Category Archives: Standards

Mrs. S Radha, Retd as Controller
Controllerate of Quality Assurance(Fire Fighting Equipment), Pune

1. Over the years, Quality has come a long way from being known for “Defect Reduction” to being the “Buying Standard”.

2. When our Prime Minister in his maiden Independence Day speech from Red Fort exhorted the Indian industry to adopt “Zero Defect & Zero Effect” policy – Quality Management & Environmental Management, he articulated Quality as the national culture.

3. Zero Defect state means reaching a defect less state of operation. This is an ideal state but achievement is elusive. Even a Six Sigma level of operation can result in 3.4 Defects in a Million Opportunities.

4. Why is it so difficult to achieve the desired Quality level? Because, Quality does not happen by accident. It has to be planned for. Quality, like a baby, is to be conceived and nurtured, built in to the product / service through defining the parameters, designing the processes and determining the control measures. Will this assure with confidence that the equipment would render its expected function effectively at the time of calling, always, every time? If so, why do Customers lack satisfaction and confidence in the equipment that was procured on the basis of Quality guarantee?

5. The perceptions and expectations of customers from the term “Quality” are changing by the day. The customer is not contended with the Quality of equipment supplied on receipt alone. The same level of functionality, performance and conformance is expected throughout the life cycle of the product with the least down time in use.

6. Quality & Reliability, though often used interchangeably and together, are not the same. Quality is the degree of conformance to a specification or a product requirements, whereas, Reliability is the probability that the product will perform its intended functions for the specified interval of time under the stated conditions of use.

7. Individual components making up a complex aggregate influence its Reliability. However, in the absence of system level Reliability data, component level Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) figures stipulated by the manufacturers do not help. Building Reliability during design and development of a product alone is not enough. It is equally important to stipulate the mechanisms for prediction / estimation and demonstration of the designed Reliability. Historically, Reliability has been viewed as an in-exact science. Recent advancements in Reliability Demonstration Methods have transformed the so called probabilistic Reliability into deterministic Reliability.

8. Standards for Quality Management     Standards are a benchmark for comparison to identify variations and are tools for narrowing down dispersions. Such standards for product parameters are very easy to visualize and comprehend, thereby making it effective. When it was realized that the product quality was to be substantiated by a certificate of consistency, the standards for systems and processes that yield the products were born.

9. Popular among these are standards for Quality Management Systems (ISO 9001:2016), Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001:2015), Occupational Health & Safety (ISO 45001:2018) and even the guideline standard for Social Responsibility (ISO 26000:2010). The remarkable aspect of all these standards is the Risk based Approach which makes it binding on the Organizations to go through the Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) as a way of life. There are also widely used function specific standards like, Corporate Governance of Information Technology (ISO/IEC 38500:2008), Risk Management ISO Guide (73: 2009) and Industry specific standards like AS 9100, IATF 16949.

10. Contemporary Quality Management    The last century saw the Quality Management efforts evolve from “Role based” when it was confined to the Inspection or Quality Control Dept. to “Requirement based” since managing the Process yields qualitative results. It was widely recognized that the lasting culture of innovating for Quality has to be “People based”.

11. During the last decade or so, we have gained expertise in collating and analyzing the data collected from the manufacturing processes. This gives a whole new meaning to Statistical Process Control rendering it accurate and result oriented. The role of current day Quality professionals lies in identifying mechanism and check points for data capture for Statistical Process Control and running the PDSA cycles based on the measurements.

12. Quality will remain the international business language for worldwide trade networks as the distinguishing aspect among competing products & services. Accordingly, Quality Management will continue to play its crucial role by moving beyond traditional methods and employing innovative strategies by adapting to the changed environment.

13. Future role of today’s Quality Managers will be functioning as internal consultants to establish standards, processes and control measures, carry out Risk analysis of process, measure and improve Reliability and train the personnel in leveraging the information systems to analyse the process data for early trends to implement corrective and improvement measures.

Alen Paul George, Principal Software Analyst Microsoft Certified Professional – MCSA Dynamics 365

1. Delivering modern products and services is a complex process and usually requires the collaborative efforts of multiple teams like sales, professional services and support. The cohesion and coordination between these teams and the way they present a one-company-view to the customer is a major differentiator in customer success today.

2. Accomplishing this level of coordination between people who seldom talk/interact with each other and reports to different managers and divisions is accomplished, partly through the culture the company cultivates in its employees and partly through a modern Customer Relationship Management software system the company invests in.

