Cantor Air I.FTO.070

TCM - Total Quality Management

 Total Quality Management (TQM) is an approach that seeks to improve quality and performance which will meet or exceed customer expectations. This can be achieved by integrating all quality-related functions and processes throughout the company. TQM looks at the overall quality measures used by a company including managing quality design and development, quality control and maintenance, quality improvement, and quality assurance. TQM takes into account all quality measures taken at all levels and involving all company employees. 

Origins of TQM

Total quality management has evolved from the quality assurance methods that were first developed around the time of the First World War. The war effort led to large scale manufacturing efforts that often produced poor quality. To help correct this, quality inspectors were introduced on the production line to ensure that the level of failures due to quality was minimized.

After the First World War, quality inspection became more commonplace in manufacturing environments and this led to the introduction of Statistical Quality Control (SQC), a theory developed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. This quality method provided a statistical method of quality based on sampling. Where it was not possible to inspect every item, a sample was tested for quality. The theory of SQC was based on the notion that a variation in the production process leads to variation in the end product. If the variation in the process could be removed this would lead to a higher level of quality in the end product.

After World War Two, the industrial manufacturers in Japan produced poor quality items. In a response to this, the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers invited Dr. Deming to train engineers in quality processes. By the 1950’s quality control was an integral part of Japanese manufacturing and was adopted by all levels of workers within an organization.

By the 1970’s the notion of total quality was being discussed. This was seen as company-wide quality control that involves all employees from top management to the workers, in quality control. In the next decade more non-Japanese companies were introducing quality management procedures that based on the results seen in Japan. The new wave of quality control became known as Total Quality Management, which was used to describe the many quality-focused strategies and techniques that became the center of focus for the quality movement.

Principles of TQM

TQM can be defined as the management of initiatives and procedures that are aimed at achieving the delivery of quality products and services. A number of key principles can be identified in defining TQM, including:

• Executive Management – Top management should act as the main driver for TQM and create an environment that ensures its success.
• Training – Employees should receive regular training on the methods and concepts of quality.
• Customer Focus – Improvements in quality should improve customer satisfaction.
• Decision Making – Quality decisions should be made based on measurements.
• Methodology and Tools – Use of appropriate methodology and tools ensures that non-conformances are identified, measured and responded to consistently.
• Continuous Improvement – Companies should continuously work towards improving manufacturing and quality procedures.
• Company Culture – The culture of the company should aim at developing employees ability to work together to improve quality.
• Employee Involvement – Employees should be encouraged to be pro-active in identifying and addressing quality related problems.

The Cost Of TQM

Many companies believe that the costs of the introduction of TQM are far greater than the benefits it will produce. However research across a number of industries has costs involved in doing nothing, i.e. the direct and indirect costs of quality problems, are far greater than the costs of implementing TQM.

The American quality expert, Phil Crosby, wrote that many companies chose to pay for the poor quality in what he referred to as the “Price of Nonconformance”. The costs are identified in the Prevention, Appraisal, Failure (PAF) Model.

Prevention costs are associated with the design, implementation and maintenance of the TQM system. They are planned and incurred before actual operation, and can include:

• Product Requirements – The setting specifications for incoming materials, processes, finished products/services.
• Quality Planning – Creation of plans for quality, reliability, operational, production and inspections.
• Quality Assurance – The creation and maintenance of the quality system.
• Training – The development, preparation and maintenance of processes.

Appraisal costs are associated with the vendors and customers evaluation of purchased materials and services to ensure they are within specification. They can include:

• Verification – Inspection of incoming material against agreed upon specifications.
• Quality Audits – Check that the quality system is functioning correctly.
• Vendor Evaluation – Assessment and approval of vendors.

Failure costs can be split into those resulting from internal and external failure. Internal failure costs occur when results fail to reach quality standards and are detected before they are shipped to the customer. These can include:

• Waste – Unnecessary work or holding stocks as a result of errors, poor organization or communication.
• Scrap – Defective product or material that cannot be repaired, used or sold.
• Rework – Correction of defective material or errors.
• Failure Analysis – This is required to establish the causes of internal product failure.

External failure costs occur when the products or services fail to reach quality standards, but are not detected until after the customer receives the item. These can include:

• Repairs – Servicing of returned products or at the customer site.
• Warranty Claims – Items are replaced or services re-performed under warranty.
• Complaints – All work and costs associated with dealing with customer’s complaints.
• Returns – Transportation, investigation and handling of returned items.

