifications. The ultimate judge for quality is the beneficiary, and represents how
close the project outputs and deliverables come to meeting the beneficiaries’
requirements and expectations. How a beneficiary defines quality may be
completely subjective, but there are many ways to make quality objective; by
defining the individual characteristics and determine one or more metrics that can
be collected to mirror the characteristic. For instance, one of the features of a
quality product may be that it has a minimum amount of errors. This characteristic
can be measured by counting errors and defects after the product is used. Quality
management is not an event - it is a process, a consistently high quality product or
service cannot be produced by a defective process. Quality management is a
repetitive cycle of measuring quality, updating processes, measuring, updating
processes until the desired quality is achieved.

The Purpose of Management of Quality:

The main principle of project quality management is to ensure the project will meet
or exceed stakeholder’s needs and expectations. The project team must develop a
good relationship with key stakeholders, specially the donor and the beneficiaries
of the project, to understand what quality means to them. One of the causes for
poor project evaluations is the project focuses only in meeting the written
requirements for the main outputs and ignores other stakeholder needs and
expectations for the project. Quality must be viewed on an equal level with scope,
schedule and budget. If a project donor is not satisfied with the quality of how the

25
project is delivering the outcomes, the project team will need to make adjustments
to scope, schedule and budget to satisfy the donor’s needs and expectations. To
deliver the project scope on time and on budget is not enough, to achieve
stakeholder satisfaction the project must develop a good working relationship with
all stakeholders and understand their stated or implied needs.

Quality management consists of four main processes:

 Q uality Definition
Quality Assurance
Quality Control
Quality Improvements

Quality Definition:
The first step on the quality management is to define quality, the project manager
and the team must identify what quality standards will be used in the project, it will
look at what the donor, beneficiaries, the organization and other key stakeholders
to come up with a good definition of quality. In some instances the organization or
the area of specialization of the project (health, water or education) may have
some standard definitions of quality that can be used by the project. Identifying
quality standards is a key component of quality definition that will help identify the
key characteristics that will govern project activities and ensure the beneficiaries
and donor will accept the project outcomes. Quality management implies the ability
to anticipate situations and prepare actions that will help bring the desired
outcomes. The goal is the prevention of defects through the creation of actions
that will ensure that the project team understands what is defined as quality.

Quality Characteristics:

26
All material or services have characteristics that facilitate the identification of its
quality. The characteristics are part of the conditions of how the material,
equipment and services are able to meet the requirements of the project and are fit
for use by the beneficiaries. Quality characteristics relate to the attributes,
measures and methods attached to that particular product or service.
Functionality
 is the degree, by which equipment performs its intended function,
this is important especially for clinical equipment, that the operation should be
behave as expected.
Performance,
 its how well a product or service performs the beneficiaries
intended use. A water system should be designed to support extreme conditions
and require little maintenance to reduce the cost to the community and increase its
sustainability.
Reliability,
 it’s the ability of the service or product to perform as intended under
normal conditions without unacceptable failures. Material used for blood testing
should be able to provide the information in a consistent and dependable manner
that will help identify critical diseases. The trust of the beneficiaries depend on the
quality of the tests.
Relevance,
 it’s the characteristic of how a product or service meets the actual
needs of the beneficiaries, it should be pertinent, applicable, and appropriate to its
intended use or application.
Timeliness,
 how the product or service is delivered in time to solve the
problems when its needed and not after, this is a crucial characteristic for health
and emergency relief work.
Suitability,
 defines the fitness of its use, it appropriateness and correctness, the
agriculture equipment must be designed to operate on the soul conditions the
beneficiaries will use it on.
Completeness,
 the quality that the service is complete and includes all the
entire scope of services. Training sessions should be complete and include all the
material needed to build a desired skill or knowledge

27
Consistency,
 services are delivered in the same way for every beneficiary.
Clinical tests need to be done using the same procedure for every patient.

Quality characteristics are not limited to the material, equipment or service

delivered to the beneficiaries, but also applies to the material, equipment and
services the project staff uses to deliver the project outputs. These include the
vehicles, computers, various equipment and tools and consulting services the
project purchases and uses to carry out its activities.

Quality characteristics must be included in all material, equipment and services the
project will purchase, the procurement officers must have a complete description
of what is required by the project, otherwise a procurement office may purchase
the goods or services based on her or his information of the product.

Quality plan:
Part of defining quality involves developing a quality plan and a quality checklist
that will be used during the project implementation phase. This check list will
ensure the project team and other actors are

delivering the project outputs according to the quality requirements. Once the
project has defined the quality standards and quality characteristics, it will create a
project quality plan that describes all the quality definitions and standards relevant
to the project, it will highlight the standards that must be followed to comply to
regulatory requirements setup by the donor, the organization and external
agencies such a the local government and professional organizations (health,
nutrition, etc) The quality plan also describes the conditions that the services and
materials must posses in order to satisfy the needs and expectations of the project
stakeholders, it describes the situations or conditions

28
that make an output fall below quality standards, this information is used to gain a
common understanding among the project team to help them identify what is
above and what is below a quality standard.
The quality plan also includes the procedure to ensure that the quality standards
are being followed by all project staff. The plan also includes the steps required to
monitor and control quality and the approval process to make changes to the
quality standards and the quality plan.

Quality Assurance:
Assurance is the activity of providing evidence to create confidence among all
stakeholders that the quality-related activities are being performed effectively; and
that all planned actions are being done to provide adequate confidence that a
product or service will satisfy the stated requirements for quality. Quality
Assurance is a process to provide confirmation based on evidence to ensure to the
donor, beneficiaries, organization management and other stakeholders that
product meet needs, expectations, and other requirements. It assures the
existence and effectiveness of process and procedures tools, and safeguards are
in place to make sure that the expected levels of quality will be reached to produce
quality outputs. Quality assurance occurs during the implementation phase of the
project and includes the evaluation of the overall performance of the project on a
regular basis to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the quality
standards defined by the project. One of the purposes of quality management is to
find errors and defects as early in the project as possible. Therefore, a good
quality management process will end up taking more effort hours and cost upfront.
The goal is to reduce the chances that products or services will be of poor quality
after the project has been completed. Quality assurance is done not only to the
products and services delivered by the project but also to the process and
procedures used to manage the project, that includes the way the project uses the
tools, techniques and methodologies to manage scope, schedule, budget and

29
quality. Quality assurance also includes the project meets any legal or regulatory
standards.

Quality Audits:
Quality audits are structured reviews of the quality management activities that help
identify lessons learned that can improve the performance on current or future
project activities. Audits are performed by project staff or consultants with
expertise in specific areas. The purpose of quality audit is to review how the
project is using its internal processes to produce the products and services it will
deliver to the beneficiaries. Its goal is to find ways to improve the tools, techniques
and processes that create the products and services. If problems are detected
during the quality audits, corrective action will be necessary to the tools, processes
and procedures used to ensure quality is reestablished. Part of the audit may
include a review of the project staff understanding of the quality parameters or
metrics, and skills expertise and knowledge of the people in charge of producing or
delivering the products or services. If corrective actions are needed, these must be
approved through the change control processes.

The PDCA Cycle:

The most popular tool used to determine quality assurance is the Shewhart Cycle.
This cycle for quality assurance consists of four steps: Plan, Do, Check, and Act.
These steps are commonly abbreviated as PDCA.

The four quality assurance steps within the PDCA model stand for
 Plan: Establish objectives and processes required to deliver the desired results.
 Do: Implement the process developed.
 Check: Monitor and evaluate the implemented process by testing the results
against
the predetermined objectives.