3. Culture – Eliminate the culture of blame games and reward those who take accountability and stay with the customer till the customer has been handed off to the next business unit. Details of customer interactions MUST be fed into the software. Data collection and categorization need to be part of the culture at all levels.

4. Technology– CRM systems that is always available to customer facing employees – via mobile devices, tablets, laptops and office desktops. Data is the life blood of the company. The CRM system should have data analytics/reporting/auto-alerts/Trend Analysis ability so that the generated data can be used by mangers in real time to adapt the business or to intervene early, if a client’s experience with the company is on a downward spiral.

5. Today’s CRM systems need to be omni-channel. Especially in the B2C market, customers are deep into the sales pipeline long before they can meet with a company sales representative. The purchasing decisions of the modern customer takes place in realms of social media – in twitter, yelp, fb, product reviews etc. Legacy software simply does not have the ability to keep track of what is being said about the company and its products in the internet. It cannot gauge the impact a comment has nor can it deduce what is the emotion behind the free text comments that proliferates in the internet. This is where social media integrated CRM systems that continuously tunes into social media buzz and intelligently picks up opportunities for the staff to intervene, sets customer service apart. Technologies like Social media integration, natural language processing, and sentiment analysis allow even large corporations to stay relevant in the eyes of its millennial customers.

6. Tomorrow’s customers expect ability to make purchases through all channels – brick and mortar stores, websites, mobiles or even directly from a picture uploaded by a friend in a social media platform. With the shrinking relevance of brick and mortar stores, the role of virtual reality and augmented reality in the customer experience is increasing. Several purchasing channels now incorporate VR to allow prospects to evaluate a product over the internet. This is particularly evident in real estate.

7. Is your company making the culture and technology investments at your workplace to thrive in the modern world?

Wg Cdr MPSudhir Kumar, Director BRiQ MSS

The new version of ISO 9001:2015 is different from its older version by several means and these are expected to engage organisation and its top management for better and faster growth in a much practical way and with far more considerations of internal & external issues and challenges. Some of the distinguishing reasons to go for ISO 9001:2015 are as follows:

1. Interested parties and context-based quality management system: This now requires the organisation to set the contexts in terms of expectation by customers as well as other stake holders. It also has to consider organization culture, socio economic conditions, competency of its own people and others working for & on behalf of the organisation, the complexity of process, etc. Clause 4 deals with the context of the organisation and its alignment with strategic direction. Since internal and external interested parties, their expectation, issues and risks vary between one organization to other, the design and development of quality management system between them will also have to be different and the new version of ISO provides a more practical approach to quality management systems.
   
2. Risk assessment and mitigation: Risk assessment and mitigation have been made an integral part of the standards as the consequences of delivering a non-conforming product may vary from customer to customer. Few of the risk may completely jeopardise the organisation’s own operation and purpose. The qualitative-risk-based thinking is a must for any organisation going for ISO 9001:2015. Clause 6.0 calls for identification of risks, plans to mitigate them, integrate them with the quality management system and methods to review them periodically. Based on the risks, associated quality management system has to be planned and controlled.
   
3. Leadership: Demonstration of leadership and commitment by the top management is mandatory in present format of standards and are made accountable for effectiveness of quality management system. The various considerations for the effectiveness of QMS have been mentioned in standards.
   
4. Knowledge management: Clause 7.1.6 requires defining the knowledge necessary to perform the work, knowledge need to be acquired, lessons learnt from successes as well as failure, internal and external sources of knowledge, availability of knowledge to the extent possible and its recording. This not only improves the knowledge required to perform but also the sustenance of improvement done in the organization in the long run.
   
5. Improvement: Identifying areas of opportunity, making action plan to reduce non-conformity, improving customer satisfaction, processes and quality management system is mandatory as per clause 10. Improvement from breakthrough, transformations and innovations has also been included.
   
   To get complete coverage on the new standard please call us at +91 9483601330/+91 7204648690

Babu Paul, Director BRiQ MSS

” Om.. Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya
Mrtyor-Maa Amrtam Gamaya
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih (1)”

– Upanishad

A prelude

When I was functioning as Chief of Quality in in an Air Force Overhaul Division, I decided to pen down an article on my view of “Quality Assurance” some day. I start this sojourn with a prayer on my lips. “Oh God… give me strength. Lead me from darkness to light. From ignorance to knowledge.”

