The 10 most used Quality Improvement Methodologies

According to Juran, quality improvement is the third process of quality management processes:
• Quality planning,
• Quality control,
• And Quality improvement
Juran also defined improvement as “the organized creation of beneficial change”, such change can be regarding product features or Freedom from deficiencies.
Currently there are a significant number of quality improvement approaches available and the improvement team should select the most appropriate one, the successful implementation of approaches, tools and techniques depends on their understanding, knowledge and proper application in organizational processes., it’s not always an easy task,
The purpose of this article is to summarize the 10 most used approaches of quality improvement.

The most common process of continuous improvement is the PDCA Cycle which was first developed by Walter Shewhart in the 1920s and promoted by quality preceptors Dr Edwards Deming.
This method involves a “trial-and-learning” approach in which a hypothesis or suggested solution for improvement is made and testing is carried out on a small scale before any changes are made to the whole system, PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle is also referred to as the Deming circle, named after W. E. Deming

Plan: The Quality Concept and Objectives, Statutory Considerations, Product Liability and Product Safety, Training for Quality, and the Control of Design
Do: Procurement, Just-in-Time Supplies, Process Capability, Product Reliability, Materials Handling, Servicing, Service Quality ,Documentations and Records, Controlling Changes, Standards, Standardization, Conformity, and Compatibility
Check: An Introduction to Statistics, Control Charts, Inspection, Functional Testing, Inspection and Measurement Equipment, Metrology, Quality Audits and Reviews, Quality- and Safety-related Cost, Benchmarking
Act: Managing Nonconformity, Improvement (ISO 9001 Certification, Cultural and Organizational Aspects, Total Quality Management, Environmental Management Systems, Management System Integration).

The Statistical quality tools were first emphasized by Ishikawa (in the 1960s), they are also called the seven "basic" or "old" tools. (SQC) tools are the major valuable tools for performing the task of finding out the deviations and defects of finished components of each process in a statistical way.
• Flow chart
Flowcharts are pictorial representations of a process, by breaking the process down into its constituent steps; flowcharts can be useful in identifying where errors are likely to be found in the system. In quality improvement work, flowcharts are particularly useful for displaying how a process currently functions or could ideally function.

• Pareto diagram
It can be described as the 80/20 rule applied to quality-control, A Pareto Chart is a series of bars whose heights reflect the frequency or impact of problems. The bars are arranged in descending order of height from left to right.
• Check sheet
A check sheet is a simple data-collecting tool for recording and classifying observed data manually, The function of a check sheet is to present information in an efficient, graphical format. This may be accomplished with a simple listing of items.

• Control chart
A dynamic, in-progress or on-line tool for statistical process control used for indicating whether the monitored process is functioning as intended and when corrective actions are necessary, It also indicates whether a process is stable, The chart contain the upper control limit and lower control limit (Statistical condition of the process) with control limits imposed on the center of it, for effective measuring of the quality characteristics.
• Histogram
It is used to graphically summarize and display the distribution and variation of a process data set. A frequency distribution shows how often each different value in a set of data occurs. The main purpose of a histogram is to determine the shape of data set.

• Scatter plot
The scatter plot provides a way of viewing a data set to detect trend, to spot operating regions or to explore relationships (correlation, cause-effect connections) between variables, a common diagram of this type usually displays points representing the observed value of one variable corresponding to the value of another variable.
• Cause-and-effect diagram
The late Dr. Kauro Ishikawa, Japanese quality expert, developed the technique and hence it is called as Ishikawa diagram, The Diagram is a tool to show systematic relationship between a result or a symptom or an effect and its possible causes, this diagram analysis the four major elements (4 M’s) for the variations to occur, they are namely; Men, Machine, Method, Material.

Can be defined as “as a continuously evolving management system consisting of values, methodologies and tools”, TQM is one of the most durable management innovations of the past three decades and it has been implemented worldwide in service, manufacturing, private, public, large and small organisations, (TQM) first appeared in the manufacturing sector around the mid-1980s but it can be traced back to the development of statistical process control (SPC) concepts and methods in the 1930s., the TQM goal is to Meet customer expectations, and Improve profitability and shareholder value depending on a set of principles for managing a company. However, the definition of these principles varies among different authors, ASQ present the eight basic principles of TQM

1. Customer-focused
The customer ultimately determines the level of quality and determines whether the quality improvement efforts were worthwhile
2. Total employee involvement
All employees participate in working toward common goals.
3. Process-centered
A process is a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers

4. Integrated system
An integrated system connects business improvement elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
5. Strategic and systematic approach
Strategic planning or strategic management includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component to achieving organization’s vision, mission, and goals.
6. Continual improvement
Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.

7. Fact-based decision making
TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history
8. Communications
Effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness. (asq.org)
It has been claimed that TQM comprises two aspects,
Hard aspects: quantifiable techniques and tools, most characteristic of manufacturing
Soft aspects: intangible and difficult to measure, such as human contact between employees and customers, customer care, and internal marketing have attracted much attention in the service sector.

