Read the article, \"Importance of Variation in Total Quality Management\". After

Question

Read the article, "Importance of Variation in Total Quality Management". After reading the article, provide either one example of controlled variation or uncontrolled variation and explain why your example is the type of variation you selected.  

Here is the article:

Competitive pressures and customer demands have led companies to introduce new strategies to better control processes and get the results they need. W. Edwards Deming, considered the "Father of Modern Quality," developed the Total Quality Management approach as an industrial strategy to improve business performance. In his 1982 book "Out of the Crisis," he identifies variation as a disease that results in waste and poor quality. Many U.S. businesses have used TQM principles to improve the quality of their products.

Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management analyzes a production process for unnecessary complications, inefficient procedures and work flows that introduce waiting times. TQM defines these problems as poor-quality processes that result in poor-quality products. It identifies the problem processes by analyzing variations in their basic characteristics. A high-quality process is consistent and has control of the variation of key aspects. TQM modifies production processes to reduce the possibility of variation, and the resulting products have a consistently high quality.

Variation

Variation is a normal feature of process characteristics. For production processes, some variations are statistically random, while others are due to the actions of production workers. When the workers don't act consistently, they introduce nonrandom variations that reduce product quality. The key for using variation as a tool in TQM is to identify the random variations, which are natural to the process, and those due to worker inconsistency. TQM reduces the nonrandom variations by acting to reduce worker inconsistency.

Uncontrolled Variation

Once TQM has identified the nonrandom variations, it examines their source. TQM looks for inconsistencies that result from uncontrolled actions. If a product sometimes fails due to a loose bolt, it may be because the worker is not tightening the bolt consistently. If a product's color varies, it may be because the paint composition varies. TQM introduces controls to reduce inconsistency. It may train the worker in the use of a torque wrench and specify a single supplier for the paint. In this way, TQM converts uncontrolled variation into variation it can control.

Controlled Variation

When TQM introduces controls to reduce inconsistency, it must check to see if the controls reduced the variations initially observed. If use of the torque wrench eliminates product failure due to a loose bolt, the controls have eliminated the variation. If the product color still varies, the variation is still uncontrolled. It may be that the color variation is due to inconsistent drying time. If controlling the drying time increases color consistency, the variation is controlled and the product quality increases with respect to the desired characteristics.

Explanation / Answer

Variation in the results of an experiment that follows a consistent uniform pattern. They are statistically random. Random variatios are natural to the process. