Sources
Juran’s Quality Control Handbook, 4th edition, by J M Juran and Frank M Gryna
Human activities always had to meet multiple needs, including our natural need for quality and even perfection. Customers have always demanded quality. Quality was often the privilege of the rich, and the poor had to make do with what they got. But the reason for this was that often the poor manufactured for themselves or purchase from whoever was willing to sell to them at prices that they could afford, while the rich could make use of the services of skilled artisans. But quality standards were there from the earliest times. Imagine if there were no quality standards when the pyramids were built!
In the old days quality was the responsibility of the craftsmen who worked in the villages. Consumerism was not yet a thing, and production volumes were low. Trade was mostly localized.
This all changed during the industrial revolution. Factories appeared, machines for production purposes were invented, and production volumes increased dramatically. Because more were produced, it became cheaper to buy, and quality would start to suffer as a result. Quality was the responsibility of the production department.
Consumerism was on the rise. It demanded that productivity had to increase, because of the higher volumes that needed to be produced. This often happened at the expense of quality. Manufacturers had to react to this problem, and the inspection department was born. It was their responsibility to check the quality of the products that were produced.
Inspectors were deployed throughout the factories. They were under the control of Inspection Supervisors. As time went by, these Inspection Supervisors gained more and more status, and soon the position of Chief Inspector appeared.
The inspection department reported to the Production Manager. It created a conflict of interest, because the Production Manager had to achieve production targets, while at the same time taking responsibility for the quality of the products that were produced.
And, of course, inspection is reactive. It merely checks products to separate the good from the bad. Which meant that defective products were still produced. After World War II it became very clear that finding defects after they have occurred wasn’t good enough. It was after the fact, and at best defective product could be reworked, or scrapped and re-manufactured. From a financial point of view, this situation was not good at all. As a result, a new concept was born in the manufacturing world. It was called “prevention”.
Preventing defects is far more cost effective than finding them after items have already been completed. So, during the 1950s a new department appeared. It was called the Quality Engineering Department. This department focused on planning for quality and on analysis of information, including information about causes of defects. They used the resulting information for defect prevention.
All of this led to the creation of a new position in the company: the Quality Manager. Chief inspectors and those working in the Quality Engineering Department now reported to the Quality Manager.
Because of the change in approach, a new term emerged. It was “Quality Assurance”. It meant that the company wanted to be confident that their quality mission would be carried out. This led to the birth of the “Quality Plan”.
Quality plans had to be drawn up
The plans had to be executed
An audit foundation had to follow up to check that the execution followed the planning
As a result, three levels of quality function followed:
To draw up quality plans the line departments and the Quality Planning Department had to be involved
The line departments had to execute the plans
The quality function had the be carried out by the Quality Department
Many organizations still function more or less like this when it comes to the quality of their products and services.
Using the plan, but making sure that the line departments stay involved, ensures that the line departments can remain in full control of their personnel, but at the same time an independent review of the execution of the plan is provided.
The Quality Department evolved into a multifunctional department. It included the following functions:
Inspection
Measuring control
Process control
Statistical process control
Inspection planning
Defect cause analysis
Customer complaints analysis
Supplier surveillance
Defect prevention
New product reviews
Worker motivation for quality
Product safety
Environmental impact
Conformance to statutory and regulatory requirements
Quality management
Training for quality
Reporting
Quality departments in larger organizations started to have the following structure:
The Quality Manager
I n some organizations quality managers are appointed with the single function of running the quality department. In smaller companies this person may have other functions as well, and may also be known by another title.
In larger organizations we may also fine Quality Managers being appointed at different levels in the organization. We may find Factory Quality Managers, Divisional Quality Managers and even Corporate Quality Managers. These Quality Managers will have distinctive functions that applies to each of these levels.
The Factory Quality Manager
This person is normally found where production is taking place. In large organizations more than one Factory Quality Manager may be found, one for each production site.
