Quality Management: Identifying Causes and Solutions

Quality, or absence of, is the outcome of lots of choices made by lots of people over a long duration of time. The Hank Kolb case quality problems all indicate one essential issue, management. There are four special cause variations in a quality procedure: guy, maker, materials and method. The Hank Kolb case has issues in each of these 4 fields and this case analysis will analyze the issues within the four cause variations and demonstrate how they all indicate management as the main wrongdoer of bad quality.

Suggestions, both brief and long term methods, will be outlined to help management create a quality item and work environment in each of the 4 fields. The "guy" source of bad quality is seen in the absence of training and poor attitudes of workers. Training is not a requirement to people moving into new positions. This develops under-qualified individuals in competent labor functions. The attitude of the workers thinks about quality as a topic that burdens and hinders individuals from doing their jobs.

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Issues with the "machine" aspect are an incorrect maintenance procedure and the machine used for something it is not created to do. Without any set up preventative upkeep, nonstandard downtime was performing at 15% of actual running time and repairs had been made twice a month for the last 6 months. Keeping the equipment in top-running condition has not been a top priority and its' effects have been felt down the line with over-pressurized cans. The plastic nozzle heads were frequently discovered with burrs on the within rim.

This required the business to increase the application pressure at the filling head to solve this problem. Quality is being impacted within the "materials" variable. Finally, there are various issues recognized within the "techniques" cause variation. There is absence of policy and procedure. Examples of this are completing examinations after the fact and not having any feed-back loops. Not having devices maintenance records is another example of the absence of techniques that have actually contributed to the total lack of quality.

These four special cause variations can be visualized in a fishbone diagram (appendix 1) to show the cause/ effect relations of quality problems. Each special cause variation points to poor management as the fundamental problem in this case. This is exacerbated as the company puts market share and schedule above quality and safety. To create a solution to the quality problem, Hank will need to first deal with managerial support and attitude. Hank should create a company-wide quality policy that is actively backed by senior management.

Then, a training program should be initiated for all skilled labor and supervisory positions. Next, start collecting data on how and why the machinery is breaking down. Soon after, Hank should do a cost benefit analysis to see if upgrading the machinery will boost production of the Greasex product. Hank needs to be aggressive with the nozzle supplier to demand greater quality. Finally, all policies and procedures will need to be created and implemented with quality at the forefront of every concept.