Quality circle
Encyclopedia
A quality circle is a volunteer group composed of workers (or even student
s), usually under the leadership of their supervisor (but they can elect a team leader), who are trained to identify, analyze and solve work-related problems and present their solutions to management
in order to improve the performance of the organization, and motivate and enrich the work of employees. When matured, true quality circles become self-managing, having gained the confidence of management.
Quality circles are an alternative to the dehumanizing concept of the division of labor, where workers or individuals are treated like robots. They bring back the concept of craftsmanship, which when operated on an individual basis is uneconomic but when used in group form can be devastatingly powerful. Quality circles enable the enrichment of the lives of the workers or students and creates harmony and high performance. Typical topics are improving occupational safety and health
, improving product design
, and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes
.
The term quality circles derives from the concept of PDCA
(Plan, Do, Check, Act) circles developed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming
.
Quality circles are not normally paid a share of the cost benefit of any improvements but usually a proportion of the savings made is spent on improvements to the work environment.
They are formal groups. They meet at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent persons (usually designated as facilitators) who may be personnel and industrial relations specialists trained in human factors and the basic skills of problem identification, information gathering and analysis, basic statistics, and solution generation. Quality circles are generally free to select any topic they wish (other than those related to salary and terms and conditions of work, as there are other channels through which these issues are usually considered).
Quality circles have the advantage of continuity; the circle remains intact from project to project. (For a comparison to Quality Improvement Teams, see Juran's Quality by Design
.
in 1962; Kaoru Ishikawa
has been credited with their creation. The movement in Japan was coordinated by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). The first circles were established at the Nippon Wireless and Telegraph Company but then spread to more than 35 other companies in the first year. By 1978 it was claimed that there were more than one million quality circles involving some 10 million Japanese workers. They are now in most East Asian countries; it was recently claimed that there were more than 20 million quality circles in China.
Quality circles have been implemented even in educational sectors in India, and QCFI (Quality Circle Forum of India) is promoting such activities. However this was not successful in the United States, as it (was not properly understood and) turned out to be a fault-finding exercise although some circles do still exist. ref Don Dewar who together with Wayne Ryker and Jeff Beardsley first established them in 1972 at the Lockheed Space Missile Factory in California.
There are different quality circle tools, namely:
. The idea of SQCs was presented by City Montessori School
(CMS) Lucknow India at a conference in Hong Kong in October 1994. It was developed and mentored by duo engineers of Indian Railways PC Bihari and Swami Das in association with Principal Dr. Kamran of CMS Lucknow India. They were inspired and facilitated by Jagdish Gandhi, the founder of CMS after his visit to Japan where he learned about Kaizen
. The world's first SQC was made in CMS Lucknow with then 13-year- old student, Ms. Sucheta Bihari as its leader. CMS conducts international conventions on student quality circles which it has repeated every 2 years to the present day. After seeing its utility, the visionary educationalists from many countries started these circles. The World Council for Total Quality & Excellence in Education was established in 1999 with its Corporate Office in Lucknow and head office at Singapore. It monitors and facilitates student quality circle activities to its member countries which are more than a dozen. SQCs are considered to be a co-curricular activity. The have been established in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Mauritius, Iran, UK (Kingston University), and USA. In Nepal, Prof. Dinesh P. Chapagain has been promoting this innovative approach through QUEST-Nepal since 1999. He has written a book entitled "A Guide Book on Students' Quality Circle: An Approach to prepare Total Quality People", which is considered a standard guide to promote SQCs in academia for students' personality development.
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s), usually under the leadership of their supervisor (but they can elect a team leader), who are trained to identify, analyze and solve work-related problems and present their solutions to management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
in order to improve the performance of the organization, and motivate and enrich the work of employees. When matured, true quality circles become self-managing, having gained the confidence of management.
Quality circles are an alternative to the dehumanizing concept of the division of labor, where workers or individuals are treated like robots. They bring back the concept of craftsmanship, which when operated on an individual basis is uneconomic but when used in group form can be devastatingly powerful. Quality circles enable the enrichment of the lives of the workers or students and creates harmony and high performance. Typical topics are improving occupational safety and health
Occupational safety and health
Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goal of all occupational safety and health programs is to foster a safe work environment...
, improving product design
Product design
-Introduction:Product design is the process of creating a new product to be sold by a business or enterprise to its customers. It is concerned with the efficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products.Product designers conceptualize and...
, and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes
Manufacturing Process Management
Manufacturing process management is a collection of technologies and methods used to define how products are to be manufactured. MPM differs from ERP/MRP which is used to plan the ordering of materials and other resources, set manufacturing schedules, and compile cost data.A cornerstone of MPM is...