In small companies the Factory Quality Manager reports to the owner, general manager, or whatever the title is of the person overseeing the whole company. In these cases they normally have other responsibilities, apart for the quality function, as well.
In larger organizations they often report to a Divisional Quality Manager, or sometimes directly to a Corporate Quality Manager.
The prime responsibility of the Factory Quality Manager is to determine conformance to specification. He or she implements the necessary infrastructure to be able to do so. This can include the implementation of quality management systems (often based on the requirements of ISO 9001), although this function may also reside with someone else in the organization.
Factory Quality Managers will normally make decisions regarding disposition of products that do not conform to specification: scrap, rework and re-manufacture, etc.
The Factory Quality Manager provide feedback to management and the production personnel regarding product quality. The feedback must aid in identifying abnormalities and he or she must be involved in root cause analysis to determine the causes of the abnormalities, and to find solutions to prevent recurrence.
One of the most important functions of the Factory Quality Manager is to be intimately involved in continual improvement.
He or she is also responsible for training production personnel in quality orientated skills and tools, and their applications for continual improvement.
The Divisional Quality Managers
If a company does not have Divisional Quality Managers, the functions of the Divisional Quality Manager will often be allocated to the Factory Quality Manager. If there are Corporate Quality Managers, some of the functions may be allocated to them.
The Divisional Quality Manager, where they have been appointed, collects information required for the disposition of nonconforming products and assures that the appropriate decisions makers can determine the disposition. In short, they make the rules and sets the conditions.
The Divisional Quality Manager is involved in quality planning which is focused on the factory process controls and product controls. The creation of early warning systems to detect potential quality problems may also be included (e.g. statistical process control), including for when new products are launched.
The Divisional Quality Manager receives information which helps to identify quality problems, and can do estimates of costs of poor quality to help identify where improvement activities should be focused. They often make use of specialists in the quality department as consultants in the division. This can sometimes be cross-divisional.
Another responsibility of the Divisional Quality Manager is to conduct audits, prepare reports and to provide an independent source of quality assurance to management, and, in particular, to other Divisional Quality Managers. The Divisional Quality Manager contributes to the general management function by managing quality as part of the normal day-to-day activities of the organization.
The Corporate Quality Manager
Corporate Quality Managers are appointed in large organizations where multiple divisions are present, as well as in multi-national organizations.
The role of the Corporate Quality Manager is to assist corporate management:
To develop quality policies
To set quality objectives
To prepare quality manuals and quality plans
To audit and report on divisional performance
To report to top management on corporate performance
Corporate Quality Managers also have to assist Divisional Quality Managers by consulting to them (often the corporate quality office employs various specialists in the consulting function, like reliability experts or risk management experts).
He or she is also responsible for the training of divisional and other personnel regarding quality related practices.
The corporate quality manager is responsible for external relations regarding quality related matters.
Why do Quality Managers sometimes fail?
Quality managers fail for a variety of reasons:
Lack of leadership skills
Poor people skills
They are sometimes preoccupied with conformance
They sometimes put too much emphasis on technology, instead of on the division or company as a business.
Sometimes they focus too much on departmental goals instead of the goals for the organization.
A serious problem is found if the quality manager does not understand the culture within the organization.
The roles of the Quality Manager and the quality departments are continuously evolving. The requirements of the ISO 9001 standard are continually updated to ensure that it remains relevant, and it impacts on the role to the quality function. It has become necessary that quality professionals at the higher levels, who are involved in quality management system development and auditing become much more proficient in business management and the risks associated with business. The requirement for a management representative for quality has also disappeared, with top management now being accountable for quality and the application of the quality management system in the organization. The quality manager’s role is, maybe more than ever, that of consulting to the top management team in the organization.
I trust that you have found this blog interesting. In my next blog I would like to focus executive management and quality.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have, or for assistance if required. I also welcome feedback and comments on my blogs. You can contact me at koosgouws10@gmail.com. You can also visit our website at www.sheqmanagementsystem.co.za, or, alternatively, at www.sheq-management-systems.webnode.com.
Regards
Koos
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