SARAWAK IQC '99 Stream B
CKA : The Ingredients of a Quality Person
By Mr. Roberto K.Katigbak
Vice President for External Affairs,
Philippine Society for Quality, Philippines
The making
of a quality person needs these three ingredients: Commitment, Knowledge and
Action.
Working
together, these three desirable traits will provide a person the deep understanding,
the passion and the staying power to appreciate long term implications, the
ability to priorities and the needed dedication to give good service to their
customers.
Commitment
forms a strong bond between a person and his cause. It gives him/her the strength
to carry on even in tough times but it will not be useful if one does not
have the knowledge - the process, the technology and the best practices to
ensure quality service. The initiative to act at the correct timing forms
the final link, thus giving the final touch for a perfect recipe of a quality
person.
Everyone
has the ability to be that quality person that we want to be. Inspired by
our personal vision and mission, our pride in our work, the desire to continuously
improve our knowledge, view feedback and criticism objectively and form solutions
to remedy the shortcomings, then we are on our way to becoming that quality
person that we all want to be.
Quality Improvement through
Supplier/Quality Assistance
By Ms Joan Scheffler
Chief of Inspection Section & Manager
of Supplier Quality Assistance, Air Force Exchange Service, USA
Although the Army and Air
Force Exchange Service (AAFES) organisation was started 104 years ago, it
was only in 1963 that the first step towards quality was established with
the creation of the AAFES Quality Assurance (QA) Division to support the organisation's
mission to provide service, quality merchandise and value. It has continued
to evolve its quality program since.
The development
of the Supplier Quality Assistance Program (SUPQAP) changed the direction
of the AAFES' Quality Assurance Division's method of verifying quality performance
from the exclusive use of end- item inspections and laboratory testing, to
include a program that involves auditing a supplier's quality system and offering
assistance where needed to assure quality requirements are met.
Under
SUPQAP, a standard was set to identify good or poor quality supplier. AAFES
view a poor quality supplier as one that has the following :-
(a)The
percentage defective higher than the upper control limit for three or four
months in a row
(b)Supplier
having three or more customer or store complaints of the same nature within
six months.
(c)Having
two or three product recalls for the same reasons within a year.
To gain
the support of the suppliers and to assist them in understanding the benefits
of the program, briefings and trainings are provided by AAFES. Poor quality
supplier are given six months to improve their product or else buyers will
look for another source.
The information
received from supplier survey and pre-audit/post audit inspection statistics
indicate that the assistance programme has succeeded. It helped to improve
the quality of merchandise received from supplier, their knowledge on quality
and communication between AAFES and suppliers.
TII's Historical Perspective
on Approaches to the Improvement Process
By Ms Glo Tiongson,
Managing Director, Tiongson Industries,
Inc., Philippines
For the
past fours years, in numerable changes emanated in the course of Tiongson
Industries Inc operation which required the management prompt attention. There
were changes brought about by the growing globalisation concerns that, if
not for the application of TQM and ISO elements, would threaten their existence
in the market. Borderless competition, customers' change in preference and
inflation rates are just making their ways to affect the company's business.
Fortunately
though, these events took places when TII started integrating the TQM methodology
and ISO elements into their management. With TQM as tools, they are able to
maintain their ISO certification. Combining these two quality standards resulted
in scientific and systematic approaches of addressing these constant changes
that confronts the industries.
Exercising
the TQM discipline, they are able to establish cost efficiency. And of course,
their focus on quality and continuous improvement is very evident on the kind
of product that they produce. With their people as their most valued asset,
they have designed an annual training program that will cater to the specific
training needs for their growth and development.
However,
with all these practices, they still experience few lapses along the operation.
This reality prods them to strive even better. The quest for continuous improvement,
is a never-ending endeavor.
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