INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

Carlos Andrs Gualdrn Gmez, Civil Engineer, Specialist in Highways and Roads, Student in Master in Project
Management Limkokwing University of Creative Technology

PART I: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Total Quality Management includes a number of management practices, philosophies and
methods to improve the way an organization does business, makes its products and interact
with their employees and customers. Kaizen (Japanese word for continuous improvement) is
one of those philosophies. Other practices recognized TQM are (the Japanese practice of the of
the 5-S (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu and Shitsuke, which respectively analyzes, systematizes,
sanitizes, Standardization and self-discipline) Reengineering Business Processes ( RBP) and
Quality Control Circles (QCC).
The success of Japanese businesses in Canada, Latin America and the United States and in
Europe is attributed to the system of Total Quality Management. This practice is widespread in
Asia.
In this context the Japan Program of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) organized a
workshop on the subject of Quality Control, within its activities exchange of knowledge between
Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean at IDB headquarters in December 1999.
1. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Below are some of the basic principles underpinning the philosophy of TQM (Ponjun Dante G,
comp. Total quality management. Course Diploma Information Services. Havana: IDICT, 1997:
1-44) will be cited:
- Attention to the requirements of users / customers
It is the primary basis of the philosophy of quality, key to survival and growth of the organization
priority goal.
- Continuous improvement
It is the guiding principle of the work of organizations that apply the GTC. Such entities are
geared to learning and are increasingly dependent on the competence and creativity of its
components.
- Work in teams and groups
It is essential for planning and troubleshooting vehicle.
- Open relationships
Transparency of communication among its members, at all levels, is an essential condition for
success.
The treatment of aspects such as the evolution of management paradigms during this century,
the organization of modern enterprises, management of human resources in the new
management model, the historical evolution of quality management to its current stage
development: total quality management as well as their fundamental components and basic
principles, facilitates understanding of changes in corporate management in general and quality
management in particular during the last decades. If this has been achieved, it will have fulfilled
the objective of this work
2. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

The current approach to quality indicates that this is the result of smart, focused and integrated
efforts of an entire organization. The TQM is the kind of activity that supports an organization,
and in which all its members operate in the interest of continually improve their work to achieve
full satisfaction of the needs of their users / customers. Its main objective is to obtain results with
a high level of quality in all aspects of individual work or operations of the organization as a
whole (Ponjun Dante G, comp. Total quality management. Course Diploma Information
Services. Havana: IDICT, 1997: 1-44).
The TQM considers customers as the guiding element to which all the activity of the
organization and the successful completion of all tasks is subordinated from the outset. The
TQM begins with the establishment of vision, mission, values and strategy of the organization's
work and culminates with the analysis and improvement of the organization in general. This
activity is present during the entire cycle of work of the institution and requires both knowledge
of the express or implied needs of customers-users, and the continuous evaluation of products,
services and processes in order to perfect them.
The total quality approach considers the simultaneous satisfaction of all those who work affects
the organization: shareholders, customers and employees, whether administrative or not, as
well as the environment of the institution. Shareholders seek a return on their investments,
customers expect quality products and services, while employees strive to improve their
standard of living. This phenomenon is called "triad of quality" 8
To achieve these purposes, organizations must become customer-oriented entities. This
requires a more flexible organization and a less hierarchical structure with which to respond
quickly to changes that occur both in the environment and working conditions in which they
carry out their activity.
3. TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN TOYOTA
Toyota, which today is the number one company in the Japanese automotive industry, continues
to strive every day to maintain their current position. There is a very high level of
competitiveness in the Japanese automotive market, since it involved Nissan, with its high-level
technologies; Honda, with its brand recognition in the global arena; Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Mazda
and many other major companies, including those from the United States and Europe. Among
these competitors, Toyota has maintained its leading position over the years. This positioning
has been the result of a harmonized effort from senior managers to the floor operators, who
work every day in factories.
Toyota is constantly striving to improve its production and sales using a vision of long-term
business. The most important feature of Toyota management is undoubtedly the management
commitment to quality. Toyota management has always emphasized quality. At Toyota, quality
assurance means the quality of the products is such that customers are "willing to buy them, to
use them with confidence and be satisfied using them". To achieve this high level of quality,
Toyota introduced the method of Total Quality Control (TQC) in 1961. It can be said that this way
of thinking in terms of TQC is one of the most important factors in the success of Toyota. It aims
to improve the administration as a whole and its approach is not limited only to quality.
THE TQC in the Toyota was initiated to attack the bad results like the Nissan, another major
automotive company in Japan. In his rivalry with Bluebird (one of the models of Nissan), Toyota
Corona had many technical problems and, instead of achieving market share, all we got was a
bad reputation. Toyota hoped to use the TQC as a tool to increase both the value of the
company itself, as knowledge in each of their employees.