30
 Act: Apply actions necessary for improvement if the results require changes.
The PDCA is an effective method for monitoring quality assurance because it
analyzes existing conditions and methods used to provide the product or service to
beneficiaries. The goal is to ensure that excellence is inherent in every component
of the process. Quality assurance also helps determine whether the steps used to
provide the product or service is appropriate for the time and conditions. In
addition, if the PDCA cycle is repeated throughout the lifetime of the project
helping improve internal efficiency.

The PDCA cycle is shown below as a never-ending cycle of improvement; this

cycle is sometimes referred to as the Shewart/Deming3 cycle since it originated
with Shewart and was subsequently applied to management practices by Deming.

Plan Do

Act Check

Figure: The Shewart/Deming Cycle

Quality assurance demands a degree of detail in order to be fully implemented at

every step. Planning, for example, could include investigation into the quality of the
raw materials used in manufacturing, the actual assembly, or the inspection
processes used. The Checking step could include beneficiary feedback or surveys
to determine if beneficiary needs are being met or exceeded and why they are or
31
are not. Acting could mean a total revision in the delivery process in order to
correct a technical flaw. The goal to exceed stakeholder expectations in a
measurable and accountable process is provided by quality assurance.

Assurance vs. Control:

Quality assurance is often confused with quality control; quality control is done at
the end of a process or activity to verify that quality standards have been met.
Quality control by itself does not provide quality, although it may identify problems
and suggest ways to improving it. In contrast, quality assurance is a systematic
approach to obtaining quality standards. Quality assurance is something that must
be planned for from the earliest stages of a project, with appropriate measures
taken at every
stage. Unfortunately far too many development projects are implemented with no
quality assurance plan, and these projects often fail to meet quality expectations of
the donor and beneficiaries. To avoid problem the project must be able to
demonstrate the consistent compliance with the quality requirements for the
project.

Quality Control:
Quality control is the use of techniques and activities that compare actual quality
performance with goals and define appropriate action in response to a shortfall. It
is the process that monitors specific project results to determine if they comply with
relevant standards and identifies different approaches to eliminate the causes for
the unsatisfactory performance. The goal of quality control is to improve quality
and involves monitoring the project outputs to determine if they meet the quality
standards or definitions based on the project stakeholder expectations. Quality
control also includes how the project performs in its efforts to manage scope,
budget and schedule.

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Acceptance:
 The beneficiaries, the donor or other key project stakeholders
accept or reject the product or service delivered.
Acceptance occurs after the beneficiaries or donor has had a change to evaluate
the product or service.
Rework;
 is the action taken to bring the rejected product or service into
compliance with the requirements, quality specifications or stakeholder
expectations. Rework is expensive that is why the project must make every effort
to do a good job in quality planning and quality assurance to avoid the need for
rework. Rework and all the costs associated with it may not refundable by the
donor and the organization may end up covering those costs.
Adjustments;
 correct or take the necessary steps to prevent further quality
problems or defects based on quality control measurements. Adjustments are
identified to the processes that produce the outputs and the decisions that were
taken that lead to the defects and errors. Changes are taken to the Change
Control processes of the project.

Quality Control Tools:

There are a couple of good tools that can be used to control quality on a project,
these are cause and effect diagrams, Pareto charts and control charts:
Cause
 and Effect Diagram, also known as fishbone diagrams or Ishikawa
diagrams (named after Kaoru Ishikawa, a Japanese quality control statistician,
who developed the concept in the 1960s, and is considered one of the seven basic
tools of quality management) It is named fishbone diagram because of their fish-
like appearance, it is an analysis tool that provides a systematic way of looking at
effects and the causes that create or contribute to those effects. The
Ishikawa Diagram is employed by a problem-solving team as a tool for assembling
all inputs (as to what are the causes of the problem they're addressing)
systematically and graphically, with the inputs usually coming from a brainstorming
session. It enables the team to focus on why the problem occurs, and not on the

33
 history or symptoms of the problem, or other topics that digress from the intent of
the session. It also displays a real-time 'snap-shot' of the

Cause A Cause B Cause C

Cause A-1 Cause B-1 Cause C-1

Cause B-1 Cause C-2

Cause A-2
Major Defect

Quality Error
Cause D-2
Cause E-2 CauseF-2

Cause D-1 Cause E-1 Cause F-1

Cause D Cause E Cause F

Figure: Fishbone diagram

collective inputs of the team as it is updated. The possible causes are presented at
various levels of detail in connected branches, with the level of detail increasing as
the branch goes outward, i.e., an outer branch is a cause of the inner branch it is
attached to. Thus, the outermost branches usually indicate the root causes of the
problem.
Pareto
 Charts; based on Pareto’s rule, which states that 80 percent of the
problems are often due to 20 percent of the causes. The assumption is that most
of the results in any situation are determined by a small number of causes and
helps identify the vital few contributors that account for most quality problems. The
chart is a form of histogram that orders the data by frequency of occurrence; it
shows how many defects were generated by a type of category of identified cause.
For example to determine the errors in the collection of beneficiary data the project
team identified five causes and for each cause the frequency they contained

34
errors, the data is plotted as shown in the chart below, the bars represent each
category and the line the cumulative percentage of the errors, the
chart allows to identify that 80% of the errors could be reduced just by improving
the collection of data in two categories instead of focusing efforts to correct all
categories.
Perce
120% ntage
45 of
Freq 40 100% error
uenc
y
35 80%
30
60%
25
20 40%
15
20%
10
5 0%
0
No Can'tRead Other
Signature

Baseline data errors

Figure: Pareto Chart
Control
 Charts; is a graphical display of data that illustrates the results of a
process over time, the purpose of a control chart is to prevent defects, rather than
detect them or reject them, the chart allows the determine whether a process is in
control or out of control over specified length of time. Control charts are often used
to monitor the production of large quantities of products, but can also be used to
monitor the volume and frequency of errors in documents, cost an schedule
variances and other items related to project quality management. The figure below
illustrates an example of a control chart for the process of controlling the weight of
products manufactured by the beneficiaries for sale in international markets. The
customer has a limit tolerance for defects; these are the upper and lower control
limits in the chart. Random examination of the products reveals data that once
charted on the graph identifies the times when the production process created

35
 items that were outside the control limits, this helps the project determine actions
to help the beneficiaries improve the quality of their work.

Upper limit
i
gh
t

W
e M
i e
g a
h n
t

Lower limit
i
gh
t

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time Scale
Figure: Control charts
Control charts can also be used to the project management areas, such as
schedule and budget control, to determine whether the costs variances or
schedule variances are outside the acceptable limits set by the donor.

Quality Improvement:
It is the systematic approach to the processes of work that looks to remove waste,
loss, rework, frustration, etc. in order to make the processes of work more
effective, efficient, and appropriate. Quality improvement refers to the application
of methods and tools to close the gap between current and expected levels of
quality by understanding and addressing system deficiencies and strengths to
improve, or in some cases, re-design project processes. A variety of quality
improvement approaches exists, ranging from individual performance
improvement to redesign of entire project processes. These approaches differ in

36
terms of time, resources, and complexity, but share the same four steps in quality
improvement:
Identify
 what you want to improve; the project using the data found in the quality
control process identifies the areas that need improvement.
Analyze
 the problem or system, the team then investigates the causes for the
problem and its implications to the project, the causes may be internal or external
to the project.
Develop
 potential solutions or changes that appear likely to improve the
problem or system, the team brainstorms ideas and potential solutions to the
problem, taking in consideration its impact to the project schedule and budget.
After careful considerations the team decides and chooses the best alternative.
Test
 and implement the solutions. The team may decide to test the solution on a
small scale to verify that it is capable of fixing the problem, it testes for the initial
assumptions made about the problem and once it confirms that the solution is a
viable alternative, it then proceeds to implement in a full scale the solution.

