1. Explainwhycontinualqualityimprovementisimportant?

Smallbusinessesoftenhavedifficultycompetingwithlargercompetitorsthatcanmassproduce
productsatlowcosts.Continuousqualityimprovementisabusinessmanagementsystemthat
companiesofallsizescanemploy.Continuousqualityimprovementfocusesonidentifyingsub
optimalprocessesinabusinessandchangingthemtoreducedefectsandimprovequality.
1.ErrorReduction:
Continuousqualityimprovementcanreducethenumbererrorsyourbusinessmakes.
Defectiveproductsandmistakesmadewhenprovidingservicesareexamplesoferrorsthatcan
becostly.Becausesmallcompaniescannotproducegoodsandservicesinmasslikelarger
companies,errorscanbeespeciallycostly.Focusingoncontinuouslyidentifyingpotential
sourcesoferrorsandfixingthemcanavoidproblemsthatmightotherwisecropupovertime.
2.IncreasedAdaptability:
Aphilosophyofcontinuousqualityimprovementcanmakeabusinessbetterequipped
toadapttochangesinanindustry,takeadvantageofopportunitiesandavoidthreats.
Processesinacompanypursuingcontinuousqualityimprovementcontinuallyundergo
incrementalchanges.Companiesusedtocontinuallyimplementingchangesarebetter
equippedtoadapttheirbusinessestochangingmarketsthanthosethatemployrigid
processes,suchcompaniesengagedinmassproduction.
3.IncreasedProductivity:
Continuousqualityimprovementcanresultinhiccupsinproductivityintheshortterm
asbusinessesimplementbetterprocesses,butitcanleadtoincreasedproductivityinthelong
term.Forexample,asmallbusinessthatrevisesitsproductionprocessesmighthavetoshut
downproductionforadaytoimplementtheimprovements,resultinginadayoflost
production.Afterthechangestakeeffect,though,thecompanymighthavefewerproduction
slowdownsandhigherproductivity.
4.ImprovedMorale:

Continuousqualityimprovementfocusesonimprovingbusinessprocessesasameans
toimproveacompanyratherthanblamingworkersforsourcesofinefficiency.Accordingtothe
LouisianaDepartmentofChildren&FamilyServices,oneofofthemainbenefitsofcontinuous
qualityimprovementisthatitcanimprovestaffmorale.Workerswithhighmoraletendtobe
moreproductiveandlesslikelytoquittheirjobsthanworkerswithlowmorale.Reducing
turnoverisespeciallyimportantforsmallbusinessbecauseownersmustoftenrecruitandtrain
newworkersthemselves.
2.Whatismanagementsroleincontinualqualityimprovement?

Administrationcanassumethevitalinitiativepartandthatbasicallyisitspartinnonstop
changebydoingtheaccompanying:
Buildingupanassociationwidequalitychamberandservingonit.
Workingwiththequalitycommitteetobuildupqualitychangeobjectiveswithtimetables
anddeadlines.
Providingtheimportantgoodandphysicalbacking.Moralbolstershowsitselfas
responsibility.Physicalbolstercomesastheassetsexpectedtoperformthequalitychange
destinations.
Planningoccasionaladvancementsurveysandgivingacknowledgmentwhereitis
merited.
Incorporatingpersistentqualitychangewiththecustomaryprizeframework,including
advancementsandboostsinsalary.

3.DiscusstheKaizenapproach.

KaizenisthenamegivenbytheJapanesetotheconceptofcontinualincremental
improvement.Kaimeanschangeandzenmeansgood.Kaizen,therefore,meansmaking
changesforthebetteronacontinual,neverendingbasis.TheimprovementaspectofKaizen
referstopeople,processes,andproducts.

TheFiveStepPlanistheJapaneseapproachtoimplementing:

.Step1:Straightenup.Thisstepinvolvesseparatingthenecessaryfromtheunnecessaryand
gettingridoftheunnecessaryinsuchareasastools,workinprocess,machinery,products,
papers,anddocuments.

.Step2:Putthingsinorder.Thisstepinvolvesputtingsuchthingsastoolsandmaterialintheir
properplaceandkeepingthingsinordersothatemployeescanalwaysfindwhattheyneedto
dothejobwithoutwastingtimelooking.

.Step3:Cleanup.Thisstepinvolveskeepingtheworkplacecleansothatworkcanproceedin
anefficientmanner,freeoftheproblemsthatcanresultwhentheworksiteismessy.

.Step4:Standardize.Thisstepwasoriginallyaimedatstandardizinghowthefirstthreeofthe
FiveSswereimplementedandmaintained,butsincethenexpandedtoincludestandardizing
onbestpractices.Visualmanagementisalsoamajorcomponentofstandardization.
.Step5:Discipline.Thisstepinvolvescarefuladherencetostandardizedworkprocedures.This
requiresdiscipline.

4.Howwouldyoudescribealeansystem?

Leanwasoriginallydevelopedasamanufacturingconceptand,assuch,isoftenreferredto
asleanmanufacturing.However,ashashappenedwithsomanyqualitymanagementrelated
concepts,theservicesectorimpressedwiththeresultsenjoyedbypractitionersoflean
manufacturingbegantoadoptandadapttheconcepttothissector.Consequently,weusethe
termLeaninthisbooktoconveythemessagethattheconceptcanbeappliedwithgood

resultsinthemanufacturingandservicesectors.ThepurposeofadoptingLeanasabusiness
improvementmethodistoproducebetterproductsordeliverbetterservicesusingfewer
resources.Iftheconcepthadamotto,itwouldbethisdoingmorewithlessanddoingitbetter.

5.Whatisleansixsigmaandhowwouldyouapplyittoaqualitymanagementsystem?

ThenameLeanSixSigmashouldbeunderstoodbeforewegoanyfurther.Failuretodosowill
leadtoamisunderstandingoftheconceptitselfanditspurpose.Clarificationisbestbegunby
statingwhatLeanSixSigmaisnot.ItmostdefinitelyisnotsomekindofaLiteSixSigma,likean
improvementsystemdesignedforthosewhoonlywantalittleimprovementorwhodontwant
tobebotheredbythedetailsofSixSigma.Whatwehavehereisaweddingbetweentwo
healthy,robust,powerfulsystemsthatstoodaloneinthetwoprevioussectionsLeanandSix
Sigma.TheSixSigmapartofLeanSixSigmaisstillthefullbodied,potentimprovementsystem
thatwehavediscussedintheprevioussection.TheLeanpartofLeanSixSigmaisstillthe
complete,provenQualityManagementsystemfoundintheToyotaProductionSystemand
JustInTime.
AdvantagesofLeanSixSigmainclude:
EliminationoftheEightWasteswaiting,overproduction,rework,motion,transportation,
processing,inventory,andintellect

Meansofimprovingprocessflowwhetheronthemanufacturingfloor,inanoffice,orany
othersetting.
Astructuredmeansforidentifyingthekeyfactorsthatdeterminetheperformanceofall
kindsofprocesses.
Orderedmethodsforestablishingkeyfactorsatthebestpossiblelevel.
Disciplinedmeansofsustainingkeyfactorsatthebestlevel.
SynergisticadvantageoflinkingtheLeantoolswiththeSixSigmatoolsinasystematicway
andinaspecifiedsequence.
Tyingthesetothefinancialhealthoftheorganization.

6.Definebenchmarking.Defineauditing.Howdoesbenchmarkingandauditingrelateto
eachother?

Benchmarkingistheprocessofcomparingandmeasuringanorganizationsoperationsorits
internalprocessesagainstthoseofabestinclassperformerfrominsideoroutsideitsindustry.
Benchmarkinghasbeenaroundsincetheearly1980s,butitwasntuntiltheearly1990sthatit
becameawidelyacceptedmeansofimprovingcompanyperformance.In1985,almostno
benchmarkingactivityexistedamongtheFortune500companies.By1990,halfoftheFortune
500companieswereusingthistechnique.Todaycompanieslargeandsmallfindbenchmarking
tobeaneffectivecomponentintheirtotalqualityeffort.Ifthereisasinglemostlikelyreason
fortheslowriseinbenchmarkingpopularity,itisamisunderstandingoftheconcepta
misunderstandingofwhatbenchmarkingis,whatitisnot,andhowtodoit.Ithelpstobegin
withanexaminationofwhatbenchmarkingisnot.

Benchmarkingisfindingthesecretsofsuccessofanygivenfunctionorprocesssothata
companycanlearnfromtheinformationandimproveonit.Itisaprocesstohelpacompany
closethegapwiththebestinclassperformerwithouthavingtoreinventthewheel.

7.Howcanyouapplybenchmarkingdatainauditingprocesses,systems,designs,products,
factoriesandservices?