To implement the TQC large-scale participation was needed from senior managers to the floor
operators. The Toyota TQC soon proved to be successful and won the Deming Prize in 1965,
followed by the Japan Quality Control Award in 1970. The work for the Deming Prize had many
effects on Toyota. The product quality improved markedly and resulted in fewer defects in the
production process. The idea of maintaining quality by inspection after production shifted to
emphasize the quality during the production process. Toyota sales increased in both the
Japanese market and abroad. The reduction of production costs was reflected in a reduction in
car prices, which was received very willingly by customers and sales improved. Improvement
was also observed in the direction from the point of view of human relationships and
cooperation.
In the mid-90s, he was revised TQC in Japan and the term management control changed and
the positive aspects of TQC were preserved in the TQM. Furthermore, the notion that TQM was
not quite the same as control, leading to the view that the management should have in mind
how to think in terms of TQM is given when the company was abandoned. Thus it was that in
1995, the TQC at Toyota became TQM and redefined as an activity to increase the vitality of the
people and the institution and change the company so that it could respond flexibly to new
business environment.
Now you can describe the TQM Toyota in terms of three main points balanced approach forming
a triangle: the customers, continuous improvement and involvement of all employees. For a
company to succeed should not be omitted any of these points. In Figure 1 the integration of
these elements is illustrated.

First, it is important that employees are aware that the customer is the most important. The
company makes products for customers and not for itself. When the customer needs are
considered as the most important, then the skills of the operators have to improve. For example,
employees should not answer customer complaints from the point of view of the employee.
Probably the customer point of view will be different and it is important to know the standards
that customers expect, if what you want is to gain their trust.

Second, as customers will probably never be completely satisfied, improvement must be

continuous. The first thing you have to do is have a work atmosphere that makes the mind is in
continuous improvement. Employees need to be constantly thinking about how to get better
quality, better assessments and a better working environment. If everyone is satisfied with the
current state of affairs and does not seek improvement, it is unlikely that any approach or
method to be successful.
Finally, the TQM cannot be performed only by a few employees, but has to be achieved through
teamwork throughout the company. When each employee understands his position on the court
and knows what is expected of him, it is likely to have self-confidence and participate in more
activities more aggressively. In their daily work, they need to know why they are doing what they
do and what is the expected result. Without this vision, probably they will not have enough
motivation to think more deeply and to work more for improvement. They need to feel that you
trust them and they are appreciated as employees.
4. HOW THE TQM ORGANIZED?
The implementation process of the TQM is very varied, depending on various factors such as
size, changes in the business environment and mission of the company. However, it is important
to mention that the implementation process requires a basic general flow.
Significantly, some of the features of these processes vary from company to company. However,
as Kanji (Kanji and Asher 1993) states, fundamental and common factors that each organization
must pass during these processes are to some extent the same-the change lie in "changing
management style."
The first stage of development is preparation, which discusses how management will address
how the TQM. "It identifies and collects information about the organization in selected areas
where improvement could have the maximum impact on performance" while exploring the level
of knowledge about the TQM by attending internal and external seminars.
As has been discussed above, management commitment and strong leadership are the two
most important elements in quality management. Therefore, management must be fully familiar
with the TQM and understand fully its objectives, its methodology and its impact on company
operations, before disseminating them throughout. As Kume (1996) mentions, many companies
do not introduce TQM throughout the organization immediately. The tested on a part of the
company and see if you can extend in other departments.
Second, after ensuring the effectiveness of TQM, management decides what the department
responsible for its promotion. Many companies assign this responsibility to the planning. After
designating the responsible department, management formally announces the introduction of
the company TQM. TQM is then implemented as a company-wide operation. At the same time,
it offers specific training. The activities begin to spread at different levels of the organization.
According Kume, at this stage, the most important challenge is how to overcome negative
attitudes precisely those responsible for the work, which is better.
Thirdly, during the development phase and to work efficiently administration guidelines, it is
important that the promotional activities of the company are actually linked to management
guidelines. As Kume suggests, it often happens that the guidelines are reduced to a simple
writing exercise management that never comes to be implemented. Therefore, the link
guidelines improvement activities allows the systematic implementation of these activities