Cost of Quality:
The cost of quality is the sum of costs a project will spend to prevent poor quality
and any other costs incurred as a result of outputs of poor quality. Poor quality is
the waste, errors, or failure to meet stakeholder needs and project requirements.
The costs of poor quality can be broken down into the three categories of
prevention, appraisal, and failure costs:

Prevention
 costs: These are planned costs an organization incurs to ensure
that errors are not made at any stage during the delivery process of that product or
service to a beneficiary. Examples of prevention costs include quality planning
costs, education and training costs, quality administration staff costs, process
control costs, market research costs, field testing costs, and preventive

37
maintenance costs. The cost of preventing mistakes are always much less than
the costs of inspection and correction.
Appraisal
 costs: These include the costs of verifying, checking, or evaluating a
product or service during the delivery process. Examples of appraisal costs include
receiving or incoming inspection costs, internal production audit costs, test and
inspection costs, instrument maintenance costs, process measurement and control
costs, supplier evaluation costs, and audit report costs.
Failure
 costs: A project incurs these costs because the product or service did
not meet the requirements and had to be fixed or replaced, or the service had to
be repeated.

Leadership:
Joseph M. Juran, one of the leading experts in Quality management said that “it is
most important that management be quality-minded. In the absence of sincere
manifestation of interest at the top, little will happen below” 4 What this means is
the main cause of quality problems is a lack of leadership. In order to establish and
implement effective quality projects, senior management must lead the way. A
large percentage of quality problems are associated with management, not
technical issues, it is the responsibility of the development organizations senior
management to take responsibility for creating, supporting, and promoting quality
programs.

Quality problems should be taken as an opportunity for improvement; problems

can help identify more fundamental or systemic root causes and help develop
ways to improve the process. Unfortunately projects do not have a culture that
promotes the identification of problems for the fear that making improvements is
an admission that the current way of doing things is flawed or that those
responsible are poor performers. Improved performance cannot occur unless the

38
project team feels comfortable that they can speak truthfully and are confident that
their suggestions will be taken seriously.

Maturity Models:
Another approach to improve quality is the use of maturity models, which are
frameworks for helping organizations and projects improve their processes. The
model includes a method for assessing the projects maturity levels as a first step
to determine the improvements needed to increase the capacity of the project to
deliver the project outputs as promised.

The use of the word "maturity" implies that capabilities must be grown over time in
order to produce repeatable success in project management. The Random House
College Dictionary defines "maturity" as full development or perfected condition.
"Maturity" also indicates understanding or visibility into why success occurs and
ways to correct or prevent common problems. "Model" implies change, a
progression, or steps in a process.

Project management maturity is the progressive development of an organizations

project management approach, methodology, strategy, and decision-making
process. The appropriate level of maturity can vary for each organization based on
specific goals, strategies, resource capabilities, scope, and needs.

The proper level of maturity to which an organization should strive is determined

during a detailed assessment conducted by a professional project management
consulting team. The organization has achieved full project management maturity
when it has met the requirements and standards for project management
effectiveness and it is capable of demonstrating improvements such as on-time
project delivery, cost reductions, organizational efficiency, and quality outcomes.

39
A project quality maturity usually consists of five levels:
Level
 1. Informal level, there is no defined processes for quality practices or
standards. The organization may be in the initial stages of considering how
projects should define quality, but most efforts are informal and had-oc.
Level
 2. Defined level, the organization has defines some basic quality
standards and project quality policies that are being adopted. But not all projects
are using it in a consistent manner.
Level
 3. Repeatable level, the quality process is well documented and is an
organizational standard. All projects are using it and producing consistent and
repeatable results.
Level
 4. Controlled level, all projects ire required to use quality planning
standard processes. The organization has a unit or roles that coordinate quality
standards and assurance and quality audits are done on a regular basis.
Level
 5. Optimized level, the quality process includes guidelines for feeding
improvements back into the process. Metrics are used as key criteria for quality
decisions and quality results are predictable. The model helps an organization
identify were they stand and were they should strive to reach, it is a simple way to
determine the level of maturity required for a project or organization, some
organizations may be comfortable with achieving a level 3 while others may be
encouraged to reach a level 4 due to the need to comply with legal or regulatory
standards.

Implementing a QMS:

For most organizations, the primary motivation for implementing a QMS is either
management need or customer demand. Management’s motivation for
implementing a QMS usually stems from its need to improve productivity, improve

40
product quality, and reduce time-to-market, thus gaining a competitive advantage.
Sometimes, management’s motivation for implementing a QMS is driven by
competitive pressure, where the organization’s competitors have established (or
are in the process of establishing) a formal QMS with the goal of registration to a
recognized QMS standard, such as ISO 9000. In such cases, registration to a
quality management system standard is perceived to be a valuable asset for
marketing and soliciting new customers.

Customer demands on an existing supplier (or a potential supplier) to implement a

QMS is driven by the customer’s need of an assurance that the supplier is capable
of meeting the customer’s quality requirements. Often, such a demand may be
made in response to continued sub par performance of an existing supplier, or
prior to approving a new supplier.

In certain industries, customers (including government agencies) also go to the

extent of inviting bids only from suppliers who have attained a particular quality
registration. Because an organization that does not have a QMS in place may be
barred from bidding for potential business, it is likely to translate into management
motivation to implement a QMS.

It has been argued that the “management-motivated approach will normally be

more comprehensive and fruitful than the model used for demonstrating the
adequacy of the quality system” (i.e., the customer motivated implementation of a
QMS). In other words, the likelihood that a QMS will be adequate and effective is
significantly improved if its implementation is driven by internal motivation in the
organization (management need) rather than external pressures (customer
demand). In fact, management commitment to quality is the most significant
prerequisite for a successful QMS implementation.

When management visibly demonstrates its commitment to quality, and promotes

a quality-oriented and customer-focused mindset in the organization, it encourages

41
the employees to strive to realize the true benefits of the implemented QMS. On
the other hand, a QMS that is implemented solely with the objective of achieving a
coveted quality registration to win new business, or please potential customers,
will serve merely as a short-lived marketing tool. This is because the lack of an
effective QMS eventually will manifest itself in poor product quality, late product
delivery, low employee morale, and dissatisfied customers.

Benefits of implementing a QMS:

Implementation of a QMS in an organization offers near-term and long term

rewards:

• Defined processes and supporting QMS documentation are the basis for
repetition, and help reduce (and eliminate) variation within process
execution. As variation is reduced, it results in improvements in operational
efficiency.
• With the implementation of corrective and preventive solutions that
effectively address the root causes of quality problems, permanent
solutions are implemented. This results in improvements in organizational
effectiveness.
• A QMS enables an organization to focus on how it executes its business
processes. Such process focus and awareness are essential in order to be
able to monitor and analyze process performance for continual
improvement.
• A QMS fosters continual improvement in the organization’s productivity,
rework costs, on-time delivery performance, and within budget project
execution. This enables the organization to enhance its bottom-line
revenue growth.
• A QMS results in higher-quality products and services, as quality
management practices are continually improved.

