GeneralAsessment Criteria

Marks will be awarded on the basis of the knowledge and understanding ofQuality Management (QM) (and appropriate techniques) displayed by thecandidate and on the quality of analysis and discussion in applying relatedperspectives to the case material.

Specific Assessment Criteria

Demonstrating a sound knowledge and understanding of Quality Management in

context. (25%)

Ability to apply (or discuss the application of) Quality tools, techniques andphilosophies in context, with suitable analysis and interpretation.(25%).

Demonstrating understanding of, (by providing an integrated solution for thecompany), and critically appraising, the impact of good QM practices andphilosophies. (30%).

Report quality including referencing and bibliography (if appropriate),writing style,use of grammar and correct spelling(20%)

Case Study - JEEVES PLCYour company manufactures and sells an electronic consumer durable product. This is aDO:MESTIC ROBOT of (more or lessl) human appearance, which is designed to carry outa wide range of domestic chores, and which looks like this:

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0.(0\:.i:J \:.i.J

The machine is made of light alloy and is equipped wi:th sensory apparatus (a form ofradar) to enable it to move around without bumping into things. It is programmablethrough a keyboard and hypercard memory storage system underneath the panel in thechest. Such programs enable the machine to walk, move its hands and arms and performother movement. It has recently been equipped with "voice programming" (i.e. 'it respondsto verbal commands) and given some simple speaking abilities. Various standard softwareprograms for domestic chores are offered within the initial purchase price.

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A recent estimate of quality costs showed that they were distributed as follows:

Failure prevention costsAppraisal and inspection costsInternal (in plant) failure costsExternal (field) failure costs

4%44%22%30%

Total

Stafftumover has averaged 15% p.a. and has been fairly consistent over a period of time.Absenteeism has averaged 6%, peaking in August and December but consistent overseveral years.

After the initial spurt of investment the amount of capital employed in the factory has beennagging - expressed in terms of £ per employee. Productivity, expressed in terms of outputper "direct" (factory) employee, has been as follows:

Outpt.'t Per Person Capital Employed

20162017201820192020

15.3 units p.a.10.1 units p.a.10.4 units p.a.

9.7 units p.a.8.8 units p.a.

£47,000 p.p.£3.2,000 p.p.£34,000 p.p. -£31,000 p.p.£30,000 p.p.

(N.B. 1£ - 2.05 S$ )

PRODUCTION PROCESS

At the beginning of the exercise, the sequence for the production of the robots is asfollows:

1. Robots are ordered" from the factory by the sales department.

2. Ultra lightweight kevlar and alloy sheet steel is ordered from the local steelstockholders and components (such as the radar vision system, audio recognitionsystem, electric motor and batteries) are ordered from component suppliers.

3. In the following week the raw materials and components are delivered andinspected. All raw materials are supplied to certified quality standards and notmore than 0.3% should exceed such standards. Nevertheless a 5% random sampleis taken by incoming inspection section.

4. The sheet steel is cut on a guillotine. Any scrap is discarded. Special joints are..,. precision machined.

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5. The cut sheets are pressed into shapes (fronts, backs, arms, legs and heads) anddrilled to facilitate assembly. The guillotines, presses, and other machinery arecomputer controlled. -

6. The shaped cases are then cleaned, burnished and sprayed ID the appropriatecolour.

Painting

The cases proceed through a series of chemical treatments to prevent rust andto prime the surface. They are then normally blow dried using a hand heldhose (although some operatives assert that this is unnecessary).

Then, spraying is an automated process. Two coats are applied and after thefirst coat the casings are machine-polished.

Hand finishing and polishing completes the process.o-¥

7. At this point, the cases are put into the work in progress ("w.i.p.") store fromwhere they are drawn, as required, for final assembly.

8. Cases are drawn from "w.i.p." store and placed on a semi-automated assembly line.

Precision Jointing

Shoulder, elbow, knee and wrist joints have to be able to rotate in 6 planes and,in consequence, the company uses its own patented jointing system.. 'Ibis has tooperate to fine tolerances and so a precision machining section was established.This section uses the latest (and most expensive!) machine tools available and ismanned by highly skilled technicians. The followingtable shows the percentageofjointing mechanisms which were outside the specified tolerances:

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Date \ Rejects Date \ Rejects

11 November 0.21

21 October 0.17 12 0.13

22 0.11 13 0.15

23 0.13 14 0.14

24 0.14 15 0.12

25 0.11 16 0.15

26 0.15

18 November 0.22

28 October 0.16 19 0.14

29 0.13 20 0.12

30 0.14 21 0.13--+ --

31 0.11 22 0.14

1 November 0.12 23 0.16

2 0.13

25 November 0.25

4 November 0.24 26 0.14

5 0.14 27 0.13

6 0.14 28 0.12

7 0.16 29 0.15

8 0.16 30 0.14

9 0.15

Everyone is baffled by the strange peaks which are well outside what could be expectedon statistical probability. Furthermore, until recently there had been no significantdifference in the figures between the shifts whereas, on the morning shift, the rejects were10% worse than the norm on the weeks ending 9th and 23rd November. The morningshift supervisor is a reliable and competent man with a good record of quality andproductivity and there are no apparent personnel problems on his shift.

