Assignment 6:

Q.1 Explain why continual quality improvement is important.

One of the most fundamental elements of total quality is continual improvement. The concept
applies to processes and the people who operate them as well as to the products resulting from
the processes. A fundamental total quality philosophy is that all three processes, people, and
products must be continually improved.
Continual improvement is a type of change that is focused on increasing the effectiveness or
efficiency of an organization to fulfil its policy and objectives. It is not limited to quality
initiatives. Improvement in business strategy, business results, and customer, employee and
supplier relationships can be subject to continual improvement.
Continual improvement should also lead to better results such as price, cost, productivity, time to
market, delivery, responsiveness, profit and customer and employee satisfaction.
Continuous improvement is gradual never-ending change, whereas continual improvement is
incremental change.
All managerial activity is either directed at control or improvement. Managers are either
devoting their efforts at maintaining performance, preventing change or creating change,
breakthrough or improvement. If businesses stand still they will lose their competitive edge, so
improvements must be made to keep pace and stay in business.
Every system, program or project should have provision for an improvement cycle. Therefore
when an objective has been achieved, work should commence on identifying better ways of
doing it.
There are ten steps to undertaking continual improvement:
Determine current performance
Establish a need to improve
Obtain commitment and define the improvement objective
Organize the Diagnostic resources
Carry out research and analysis to discover the cause of current performance

 Define and test solutions that will accomplish the improvement objective
Produce improvement plans which specify how and by whom the changes will be
implemented

Identify and overcome any resistance to the change

Implement the change

Put in place controls to hold new levels of performance and repeat step one

Q.2 What is managements role in continual quality improvement?

Managements role in continual improvement is leadership. Executive-level managers must be
involved personally and extensively. The responsibility for continual improvement cannot be
delegated. Administration must assume the initiative part in ceaseless quality change. It is
insufficient for administration to build strategies, make mindfulness and afterward simply move
to one side. Administration must lead the route by;
- making an association wide quality gathering
- Creating quality change objectives with timetables and dates
- Giving good and physical backing
- Booking advancement surveys
- Incorporating quality change with the prize framework to incorporate advancements and
boosts in compensation.

Q.3 Discuss the Kaizen approach

Kaizen is the name given by the Japanese to the concept of continual incremental
improvement. Kai means change and zen means good. Kaizen, therefore, means making
changes for the better on a continual, never-ending basis. The improvement aspect of Kaizen
refers to people, processes, and products.

The Five-Step Plan is the Japanese approach to implementing:

Step 1: Straighten up. This step involves separating the necessary from the unnecessary
and getting rid of the unnecessary in such areas as tools, work in process, machinery,
products, papers, and documents.
Step 2: Put things in order. This step involves putting such things as tools and material in
their proper place and keeping things in order so that employees can always find what they
need to do the job without wasting time looking.
Step 3: Clean up. This step involves keeping the workplace clean so that work can proceed
in an efficient manner, free of the problems that can result when the work site is messy.
Step 4: Standardize. This step was originally aimed at standardizing how the first three of
the Five-Ss were implemented and maintained, but since then expanded to include
standardizing on best practices. Visual management is also a major component of
standardization.
Step 5: Discipline. This step involves careful adherence to standardized work procedures.
This requires discipline

Q.4 How would you describe a lean system?

Lean is a TQM approach originally designed for manufacturing, but since adapted to any kind of
organization. It is intended for smoother, more flexible process flow, reducing waste, and
improving the organizations competitive posture. The wastes of overproduction, inventory,
motion, and transportation, over processing, defects, waiting, and underutilization are primary

targets of Lean. Compared to a non-Lean company, the Lean organization does more and does it
better, while using less. At the heart of the concept are the reduction of waste and the
improvement of workflow. The purpose of adopting Lean as a business improvement method is
to produce better products or deliver better services using fewer resources.
Q.5 What is lean six-sigma and how would you apply it to a quality management system?
The name Lean Six Sigma has to be understood before we go any further. Failure to do so will
lead to a misunderstanding of the concept itself and its purpose. Clarification is best begun by
stating what Lean Six Sigma is not. It most definitely is not some kind of a Lite Six Sigma, like
an improvement system designed for those who only want a little improvement or who dont
want to be bothered by the details of Six Sigma. The objective of Lean Six Sigma is to make the
organization superior in its day-to-day work and processes, its products and services, and its
business results. This has also been the objective of many organizations that have found that
Lean alone, or Six Sigma by itself, did not quite provide all the results needed in their quest for a
better competitive posture. A lot of those organizations have found that by combining Lean with
Six Sigma, significant performance gains relative to processes, products, services, employees,
customer satisfaction, and the business bottom line have been realized.
Advantages of Lean Six Sigma include:

Elimination of the Eight Wastes-waiting, overproduction

Rework, motion, transportation, processing, inventory, and intellect
Means of improving process flow whether on the manufacturing floor, in an

office, or any other setting

A structured means for identifying the key factors that determine the performance

of all kinds of processes

Ordered methods for establishing key factors at the best possible level
Disciplined means of sustaining key factors at the best level
Synergistic advantage of linking the Lean tools with the Six
Sigma tools in a systematic way and in a specified sequence
Tying all of these to the financial health of the organization
A lot of those organizations have found that by combining

Q.6 Define benchmarking

Benchmarking is the process of comparing and measuring an organizations operations or its

internal processes against those of a best-in-class performer from inside or outside its industry.
Benchmarking is finding the secrets of success of any given function or process so that a
company can learn from the informationand improve on it. It is a process to help a company
close the gap with the best-in-class performer without having to reinvent the wheel.
Benchmarking involves two organizations that have agreed to share information about processes
or operations. The two organizations both anticipate some gain from the exchange of
information.
Key points to remember about benchmarking are as follows:

Benchmarking is an increasingly popular improvement tool.

Benchmarking concerns processes and practices.

Benchmarking is a respected means of identifying processes that require major change.

Benchmarking is done between consenting companies that may or may not be

competitors.

Q.7 How can you apply benchmarking data?

Organizations that benchmark, adapt the process to best fit their own needs and culture. Although
number of steps in the process may vary from organization to organization, the following steps
must flow in a sequence. A number of variations are possible, but the process should follow this
general sequence:
1. Obtain management commitment.
2. Baseline your own processes.
3. Identify your strong and weak processes and document them.
4. Select processes to be benchmarked
5. Form benchmarking teams.
6. Research the best-in-class.
7. Select candidate best-in-class benchmarking partners.

8. Form agreements with benchmarking partners.

9. Collect data.
10. Analyze data and establish the gap.
11. Plan action to close the gap or surpass.
12. Implement change to the process.
13. Monitor results.
14. Update benchmarks: continue the cycle.
Key points relating to the 14-step sequence of steps for implementing benchmarking data
are as follows:

Benchmarking requires top managements commitment, participation, and backing.

It is necessary that an organization thoroughly understand its own processes before

attempting to benchmark.
The processes that should be benchmarked are those that most need improvement.
Benchmarking teams must include process operators.
Benchmark best-in-class, not best-in-the-industry.
Do not rush into new processes or major changes without thorough, thoughtful planning.
Do not be satisfied with a zero gapaim to surpass.
Carefully monitor new processes or major process changes.
Benchmarking is not a one-shot process; continue it forever.

At the conclusion of the benchmarking project with your partner, data analysis will have
produced both quantitative and qualitative information. Quantitative information used as
the basis for improvement objectives. Qualitative information covers such matters as
personnel policies, training, management styles and hierarchy, total quality maturity, and
so on. Benchmarking may be a one-off event, but is often treated as a continuous process
in which organizations continually seek to challenge their practices.

Q.8 What is a JIT system?

An inventory strategy companies employ to increase efficiency and decrease waste by receiving
goods only as they are needed in the production process, thereby reducing inventory costs. This

method requires that producers are able to accurately forecast demand. A good example would be
a car manufacturer that operates with very low inventory levels, relying on their supply chain to
deliver the parts they need to build cars. The parts needed to manufacture the cars do not arrive
before nor after they are needed, rather do they arrive just as they are needed. This inventory
supply system represents a shift away from the older "just in case" strategy where producers
carried large inventories in case higher demand had to be met.

Q.9 What are the benefits of JIT/lean?

