1. Production Operations
Manual:
An approach for the implementation of Quality Management System
in a Ceramic Manufacturing Company
By: Calvin Karl R. Garganta
Carlo G. Gomez
2. What is Quality?
Is the totality of features and
characteristics of a product
or service in which it
conforms to a design or
specification (Render, 2012).
It is defined and specified by
the consumers who will use
the product (or service).
3. Conformance to specification
Manufacturing-Based
definition of quality
according to David
Garvin is the
conformance to
customer specification.
Any unconformity from
the required
specifications
tantamount to a
reduction in quality and
incurs cost.
4. Asia Ceramics Corporation
Asia Ceramics Corporation
believes that in order to
survive in the industry, one
should always meet the
customer specification and
exceed the quality
expectations.
Asia Ceramics Corporation
wants to improve its yearly
production performance.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
5. Quality Management System
Quality Management System
is a set of coordinated
activities to direct and control
an organization to continually
improve the effectiveness
and efficiency of its
performance.
This involves the QMS
overview, policies and
objectives, its processes and
the work instructions.
6. Asia Ceramics Corporation
This 2015, Asia Ceramics targets an
increase in sales by 60%.
Last 2014, a reject production
performance of 14.43%
Culprit
Proper recording and documentation of
data
Unspecified tools and cycles
Unspecified and unfollowed procedures
Involvement of workers
7. DEFECTS /
REWORK
MAN
Delay
unnecessary
transportation
innefficient
facility layout
human error
unspecified
procedures
unspecified work
instructions
uncontrolled
documents
work behavior
MACHINE
downtime /
failure
work overloadunspecified
procedures
unspecified work
instructions calibration
Capacity
METHOD
Quality Lapses
uncontrolled
documents
unspecified work
instructions
unspecified
procedures
Delay
unspecified work
instructions
fatigue
innefficient
facility layout
unnecessary
transportation
unspecified work
instructions
MATERIALS
Quality Lapses
unspecified work
instructions
unspecified
procedures
Delay
uncontrolled
documents
unnecessary
transportation
improper
allocation
8. Objectives:
The main objective of this study is to come up with a Production
Operations Manual of Asia Ceramics Corporation that will serve as
a basis for the implementation of Quality Management System. In
order to do so, the specific objectives should be attained:
To provide quality policy and objectives;
To provide detailed process diagrams of the production phase;
To provide set of work instructions which are specific and
standardized;
To provide set of forms which will reflect the controls for
documentation.
10. This study is significant to the following:
The company
The management
The workers
The customers
Future researchers and other
ceramic industries
14. Method
Procedure
Continuous interviews were conducted
Observations with the processes and procedures
Data collection
Needs Assessment
Conceptualization and Construction of Manual
Benchmarking of previous QMS manuals (ISO 9001:2008)
Quality Policy and Objectives
Procedures and Work Instructions (Production Operations)
Forms and Job Descriptions
15. Research Design
A Deming’s cycle (PDCA) was used in
the construction of the proposed
manual and solution to the problem.
This tool is primarily used in researches
in the integration of new
developments, systems products and
processes.
This tool is used to promote continuous
improvement– that after standards
have been established, a next level
improvement should be aimed.
16. • Documentation of gathered
data
• Manual construction
• Desiging of possible
experiment / validation
• Data analysis
• Evaluation of
output through
post-assessment
• Direct observations
of production flow
• Process mapping
• Data gathering and
problem statement
• Quality policy and
objective
• Fully implement
the proposed
manual
• Process Mapping
• Continuous
Improvement
ACT PLAN
DOCHECK
17. Data Analysis
Descriptive Statistics was use to
interpret the respondents rating on
the pre and post assessment
evaluations of the manuals.
The results that were analyzed were
from the content and relevance,
the manual’s user friendliness and
its over-all working environment
aspect.
Values that were analyzed were
calculated through mean
averaging.
20. Results: Pre-Assessment Evaluation
Table 1
Weighted Mean and Description of the respondents in terms of Content and
Relevance of the existing manual
Content and Relevance Importance Satisfaction
M Scale M Scale
1. The contents of the manual are relevant
to the need.
4.11 High 3.67 Agree
2. It identifies every people who are to act
or responsible to the task.
3.89 High 3.44 Agree
3. It describes the precise actions required. 3.89 High 3.56 Agree
4. States when the actions are to occur. 3.89 High 3.22 Neutral
5. Reflects the sequence of events 3.89 High 3.44 Agree
6. The procedures are specific and defined 4.00 High 3.33 Neutral
7. It states what forms should be used. 4.00 High 3.33 Neutral
8. As a whole, the manual is specific and
defined.
