Checklist

Check Sheets “record data on a form that readily allows interpretation of results from the form itself” (Hodgetts 89). As one of Ishikawa’s basic quality tools, Check Sheets are an effective means of gathering data in a helpful, meaningful way.

Kaoru Ishikawa is often credited with “democratizing statistics.” This relates to his desire to spread quality control ideas throughout the workplace. His tools make it easier to comprehend raw data, making quality improvements simpler. Check Sheets are a perfect example of this. Although they can vary a good deal depending on the type of data being collected, the purpose of the check sheet is always the same.



“The Check Sheet is used to facilitate the collection and analysis of data. ‘Garbage in, Garbage out’ is an old cliché, but it is true. Therefore, the purpose for which data is being collected must be clear. Data reflects facts, but only if they are properly collected. The number of defects and where they are found can be recorded and analyzed for causes” (Soin 297).



There are a few steps for constructing a check sheet. Since they are used for “determining the occurrence of events such as non-conformities, including the position in which they appear on the non-conforming item”(Bunney), the first step is to identify what problems, or “non-conforming items” occur often. The next step is to construct the table, which will become the actual sheet. Usually the defects/problems/”non-conforming items” are the titles of the different rows on the left side. The top of the sheet contains columns that usually are the time periods in which the problems may occur. Once all of the rows are ready, the only thing left to do is implement the check sheet in the workplace. This means checking off the type of defect that occurs when it happens. This data can then be analyzed for trends using histograms, Pareto analysis, or in obvious cases just by eye
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This definition closely parallels Dr. Shewhart’s opening statement for his (1939) book Statistical Method from the Viewpoint of Quality Control:
“Broadly speaking there are three steps in a quality control process: the specification of what is wanted, the production of things to satisfy the specification, and the inspection of the things produced to see if they satisfy the specification.”



This idea of an operational definition, which Shewhart and Deming popularized from the work of the philosopher C. I. Lewis, provided the seed for what grew into the Shewhart or PDSA Cycle.

Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle does form a powerful framework for any improvement effort, it has often been reduced to a checklist to be followed mechanically. This has led to a proliferation of “expanded” PDSA cycles where each of the steps on the checklist are specified in ever increasing detail.
But before we go down this path, I would like to back up and generalize a bit.

In Dr. Deming’s own conversations, when individuals would start telling him about what they or their organization were planning to do, he would invariably have one of two responses for them:
“By what method?” or “How will you know?”
Either one of these questions would generally end the conversation since the individual would have no answer. After discerning this pattern to Dr. Deming’s responses, it finally occurred to me that these two questions corresponded to the last two parts of an operational definition. This realization, in turn, resulted in a generalization of an operational definition to become:

1. What do you want to accomplish?
2. By what method will you accomplish it?
3. How will you know when you have accomplished it?

Whatever you may be doing, until you can answer all three of these questions, you do not have an operational definition but merely a basis for an argument. Shewhart understood this, and in his work he used the concept of an operational definition in the development of the “operation of statistical control.”

Orginal and full text is on SPC Press online

Experiments, Randomization, and Observational Studies

Clearly, process behavior charts were intended for use with observational studies. Since it will generally be much easier to obtain data as a side effect of operations, this alone makes the process behavior chart one of the most important tools in your data analysis tool kit.



However, as is shown in the several of my books, process behavior charts may also be used with experimental data. In fact, they will often be the only analysis technique that will reveal certain aspects of your data (such as a lack of homogeneity where the data should be homogeneous). However, by the very nature of an experiment, experimental data will be collected under two or more conditions. This characteristic of experimental data places restrictions on how the data may be analyzed.

read full text on SPC Press Reading Room

Statistical Process Control has been around for over 70 years.
However, there is today considerable confusion about the nature and purpose of SPC. I believe this is because many have sought to reshape SPC according to their own background and experience. Some hear the words Statistical Process Control and immediately think of classical statistical procedures.
They try to fit SPC into this framework of parameters, distributional assumptions, tests of hypotheses, and confidence levels. Of course, when this group tries to share their version of SPC they are met with that same total lack of comprehension which is the fate of classical statistics. But statisticians are accustomed to rejection, so this is nothing new.