42
• As an organization improves the quality of products and services, it
improves customer satisfaction levels, which helps improve customer
loyalty and customer retention.
• A QMS enables the organization to gain a competitive advantage due to its
being perceived as a “best-in-class” supplier by its customers. This enables
the organization to retain customers, attract new ones, increase market
share, and enhance top-line revenue growth.
• A QMS enhances an organization’s competitive position by allowing it to
present itself as a viable supplier in situations where a customer requires
its suppliers to have a formal QMS in place (although in certain cases
customers also seek registration to a QMS standard).
• A QMS enhances customer confidence in the ability of a supplier to deliver
products and services according to specified quality requirements (quality
assurance).
• A QMS reduces the organization’s reliance on “heroes” to make projects a
success, because all employees are aware of the required quality
management practices. In other words, it enhances an organization’s ability
to achieve quality requirements because employee competencies are
augmented by a process infrastructure that helps achieve the Identified
requirements.
• A QMS reduces (or eliminates) an organization’s dependence on a few
individuals for information regarding critical processes, because such
processes are now formally documented. This reduces organizational
vulnerability to employee turnover.
• A QMS reduces waste of resources and loss of reputation resulting from
rejection and rework of inferior-quality products (referred to as Cost of Poor
Quality). This enables the organization to shift from a reactive mode of
operation (performing corrective action) to a proactive mode (performing
preventive action).

43
 • A QMS promotes employee understanding that quality is everyone’s
responsibility. The realization that each employee contributes to the
achievement of quality requirements helps institutionalize quality
improvements across the organization, at all levels.
• Employee morale and satisfaction improve as employees participate in
defining their processes, and are empowered to own, monitor, and
continually improve those processes.
• A QMS results in improved communication both internally and externally,
which results in improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, and
improved customer – supplier relations.

Quality Management Systems Philosophy:

A system is an ordered set of ideas, principles and theories or a chain of

operations that produce specific results, and to be a chain of operations they need
to work together in a regular relationship. Shannon defined a system as a group or
set of objects united by some form or regular interaction or interdependence to
perform a specified function.

Deming defines a system as a series of functions or activities within an

organization that work together for the aim of the organization. These three
definitions appear to be consistent although worded differently.

A quality management system is not a random collection of procedures, tasks or

documents (which many quality systems are). Quality management systems are
like air-conditioning systems they need to be designed. All the components need
to fit together, the inputs and outputs need to be connected, sensors need to feed
information to processes which cause changes in performance and all parts need
to work together to achieve a common purpose.

44
ISO 9000 defines a quality management system as a set of interrelated or
interacting processes that achieve the quality policy and quality objective. But the
word quality gets in the way of our thinking. It makes us think that quality
management systems operate alongside environmental management systems,
safety management systems, and financial management systems. In ISO 9000 it is
stated that the quality management system is “that part of the organization’s
management system that focuses on the achievement of outputs in relation to the
quality objectives”, therefore the quality management system must exist to achieve
the organization’s quality objectives. This concept was unclear in the 1994 version
with the result that many quality systems were focused on procedures for their own
sake rather than on serving objectives. It would appear therefore that other parts of
the management system are intended to serve the achievement of specific
objectives. For example, we could establish:

· Safety systems to serve safety objectives

· Environmental systems to serve environmental objectives

· Security systems to serve security objectives

· Human resource systems to serve human resource objectives

· Marketing systems to serve marketing objectives

· Innovation systems to serve innovation objectives

· Financial systems to serve financial objectives

Many organizations have appointed specific managers to achieve each of these

objectives so that we have for instance an Environmental Manager, fulfilling
Environmental Objectives through an Environmental Management System and a
Quality Manager fulfilling Quality Objectives through a Quality System. Do the
same for the others and you would have multiple management systems. This is
what functional management produces and as a result puts the managers in
potential conflict with each other as each tries to achieve their objectives

45
independently of the others. Many of these objectives are in reality not objectives
at all but constraints that exist only by virtue of the organization’s necessity to
satisfy customers.

However, several questions arise: “Are quality objectives, objectives of the same
kind as the other objectives or are these other objectives a subset of quality
objectives?” and “Is the quality management system just one of a series of
systems or is it the parent system of which the others are a part?”

To find the answer it is necessary to go back a step and ask: Which comes first, an
objective or a need? We don’t set financial objectives because we think it’s a good
idea; there is a need that has its origins in the organization’s mission statement.

The mission statement tells us what our goal is and where are we going. Without
customers there is no business therefore the basic purpose of a business is to
satisfy a particular want in society and so create a customer. Its mission is related
to these wants and is expressed in specific terms. To be effective, a mission
statement should always look outside the business not inside. For example, a
mission that is focused on increasing market share is an inwardly seeking mission
whereas a mission that is focused on bringing cheap digital communication to the
people is an outwardly seeking mission statement. From the mission statement we
can ask, “What affects our ability to accomplish our goal?” The answers we get
become our critical success factors and it is these factors that shape our
objectives:

· If our success depends on the safety of our products, we need safety objectives.

· If our success depends on securing the integrity of information entrusted to us by

our customers, we need security objectives.

· If our success depends on the impact our operations have on the environment,
we need environmental objectives.
46
· If our success depends on capital investment in modern plant and machinery, we
need financial objectives.

This list is incomplete, but if we were to continue, would we find a reason for
having quality objectives? Business will only create customers if they satisfy their
needs; therefore success in all businesses depends on fulfilling customer needs
and expectations.

Quality is defined in ISO 9000 as the degree to which a set of inherent

characteristics fulfils requirements. Note that the definition is not limited to
customer requirements and the inherent characteristics are limited to products. It
could apply to any set of requirements internal or external, technical or non-
technical including health, safety and environmental requirements. It could also
apply to any process outcome: products, services, decisions, information, impacts,
etc. It extends to all those with an interest in the business.

Quality is therefore a term that describes the condition of business outcomes.

Everything a business does must directly or indirectly affect the condition of its
outcomes and therefore all business objectives are quality objectives. Therefore
we do not need quality objectives in addition to all the other objectives because all
objectives are quality objectives and the quality management system is not part of
the management system – it is the management system. We can therefore
describe the relationship between the management system and the organization
diagrammatically as shown in Figure.

47
All the objectives only arise as a result of the organization seeking to create and
satisfy customers. There is no environmental objective, impact or anything else if
the organization does not have customers. Objectives for the environment, safety,
security, finance, human resources etc. only have meaning when taken in the
context of what the business is trying to do, which is to create and satisfy
customers. While many might argue that the purpose of business is to make
money for the shareholders or owners this is different from the purpose of a
business, which is to create and retain customers and do this in a manner that
satisfies the needs and expectations of all stakeholders. Without a customer there
is no business at all, therefore customer needs must come first. Satisfying
customers becomes the only true objective; all others are constraints that affect
the manner in which the organization satisfies its customers. It may help therefore
if we view any objective that serves a stakeholder other than the customer as a
constraint or a requirement that impacts the manner in which customer objectives
are achieved.

The management system is the way the organization operates, the way it carries
out its business, the way things are. Its purpose is to enable the organization to
accomplish its mission, its purpose, its goals and its objectives. All organizations
possess a management system. Some are formal, some are informal. Even in a
one-person business, that person will have a way of working a way of achieving
his or her objectives. That way is the system and comprises the behaviors,

48
processes and resources employed to achieve those objectives. The system
comprises everything that affects the results. It only has to be formalized when the
relationships grow too large for one person to manage by relying on memory.

It is unlikely that you will be able to produce and sustain the required quality unless
you organize yourselves to do so. Quality does not happen by chance, it has to be
managed. No human endeavor has ever been successful without having been
planned, organized and controlled in some way.

