The Deming Philosophy

1. Create constancy of purpose

• Towards improvement of P&S

• To become competitive and to stay in

business

• Replace short-term reaction with long-term

planning

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2. Adopt the new philosophy

• Management should actually adopt this

philosophy, rather than merely expecting the
workforce to do so
• Customer satisfaction – needs priority
• Focus on defect prevention than defect detection
• Involve everyone in this quality journey

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3."Cease dependence on inspection"
• If variation is reduced, no need to inspect
manufactured items for defects, because
there won't be any
• Mass inspection is costly and unreliable
• Mass inspection is managing for failures
and defect prevention is managing for
success

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4.Stop awarding business based on price
alone
• Based on the low bid – related with Q
• Goal is to move towards a single supplier for
any one item
• Ensures a long-term relationship of loyalty and
trust
• Multiple suppliers mean variation between
feed stocks

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 The Deming Philosophy
5."Improve constantly and forever"

• Necessary in both design and operations

• Management must take more responsibility

continually and permanently

• Constantly strive to reduce variation

• Focus is to prevent problems before they occur

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6."Institute training on the job“

• If people are inadequately trained, they

will not all work the same way, and this will
introduce variation
• Management must allocate resources to
train employees
• Train in statistical methods, and monitor to
know further needs

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7."Institute leadership"

• Deming makes a distinction between

leadership and mere supervision

• Then what’s the job of mgt?

• Should not focus on negative, fault-finding

atmosphere

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8."Drive out fear“

• Management by fear as counter-

productive in the long term - prevents
workers from acting in the organization's
best interests

• Forms?

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• Treat people with dignity
9."Break down barriers between departments“

• Teamwork helps to break down barrier between

individuals and department
• ‘Internal customer', that each department serves
not the management, but the other departments
that use its outputs
• Management must optimize the efforts

Change attitude
Open communication channels
Organize project team

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10."Eliminate exhortations/slogans"

Another central TQM idea is that it's

not people who make most mistakes -
it's the process they are working
within

Right techniques pointed towards

wrong people may frustrate

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• Harassing the workforce without
improving the processes they use is
counter-productive

• Trust, Leadership, Statistical thinking and

training, not slogans are the best routes
to motivate for improving quality

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11."Eliminate numerical quotas and
Management by Objectives“

• Production targets are encouraging

the delivery of poor-quality goods

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12."Remove barriers to pride of workmanship"
Barriers are
• Viewing workers as ‘commodity’
• Performance appraisal destroys team work by
promoting competition for limited resources
• Number driven objectives
• Poor system
• Inadequate training

• The aforesaid factors reduce worker satisfaction

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13."Institute education and self-
improvement"

14."The transformation is everyone's

job"

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 Benchmarking
We cannot become what we
want to be by remaining what
we are

A shift from the original status is

needed

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 Benchmarking
• A process of comparison of two or
more products, services, processes
or organizational practices

• Dictionary meaning: standard or a

point of reference

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 Benchmarking
• A systematic method by which
organizations search for industry best
practices that facilitate comparison
and lead to superior performance
• Process of borrowing ideas and
adapting them to gain competitive
advantage
• Tool for continuous improvement

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 Benchmarking
• Measuring your performance against
that of best-in-class companies,
determining how the best-in-class
achieve those performance levels,
and using the information as a basis
for your own company’s target,
strategies, and superior performance

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• It is the process of

- Identifying
- Understanding and
- Adopting outstanding practices &
processes

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• Not ethical to benchmark a product
with another. Then what else to
benchmark?
• Process
• It is not copying
• Not a time bound event

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 Benchmarking Concept
What is our performance What are other’s
level? Performance levels?

How do we do it? How did they get there?