Others hear the words Statistical Process Control and think of process control techniques. SPC is thought of as a manual process-control technique to be used to maintain the status quo for a process. It is merely a process monitoring technique, to be used after you have already gotten the process into a satisfactory state. “And, since this is what SPC is about, wouldn’t you like to know about some of the neat algorithmic process-control techniques and process modeling techniques that have been developed in the past few years?” This group would be glad to give you a course or sell you some software. But once again, there is a hurdle of truly mathematical proportions to be overcome. The faint of heart need not apply. Those without calculus should not enter in to this door.



A third group uses the word “control” to denote conformance to specifications, and so when they hear the words Statistical Process Control they think about trying to produce product within specifications. Given this perspective, they think of SPC as a complex route to a simple objective, and accordingly they try to simplify SPC. This group tends to want to bypass the computations based on the data and instead use the specifications to set action limits. While this simplicity sells well, it has the unfortunate characteristic of completely misrepresenting what SPC is all about. Those who use these simplified approaches may meet with some limited success, but because their objective falls short of what can be done, because they do not seek to get the most out of their processes, they do not reap the benefits available from SPC. The reality falls short of the promise, and the users return to sorting as a way of life—make enough stuff and some of it is likely to be good.

read full text on SPC Press Reading Room

EOQ wants to show them recognition and thank them for their contribution.

A Quality Leader is a Leader in an organization having succeeded in moving the organization to success for the different stakeholders through his leadership and through the change and Quality Processes he has implemented directly through his team.

EOQ is proud to announce the winner for the European Quality Leader Award 2009 Mr Jos Corstjens from Tbp in Belgium



Jos Corstjens is an Industrial Engineer, he has a master in business Administration and is currently a manager in industrialization, Co-engineering, SHEQ at Tbp electronics Belgium NV

On May 1, 2007, Jos was one of the managers who took the factory over from Alcatel-Lucent, this was done together with Dutch partner tbp electronics.
On top of this job, he also is a manager of process engineering and maintenance teams. He introduced lean and 6 sigma. He is also a business development manager of electronics development teams both in the Netherlands and in Belgium. And last but not least he is managing quality in Belgium.

The EOQ President, Mr Viktor Seitschek handed the European Quality Leader Certificate to Mr Corstjens during the Gala Dinner of the EOQ Congress in Dubrovnik, Croatia on May 13, 2009.



The European Quality Leader Award is in recognition of the outstanding individuals, who devote their time, energy and knowledge in sharing their beliefs to the benefit of the European Society. “This year, we nominated Jos Corstjens for the award due to his unique experience in Quality and entrepreneurship within SME’s, his ability to implement quality systems with creativity tools and innovative methods which are in line with the EOQ views on the human element making the difference in all Quality actions” commented Mr Viktor Seitschek, EOQ President and member of the jury of the European Quality Leader Award 2009.

The two other finalists are high valuable persons acting in different fields of activity: Mr Ramon Robles from SGS in Spain and Mr Kostas Adamopoulos from TNT in Greece.

As part of the Toyota Production System, a kamishibai board is used as a visual control for performing audits within a manufacturing process. A series of cards are placed on a board and selected at random or according to schedule by supervisors and managers of the area. This insures safety and cleanliness of the workplace is maintained and that quality checks are being performed.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Kamishibai System Strengthens ISO 14001 and Heightens Environmental Awareness at TMMWV (Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, Inc.)

Although ISO 14001 certification was a milestone to be celebrated, the challenge to maintain this high level of intensity requires constant monitoring and kaizen of the Environmental Management System (EMS).



In order to integrate EMS to standard work practices, TMMWV created environmental kamishibai consistent with the Toyota Production System. The establishment of the kamishibai system began with a list of all the tasks that could be audited.
Included in these were questions and answers; document control; proper paperwork; record retention; objectives and targets; and area inspections.

These tasks were then broken down into groups and assigned to numbered cards. ISO Area representatives took on the responsibility of performing weekly assessments to ensure these items are kept up to standards. While many of the cards are completed each month, this system ensures that even those low frequency items, completed on a quarterly basis, are not missed out. With the kamishibai system of assessments, TMMWV’s momentum is never lost. TMMWV’s environmental actions are steadily being promoted.

