Quality Circle
A quality circle is
a participatory management technique that enlists the help of employees in
solving problems related to their own jobs. Circles are formed of employees working together in an
operation who meet at intervals to discuss problems of quality and to devise solutions
for improvements.
A quality circle or quality control circle is
a group of workers who do the same or similar work, who meet regularly to
identify, analyze and solve work-related problems. It consists of minimum three
and maximum twelve members in number.
Quality Circles can be described as a small group of employees of the same
work area, doing similar work that meets voluntarily and regularly to identify,
analyze and resolve work related problems.
Thus, we can say that a quality circle is a group of 5 to 8
employees performing similar work, who volunteer themselves to meet regularly,
to identify the cause of their on-the-job problems, employ advanced
problem-solving techniques to reach solutions and implement them.
Characteristics of
Effective Quality Circles:
1. The
atmosphere should be informal, comfortable and relaxed. The members should feel
involved and interested.
2. Everyone
should participate.
3. The
objectives should be clear to the members.
4. The members should listen to each
other.
5. The group should feel comfortable even
when there are disagreements.
6. The decisions should generally be
taken by a kind of consensus and voting should be minimum.
7. When an action is required to be
taken, clear assignments should be made and accepted by all the members.
8. The leader should not dominate the
group. The main idea should not be as to who controls but how to get the job
done.
9. Until a final solution is found and
results are attained feedback is necessary.
A quality
circle is a group of company employees who regularly meet to determine how to
resolve problems. It aims to
improve how part of the company operates, such as the production process.
Members are employees who do similar or the same work. They meet periodically
to identify, examine, analyze, and solve problems in the company or workplace.
A quality circle
is typically autonomous and small. In most cases, a senior worker or supervisor
heads it.
Most members
have received training in problem-solving methods.
The quality
circle presents its findings to management, which subsequently approves or
turns down solution proposals. The circle then implements the ones that
management has approved.
“A
quality circle is a participatory management technique that enlists the help of
employees in solving problems related to their own jobs.”
“Circles are formed of employees working together in
an operation who meet at intervals to discuss problems of quality and to devise
solutions for improvements.”
Quality circle – Japan
Nippon Wireless and Telegraph Company introduced
quality circles in 1962. It was the first company to do so.
By 1978, Japan had approximately one-million circles
involving about ten million workers.
JUSE
(Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers) coordinated the quality circle
movement in Japan.
Today, circles operate in most East Asian countries.
According to Wikipedia, China has over 20 million quality
circles.
Quality circle adoption in the US
Lockheed Martin, a global aerospace, defense,
security, and advanced technologies company started using quality circles in
1974. They used them in their manufacturing facilities.
Lockheed Martin executives learned about them when
they visited Japanese factories. They also saw how beneficial and useful they
could be.
Not long after Lockheed Martin started using quality
circles, other American companies, such as Westinghouse, Northrop, and GM, also
added them to the workplace.
Many US companies did not properly understand what
the function of a quality circle was and turned them into fault-finding
exercises.
Which companies use
quality circles?
Such well-regarded companies as IBM, TRW, Honeywell, Westinghouse, Digital
Equipment, and Xerox use them a lot. In any discussion of the
prevalence and popularity of quality circles, the question inevitably arises, “Why are they so
popular?” As with most management trends, there is no simple answer.
Quality
Control Examples
Many companies today use quality circles, especially
when it comes to manufacturing. The most well-known example would be Toyota,
which helped to pioneer the concept decades ago. These circles continue to meet
on a regular basis to identify potential problems and get them resolved as
efficiently as possible.
Another example would be Lockheed Martin. Lockheed
Martin began using quality circles in their manufacturing facilities back in
1974. Executives from this company learned of quality circles when visiting
Japanese manufacturing plants, and saw how beneficial they could be. Soon after
Lockheed Martin, a number of other US companies added them to their workplaces,
including GM, Northrop, and Westinghouse.
These are good examples of large corporations using
quality circles on a broad scope. Looking some of the ways a quality circle can
work in an average manufacturing facility can be just as effective. The
following are some examples of how a typical quality can provide benefits to
the workplace.
·
Discussing Best Practices - In many workplaces, there are multiple shifts of people who
do the same or similar work. By getting everyone together in one place, it is
possible to identify which shift is working most efficiently, and use that to
create best practices that can be followed across all shifts.
·
Pointing Out Issues -
Employees often know of lots of minor (or even major) issues, but they assume
that someone else is working on getting them fixed. When a quality circle
meets, they can discuss these types of issues, and take ownership of them to
actually move forward with a positive result.
·
Collaborating on Solutions - One of the biggest examples of how a quality circle can
help is that it is the actual employees who are working to come up with
solutions to problems. Those who have to deal with the problems are typically
the best people to fix it. Since they are also working on the issue themselves,
there will be far less pushback on a proposed solution.
·
Brainstorming Ideas -
When a circle meets, everyone will be familiar with the position so they can
more easily bounce ideas off of each other. Brainstorming ideas is a very
effective way to arrive at the best possible solution to a problem.
·
Streamlined Problem Solving - If management or another outside group tries to come up
with solutions to a known problem, it will take a lot longer to learn about how
things are done, and how a problem can be fixed. Those with experience in the
department won't need to waste time learning about the problem before proposing
solutions.
Quality Circle Tools
A quality circle can use any type of tools that they
would like to help improve their roles. Some of these circles are more casual
and just talk about different issues with their jobs, and propose solutions. In
this type of situation, a simple notepad could be sufficient. While this can be
a good place to start a quality control circle, it is best if they evolve into
something more formal where more detailed problems can be addressed.
When this happens, some of the following quality
improvement tools are often incorporated to help discover
the root causes to issues, and how to fix them.
·
Flowcharts
·
Scatter
Plots
·
Run Charts
·
Graphical
Tools
·
Process
Mapping Tools
·
Pareto
Charts
·
Fishbone
Diagrams
There are many other potential tools that a group
could use depending on the specific problems they are trying to overcome. When
equipped with the right tools, a quality circle is able to more efficiently
identify issues, and propose solutions, which is the main goal of these groups.
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