Attheconclusionofthebenchmarkingprojectwithyourpartner,dataanalysiswillhave
producedbothquantitativeandqualitativeinformation.Thequantitativeinformationis
effectivelythestakedrivenintothegroundasthepointfromwhichfutureprogressis
measured.Itisalsousedasthebasisforimprovementobjectives.Qualitativeinformation
coverssuchmattersaspersonnelpolicies,training,managementstylesandhierarchy,total
qualitymaturity,andsoon.Thisinformationprovidesinsightsonhowthebenchmarking
partnergottobebestinclass.
Thequantitativedataareclearlytheinformationsoughtandarealwaysused.However,there
maybemorevalueinthequalitativeinformation.Itdescribestheatmosphereand
environmentinwhichbestinclasscanbedevelopedandsustained.Donotignoreit.Takeit
veryseriously.Studyit,discussitinstaffmeetings,andexplorethepossibilitiesofintroducing
thesechangesintoyourculture.

8.WhatisaJITsystem?

Aninventorystrategycompaniesemploytoincreaseefficiencyanddecreasewastebyreceiving
goodsonlyastheyareneededintheproductionprocess,therebyreducinginventorycosts.This
methodrequiresthatproducerscanaccuratelyforecastdemand.Agoodexamplewouldbea
carmanufacturerthatoperateswithverylowinventorylevels,relyingontheirsupplychainto
deliverthepartstheyneedtobuildcars.Thepartsneededtomanufacturethecarsdonot
arrivebeforenoraftertheyareneeded,rathertheyarrivejustastheyareneeded.This

inventorysupplysystemrepresentsashiftawayfromtheolder"justincase"strategywhere
producerscarriedlargeinventoriesincasehigherdemandhadtobemet.
9.WhatarethebenefitsofJIT/lean?

AdiscussionofthebenefitsofJIT/Leanmustincludefourveryimportanttopics:inventoryand
workinprocess,cycletime,continualimprovement,andeliminationofwaste.Thediscussion
couldbeexpandedtoincludesuchtopicsasreducedtimetomarket,improvedemployeework
life,flexibility,andemployeeownership.ThesearedefinitebenefitsofJIT/Lean,butthis
discussionwillbeconfinedtothecriticalfourmentioned.Thesearetheusualtargetsofa
JIT/Leanimplementation.

InventoryandWorkinProcess

Justintime/Leanattemptstodriveinventorytozero.Butrememberthatthisisaphilosophical
objectiveanaimingpoint,ifyouwill.Inreality,zeroinventorymakesnosense.Withoutsome
inventory,youhavenothingfromwhichtoproduceyourgoods.Therealobjectiveisto
minimizetheinventorytothemaximumpossibleextentwithoutshuttingdownproduction.Itis
alsoimportanttorecognizethatthereareatleastthreekindsofinventory.First,thereisthe
inventoryofrawmaterialsandpartsneededtomaketheproduct.Traditionally,thesehave
filledwarehouses,withenoughonhandforseveralweeksofproduction,orlonger.Second,
thereistheworkinprocess(WIP)inventoryofsemifinishedgoods.WIPincludesallmaterials
andpartsthathavebeenputintotheproductionsystem,includingthevariousstagesfromthe
firstprocesstothelastwithinthefactory.

CycleTime

Productioncycletimeisdefinedastheperiodboundedbythetimematerialsaresenttothe
manufacturingfloorforthemakingofaproductandthetimethefinishedgoodsaredispatched
fromthemanufacturingfloortoacustomerortofinishedgoodsstorage.Generallyspeaking,
theshortertheproductioncycletime,thelowertheproductioncost.Thatmaybereason
enoughtopayattentiontocycletime,butthereareotherbenefits.Shortcyclesimprovea
factorysabilitytorespondquicklytochangingcustomerdemands.Thelesstimeaproduct
spendsintheproductioncycle,thelesschancethereisfordamage.

ContinualImprovement

Youshouldhaveagoodunderstandingofcontinualimprovementasappliedinatotalquality
context.Continualimprovementseekstoeliminatewasteinallforms,improvequalityof
productsandservices,andimprovecustomerresponsivenessanddoallofthiswhileatthe
sametimereducingcosts.Anoteofcautionshouldbeaddedinregardtointerpretationof
whatconstitutesimprovement:Problemsolvingisnotnecessarilyimprovement.Ifaprocess
thathadpreviouslycanproduce95outof100goodpartsdeterioratestoalevelof50good
partsandtheproblemisfoundandcorrectedtobringtheprocessbacktowhereithadbeen
thatismaintenancenotimprovement.Maintenanceisrestoringacapabilitythatpreviously
existed.Ontheotherhand,ifaprocesswascapableof95goodpartsoutof100producedand
ateamdevelopedawaytochangetheprocesstoproduce99goodpartsthatwouldbe
improvement.