Scope of the System:

As the quality management system is the means by which the organization

achieves its objectives, it follows that the scope of the system (what it covers) is
every function and activity of the organization that contributes to these objectives.
This should leave no function or activity outside the system. The system must also
include suppliers because the organization depends on its suppliers to achieve its
objectives. The chain of processes from the customer interface and back again
includes the suppliers.

Including every function and activity within the system should not be interpreted as
compelling every function and activity to certification to ISO 9001 far from it.

Design of the System:

Imagine you are designing an air-conditioning system. You would commence by

establishing the system requirements, then design a system that meets the
requirements, document the design and build a prototype. You would then test it
and when satisfied it functions under the anticipated operating conditions, launch
into production. If problems are detected during production, solutions would be
developed and the design documentation changed before recommencing
production. If problems were experienced during maintenance, the design
documentation would be consulted to aid in the search for the fault. If
49
improvements are to be made, once again the design documentation would be
consulted and design changes made and the documentation revised before
implementation in production.

This traditional cycle for products therefore has some redeeming features:

· Design does not commence without a specification of requirements – if it does,

the wrong product is likely to be designed.

· Designs are documented before product is manufactured – if they are not

documented, it is likely that the product cannot be manufactured or will not fit
together or functions as intended.

· Designs are proven before launching into production – if production commences

before design proving, the product will probably fail on test or in service.

· Design documentation is changed before changes are implemented in production

– if documentation is not changed before implementation, the product will be
different each time it is made; solved problems will recur and no two installations
will be alike.

If we apply the same logic to the design and implementation of a management

system, we would:

 Define the requirements before commencing management system design,

i.e. we would establish the objectives the system is required to achieve
(The vision, mission, corporate goals etc.)
 Document the management system design before implementation.
 Verify that the management system meets the requirements before
commitment to full operation.
 Document changes to the management system before implementation in
practice.

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But what often happens is:

Management system development commences without a specification of

requirements or a clear idea of the objectives is need to achieve; often the system
exists only to meet ISO 9000, or some other standard.

• The management system is documented before it has been designed.

• The management system is made fully operational before being verified it
meets the requirements.
• Changes are made to practices before they are documented.

• Improvements are made to the management system without consulting the

documentation because it is often out of date.

As the management system is the means by which the organization achieves its
objectives, the management system delivers the organization’s products. (This
includes hardware, software, services and processed material including
information products.)

If we analyze the factors on which the quality of these products depends we would
deduce they include:

• The style of management (autocratic, democratic, participative, directive

etc.)
• The attitude and behavior of the people (positive, negative etc.)
• The capability of the available resources (capacity, responsiveness,
technology)
• The quantity and quality of the available resources (materials, equipment,
finance, people)
• The condition and capability of the facilities, plant and machinery

51
 • The physical environment in which people work (heat, noise, cleanliness
etc.)
• The human environment in which people work (freedom, empowerment,
health and safety)

It follows therefore that a management system consists of the processes required

to deliver the organization’s products and services as well as the resources,
behaviors and environment on which they depend. It is therefore not advisable to
even contemplate a management system simply as a set of documents or if we do
go some way towards ISO 9000:2000, a set of processes that simply converts
inputs into outputs. Three out of the seven factors above relate to the human
element, we therefore cannot afford to ignore it.

QMS Planning Phase:

The QMS planning phase entails the specification of the QMS implementation
goal, and lays out the roadmap that the organization will follow to achieve the
defined goal. Plans devised at this stage may be revised later (as needed), but for
the most part, decisions made in this phase will have a profound effect on the pace
and thoroughness of the QMS implementation effort, and quality of the resulting
QMS. It is therefore important that there be adequate forethought and meticulous
planning in this phase. These items are summarized below

Implementation prerequisites: Identify prerequisites for success, and ensure that

they have been secured. Doing so helps maximize the chances of success and
helps mitigate risks from the beginning of the QMS implementation.

Implementation goal: Establish a clear goal statement that satisfies the SMART
criteria.

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Implementation team: Plan for an implementation team with adequate cross-
functional representation and clearly defined roles and responsibilities that are
communicated to all implementation team members.

Implementation strategy: Brainstorm the implementation strategy and ensure that it

is clearly communicated to all implementation team members and staff members.

Implementation process: Define an implementation process that lays out the high-
level roadmap for implementing the QMS. This includes main phases of QMS
implementation and key activities within each phase.

Implementation schedule, needed resources, and cost: For the implementation

roadmap defined in the previous step, estimate the resources for each activity and
establish an implementation schedule. Ensure that an adequate contingency is
included within each phase. Also, estimate the major expenses for the
implementation and budget for the anticipated implementation costs.

Mechanisms to manage the implementation, communicate progress, and

encourage employee participation: Identify the mechanisms that will be used to
track and control implementation progress to ensure that the project progresses
according to plans. Identify means that will be used to communicate progress,
especially to senior management, and to facilitate timely management intervention
in case progress lags. Identify means that will be used to encourage employee
participation and recognize employee contribution.

QMS documentation: Ensure that the key elements of a sound QMS

documentation management system are in place. Ensure that the process for
creating, reviewing, and approving new QMS documentation is defined and
communicated to all employees.

QMS Definition Phase:

53
The QMS definition phase entails the definition and documentation of the
organization’s QMS. If the organization has selected a quality management
system standard for use, this phase entails the definition of the QMS in
accordance with the standard’s requirements. Activities in this phase include but
are not limited to:

1. Requirements analysis (if applicable): Analyze each requirement in the QMS

standard to clearly understand what is required and how the requirement can be
satisfied.

2. Gap analysis: Assess the current state of the system (processes and
procedures) against best practices in the given industry, or against requirements in
the QMS standard (if one was selected). This exercise is intended to obtain
answers to the question Where are we right now? With a better understanding of
where one is and where one is headed (project goal), one is better able to plan
future action. The gap analysis may reveal that processes and procedures are
already in place in certain areas of the organization. When appropriate, reuse all or
part of the current implementation as opposed to beginning from scratch. The gap
analysis may also reveal critical quality discrepancies requiring immediate
attention; these should be planned for immediate rectification.

3. Revise implementation plan: As is obvious from the foregoing explanation, the

gap analysis typically will cause the implementation plan to be fine-tuned as per
the insight gained into the current state of the system.

4. Correct critical quality (or process) deficiencies: Act upon the results of the gap
analysis to correct critical quality (or process) deficiencies that can be fixed
relatively easily. Doing so provides immediate return on investment for initiating
the quality implementation effort. It also provides an opportunity to cite the success
stories to sustain management commitment and encourage employee
participation.

54
5. Perform high-level process mapping and create supporting process
documentation: Perform process mapping for high-level organizational processes,
and create supporting process documentation, as needed.

6. Perform low-level process flowcharting and create supporting process

documentation: Perform process flowcharting for lower-level organizational
processes, and create supporting process documentation as needed.

7. Create additional QMS documentation: In addition to QMS documentation in the

form of process maps, create additional documentation as needed, such as
procedures, templates, and forms.

QMS Refinement Phase:

The QMS refinement phase involves a final verification of the entire QMS to
ensure that all processes interact as originally planned and, further, that all
processes are mutually consistent and correctly defined. This phase also involves
a final validation to ensure all elements of the QMS comply with the organization’s
quality requirements (and, if applicable, requirements of the QMS standard in use).
Deficiencies identified during this phase are addressed by requesting corrective
action from the respective process (or document) owners.

QMS Deployment Phase:

The QMS deployment phase involves institutionalizing the QMS across the
organization.