throughout the company. Once that has been determined to be effective, they standardize and
expand the entire company.
In terms of cross-functional operation, after the activities have been established, the company
often tries to attack problems that affect a whole. To this end, it conducts an administrative audit
to verify whether the guidelines have been implemented and how. Management examines not
only the implementation but also its results and is expected to share your comments and
provide appropriate action guides. The request to participate in quality awards such as the
Malcolm Baldrige or Deming is an incentive for the organization. In the final phase, the most
important is how to maintain what has been achieved by quality management throughout the
company. Once the organization reaches a certain point is very important to take measures to
ensure that the level of quality does not deteriorate. Kume describes how a system is easily
damaged, if it is not given adequate follow-up. Therefore, it is important that the company
improve and elevate its activities from time to time but systematically.
5. CONCLUSION
In conclusion total quality management does have the better system to help the company to
produce high quality product or services to meet the clients requirements.
TQM has given business a new way to improve products and services. It also created a better
work environment for the workers.
The effective teamwork increase the revenues for the company by focus more on the clients
needs.
Total Quality Management is practiced by many business organizations around the world. It is a
proven method for implementing a quality conscious culture across all the vertical and horizontal
layers of the company.
Although there are many benefits, one should take the cost into the account when implementing
TQM.
For small-scale companies, the cost could be higher than the short and mid-term benefits.

PART II: SIX SIGMA

Six Sigma is a revolutionary management approach that measures and improves the quality,
has become a reference method for the same time, meet the needs of customers and achieve
perfectly with next levels. But what exactly is Six Sigma?

It is a method, based on data, to bring the quality up close to perfection levels, different from
other approaches because it also corrects problems before they arise. More specifically it is a
disciplined effort to examine repetitive business processes.
Literally any company can benefit from Six Sigma process. Design, communication, training,
production, management, losses, etc. Everything comes within the field of Six Sigma. But the
road is not easy. The possibilities for improvement and cost savings are enormous, but the Six
Sigma process requires commitment of time, talent, dedication, persistence and, of course,
economic investment.
A typical cost of not -errors Quality defects and losses in processes-may involve 20 or 30 100
sales. The field is wide, even without reaching the level Six Sigma (3.4 errors or defects per
million opportunities), the potential to significantly improve the results are limitless. Only the
organization will need to make available their skills and appropriate manner consistent with its
resources.
Six Sigma is a term coined by Motorola to name its radical reduction initiative defects in
products. He revived towards the end of the last century, with a spirited momentum, thanks to
the seriousness with which General Electric applied it throughout your organization
(manufacturing and services) and, especially, to the spectacular results he achieved.
Why "Sigma"? The word is a statistical term that measures how far a given process deviates
from perfection. The central idea behind Six Sigma is that if you can measure how many
"defects" you have in a process, you can systematically figure out how to eliminate them and
get as close to "zero defects" as possible. To achieve Six Sigma Quality, a process must
produce no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. An "opportunity" is defined as a
chance for nonconformance, or not meeting the required specifications. This means we need to
be nearly flawless in executing our key processes.

Figure 2. Key Concepts of Six Sigma

1. THE BEGINNING
It is essential that the commitment to Six Sigma approach begins and remains in the top
management of the company. Experience shows that when management does not express his
vision of the company, does not convey strength and enthusiasm, does not evaluate the results
and does not recognize the efforts, improvement programs become a waste of valuable
resources. Six Sigma process begins with the awareness of executives to reach a common

understanding of the Six Sigma approach and to understand the methods that enable the
company to achieve levels of quality hitherto unsuspected
The next step is the selection of employees, professional capacity and responsibility in their
areas or functions that will be intensively trained to lead improvement projects. Many of these
employees will have to devote a significant part of their time to the projects, if meaningful results
are intended.
The formation of these leaders takes place in four sessions of four days each, over a period of
12 weeks during which they will work on a specific project for improvement, which will enable
them as candidates for a new profession, "black belts" as implementers of these advanced
quality initiatives. This training provided by experts, including the selection of a project in the first
week and the application of learning to the project before the next session, by an improvement
team.
To reach the level "black belt" candidates have to show the results achieved in the project and
this level enables them to continue to lead new teams for new improvement projects.
2. THE METHOD
The method applied is called DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control), uses
statistical tools, and devices that monitor process variables and relationships, which help
manage their characteristics. Six Sigma method, known as DMAIC, consists of the application,
project by project, a structured five-step process.

Figure 3. Six Sigma Phases

In the definition phase possible projects Six Sigma, which should be evaluated by management
to avoid underutilization of resources are identified. Once you selected the project and its
mission is prepared best suited for the project team is selected and assigned the necessary
priority.
The measurement phase is the characterization of the process by identifying key customer
requirements, key features of the product (or outcome variables) and parameters (input
variables) that affect the functioning of the process and the characteristics or variables key.
From this characterization system as defined and process capability is measured.

In the third stage analysis, the team analyzes data from current and historical results. They
develop and test hypotheses on possible cause-effect using appropriate statistical tools. Thus
the equipment confirms the determinants of the process, ie key input variables or "vital few" that
affect the response variables of the process.
In the phase of improvement the team tries to determine the cause-effect relationship
(mathematical relationship between the input variables and the response variable of interest) to
predict, improve and optimize the performance of the process. Finally the operating range of the
input parameters or variables of the process is determined.
The last phase, control, is to design and document the necessary controls to ensure that what
has been achieved through the Six Sigma project is maintained once the changes have been
implemented. When objectives have been achieved and the mission is terminated, the team
reports to management and dissolves.
3. THE TOOLS
Six Sigma projects are two types of tools are used. Some, such as General Quality 7 tools are
used for the collection and processing of data; the other, specific of these projects are statistical
tools, among which include studies of process capability, analysis ANOVA, hypothesis testing,
design of experiments, and also some used in the design of products or services, such as QFD
and FMEA.
These statistical tools that a few years ago were only to specialists, are now accessible to
people without much knowledge of statistics. The availability of easy and fast applications, both
for processing data to perform the calculations required for analysis and exploitation, allow use
with ease and fluency, concentrating the efforts of people in the interpretation of the results, not
the realization of the complex calculations that were previously required.
4. THE RESULTS
Conceptually the results of Six Sigma projects are obtained in two ways. Projects achieve, on
the one hand, improve the characteristics of the product or service, allowing greater income
and, secondly, the cost savings derived from the reduction of failures or errors and reduced
cycle times in the process.
Thus, the experiences of companies that have decided to implement Six Sigma allow state from
overall figures for reductions of 90 per 100 of the cycle time or 15 billion dollars of savings in 11
years (Motorola), productivity gains of 6 100 in two years (Allied Signal), to the most recent of
between 750 and 1000 billion savings in one year (General Electric).
5. CONCLUSION
Six Sigma looks at all work as a series of processes with inherent variations, which can cause
waste or inefficiency. Focusing on those processes with greatest impact on business
performance, as defined by leadership teams, the methodology involves statistical analysis to
quantify repeated common cause variations - which can then be reduced by the Six Sigma
team. Six Sigma becomes a continuous process for quality improvement and cost reduction
flowing throughout the company.
The successful implementation of Six Sigma depends not only on the dissemination of
knowledge on statistical methods but the commitment and willingness of the owners or
managers responsible for leading this change in culture within the entire organization and
human resources and materials for this program and finally the motivation and propitiation of

this change in each of the employees at all levels to adopt a new methodology for improving
quality and can generate competitiveness for the company to provide improved products and
services and free defects that meet the quality requirements demanded by customers.
Six Sigma methodology provides an opportunity for SMEs to become more competitive,
allowing to improve the responsiveness of the same face constant changes in their environment
and to satisfy the needs of customers.
Originally developed from a Japanese quality control process for manufacturing electronic semiconductors, Six Sigma developed the capability of reducing problems or issues effecting
customer expectations on key business processes.
As an improvement and cost reduction process, Six Sigma is equally valid for marketing and
product development as well as manufacturing and customer services.
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