10.DiscussautomationsystemideasforJIT/lean?

JIT/Leanandautomationarecompatible,butoneshouldlooklongandhardattheneed,and
thecompanysreadinessforit,beforeautomatingprocesses.Havingsaidthat,automation
clearlyhasitsplaceinharmonywithJIT/Lean.Therearemanyexamplesofverysuccessful
automatedplants,especiallyforhighvolumemanufacturing.AutomationandJIT/Leanare

completelycompatible.Probablythebestexampleofthatisintodaysautoindustry.JIT/Lean
wasoriginallydesignedforanautoproducer,andasautomationhasbeenintegrated,andas
automationcapabilitieshaveevolved,JIT/Leanhasbeentheredoingitsjob.Intheseplants,
JIT/Leanisatleastasvaluableasitisinplantswithlessautomation.Itspullsystemprevents
overproductionofanymanufacturingelement,andsuppliesmaterialsatthefrontendofthe
processwhenneeded,anddoesitwithoutthemassiveinventoriesofthepreJIT/Leanera.
Whethertheprocessesareoperatedbyhumansorrobotsmakesnodifferenceinthisregard.
SocialNetworking
Article1:
ThisRobotMakesDoctorVisitsLessTerrifyingforKids
Summary:

Thisrobotisveryhelpfulindistractingkidswhentheyneedthemedicalattentionat
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righttime.
Article2:
WhatIGainedfromChoosingtheRockyRoad.
Summary:
NowthisisanarticleIcanrelateto.Ihaveconsistentlystretchedmycapabilitiesbygoing
throughsituationswhichIwasveryunpreparedfor.Inotherwords,comma,Ihavequiteoften
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asoneofmyskills.ThisisonlybecauseItookaleapatthechanceindoingthingsthatwerenot
soeasilyinfrontofme.
Takingrisksinlifehasforcedmetoadaptandlearnnewthings.Ithasbeensaidthatno
experiencegoestowaste.Andthisisnodoubttrue.I'llsendsomemayfeeldownon
themselvesiftheyfeeltheircircumstancesarelessthanwhattheywouldconsiderappropriate
orsuccessful.Butcommakeepinginmindthatnoexperiencegotowaste,onemayviewone's
currentcircumstancesthroughadifferentperspective.
Forexample,interningatacompany,whereresponsibilitiesmayincludefilingpapersand
answeringthephoneisaveryvaluableexperience,particularlyifyouhaveneverworkedinan
officebefore.ThisexperiencenowmakesyouricherandmorevaluableAsyoumoveforward
intoyourfuture.
Evenjobsthatmayseemmenialattimeshavegreatbenefits.Ifwetakeaperson'slifetobe
totalqualitycasecomma,thenit'saboutcontinualImprovementofone'scharacteristicsand
circumstances.Toimprovecommaonemustbeawareofareasthatrequireorcanbeimproved
upon.Withoutstretchingoneselfandmovingintonewandpossiblyuncomfortablesituations,
oneisnottested.Havingneverworkedinanofficebefore,onecouldnotbecounteduponto
knowhowtofilepapersandanswerphones.Which,ifonedesirestomoveupinthecorporate
world,theymusthaveaMasteryof.
Article#3
AllSystemsReadyforNavysCommunicationsSatelliteLaunch.
Summary:
LockheedMartinbuildanavycommunicationsatellitewhichcansupportoursoldiersusinga
highlysophisticatedhighspeedinternetprotocolsystem.Itusesanondemand,beyondlineof
sightcapabilitytotransmitandreceivehighqualityprioritizedvoiceandmissiondata.

Thisisatechnologicalleapforthemostadvancedandpowerfulmilitariesintheworld.Thisisa
veryimportantcapabilityforourprotectorsstationedacrosstheworld.Thiswillkeepthem

awayfromharm'sway.Itclaimsthatthissystemis16timesfasterthanthelegacysystemand
forthedefenseservicesitreallyisimportanttogettheinformationontherealtimebasisoras
quicklyaspossibleLockheedMartin,whichhasbeenmakingmajormilitaryarsenalanddefense
systemshasonceagainreachedtheskyhighintermsofsecurity.