In this phase, the QMS is rolled out incrementally so that it gradually is adopted
and becomes the new way of working. As each process is defined, documented,
and approved for use by employees, it enters the QMS deployment phase. In this
phase, employees are trained on the defined processes, and execution of the
55
processes is monitored by the quality assurance personnel (and by QMS
implementation team members, as appropriate) who participate in or observe
activities as they are executed.

They verify that processes are being executed correctly and that they are
adequate and effective. Process execution also is verified by means of internal
quality audits performed during or after process execution.

This does not imply that during QMS deployment, all old processes are thrown out
and replaced with new high-quality processes. However, establishment of a QMS
will cause the organization to examine all its existing processes, and it is safe to
assume that most of them would be impacted to some extent during QMS
implementation (mostly in terms of needed improvements). This examination also
may reveal some inadequate and inefficient processes that need to be discarded
and replaced with new ones. For the most part, however, implementation of the
QMS generally will result in changes to existing processes, with some processes
undergoing major change and others undergoing minor change. It is important to
plan for a certain amount of time (typically, months) between completion of
employee training and commencement of internal quality audits. This time period,
referred to as the process establishment period, is required for two reasons: first,
some amount of time is required to adequately promulgate a QMS throughout an
organization such that it becomes well entrenched in the organization by becoming
an inherent part of how the organization conducts everyday business.

Second, some amount of time is required to build sufficient amount of evidence of

use of the QMS that then can be audited. Starting an internal quality audit program
too soon might not provide internal auditors sufficient evidence that is necessary to
assess adequacy and effectiveness of the QMS. The process establishment
period varies from one organization to another and depends on factors such as:

56
 • Lead time to develop the products (in order to allow all product development
processes to be exercised at least once);
• Extent of change to current processes;
• Amount of QMS training provided to employees.

It is to be expected that, beginning with the process establishment period, the

organization will encounter growing (maturing) pains because the natural human
tendency to resist change will begin to surface once the QMS begins to directly
affect how everyone does their work. Further, employees and management
personnel unaccustomed to the new and/or refined processes in certain cases will
attempt to circumvent the process when operational and schedule considerations
overtake quality considerations.

The QMS implementation team will need to address the aforementioned

challenges by continually educating management and personnel (and managing
their expectations), emphasizing benefits already realized, monitoring process
execution, and reasoning with personnel and working cooperatively with them to
overcome resistance to change.

Continuous Improvement:

With the completion of the QMS deployment phase, an organization effectively

transitions to a state where compliance with the defined QMS needs to be
continually monitored and the defined system needs to be continuously improved
and optimized. This is the final and never-ending phase of QMS implementation
the continual improvement phase. It entails the use of mechanisms necessary to
facilitate continuous improvement of the QMS.

Mechanisms for continuous improvement are not necessarily established in this

phase only. Some of them may have been defined in the QMS definition phase
and deployed in the QMS deployment phase. Others may have been defined but

57
their deployment deferred until the continuous improvement phase. Yet other
continuous improvement mechanisms may remain undefined until this phase. For
example, an organization typically does not start collecting customer satisfaction
data until a few months after completion of the QMS deployment phase, else it
would be too early for its customers to realize benefits from the implementation of
the QMS. Moreover, collecting customer satisfaction data too soon might not
provide readily actionable information because many of the known deficiencies
might be attributed to causes that the organization already is addressing under the
QMS implementation underway.

Quality is not something that is done at the end of a phase or at the end of the
project, is a continuous process to ensure quality is performed in all aspects of the
project. The goal is to continuously improve based on the lessons learned and new
insights provided by the project. To be effective it should happen during all
activities of the project.
Continuous improvement, in regard to project quality always focuses on improving
stakeholder satisfaction through continuous and incremental improvements to
processes, including the removal of any unnecessary activities. By applying a
process that continuously improves every element of the project can achieve
better results than trying to wait until the end of a phase or a mid term evaluation
to start making adjustments and improvements to the work. It requires little effort
and by doing small incremental improvements the project can reach significant
levels of quality.
To implement continuous improvements, it necessary to have a culture of
reflection that allows the project team to learn from mistakes and apply the lesson
on the next phase or cycle and not spend time and effort trying to put blame,
otherwise, the team will fear reporting any problems with quality and it will be too
late to do anything once the donor or the beneficiaries find out.

58
Objectives of the study:

 The main objective of the study was to find out the following: -

 To study the effectiveness of Quality Management System in

Vardhaman.

 Employee attitude towards present Quality Management

System.

 Investigate about the leading policy of Vardhaman.

 To find History of Vardhaman.

 To identify areas where there can be scope for improvement

in Quality Management System.

 For partial fulfillment of MBA.

 To give suitable recommendations.

59
Scope of the Study:

 This project is done within the Vardhaman.

 To know about the Quality Product strategies of Vardhaman industries.

 To know Quality Management System that has changed over a period of

time.

 To know the requirement of in Quality Management System on an

organization.

 To know Pros and cons of in Quality Management System.

 To know practical application of Quality Management System in Vradhaman.

 To identify Quality Management System behind public sector industry.

 Sample taken from around 100 people.

60
Research Methodology:

The study was descriptive in nature and except for a few instances where
statistical analysis of considerable region was used, the researcher tried to present
the findings in a simple format.

The respondents were selected through simple random sampling. The method of
contact was through personal interview as it was the most versatile amongst the
alternatives. This helped provide clarification to the respondents and also had the
advantage of recording additional information and opinion.

Research Design:
Research design refers to “framework or plan for a study that guides the collection
and analysis of data. A typical research design of a company basically tries to
resolve the following issues:
 Determining Data Collection design.

 Determining Data Methods.

 Determining Data Sources.

 Determining Primary Data Collection Method.

 Developing Questionnaires.

 Determining Sampling Plan.

Explorative Research Design:

Explorative studies are undertaken with a view to know more about the problem.
These studies help in a proper definition of the problem, and development of
specific hypothesis is to be tested later by more conclusive research designs. Its
basic purpose is to identify factors underlying a problem and to determine which
one of them need to be further researched by using rigorous conclusive research
design.

61
Conclusive Research Design:

Conclusive research studies are more formal in nature and are conducted with a
view to eliciting more precise information for purpose of making decisions.
These studies can be either Descriptive or Experimental.
Thus, it was mix of both the tools of Research Design that is, Explorative as well
as Conclusive.
Data collection: Primary and Secondary data.
Primary data: Questionnaire, Direct interview,
Interaction with the present staff within the
organization.
Secondary data: Internet, Journal/Magazines.
Data collection procedure: Survey.
Research Instrument: Structured Questionnaires.
Sampling Plan: Sample size: 100
Sample area: Within Nagaon . Guwahati
and nearby areas.
Sample procedure: Random Sampling.
Data representation: Tabulation and graphical
Representation method will be
adopted.
Data analysis: For analyzing data, statistical projections
and sampling methods will be used.

62
Limitations:-

 The study being very extensive might be very difficult to complete within the

stipulated time of two months.

 The project may suffer from financial constraint.

 It may suffer from biasness & ignorance of the respondents.

Data Analysis:

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN:
The questionnaire method of survey was undertaken due to its main advantages
of versatility, speed and cost. The questionnaire helps to get accurate point of view
of personnel.

In order to learn the awareness of persons working at ‘Vardhaman’ about quality

management system as well as to collect other relevant information. The
questionnaire intended broadly covered the following areas:

 Workers awareness
 Comparative statements
 Satisfaction level

QUESTIONNAIRE:
63
In survey made of data collection, questionnaire is by far the most popular means
of data collection instrument. A questionnaire uses a structured standardized
format of data collection to record verbal responses to questions. Particularly,
when the sample is large and the study wishes to collect data about specifics of
consumer’s attitude.