.
The term quality circles derives from the concept of PDCA
PDCA
PDCA is an iterative four-step management method used in business for the control and continuous improvement of processes and products...
(Plan, Do, Check, Act) circles developed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming
W. Edwards Deming
William Edwards Deming was an American statistician, professor, author, lecturer and consultant. He is perhaps best known for his work in Japan...
.
Quality circles are not normally paid a share of the cost benefit of any improvements but usually a proportion of the savings made is spent on improvements to the work environment.
They are formal groups. They meet at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent persons (usually designated as facilitators) who may be personnel and industrial relations specialists trained in human factors and the basic skills of problem identification, information gathering and analysis, basic statistics, and solution generation. Quality circles are generally free to select any topic they wish (other than those related to salary and terms and conditions of work, as there are other channels through which these issues are usually considered).
Quality circles have the advantage of continuity; the circle remains intact from project to project. (For a comparison to Quality Improvement Teams, see Juran's Quality by Design
Quality by Design
Quality by Design is a concept first outlined by well-known quality expert Joseph M. Juran in various publications, most notably Juran on Quality by Design....
.
History
Quality circles were first established in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1962; Kaoru Ishikawa
Kaoru Ishikawa
was a Japanese university professor and influential quality management innovator best known in North America for the Ishikawa or cause and effect diagram that is used in the analysis of industrial process.- Biography :...
has been credited with their creation. The movement in Japan was coordinated by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). The first circles were established at the Nippon Wireless and Telegraph Company but then spread to more than 35 other companies in the first year. By 1978 it was claimed that there were more than one million quality circles involving some 10 million Japanese workers. They are now in most East Asian countries; it was recently claimed that there were more than 20 million quality circles in China.
Quality circles have been implemented even in educational sectors in India, and QCFI (Quality Circle Forum of India) is promoting such activities. However this was not successful in the United States, as it (was not properly understood and) turned out to be a fault-finding exercise although some circles do still exist. ref Don Dewar who together with Wayne Ryker and Jeff Beardsley first established them in 1972 at the Lockheed Space Missile Factory in California.
There are different quality circle tools, namely:
- The Ishikawa or fishbone diagramIshikawa diagramIshikawa diagrams are causal diagrams that show the causes of a certain event -- created by Kaoru Ishikawa . Common uses of the Ishikawa diagram are product design and quality defect prevention, to identify potential factors causing an overall effect...
- which shows hierarchies of causes contributing to a problem - The Pareto Chart - which analyses different causes by frequency to illustrate the vital cause,
- Process Mapping, Data gathering tools such as Check Sheets and graphical tools such as histograms, frequency diagrams, spot charts and pie charts
Student quality circles
Student quality circles work on the original philosophy of Total Quality ManagementTotal Quality Management
Total quality management or TQM is an integrative philosophy of management for continuously improving the quality of products and processes....
. The idea of SQCs was presented by City Montessori School
City Montessori School
City Montessori School , Lucknow is a private school that offers education up to the level of under-graduation, in Lucknow, India. The school was founded in 1959 by Bharti Gandhi and Jagdish Gandhi. By 2008 its enrollment had reached 32,000 pupils, a world record...
(CMS) Lucknow India at a conference in Hong Kong in October 1994. It was developed and mentored by duo engineers of Indian Railways PC Bihari and Swami Das in association with Principal Dr. Kamran of CMS Lucknow India. They were inspired and facilitated by Jagdish Gandhi, the founder of CMS after his visit to Japan where he learned about Kaizen
Kaizen
, Japanese for "improvement", or "change for the better" refers to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing, engineering, game development, and business management. It has been applied in healthcare, psychotherapy, life-coaching, government,...
. The world's first SQC was made in CMS Lucknow with then 13-year- old student, Ms. Sucheta Bihari as its leader. CMS conducts international conventions on student quality circles which it has repeated every 2 years to the present day. After seeing its utility, the visionary educationalists from many countries started these circles. The World Council for Total Quality & Excellence in Education was established in 1999 with its Corporate Office in Lucknow and head office at Singapore. It monitors and facilitates student quality circle activities to its member countries which are more than a dozen. SQCs are considered to be a co-curricular activity. The have been established in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Mauritius, Iran, UK (Kingston University), and USA. In Nepal, Prof. Dinesh P. Chapagain has been promoting this innovative approach through QUEST-Nepal since 1999. He has written a book entitled "A Guide Book on Students' Quality Circle: An Approach to prepare Total Quality People", which is considered a standard guide to promote SQCs in academia for students' personality development.