Defective Recognition Systems Case Study

4. Dissecting the 1st Issue (Defective Recognition System) & Remedies

According to the Pareto Chart, Figure 3, defective recognition system is responsible for the highest number of warranty claims; therefore is being considered as the main source of problem in the production process. The defective recognition system – causing an average of 340 defects per each month – could be the root cause of defects such as incorrect, or no response to the commands, as well as loss of hearing and speech.

Utilizing Fishbone diagram, a more detailed problem finding analysis was conducted (Figures 4 & 5 shown above) resulting in identification of obstacles affecting the overall quality of the finished product (Robots) including 1-Employees and/or Operators,

Looking at the JEEVES PLC’s hierarchical organizational chart (provided in the case study), it can be seen that management group is not working as a team but separate groups due to top/bottom management structure and absence of information center resulting in minimal/no horizontal communication between the departments which had led to insufficient information and knowledge sharing, lack of awareness of change as well as feedback.

Having an effective and efficient process plan can be another contributing factor to the quality of the final goods. There is a chance that the current process plan at JEEVES PLC is outdated and therefore does not have the maximum efficiency and productivity. For example, the current factory layout might not be a suitable plan and the company might need to consider other layouts.

Another crucial aspect of Total Quality Management and continuous improvement that management at JEEVES PLC should keep a close eye on would be cost of quality, while according to Crosby (2006, p. 12), “the cost of avoiding mistakes is always lesser than the cost of correcting the mistakes (Prevention/Inspection)”. Thus, the management should consider increasing the budget spent on prevention and appraisal cost rather than internal or external failure cost shown in Table 4 & Figure 9

Company needs to revise its supplier selection strategies and initial inspection methods in order to conduct more effective inspection of raw material at the point of entry, also they should form a stronger relationship with suppliers and promote mutual communication and knowledge sharing.

4.4 Quality System

The initial inspection of raw material (5% sampling) is hardly sufficient to ensure the maximum quality assurance desired at JEEVES PLC. Moreover, major inspections are hold only in phases such as before final assembly; therefore some phases of production would remain check point free resulting in high rate of external defects.

In addition to the above mentioned inspection system failure, it can be assumed that the manpower and inspectors themselves may not be fully aware of required and necessary quality standards (such as customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach according to ISO.org, 2014) and are unable to identify problems with the production process as well as the final product due to lack of knowledge or