I have chosen the questionnaire technique, to collect the primary data because of
its obvious advantages which are as follow:-
(a) Versatility-The unique advantage of using a questionnaire is its versatility.
Respondents can be probed on a wide diversity of issues by questioning.
(b) Speed and cost- questionnaire method is usually cheaper and faster than
observations.
(c) Ease of communication- since the questions are formulation in advance, all the
required information can be obtained in an orderly and systematic manner. The
exact wording of the questions can be carefully worked art to reduce the
possibility of ambiguity and misunderstanding.
(d) Control- since same questions are put before all respondents in the same
order, it offers maximum control on the interviewing process and information
content.

For this project on workers and outsider peoples’ awareness & profile, only one
questionnaire was designed and used. It was for both those working in the
company and the prospective personnel.

The questionnaire was designed in such a way that the respondent would have no
hesitation in fully expressing his/her views. Moreover, care was taken in the
sequencing of questions. Again care was taken in the wordings of questions direct,
simple and unbiased wording were used.

64
Analysis & findings:

The data collected through questionnaire are suitably arranged in table for the
purpose of effective and in-depth analysis and interpretation. Use of percentage,
pie-diagram, bar-diagram etc is also made for the study whenever necessary.

Only the management, worker and related personnel are targeted respondents of
the questionnaire.

This questionnaire deals with all the analysis and findings related to quality
management system. Three different types of analysis are done covering almost
all the objectives that are need to be found.

The questionnaire was divided into two segments so that correct information is
achieved when conducting the survey.
First type of the questionnaire was designed to gather information regarding the
general concept of the respondents.
Second type of questionnaire was specially designed to collect information
regarding the technical solution.

Questionnaire Analysis:

• The first question of the questionnaire was asked- “What does the term
‘ISO’ stand for? What standards make up the ISO 9000 2000 series?”

The findings are mentioned below:

The respondents simply share with me and they suitably give me their view:

65
“The term ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization. You
would reasonably assume that it ought to be IOS, but it isn't. Apparently, the term
ISO was chosen (instead of IOS), because ISO in Greek means equal, and ISO
wanted to convey the idea of equality - the idea that they develop standards to
place organizations on an equal footing.”

Tabulation of Respondents Perception:

Respondents Management Worker Other Percentage

View Personnel
Able to Define 45 43 7 95

Unable to 00 2 3 5
Percentage Wise Respondent
Define

5%

95%

Able to define
Unable to define

• The second question asked to the respondents to find out the Total
Quality Management (TQM) helps business because it…

The findings are mentioned below:

Says that every person in the business must work together to make excellent
quality products. Excellent product increase sales and profits or lowers a
66
business’s costs because making excellent products means it does not waste
money on repairs and refunds.

Tabulation of Respondents Perception:

Respondents Management Casual Percentage %

View Worker
Agree 45 40 85
Disagree 05 06 11
No Response 00 04 4
Total 50 50 100
Percentage Wise Respondents View:
50
45 Management
40
Worker
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Agree Disagree No Response

• The third question asked to the respondents to find out the benefits of
quality management system.

The finding of the above question is:

67
  Improvement in internal quality (reduction in scrap, rework and non-
conformities in the shop)
 Improvement in external quality (customer satisfaction, claims of non-
conforming products, returned products, warranty claims, penalty claims
etc.)
 Improvement in Production reliability (number of break downs, percentage
down time etc)
 Improvement in Time performance (on-time delivery, time to market etc.
Reduction in the cost of poor quality (external non-conformities, scrap,
rework etc)
Above 100 respondents we collect the appropriate data as shown in the table:

Respondents Number of Respondents

View %
Perfectly
Describe 73
Partially
Describe 22
Ignorant
5
Total
100

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

68
 5% 1st Qtr
22% 2nd Qtr
% 3rd

73%
73%

• The fourth question asked to the respondents to find out, where most of
the quality problems occurs.

Finding of the question is:

Originate on the shop floor because of waste and product rework. Number of
respondent, their view etc. are listed below in the table

Respondents Manageme Technical Casual Number of

View nt(M) Worker Workers(C) Respondents
(T) %
Strongly 20 30 15 65
agree
Agree 10 10 5 25
Disagree 0 0 3 3
No Response 1 2 4 7
Total 31 42 27 100

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

69
 No
100% Response
Disagree
80%

60% Agree
40%
Strongly
20% Agree
0%
M T C Average

• The fifth question asked to the respondents to find out, quality should
generally be of priority with ?

Finding of the question is:

Among 100 respondents from 70% of them are agree with that “quality should
generally be of equal priority with cost & schedule and 25% of them believe equal
priority with cost, but higher priority than schedule and 5% express their
ignorance”.

By putting the above data in a pie diagram then we can find the visual
representation of the respondent’s view-

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

70
 5%

1st Qtr
2nd Qtr
3rd Qtr
25%

70%

• The fifth question asked to the respondents to find out the concept of
quality is based on?

The findings are given below:

The respondents view are 20% of them believes “producing excellent products that
are superior to other similar items”, 15% of them believe “conforming to the
requirements specifications”, 5% of them believe “maintaining uniformity of design”
and 60% of them thought the concept of quality is based on all of the above points.

The visual representation of the above findings is-

71
 Percentage Wise Respondents View:

60%

5%

15%
Respondent

20%

0 20 40 60 80

• The sixth question asked to the respondents to find out “Is the quality of
Vardhaman water tank is fulfilling the requirements of this generations
need?”

Finding of the question is:

Out of 100 respondents from Nagaon and out side of the firm I found the view
about the Vardhman product quality. There are people from Vardhaman they
believe the product from Vadhaman is latest i.e. the paper of can fulfilling this
generations need. But few of believe SYNTEX produces the best quality. Also from
out side of the firm given the mix reaction as shown in the table:

72
 Resp. view From NPM Outsider of Percentage Percentage of
(50) the of NPM Outsider
firm(50)
Product of 35 20 70% 40%
Vardhamn is
best(B)
Product of 10 10 20% 20%
Vardhaman is
Medium(M)
Product of 5 15 10% 30%
SYNTEX is
best(B)
No knowledge 00 5 0% 10%
Total 50 50

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

120
100
80
Out sider
60
Nagaon
40
20
0
B

t
M

e
s

dg
Be
an

an

le
m

hm

w
ha

TE

o
rd

Kn
rd

N
Va

SY
Va

o
N

• The 7th question asked to the respondents to find out “Is the technology
using in Vardhaman is the latest? Explain with example?”

73
 • The 8th question asked to the respondent to find out the “advantage of
quality of tank base production?”
Finding of the question is:
When I present the above question they proudly said that their process is latest
such as tank production, which began in Vardhaman industries from the last
month. When I visit the tank section then I found the newly designed machine
purchased from German, which they believe technologically the latest. Here they
said the life plastic products is several times more than the other features of the
production. We can draw a visual representation of respondents view as follows-

Tech. using Management Technical Casual %

in Worker Worker
Vardhaman
is latest
Strongly 20 15 15 50
agree
Agree 10 15 5 30
Weak 5 5 5 15
response
No answer 0 0 5 5
Total 35 35 30 100

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

74
 20
Management
15 Tech. worker
Casual worker
10

0
Strongly Agree Agree Weak No Response
response

• The 9th question asked to the respondents to find out if they have
knowledge or not about PDCA cycle?

Finding of the question is:

Amanzingly maximum of the personnel can explain PDCA cycle- The most popular
tool used to determine quality assurance is the Shewhart Cycle. This cycle for
quality assurance consists of four steps: Plan, Do, Check, and Act. These steps
are commonly abbreviated as PDCA.