From a statistical perspective, Six Sigma is a metric of process measurement symbolized by the Greek letter ? that represents the amount of variation with a normal data distribution. Fundamentally, Six Sigma quality level relates to 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO), Six Sigma originated by Motorola, in the mid-1980s as a rigorous statistical measurement methodology designed to reduce cost, decrease process variation, and eliminate defects, it also can be defined as “a business process that allows companies to drastically improve their bottom line by designing and monitoring everyday business activities in ways that minimize waste and resources while increasing customer satisfaction by some of its proponents”, Six Sigma has evolved from scientific management and continuous improvement theories by combining the finest elements of many former quality initiatives, Six sigma offers a number of distinct and important advancements over TQM. First, it employs a structured and disciplined approach to quality improvement, such as the use of the DMAIC method. Second, it makes an explicit effort to train a skilled cadre of process improvement personnel with highly differentiated skills and well-defined career tracks, DMAIC is an acronym for five interconnected phases: define measure, analyze, improve and control:

• Define by identifying, prioritizing and selecting the right project,
• Measure key process characteristic, the scope of parameters and their performances,
• Analyse by identifying key causes and process determinants,
• Improve by changing the process and optimizing performance,
• Control by sustaining the gain
Six Sigma tool box include many tools such as Project charter, Voice of the customer, Process map, Capability analysis, Pareto chart, Root cause analysis, Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), Design of experiments (DOE), Control plan, Statistical process control (SPC).

Taiichi Ohno, a Toyota Motor Corporation engineer, revolutionized thinking about process inefficiency or “waste” in the early 1950s, leading to the creation of the Toyota
Production System (TPS), Application of TPS resulted in the use of the term Lean in many industries, Waste is defined as “anything other than the minimum amount of equipment, materials, parts, space and time which are absolutely essential to add value to the product” while Lean can be defined as “a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste through continuous improvement, flowing the product at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection”, Or “A set of practices focused on reduction of wastes and non-value added activities from a firm”, eight sources of waste were identified and called “the eight deadly wastes”

The Lean tool box includes but not limited to:
· Value stream mapping (VSM)
· Cellular manufacturing
· Kanban
· Single piece flow
· Single minute exchange of dies (DMED)
· Five S and visual management
· Total production maintenance (TPM)

The following figure illustrates how Lean and Six Sigma can be integrated, where lean thinking identifies key areas for improvement (“hot spots”), once these hot spots have been identified, Six Sigma provides a focused, project based improvement methodology to target these hot spots and ultimately drive the system towards the desired future state.

Traditional Six Sigma seeks for continuous improvement after a process already exists, DFSS aims to create a process with the end in mind of optimally building the efficiencies of Six Sigma methodology into the process before implementation
DFSS is a systematic and structured approach to new products or processes design that focuses on “problem prevention”. This is done with the aim of meeting or exceeding all the needs of the customer and the CTQ (critical to quality) output requirements when the product is first released.
While Six Sigma is widely recognized by the DMAIC acronym, DFSS has no standard acronym. Therefore, organizations have adopted a variety of approaches that have resulted in acronyms, as follows:

• Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify (DMADV).
• Identify, Design, Optimize, and Validate (IDOV).
• Define, Initiate, Design, Execute, Sustain (DIDES).
• Invent, Innovate, Develop, Optimize, Verify (IIDOV).
• Concept development, Design development, Optimization, Verify, Certification (CDOV).
• Define, Characterize, Optimize, Verify (DCOV).
• Identify, Design, Evaluate, Assure, Scale-up (IDEAS)

Many organizations found that they could not optimize products past three or four Sigma without redesigning the product/ Process, but it’s less efficient than designing in quality, so “Six Sigma” level of performance have to be “built-in” what can be achieved only by using DFSS.
The following table illustrates DMADV methodology and tools.

Theory of constraints (TOC) was introduced in the 1980s to focus attention on throughput on the factory floor, mostly out of some dissatisfaction with the JIT and TQM approaches. The reason given was that both JIT and TQM concentrated on cost-related, rather than on throughput-related problems.
TOC is based on two assumptions:
• Every organization has a set of processes working together to achieve a common goal.
• Every process has a single constraint that limits it from higher performance.
Typical constraints: Time, Capacity, Materials, Human Resources, Capital Resources, Financial Resources, TOC suggest five major steps to increase throughput

• Identify the bottlenecks/constraints
• Exploit the bottlenecks
• Subordinate everything else to the bottlenecks.
• Elevate the bottlenecks.
• Evaluate whether solving the current bottlenecks created other bottlenecks.
In summary, TOC manages cost by managing bottlenecks. Effective management of bottleneck can result in improved firms’ quality, delivery performance, and profitability.

EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) Excellence Model is a framework that recognizes that sustained excellence can be achieved by using different approaches. Excellence Model is based on the idea that customer satisfaction, employee and positive impact on society together contribute to excellent business results, EFQM Excellence Model is a practical tool that indicates the position of business organizations on excellence path and helps them to determine their shortcomings and encourages appropriate solutions, Moreover, the Model helps to ensure that business decisions incorporate the needs of all stakeholders and are aligned with the organization’s objectives, it provides its users with a set of performance improvement tools in to achieve and sustain their results and Excellence.

The model belongs to the integral management tools where all important organizational areas can be analyzed against its results and resources, and provides a cause-and-effect link between the approaches, and the actual results achieved.
EFQM excellence model consists of three components:
• Fundamental concepts, representing eight core values
• Nine criteria, separated into categories of Enablers and Results
• RADAR logic, continuous improvement cycle used by EFQM
RADAR is an acronym for five interconnected phases: Results, Approach, Deploy, Assess and Refine

Business process re-engineering originated in the early 1990s and aimed to help organizations in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors, BPR pursues radical “clean-sheet” rethinking and redesign of enterprise business processes, So BPR has a set of four components:
• Fundamental: initiatives to change the obsolete way of conducting business and start from scratch
• Radical redesign: means getting into the roots of the business process and changing accordingly
• Dramatic: aims at improving firm’s performance dramatically i.e. not a small change but a drastic change in the output of an organization.
• Process: where BPR aims on developing such a process through which a firm can attain its goals.

Five factors were identified as critical to BPR success:
1. BPR team composition.
2. Business needs analysis.
3. Adequate IT infrastructure.
4. Effective change management.
5. Ongoing continuous improvement