4.11 High 3.33 Neutral
General Weighted Mean: 3.97 High 3.86 Agree
21. Results: Pre-Assessment Evaluation
Table 2
Weighted Mean and Description of the respondents in terms of User-friendliness of
the existing manual
User-Friendliness Importance Satisfaction
M Scale M Scale
1. The format of the manual is visually
appealing.
3.78 High 3.22 Neutral
2 The font size and style in the manual is
readable.
4.00 High 3.56 Agree
3. The process flowcharts of procedure are
clear and easy to follow.
3.89 High 3.44 Agree
4. Easy to understand because it uses short
and familiar words.
3.78 High 3.56 Agree
General Weighted Mean: 3.86 High 3.42 Agree
22. Results: Pre-Assessment Evaluation
Table 3
Weighted Mean and Description of the respondents in terms of working environment
of the existing manual
Working Environment Importance Satisfaction
M Scale M Scale
1. The manual contents are helpful in
promoting a good work environment.
4.00 High 3.33 Neutral
General Weighted Mean: 4.00 High 3.33 Neutral
23. Results: Post-Assessment Evaluation
Table 4
Weighted Mean and Description of the respondents in terms of Content and Relevance
of the proposed manual
Content and Relevance Importance Satisfaction
M Scale M Scale
1. The contents of the manual are relevant
to the need.
4.33 Very High 3.89 Agree
2. It identifies every people who are to act
or responsible to the task.
4.11 High 3.89 Agree
3. It describes the precise actions required. 4.33 Very High 4.00 Agree
4. States when the actions are to occur. 4.22 Very High 3.56 Agree
5. Reflects the sequence of events 4.11 High 3.67 Agree
6. The procedures are specific and defined 4.22 Very High 3.78 Agree
7. It states what forms should be used. 4.22 Very High 3.78 Agree
8. As a whole, the manual is specific and
defined.
4.33 Very High 4.11 Agree
General Weighted Mean: 4.24 Very High 3.92 Agree
24. Results: Post-Assessment Evaluation
Table 5
Weighted Mean and Description of the respondents in terms of User-friendliness of
the proposed manual
User-Friendliness Importance Satisfaction
M Scale M Scale
1. The format of the manual is visually
appealing.
4.33 Very High 4.33 Strongly
Agree
2 The font size and style in the manual is
readable.
4.33 Very High 4.44 Strongly
Agree
3. The process flowcharts of procedure are
clear and easy to follow.
4.22 Very High 4.33 Strongly
Agree
4. Easy to understand because it uses short
and familiar words.
4.22 Very High 4.44 Strongly
Agree
General Weighted Mean: 4.25 Very High 4.39 Strongly
Agree
25. Results: Post-Assessment Evaluation
Table 6
Weighted Mean and Description of the respondents in terms of working environment
of the proposed manual
Working Environment Importance Satisfaction
M Scale M Scale
1. The manual contents are helpful in
promoting a good work environment.
4.33 Very High 4.22 Strongly
Agree
General Weighted Mean: 4.33 Very High 4.22 Strongly
Agree
30. Results: Gap Analysis
Working Environment Importance
General Weighted Mean Rating
Working Environment Satisfaction
General Weighted Mean Rating
31. Results: Accessibility Test
The accessibility test aims to assess and evaluate the proposed
production operations manual’s standing on how the user can
effectively use, read, skim and scan the manual for further and detailed
use.
From the total respondents, 37.04% agreed that the assigned particulate
from the manual were easy to found. 48.15% stated that it is a bit easy
to found and 14.81% attest that it is a bit difficult to find.
The readability of the proposed manual was also evaluated by the
respondents through the question about the size of the print used in the
context. 44.44% of the respondents stated that over-all, it is easy to read
and the remaining 55.56% agreed that it is average to read.
32. Results: Cloze Test
A cloze test was also initiated in order to evaluate readability and the
comprehensive level of the manual. Table 7 shows the result of cloze test
among the respondents who evaluated the proposed manual.
Table 7
Frequency Distribution of the Cloze Test Result
Score Percentage Frequency
50 100% 6
45 90% 2
40 80% 1
33. Discussion
To be able come up with the proposed manual, the proponents
conducted an observation and interviews to the supervisors regarding
process flow of the company, standards of each process, what forms to
fill up, and who would be the responsible person for each process.
ISO 9001 is used to seek and established a quality management system
that provides confidence to the company, to provide quality products
that fulfill its customers’ needs and expectation.