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Checklist

New awesome article on http://www.gembapantarei.com/

“The most important factors for success are patience, a focus on long term rather than short-term results, reinvestment in people, product, and plant, and an unforgiving commitment to quality.”

This is a quote from Robert McCurry, former Executive VP of Toyota Motor Sales. It’s a great quote which captures in broad brushstrokes some of the essential characteristics of successful lean companies: long-term thinking, a focus on developing people, and kaizen. At the same time, to companies struggling with short-term challenges, these words can seem like happy talk. Many of us feel like we need to take action now, ideally not at the cost of the long-term, people or quality but to see results today. This is a delicate balance. We need to think long-term, but act each day with urgency.



This has to begin with leadership. From Jeffrey Liker’s book The Toyota Way:

The biggest crisis a company faces is when the leaders believe there is no crisis or do not feel a passionate sense of urgency to continuously improve the way they work.

FC is an in-house lean manufacturing consultant who coordinates the training and implementation. Lean is new to this organization, with most of the focus being on 5S for the past two years, with a recent interest in the other aspects of lean. A few weeks ago FC asked in an e-mail whether we had a checklist to gauge the sense of urgency of the staff. We don’t have such a checklist.



Although by no means a full checklist on a sense of urgency, at a minimum I would ask the following of FC’s leadership:

read full article (by By Jon Miller ) on http://www.gembapantarei.com/

In its broadest sense Six Sigma is a methodology that firms can use to improve the output quality of a process. Six Sigma has its roots in the repetitive processes of manufacturing; however, the same tools can be used in any business process from hiring new people to effective product design and marketing plans.

The foundation of the Six Sigma program is statistics; sigma stands for standard deviations from the mean of a data set in other words a measure of variation, while Six Sigma stands for six standard deviations from the mean. When a process reaches the six sigma level that process will be running close to perfection, producing a mere 3.4 defects per million. By using statistical and analytical tools firms can reduce the amount of variation in a process by removing the causes of variation therefore increasing the output quality of the process.


Jim Collins€™ advice to start with the right people is definitely applicable here. Implementing Six Sigma requires having the €œright people in the right seats€ to be successful.[2] Six Sigma is no different. Studying some of the companies listed above will prove that having the right people with the right skills and a shared vision is the foundation for success. The key players of the Six Sigma team are the:

1. Champion: (Usually upper management/ executive officers) The Champion is the person responsible for instilling the vision of Six Sigma and communicating it across the firm. The Champion should receive Six Sigma training in order to be an effective leader. While most likely not as knowledgeable in the use of specific tools in Six Sigma, a Champion must have an understanding of what the Black and Green Belts are doing in order to relay updates and accomplishments to upper management and throughout the company. The champion also assists the Black Belts by dedicating resources, assists in choosing projects, and is the advocate for the Black and Green Belts.

*Some programs distinguish between Champion and Executive leadership, it€™s up to you.

2. Master Black Belt: A master Black Belt is a Black Belt that has had extensive experience with the Six Sigma methodology. When a firm first tries to implement a Six Sigma program it may be necessary to hire the services of a master Black Belt to help facilitate correct implementation and initial success. The Master Black Belt can act as a coach to the Black and Green Belts by drawing on extensive experience relating past problems and how they were solved.

The Master Black Belt can also evaluate project results and give feedback to Black and Green Belts on performance and implementation.

Read more here

The Quality Measurement Conference

This year’s conference focuses on measurement issues and measurement in manufacturing environments. The 12th annual Quality Measurement Conference will take place March 22-25, 2010 at Marriott World Center. The program will feature 45-minute presentations over 2 days plus multiple 1/2 day workshops. The Quality Measurement Conference seeks presentations and hands-on professional learning workshops about technology advancements, application case studies, and operational management concepts.



The 2009 Quality Measurement Conference included sessions about:
CMMs

• Gage Blocks and Gage Block Accuracy
• Measuring Castings and Forgings
• Quality in Practice at Lockheed Martin and American Safety Razor
• Quality Across the Supply Chain
• Measurement Uncertainty
• Statistical Process Control
• … and more.

Attendees want to hear about:

• Calibration
• Applications of Measurement Technologies
• Linear Measurement
• Thread Gaging
• Standards
• On-Machine Measurement
• …and other methods of using measurement, test and inspection effectively!

More about this event bnpevents.com