The four quality assurance steps within the PDCA model stand for:
Plan: Establish objectives and processes required to deliver the desired results.
•Do: Implement the process developed.
•Check: Monitor and evaluate the implemented process by testing the results
against the predetermined objectives.
•Act: Apply actions necessary for improvement if the results require changes.
If we put the view of the respondent in a visual representation we found-
Percentage Wise Respondents View:

75
 Explain
Unable to explain
3% 7%
No response

90%

• The 10th question asked to the respondents to find out where the
most quality problems are occurs?

Finding of the question is:

The maximum respondents are strongly agrees with the view “Originate on the
shop floor because of waste and product rework”.

We get the following visual representation by putting the respondents view with
percentage wise-

Respondents Management Technical Casual Percentage

view persons 40 persons 40 worker 20
Strongly 30 35 10 75
agree
Agree 5 3 5 13
Weak 5 2 3 10
response
No response 0 0 2 2
Total 40 40 20 100
Percentage Wise Respondents View:

76
 Manage
ment
persons
Technical
40
persons
30
20
10
Casual
persons

persons
0

Casual
Strongly Agree Weak No

Managem

persons
agre e re sponse response

ent
• The 11th question asked to the respondents to find out “What have to
do the manufacturers to prevent the majority of product defect in most
of the processes”.

Finding of the question is:

The technical workers view-

• Increase the use of acceptance control charts instead of standard three-

sigma control charts.

• Make a concerted effort to eliminate the potential for product defects in

the design stage.

But in the base level the answer is not acceptable.

Respondents Technical Base worker 20 Percentage

view persons
Suitable answer 70 5 75%
Acceptable 10 7 17%
answer
Not acceptable 0 8 8%
Total 80 20 100

77
 Percentage Wise Respondents View:
70 Technical worker
60 Base worker
50
40
30
20
10
0
Suitable Acceptable Not
acceptable

• The 12th question asked to the respondents to find out if any effect of
raw materials on final product?

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

NA

BW
AA
TP

SA

0 20 40 60 80

78
 • The 13th no. question asked ‘Are the customer satisfied with the new
quality of Tank ?’

Finding of the question is:

Tech. using Management Technical Casual %

in Worker Worker
Vardhaman
is latest
Strongly 20 15 15 50
agree
Agree 10 15 5 30
Weak 5 5 5 15
response
No answer 0 0 5 5
Total 35 35 30 100
Percentage Wise Respondents View:

20

15

MNG
10
TW
CW
5

0
SA A WR NA

79
 • The 14th question asked to the respondents to find out if they know
the quality tools?

Finding of the question is:

Tabulation of Respondents Perception:

Respondents Management Casual Percentage %

View Worker
Agree 45 40 85
Disagree 09 06 15
No Response 00 00 00
Total 50 50 100
Percentage Wise Respondents View:

15%

Agree
Disagree
No Response

85%

• The 15th question asked to the respondents to find if they familiar

with the zero defect concept?
80
 • The 16th question asked to the respondents to find if they familiar
with 80-20 rules.

Finding of the question is:

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

Resp. view Yes No No Percentage
Response
Management 35 10 5 50%
Technical 40 10 00 50%

120
100
Tech
80
Mng
60
40
20
0
Yes No No
Response

• The 18th question asked to the respondents to find if they have

knowledge about QMP?
• The 19th question asked to the respondents to find if they think
that QMS has help Vardhaman?

81
 • The 20th question asked to the respondents to find what are the
Quality Improvement activities going on in Vardhaman?

Finding of the question is:

Respondents Management Technical Casual Percentage

view persons persons worker
%
(MNG) (TP) (CW)
Agree 35 38 15 88
Disagree 5 2 3 10
No response 0 0 2 2
Total 40 40 20 100

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

Mng

40 TP

30 CW

20

10 CW
TP
0
Agree Disagree No response Mng

82
Recommendations:

• To maintain quality maintaining proper parameter during process operation

is essential.

• Also for production of quality plastic, if the raw material in proper parameter
it may give law cost and with minimum error’s.

• There is need for Quality improvement tool to be implemented in

Vardhaman.

• To make employees more aware of QMS by organising seminars, providing

training on a continuous basis.

• To make sure that the awareness programme covers as many workers as

possible.

• To teach the workers how to make efficient utilization of the existing Quality
Management Tools & Techniques.

• Before starting the trails their must be strong commitment from

management which should be a commitment for time, money and total
backup for the project.

83
Conclusion:

Vardhaman is a largest plastic producer which is popular among Education Sector

and the product quality is acceptable in India and out of India.
Vardhaman Ltd has large number of employer’s skilled and unskilled, line and
staff, flexible and inflexible – work in a network of domestic foreign facilities.
Formal and informal system, good and bad practices and old and new cultures co-
exist production consists of a mix of low volume of high engineered, customized
products. Sometimes medium columns of high performance products with short life
cycles and sometimes high volume of high quality low cost commodities.

Vardhaman ltd product process is as varied as the products they produce.

Vardhaman ltd has taken a new Manufacturing Strategy or Plan to bring structure
or order into the complex environment. The optical properties are one of the vital
criteria beside the competitive price for product (paper / board) selection by the
customer.

Though management personnel are fully aware of the above mentioned systems,
there seems to be ignorance among the support staffs and casual workers to
some extent.
The feedback generated during the study helps to identify the areas where needs
management’s attention to increase the effectiveness of ERP and TPM systems in
Vardhaman, and provides an opportunity for improvement

84
 Chapter-4
Others
Questionnaire:

Dear Respondent,

I am a student of management undergoing MBA from PVI computer

training centre under Sikkim Manipal University. A part of my curriculum I am
undergoing my summer project on “A analytic study on quality management
system of Vardhaman. Your kind cooperation in this regard will help me in the
ultimate fulfillment of my project and its objectives.
I assure that all the information provided by you are meant for
academic purpose and will be kept strictly confidential.

Thanking you

Yours faithfully

Ranima Yasmin

85
Bibliography:

BOOKS AUTHOR
Quality Control Handbook (1951) Joseph M. Duran
SUCCESSFUL TRIAL OF OPTIMIZATION TYAGI MOHIT,
OF ASA SIZING BHANDRA, K.GOSWAMI
S AGARWAL
NEWSPAPER
COMPANY WEBSITE OF VARDHAMAN
TIMES OF INDIA
TELEGRAPH
ASSAM TRIBUNE

86
Reference:

 FERGUSON L D DEINKING CHEMISTRY – I TAPPI J 75 (7) , 75 (1992).

 FERGUSON L D DEINKING CHEMISTRY – I TAPPI J 75 (8) , 49 (1992).
 RANGAN S G SANTASARKKA MATTI, RANGAMANNAR G IPPTA J,
CONVERSION ISSU, 129 (DEC 1998).
 STC – TATA HONEYWELL LTD, IPT (IITR) SECONDARY FIBRE
PROCESSING AND DEINKING (NOV 2001).
 JAIN R K NATHUR R M, AND KULKARNI A G, IPPTA J 13 (3), 21 (2001).
 TECHNIDYNE CORPORATION, NEW ILBANY, U S A.
 www.google.com

87
Glossary:
 PPC – Precipitated Calcium Carbonate.
 QMS – Quality Management System.
 BOM - Bill of Material.
 QC – Quality Control.
 QMP – Quality Management Planning.
 MD - Managing Director.
 ED - Executive Director.
 GM - General Manager.

88