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9. The major component modules are then bolted to the back of the body in thefollowing order:

1. Battery2. Ceramic electric motor3. Set of printed circuit boards4. Memory storage cards

Assembly is done, mainly by semi-skilled workers using power tools.

10. The radar vision, gyroscopic balance system and audio recognition systems arebolted to the to the back of the head.

11. Arms and legs are assembled with joints and fibre optic cabling and then theirfronts and backs are joined using high technology adhesives.

12. The fronts of the head and body are bolted to the backs, again using automatedtools and higfi technology adhesives.

Adhesive Applicators

Fronts and backs of the various cases are joined using high technology cured epoxyadhesives, The operative or "applicators" receive casing halves along the assemblyline. They then spread the adhesive mixture along the contact surfaces using aspecial injector or "gun". The major joins are made by robot applicators butcertain small and inaccessible areas have to be made by hand. Cases are joinedafter all their components have been fixed within them The complete heads,bodies, arms and legs are then moved to final assembly where other people makeany necessary tests for water and air tightness, and smoothness of fit.

Management places heavy emphasis on standard productivity. Each applicatormust make ten joins per hour. The applicators achieve this pace but final assemblyis frequently reduced because more time than was expected is spent on repairingthe joins. The applicators were trained on the job and have average skills. Theyreceive no other feedback on their performance. However, there is a great deal ofgrumbling amongst the final assembly workers whose task is made more difficultby misaligned and poorly fitted joins.

13. Each sub-assembly is inspected before final assembly.

14. The head, body, arms and legs are connected up using multi-dimensional jointingand flexible hoses.

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Component Sub-Assembly

In most cases, computer controlled machinery affixes components on to the casingusing advanced adhesives. However, because of incompatibility between materials,the batteries and electric motors have to be bolted on to the casing by hand, usingpower tools. Operatives work on the line, each making an average of 12 boltsonto the casing i.e. one person bolts the battery and then someone further downthe line bolts the electric motor. The inspection section for the back casing of thebody is the most active, the rejection rate for loose components at this point isapproximately l.2%. A further 0.5% are rejected at final inspection, causingexpensive rework situations. There is a staff turnover of 25% p.a. amongst suchoperatives in the back casing sub-assembly section.

Computer controlled machinery connects 90% of the optical fibre cabling andwiring but certain inaccessible items in both the head and the body are connectedby hand (mainly by female operatives). There is a happy atmosphere and low staffturnover amongst such people (about 10% p.a.)

-+

15. Software is installed and the machine is then submitted to a series of practical testsas visual inspection.

The above sequence will take five weeks:

Week One Order raw materials and components

Week Two Receive raw materials and components

Week Three Carry out the cutting, pressing and sp;raying operations

Weeks Fourand Five

Carry out sub-assembly and final assembly and inspection and thentransfer to the finished goods store.

The company operates a 3-shift system (i.e. 144 hours per week for 48 weeks peryear).The factory is closed on Sundays and for 2 weeks in the summer and 2 weeksat Christmas. It: and when, different models are required, they are produced inbatches. All staff (both manual and' clerical) are members of N.U.RC. (theNational Union of Robot Constructors)

The company values materials technology - making extensive use of kevlar andaramid composites for light weight and ceramics to withstand high operatingtemperatures. There are no welds in the final product as all connections are madeusing the latest high-technology adhesives and sealants.

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APPENDIX 1

ANALYSIS OF REJECTS AT FINAL ORINTERIM INSPECTIONS

DESCRIPTION % DEFECTIVE

w/e 26110 2111 9/11 16/11 23/11 30/11 7/12

l. Microscopic damage onprinted circuit boards 0.4 0.3 0.9 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.3

-+

2. Inaccurate tolerances onjointing mechanisms 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.9

3. Loose wiring 1.0 0.8 1.4 1.1 0.9 0.7 0.8

4. Loose components 1.6 1.7 1.5 1.7 1.4 1.6 1.7

5. Substandard finish oncasings 1.1 1.3 0.9 1.0 1.2 0.8 1.3

6. Defective electric motor . 0.3 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.4 1.1 1.0

7. Burnt wiring 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.2

8. Battery will not holdcharge 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2

9. Poor connections 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.3 1.6 1.5

10. Defective audio recog-nition system 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.9 0.3 0.2 0.1

11. Misalignment of frontsand backs or inadequateseal 0.8 1.1 1.1 . 0.9 1.3 0.8 0.7

12. Broken external components 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.3 1.1 0.4 1.0-"

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DESCRIPTIQN % DEFECTIVE

w/e 26110 2111 9111 16/11 23/11 30/11 7112

13. Defective radar visionsystem 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.2

14. Perished rubber hosing 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2

15. Others 2.1 1.7 2.4 1.9 1.6 2.3 2.0

Shift 1 (6 a.rn.start)average 3.1 3.1 5.5 3.7 3.4 3.3 3.7

--+

Shift 2 (2 p.rn.start)average 3.8 3.6 3.9 3.8 3.3 3.5 3.6

Shift 3 (l0 p.m.start)average 3.3 4.0 3.2 4.9 4.5 4.3 4.8

Overall 10.2 10.7 12.6 12.4 11.2 11.1 12.1

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APPENDIX 2

COMPLAINTS AND WARRANTY CLAIMS

DESCRIPTION

1. Robots crashing into furniture andother obstacles

2. Robots not responding to commands

3. Robots responding incorrectly tocommands

4. Joints seizing up

5. Robots persistently falling over

6. Rust or flaking paint on casing

7. Robots unable to lift prescribedweight of 2cwt

8. Robots unable to climb stairs

9. Intermittent power loss

10. Burnt out electric motor

11. Control buttons breaking

12. Excessive noise during movement

13. Repetitive scratching of headfor no reason

14. Loss of speech

IS. Loss of hearing

16. Others

Total

NUMBER

September October November

105 103 97

74 72 98

220 184 169

46 49 53

9 21 3

17 22 16

30 14 SS

4 11 6

60 62 63

81 92 94

5 6 9

51 46 47

0 17 3

25 27 24

29 21 28

62 76 67

818 823 832

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(,

OrganIsation Chart

'.Produc1lon O!roc1or

I I I '~

IPurchaaIno

UanagorChlo{ Insp«;ior WoOOIlTlIIl\8gOf

Produc1lon Control

Managll(

Stall 0/55

Stall 0/20 Stall 0/ 040

I I I I ISIoroe

IAIIM{lIM'

AaalotRnt

WOfi<.

IAnnO{)Of

ShIn 1

1A1\f\tt()0fSh/ft2

IAMIIQC)(ShIn::!

1A1IM{l0f

Slnrl of 15~~----------~~----------~)y

Tol8I atnll 01 approx. 156 6GCh

I I I I I I r IGenorlII From. Head. Leg.

CuI1InQ PreftIIIno JoInIIngMad11n1ng '~bly ~bly AaaMlblySupotWor ,St~eor SupotYIaorSupeMeor $upetvIeor SupoMaor ~(. peoole) (J pooplo) (11 pooplo)(9 pooplo) (18 peoplo) (1~ people) 6peoplo

000n1o{)J Bad<I AnneSprnyW>op ~Iy AaaembIy

$upel'lleor Sopor'<'\&« SupeMaor

(11 pcoplo) (~ peoole] (12 peoole]

ISoftware

InataAatIon

Supcw'vIaor

(5 p6OpIo)

IAdheoeMM

SupeMeor

(2S p6OpIo)

F10aIAa&embly

SupeMaor

(18 people)

(18 PEOPLE)

APPENDIX 4FACTORY LAYOUT Yard

Component StoreI

IGoods Inward

I

Cutting

Shapes

Pressing

Shapes .~

C'CS Cleaning~ &<D Burnishing ,

'"'0Cl)-S Sprayingo I

W.I.P

Store

Machining

Shop

Precision

Jointing

,Backs:

Battery

Motor

Circuitry

MemoryStorage

Heads

Giros

Radar

Audio

Arms

Hands

Legs

Feet

Fronts

Controls

I

I

I

Outside Wall

Adhesives

FinalAssembly

SoftwareInstallation

FinalInspection

TestingArea

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uI (3

0..cor-+o::Joo::Jr-+-.oo~oCD(J)

PROBLEM-ANAL VSIS

Problem identifiedI

Develop problem specificationdata. Questions (what, where,

when, extent of current problem)I

Determine/collect data already, generated

.-,. I

Apply existing relevant data toproblem specification (evolves

, from previously developed data

! questions)I

Determine additional data neededI

Decide responsibilities/means foradditional data collection

r;

i Complete problem specificationI

Develop possible causesI

Test possible causes I,Verify true causes

,Implement corrective action

I

-" Evaluation and follow up

CORRECTIVE ACTIONSYSTEM PHASES

Phase 1:Problem definition

Interim fix

"Phase 2:

Root cause identificationCorrective action

Phase 3:Evaluation and

follow-up

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PROBLEM-SOLVING SHEET

PERSONAL APPROACH

STEP 1: .SPECIFY THE DEVIATION

Deviation Relevant Facts Irrelevant Facts

What is

it?

Where is

it?

When did- -' --

it occur?

How ex-

tensive?-

STEP 2 : IDENTIFY DISTINCTIONS/CHANGES/RELATIONSHIPS

STEP 3 : DETERMINE "MOST LIKELY CAUSE"

STEP 4 : LIST POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

..,.----------_. _ ..

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