Proper documentation of the Quality management system is observe
by following the four-tier pyramid concept, to describe clearly what
constitutes the general set of Quality management system, documents
that will directly apply to an effective documentation structure.
34. Discussion
The manual is tested with its learnability to know if the
manual is easy to use and understand by novice user.
Since the managers and supervisors should be the one
implementing the manual, the learnability of the manual
was evaluated by the managers and supervisors. The
managers and supervisors agreed that the contents of the
manual are comprehensible, precise and direct. This means
that the manual is easy to understand and it can provides
learning to the one reading the manual.
35. Discussion
The following criteria are used to test the manual’s usability:
Visually appealing in terms of structure and format of the manual
Font size and style used
Easy to follow flowcharts and procedures
Logically sequenced and clearly stated procedures
Simplicity of the vocabulary and the writing style used
37. Conclusion and Recommendation
Optimistically, if the Quality
Management System is
applied and 32% reduction of
repairs were achieved,
PHP 154,343.00
should have
been saved!
Optimistically, if the Quality
Management System is
applied and 5% reduction of
re-throws were achieved,
PHP 24,116.00
should have
been saved!
38. Conclusion and Recommendation
The study proposes an implementation of Quality
Management System in the production department of
Asia Ceramics Corporation through construction and
development of an ISO based Production Operations
Manual which consists of quality policy and objectives,
defined procedures, definite work instructions and
controlled forms.
39. Conclusion and Recommendation
Based on the recommendations given by the
evaluators, the final draft of the proposed production
operations manual considered the following to further
improve its content to be more precise and
comprehensive:
1. Use the existing terminologies situated by the case company.
2. Make the font size bigger and use ideal spacing (Preferably
each process per page).
3. Include table of contents / legend and be more specific to task
assignments.
40. Conclusion and Recommendation
Authors’ recommendation
The company should undertake to a regular review and audit of
the policy and objectives for its continual improvement.
Inclusion of pictures on the work instructions are highly
recommended in order to increase the comprehensive and
illustrative level of the manual.
It is recommended that production operations manual should
be laid down to the production workforce for a department
wide and implementation of QMS.
The company should initiate an implementation of QMS to all its
department for a companywide implementation.
Editor's Notes
According to Render, it is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service in which it conforms to a design or specification. It is defined and specified by the consumers who will use the product .
Asia Ceramics Corporation believes that in order to survive in the industry, one should always meet the customer specification and exceed the quality expectations. There are several ways to achieve quality like developing quality plans, implement quality processes and tools, ensuring the effectiveness of teams etc. But this actually boils down to one. The Quality Management System. Asia Ceramics Corporation wants to improve its yearly production performance, however this will not be obtain without
Asia Ceramics Corporation targets an increase in sales by 60%. However, in the year end report, it was found out that call outs are still evident with an over all reject production performance of 14.43%. Quality call outs often times undergo additional processes which they refer as retouch or repair. Anyhow, products which can no longer be repaired are requested for re-throw. This tantamount to an additional cost for the company.
From the Ishikawa Diagram that we have constructed: we have found problems with the highest occurances with respect to the defects / rework problems:
Unspecified Work Instructions
Unspecified Prodedures
Uncontrolled Documents
Having and implementing a Quality Management System does not only standardizes everything. (Well with regards to our study, its the standardization of the Production Operations). Anyway, it does not only standardizes but also ensuring customer orientation. (study review conducted by Joseph). Ideally, companies would rather go to ISO certified that of not. It also increases productivity as conforming to quality management implementation leads to greater productivity and profitability. It also lowers cost
An Input-Process-Output (IPO) model was used as an approach in analyzing the structure or the framework of the whole study as shown in the screen.
The respondents shows a relatively high average mean importance rating of 3.97 and an agreeable satisfaction rating of 3.86. This shows that there is a high importance of the existing manual with regards to its content and relevance to the working needs of the workers in the production department. In addition, an agreeable satisfaction rating is given by the respondents indicating an above average satisfaction in terms of their personal overview and orientation with the existing manual.
The respondents shows a relatively high average mean importance rating of 3.86 and a neutral satisfaction rating of 3.42. This shows that there is a high importance of the existing manual with regards to its user-friendliness; on how the procedures were reflected in the manual. In addition, an agreeable satisfaction rating is given by the respondents indicating an above average satisfaction with the existing manual with regards to its usability.