Quality in everyday life

We all have different views about Quality. Quality Gurus taught us that it is

• Conformance to specifications.
• The degree to which a product or service meets the needs of the customer.
• Uniformity around a customer defined target.
• Exceeding customer expectations.

I agree to all of them. I am sure you also would agree to these definitions. Then … why does our Reparable, Systems and aircraft fail in the operational units after we do the overhaul or repair?. Why do we face Production Hold Ups(PHUs)?.

Be the God of your Quality

I titled this article as ” A pilgrimage to perfection”. A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Here… I want it to be a metaphorical journey in to our own beliefs. A belief that ” I am the one who assure the Quality of my work. I will leave no stone unturned and I defy all limitations imposed on me. I shall be the god of my action”. Thus, be the true believer of advaitham, a Malayalam word for non duality. A faith that the abode of god is within the mortal self.

When I was interacting with the young technicians of my division, I often used to tell them that Quality Assurance can only be complete when we have no Quality Assurance Section(QAS) staff to police their actions. QAS inspectors often have limited knowledge and lesser skill level than the technician who works on a test bench producing a limited range of products. Then, where is the question that QAS assures your quality. “Quality needs to be assured by each individual who adds on to the value chain. A logistician who procures the spare, the administrative staff who provides the optimal environment, the top management who ensure your morale and the technician who perfected the art. Like Lord Vishvakarma the architect of the universe, you would strive for Quality in your work.

Journey to the Abode

Quality does not happen as serendipity, “a happy accident” or “a pleasant surprise”. Each element needs to follow “Plan-Do-Check-Act” (PDCA) Cycle . So… what do we do?

• We learn what we have to learn. This is a continuous process.
• We do it again and again till we reach perfection when we are confident to assure the Quality of our own work. After that we would achieve six sigma and much more.
• We reach out to others who can provide us help, guidance and wherewithal.

We decide our destiny. Each day must be an incremental improvement from previous day. A continual improvement of our process which would culminate to better product and higher customer delight.

Failure is an opportunity, not the end of the road

A young Corporal of my depot once asked me in my Lean Management lecture. “Sir,… When a reparable fails during Functional Test(FT), Is it not a waste…?”. I said “Yes…waste of rework as listed in seven types of wastes . And no, since it is a great opportunity to obtain inputs to perfect your process and improve the product”.

Reliability of a product

• The first part is a decreasing failure rate, known as early failures.
• The second part is a constant failure rate known as random failures.
• The third part is an increasing failure rate known as wear out failure.

The important information of failure data during all three phases are so vital that it cannot be ignored. The inputs we receive from field units through Defect Reports (DRs), Premature Withdrawal Reports (PWRs) and complaints/feedbacks are valuable data to study Defect Trends. Defect Trend Analysis (DTA) is our first step in Reliability & Maintainability (R&M) studies which would give insight to improve the quality of our products.

Every individual with professional pride, ego and faith in self have to embark on the path of discovering what is causing failure after his accomplishment of task. I cannot chart a path for you. You have to find it out yourself. A guiding model is provided to you in the flow diagram of Quality Improvement Model .

The purpose of the road map is to provide a sequence of steps to improve your process so that our customers would benefit the highest quality and value. Your steps are

• Defining the process.
• Selection, measurement, collection & interpretation of data.
• For a process found not stable investigate the root causes and fix them.
• For a stable process check to see the process capability. Improve it if found not satisfactory.
• For a stable and capable process use Statistical Process Control(SPC) to maintain the current process.

A faith redefined

Quality should be a junoon for you, an obsession… a faith. It would redefine the world around you. Your quest for improving your own standard each day through collecting the failure data and analysing the Failure trend is the first step to be taken. Improve your process with the knowledge acquired from the DTA, customer feedback and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) manuals. An improved process would improve the quality of product and Quality of Work Life (QWL). This is certainly going to delight the end users. So what are you waiting for?. Without delay, embark on your Pilgrimage to Perfection.

(1)
Translation of sanskrit poem Asatoma….

Om… Lead us from unreality of Transitory existence to the reality of self.
Lead us from darkness of ignorance to the light of spiritual knowledge.
Lead us from the fear of death to the knowledge of immortality.
Om Shanti….Peace….Peace.

(Article was published in IAF Maintenance Journal)