Question

XYZ Company is a manufacturer of tires. Here are some observations of their current operation:

• There have been assembly line stoppages because bins to fill up scrap and waste have filled up quickly forcing the workers to stop the line and empty the bins.

• For quality control and risk management purposes, inspections of the final product happen at the end of the production line.

• The logistics function has managed increased returns in the last 18 months. This reverse logistics process has created distractions from routine inbound and outbound owned fleet responsibilities.

• Account managers have quarterly review meetings with their large customers. It is seen a way for the company to explain new products and upsell the customer.

• There is one required training session for all supply chain workers, and it is a 3 hour safety course where the company reviews its safety policies and procedures.

• An ISO initiative happened 7 years ago so there are policies and procedures existing from that exercise.

• Shift supervisors have specific throughput targets and emphasize the importance of speed and efficiency in the manufacturing process.

• The procurement team uses a supplier scorecard to measure their suppliers across cost, quality and time metrics. They meet with them to review the scorecard on a quarterly basis.

• The procurement, inventory, warehousing, manufacturing and logistics functions use SAP as an Enterprise Resource Planning system. Procurement team members leverage data from the system along with survey data when preparing and communicating supplier scorecards. Other functions leverage ERP data as needed.

• Procurement does an annual needs assessment with other supply chain functions so it knows what types of purchases and vendors may be needed. It uses these standardized meetings to update their policies and procedures and adjust/improve where needed.

• The procurement team has a sustainability checklist it reviews before hiring vendors. XYZ does not currently have a sustainability policy of its own although customers have been more aggressive in requesting they publish one.

• Currently projects and processes in general are sequenced in order of completion. It is not uncommon for projects and processes to have change orders, when this happens there seems to be bottlenecks or delays.

Question: 1) If you were asked to evaluate their quality management, what assessment would you provide using specific elements of quality management principles to support your assessment.

Answer 1

When evaluating XYZ Company's quality management, key elements to consider include inspections, continuous improvement, and training.

Step-by-step explanation:

When evaluating XYZ Company's quality management, there are several elements of quality management principles that can be considered:

1. Inspections: Inspections are happening at the end of the production line for quality control purposes. This is a key element of quality management to ensure that the final product meets the required standards.
2. Continuous Improvement: The company has policies and procedures in place from an ISO initiative that happened 7 years ago. This indicates a commitment to continuous improvement in quality management.
3. Training: There is a required 3-hour safety course for all supply chain workers. This training emphasizes the importance of safety policies and procedures, which is an essential element of quality management.