The respondents shows a relatively high mean importance rating of 4.00 and a neutral satisfaction rating of 3.00. This shows that there is a high importance of the existing manual with regards the incorporation of the good working environment; on how the procedures are to incorporate a good working condition. However, neutral satisfaction rating is given by the respondents indicating a mid-average satisfaction with the existing manual with regards working environmental viability.
The respondents shows a relatively very high average mean importance rating of 4.24 and an agreeable satisfaction rating of 3.92 This shows that there is a very high importance of the proposed manual with regards to its content and relevance to the working needs of the workers in the production department. In addition, an agreeable satisfaction rating is given by the respondents indicating an above average satisfaction in terms of their personal overview and orientation with the existing manual.
The respondents shows a relatively very high average mean importance rating of 4.25 and a strongly agreeable satisfaction rating of 4.39. This shows that there is a very high importance of the existing manual with regards to its user-friendliness; on how the procedures were reflected in the manual. In addition, a strongly agreeable satisfaction rating is given by the respondents indicating an excellent satisfaction with the existing manual with regards to its usability.
The respondents shows a relatively very high mean importance rating of 4.33 and a strongly agreeable satisfaction rating of 4.22. This shows that there is a very high importance of the existing manual with regards the incorporation of the good working environment; on how the procedures are to incorporate a good working condition. In addition, a strongly agreeable satisfaction rating is given by the respondents indicating an excellent satisfaction with the existing manual with regards working environmental viability.
The gap analysis of the content and relevance importance rating is shown in figure 10. There is a mean average gap of 0.26 in terms of the content and relevance importance rating of the existing to the proposed manual (see figure 10).
The gap analysis of the content and relevance satisfaction rating is shown in figure 11. There is a mean average gap of 0.39 in terms of the content and relevance satisfaction rating of the existing to the proposed manual (see figure 11). As illustrated in the gap analysis, there is an increase in both the importance and satisfaction rating of the proposed production operations manual compared to the existing manual of the company.
. As shown in figure 12, the gap of the existing manual’s user-friendliness in relation to the proposed production operations manual with regards to the importance rating is 0.50. This implies that the proposed manual is relatively high compared to the existing manual in terms of its user-friendliness under the importance rating
In figure 13, the gap of the existing manual in relation to the proposed production operations manual with regards to the satisfaction rating is 0.94. This also implies that the proposed manual garnered a higher general weighted mean average in terms of its user-friendliness under the satisfaction rating of the respondents.
The gap of the existing manual over-all working condition in relation to the proposed production operations manual in terms of importance and satisfaction are 0.33 and 0.89 respectively (see figures 14 and 15). These general weighted mean ratings implies that the proposed production operations manual is relatively higher in rating compared with the existing manual with regards to the over-all working condition.
The accessibility test was also made in the post assessment evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the manual in usage, reading, skimming and scanning. 37% agreed that the assigned particulates were easy to find, 48% stated that it is a bit easy to find and 15% attested that it is a bit difficult to find.
The readability of the proposed manual was also evaluated. 45% of the respondents agreed that it is easy to read and the remaining 55% agreed that it is average to read.
As stated by Bormuth (1971) (as cited in a research done by Wagner), cloze test ratings can be evaluated through the following: for ranges 0 to 34%, it tantamount to frustrational level. A range of 35 to 49% is equivalent to instructional level and the 50% range is considered as independent level. In accordance with the results attained by the respondents in the cloze test, the lowest score rating achieved was 80% which is relatively high than the acceptable 50% range. This means that the proposed manual is acceptable under the cloze test criterion.
History wise, Asia Ceramics Corporation spent PHP 528,311.32 last 2013 and PHP 482,322.00 last 2014 for their re-throws of ceramics alone. In addition, a whooping PHP 1,712,495.00 and PHP 1,563,425.00 costs for repairs were inherited last 2013 and 2014 respectively.
A study done by Ng, Palaneeswaran and Kumaraswamy (2003) stated that there is a beneficial increment divided into two broad groupings: (1) cost reduction and (2) improved management system. With regards to cost reduction, an intangible beneficial decrease through a decline of cost overruns (repairs) to 32% was reported by the contractors who underwent to the test application of Quality Management System. With the introduction of QMS, a 5% reduction in cost through a declining amount of wastage was also reported by the contractors who applied the QMS.
From the results defined, it is evident that the proposed manual will be of help on the production of ceramics through solid standardization and proper documentation and flow of works and documents. More importantly, the workforce shall have a reference on the company’s standard operating procedures on the ceramic making and development. Proper usage of the proposed manual shall tantamount to a stricter production of ceramics through the concise procedures and work instructions increasing the product quality which shall yield to higher customer satisfaction.