Just in Time system eliminates waste and improves quality, and in the process, improves allaround organizational efficiency. JIT improves organizational efficiency in five major ways:

The Just in Time method entails sourcing the required raw material or item for processing

on demand, and scheduling the work based on order or demand for the product. This
synchronization of supply with production, and production with demand improves the
flow of goods and reduces the need for storage facilities.
JITs focus on eliminating waste from the production process leads to redesign of the

workspace to ensure a smooth flow of goods or processes, eliminating redundant tasks,

and minimizing transportation of the product across the workspace.
JIT makes it possible to manufacture even single pieces or components without any

delays.
JITs system of kanban or specific instructions for each worker eliminates all scope for

mistakes in the work floor.

The relentless effort to eliminate waste and achieve zero-defects improves productivity,
cuts down manufacturing time, and improves product quality

Q.10 Discuss automation system ideas for JIT/lean

JIT/Lean and automation are compatible, but one should look long and hard at the need, and the
companys readiness for it, before automating processes. Having said that, automation clearly
has its place in harmony with JIT/Lean. There are many examples of very successful automated

plants, especially for high-volume manufacturing. Automation and JIT/Lean are completely
compatible. Probably the best example of that is in todays auto industry. JIT/Lean was originally
designed for an auto producer, and as automation has been integrated, and as automation
capabilities have evolved, JIT/Lean has been there doing its job. In these plants, JIT/Lean is at
least as valuable as it is in plants with less automation. Its pull system prevents overproduction of
any manufacturing element, and supplies materials at the front end of the process when needed,
and does it without the massive inventories of the pre-JIT/Lean era. Whether the processes are
operated by humans or robots makes no difference in this regard.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES:
1. Georgia Tech Will Build Nations First Open Robotics Lab
Georgia tech is one of the most popular public university in United States. It has more than 100
centers focused on interdisciplinary research that consistently contribute vital research and
innovation to American government, industry, and business. Georgia tech is planning to
open state of the art robotics lab called Robotarium by 2017.Once opened this massive
lab will be able to accommodate 100 ground and aerial robots. Students from across the
country will be able to watch robots in real time just by uploading programming code.
Building a robotarium involves significant amount of resources, therefore it should be
easily accessible to more people. Also other institutions will collaborate with Georgia tech
on various innovative projects in the field of robotics. National Science foundation is
providing $2.5 million dollars to this new robot lab. The mini model for this lab was tested
in fall 2015, to ensure its correct functionality. Such kind of advance labs helps students to
gain hands on practical experience in particular field. In my opinion such kind of labs
should be opened in every state to provide students opportunity to convert innovative ideas
into new applications.

2. What I gained from choosing the rocky road

In this article, Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of United Nations, mentions about the
opportunity which was challenging at the early stage of his career. Such challenges taught him a
lot, which he could not have learnt in comfortable conditions. He graduated in Diplomacy
program from Republic of Korea and chose to do his first assignment at small Korean Embassy
at New Delhi. This assignment bridged his theoretical experience to professional world, it
provided him with opportunity to write briefs, generate analysis and meet with top officials.
Apart from the professional relationship with India, he also has a family which is Korean-India
venture, as his daughter married to an Indian man. While evaluating candidates to serve at United
Nations, the most important thing he sees in candidate is the work he or she has done and not the

high profile positions served by them. Summing up, he advice all young individuals to choose
the path which is full of difficulties, this will make them stronger apart from giving success. In
my opinion, it is truly said that A ship is always safe in the harbor, it means a person or the
young individual becomes strong and successful only if he faces difficulties in the path.
3. E-Commerce and Manufacturing in 2020 Will YOU be ready?
Manufacturing is vital sector, though its importance in US economy is declining since last forty
years. The economists believes that service sectors surpasses manufacturing. However,
nowadays manufacturing is catching up pace. The new tools such as robots and 3D printers have
taken manufacturing to new level. These tools have made all of us think that where
manufacturing would be five years from now. So it has become important for every
manufacturing organization to keep up the pace. The other significant changes to be made are
improving customer service, acquiring new customers by introducing new e-commerce
technologies and strategies, preparing for demands from e-commerce customers and much more.
In my opinion-commerce will provide global platform to the businesses, resulting increase in
sales. On the other hand, automation will reduce the manpower needed to the firms, which in
turn will result in unemployment.