International Journal for Quality Research

10

Authors: Yurij Vasilkov, Ludmila Gushina

In this paper we consider the problem of analyzing the effectiveness and efficiency of management systems that are relevant, especially in the implementation at the enterprise requirements of ISO 9001, 14001 and others. Research management system based on a systematic approach focused on the disclosure of its integrative qualities (i.e. systemic), on identifying the variety of relationships and mechanisms for these qualities. It allows to identify the causes of the real state of affairs, to explain the successes and failures. An important aspect of a systematic approach to the analysis of the effectiveness and efficiency of production control management is the multiplicity of "stakeholders" interests involved in the production process in the formation of operational goals and ways to achieve them.

12

Authors: Ilija Djekic, Nada Smigic, Nikola Tomic Andreja Rajkovic

This paper gives an overview of the food packaging process in seven food companies in the dairy and confectionery sector. A total of 23 production runs have been analyzed regarding the three packers' rules outlined in the Serbian legislation and process capability tests related to statistical process control. None of the companies had any type of statistical process control in place. Results confirmed that more companies show overweight packaging compared to underfilling. Production runs are more accurate than precise, although in some cases the productions are both inaccurate and imprecise. Education / training of the new generation of food industry workers (both on operational and managerial level) with courses in the food area covering elements of quality assurance and statistical process control can help in implementing effective food packaging.

13

Authors: Eduardo Gomes Salgado, Carlos Eduardo Sanches da Silva, Carlos Henrique Pereira Mello, Elizabete Ribeiro Sanches da Silva

Quality Management Systems (QMS) are designed to continuously improve the performance of organizations aiming to constantly improve their services seeking to overcome their results. Thus, for the services and/or products offered to transmit confidence and credibility, they should be designed within appropriate norms and standards. This research aims to assess the difficulties encountered by the incubated companies participating in the PRIME-FINEP project and developing projects for certification of their QMS in accordance with ISO 9001:2008. An exploratory survey was performed in nine incubated technology-based companies (TBC), through a questionnaire with 21 questions totaling the opinion of 20 respondents. After analyzing the data it is concluded, with statistical meaning, that the TBC's with little incubation time present difficulties in implementing the quality policy (5.3), difficulty not identified in other studies conducted in large companies. However difficulties similar to those of the large companies are present in the incubated TBC, and are the following: documentation requirements (4.2) present in all incubated companies (regardless of incubation time), and design and development (7.3) present in companies with little incubation time. The difficulty in implementing the quality policy (5.3) is reflected in the achievement of the QMS certification project in accordance with ISO 9001:2008.

14

Authors: Gezahegn Tesfaye, Daniel Kitaw, Amare Matebu

The Government of Ethiopia is promoting the manufacturing sector to join the global market in a large scale. Due to its comparative advantages, the Ethiopian leather and leather products industry have been given due attention. To fully utilize such advantages, the country shifted its export items from hides/skins to footwear products. Nevertheless, the performance of the leather sector in general and footwear sub-sector in particular is far below the desired standards. The improvement strategies applied hitherto were mainly to tackle a small portion of their total problems. If the Ethiopian footwear companies have to become globally competitive, their entire business spectrum has to be assessed and appropriate improvement strategies must be selected. In this research, we used a Total manufacturing solutions (TMS) technique to identify areas of improvement and improvement strategy of one of Ethiopian footwear companies. For this purpose, we conducted two surveys using structured questionnaire. The first survey was to test the TMS technique against the context of footwear industry. The result proved that the original TMS model can be used to measure the performance of footwear companies. The second survey was done to identify company's total problems, map its current position and select appropriate improvement strategy. The result revealed that the company has company-wide problems and its current position is a plodder. For plodders which have company-wide problems, the improvement strategy must include aggressive application of BPR; and the implementation of best practices to develop workers skills that encourages networking and promotion, a market-led manufacturing strategy, employee involvement and team work cultures. According to the findings of this research, we suggested that a BPR technique followed by a continuous improvement programme could be an appropriate improvement strategy for this company. The company requires long-term improvement programme to achieve the category of world leaders.

14

Authors: Slavomir Bednar, Vladimir Modrak

It is well known that high level of customer requirements and rapidly changing environment both induce complexity. The main reason for the failure of majority mass customized applications and projects is an increasing overall complexity of the system while relevant solutions for the overall production complexity reduction are still missing. The paper presents an overview of variety induced complexities in assembly operations capable and assessing the impact of assembly variety on performance, and reveals problems arising between quality and complexity. This paper aims to describe the current views to complexity, its measurement and management within assembly processes in mass customized productions and presents proposals for future development in the area.

16

Authors: Jagadeesh Rajashekharaiah

Different governments and professional agencies have set up a number of awards to recognize and reward quality initiatives. Deming Prize is one such award and ever since it was open for companies from outside Japan, maximum number of winning companies are from India, with 20 companies winning the Deming Prize and four among them also winning the Deming Grand Prize. This paper traces the path taken by these companies to know how these companies embarked a journey of Total Quality Management (TQM) and reached their goal of winning the prestigious Deming Prize. The common working principles of these companies and the various tools and techniques used by them are described in a concise manner in this paper. Further, the paper highlights the lessons from these companies to inspire others. The data taken from the respective websites of the companies has been used to list out the objectives, methodologies, and the benefits accrued by the companies.