Creative
Adaptation

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Breakthrough Performance
 Elements of benchmarking
• Measuring performance – needs
metrics

• Requires managers to understand

why their performance differs?
Procs

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 Benchmarking partner
• Refers to the role model who could be
imitated or benchmarked with

• Extensive study is needed to select the

role model
• Chosen role model is known as
benchmarking partner
• Ex. Xerox adopted L L Bean
• Texas instruments referred more than six

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firms to finalize its order preparation
 Reasons for Benchmarking
• Eliminates ‘re-inventing the wheel’
with associated wasted time and
resources (imit&Adapt)

• Helps to identify performance gaps –

leading to develop realistic goals
• Inspire managers to compete
• Ensures continuous innovation (scan ext envt)

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 Triggers of benchmarking
• Problem based benchmarking
• Process based benchmarking

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 Problem based benchmarking
• Arises out of a problem faced by the
organization

• Adverse feedback from customers

• Increasing quality costs
• Alarming error rates

(Reactive approach)

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 Process based benchmarking
• As a part of process improvement
strategy

• Defined mission
• Defined objectives
• Defined priorities

(proactive benchmarking)

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 Sources of benchmarking
Internal External
Within their business With main competitor
• Same location • Same location
• Other location • Other location
Different business With similar industries
but same company • Different companies
• Any location
Best Practice
• any process
• any company
• any industry

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• any location
 Pitfalls/criticism of benchmarking
• Nature itself – if it is not prepared to
innovate then how superiority?

• Not a substitute for innovation

• Lack of commitment – doesn’t lead to

immediate profit. Sponsorship of top mgt
and acceptance of process owners is
needed

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Pitfalls/criticism of benchmarking
• Wrong selection of process
• Wrong selection of team members
• Underestimation of required time

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 Types of benchmarking
• Competitive benchmarking

Involves studying competitors

products, processes, business
performance in the same industry

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 Types of benchmarking
• Process benchmarking

Identifies the most effective

practices in companies that perform
similar functions no matter in what
industry(Dist, order entry, recruitment, training)

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 Types of benchmarking
• Strategic benchmarking

Examines the winning strategies of

companies that lead to competitive
advantage and market success

Analysis is made with reference to

strategic intent, core competency,
product line, strategic alliance,

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technology
 Types of benchmarking
• Product benchmarking

It is comparing the performance,

features and customer acceptance
of competing products

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 Types of benchmarking
• Cooperative benchmarking

Organizations invite best-in-class

firms to share knowledge

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 Types of benchmarking
• Collaborative benchmarking

Both entities study each other and

work together to improve

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 Process of benchmarking
• Decide what to benchmark
• Understand current performance
• Plan
• Study others
• Learn from the data
• Use the findings

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 Quality circles
• A type of team to focus specifically on
quality
• Concept was developed by kaoru
Ishikawa
• It’s a structured, voluntary group
activity
• Effectiveness depends on
commitment of top, following the

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rules, and rewarding system
• Every Q Circle will have a leader,
Deputy leader
• For every 3/4 Q circle there will be a
facilitator whose job is to coordinate
• Monitored by high level committee
consisting of CEO and other two
senior members

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 Objectives of Q circles
• To develop individual’s skill
• To maintain harmony at work place
• To create problem solving capacity
• To reduce errors on job
• To increase productivity
• To have synergistic effect
• To improve communication flow

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 Functions of Q circles
• Identify
• Analyze and
• Solve

Quality and productivity problem

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Problem solving functions of team

1.
Develop list
9. of problems 2.
Implement
Pick
Solution and
problems
monitor

Develop
follow-up Identify Collect data
Plan Analyze
solve

Pick best Focus

Solutions attention

Develop
Find causes

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solutions
 Structure of Q Circles
Executive committee

Steering committee

Facilitator

Leader

Deputy Leader

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Member Member
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 Six Sigma
• A process for developing and delivering
near perfect products and services
• Measure of how much a process deviates
from perfection
• Best measure of process variability
• Smaller the deviation value, the less
variability in the process
• 3.4 defects per million opportunities
• Champion
an executive responsible for project success

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 Black Belts and
Green Belts
• Black Belt
project leader
• Master Black Belt
a teacher and mentor
for Black Belts
• Green Belts
project team
members

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 Six Sigma: DMAIC

DEFINE
DEFINE MEASURE
MEASURE ANALYZE
ANALYZE IMPROVE
IMPROVE CONTROL
CONTROL

67,000
67,000 DPMO
DPMO
cost
cost == 25%
25% of
of

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sales
sales 3.4
3.4 DPMO
DPMO
 N. Chidambaram
Organizing for Quality