Quality Circles

By Prof.
D.V.
Shirbhate
What are Quality Circles
Voluntary group of persons
Meet on regular basis
Work on similar tasks
Share area of responsibility
Solve problems related to
work
They operate on the
basic principle that
employee participation in
decision making and
problem solving improves
the quality of work.
www.vikramshiladarapur.org
Characteristics of Quality Circles
Volunteers
Set Rules and Priorities
Decision made by consensus
Organized approach to
problem solving
Members of a circle need to
receive training
Support of senior management
required
Members need to be empowered
History
Started in 1962 in Japan
Kaoru Ishikawa is the creator of
Quality Circles
Movement in Japan is coordinated
by Japanese Union of Scientists
and Engineers (JUSE)
In India Quality Circles is
promoted by QCFI (Quality
Circle Forum of India)
Adopt prevention procedures
rather than corrective measures
Minimize scrap and downtime
Improving quality - increase
productivity, theory of Total
Quality Control (TQC)
QC relies on visual
representations:
-scatter diagrams,
-flow charts,
-cause & effect diagram etc
In U.S. it started in early
1970s
Aerospace manufacturer,
Lockheed visited Japanese
plants
15 QCs saved nearly $3 million
Ratio of savings to cost =
6:1
Quality Assurance
Covers all activities from
design, development,
production, installation,
servicing and documentation
Includes regulation of quality
for:
>Raw Material,
>Assemblies,
>Product,
>Components & other services
related to production.
A Model of Quality Assurance
is PDCA also known as
Shewhart cycle
P Plan
D Do
C Check
A - Act
Failure Testing
The operation of a product until it
fails by exposing to factors :
> Temperature
> Humidity
> Vibration
Exposes to unanticipated weakness
is a product
This data used by engineers to
improve products
Quality Circle Tools
Ishikawa Diagram - shows
hierarchies of causes contributing
to a problem
Pareto Chart - analyses
different causes by frequency
to illustrate the vital cause
PDCA-Deming wheel - Plan, Do,
Check, Act, as described by W.
Edwards Deming
Fish Bone Diagram
Benefits of QCs
Increased productivity
Improved quality
Boost employee morale
Enhances creativity
Improved teamwork
Employee involvement
Problems with QCs
Inadequate training
Not entirely voluntary
Lack of Top Management
interest
Unsure of Purpose
Decision making does not
necessarily take place
Innovation and QCs (IQC)
Cross functional teams,
members drawn from different
departments
IQC communication website-
facilitates exchange of
experiences & interact
Impart new tools & techniques
through workshops & courses
Members can come from
suppliers as well - wider scope
Leaders or mentor organization
helping other organization