AeC Near- Miss Reporting System

The goal of CANTOR AIR Near-Miss Reporting System is to improve safety by collecting, sharing and analyzing near-miss experiences. The reporting system is voluntary, confidential, non-punitive and secure. The reporting system collects informartion that can assist in formulating strategies to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities. Report a Near Miss using SMS Report form

Injury and Fatality Statistics

Injury and fatality statistics have steadily decreased over the last 15 years. Improvements in procedures, training and equipment have impacted the rate of injuries and fatalities. In fact, better procedures, aggressive tactics, improvement in situation awareness are putting personnel out from the risks. This is the time don’t sleep and fight more against errors!!

 Definitions

• Accident - an event that has caused harm to people, property or process.
• Incident - an event that, under slightly different circumstances, may have caused harm, property or process loss.
• Hazard - something that might or does cause harm, property or process loss.

A NEAR-MISS is an unintentional unsafe occurrence that could have resulted in an injury, fatality or property damage. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality or property damage. Situations that qualify as near misses are essentially in the eyes of the reporter.

Near-miss Reporting

Near-miss reporting systems are used to gather information to prevent unsafe occurrences from happening in the future. Near-miss reporting systems focus on identifying patterns that exemplify systematic problems, which can then be addressed. The aviation, military and medical industries credit the use of near-miss reporting systems as significant contributors to a reduction in errors, injuries and fatalities.

Online resource: For more information on the importance of near-miss reporting, read To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System available as a free download on www.nap.edu/readingroom.

NEAR-MISS REPORTING AND CREW RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The Aerospace Consulting Near-Miss Reporting System is modeled after the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). Since 1976, ASRS has analyzed more than 650,000 incident reports submitted by pilots, air traffic controllers, cabin crew, maintenance technicians and oth­ers in the aviation industry. ASRS uses the information it receives to address reported hazards, to conduct research on operational safety problems, and to facilitate an understand­ing of aviation safety-related issues. ASRS provides data on the quality of human performance which serves as the basis for further research and recommendation on procedures, operations, training, facilities and equipment. The aviation industry credits the analysis of data from near-miss report­ing as one of the key contributors to an increased aviation safety level over the past 30 years. ASRS has been used as the model for near-miss reporting in other industries such as medicine, maritime, rail and others.

Crew Resource Management

The aviation industry presents the topics of Crew Resource Management (CRM) and near-miss reporting. The Flight Crew is a work unit structure composed of a crew with a leader and one or more crew members. The crew works under a hierarchy often influenced by time on the job. Crews can spend considerable time performing routine actions and then have to perform under stressful conditions. Factors cited as contributing factors in aviation disasters: communication failures, poor decision making, lack of situational awareness, poor task allocation and leadership failures.

 Definition of Crew Resource Management

CRM is a tool created to optimize human performance by reducing the effect of human error through the use of all re­sources, including human resources, hardware and software.

 Five Principles of Crew Resource Management

1. Communication: Understanding the communication model (sender-message-medium-receiver-feedback), the value of speaking directly and respectfully and the impor­tance of communication responsibility. Recognizing and neutralizing the effect of barriers to effective communica­tion that inhibit the success of the other four principles.
2. Situational Awareness: Maintaining attentiveness to an event while keeping in mind the effects of perception, observation and stress on self and individuals.
3. Decision Making: Concentrating on giving and receiving information so appropriate decisions are made.
4. Teamwork: Emphasizing team performance by focus­ing on “leadership-followership” so all members of a team understand their role on the team and the need for mutual respect.
5. Task Allocation: Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the team so work can be assigned to the team member most capable of successfully completing the task. Also em­phasizes dividing labor so no single team member, includ­ing the team leader, is overworked.

Safety Pyramid

Originated by Dr. H.W. Heinrich in the 1930s and modified in recent years, the safety pyramid illustrates that for every worker fatality there are 10,000 unsafe acts. Near-miss reporting concentrates on the unsafe acts and property damage areas because of their frequency. One lesson learned from the aviation industry is that reporting events that could have resulted in an injury results in fewer injuries, accidents and errors. The reduction in injuries, accidents and errors translates to fewer fatalities and improved performance.

“For every worker fatality there are 10,000 unsafe acts.”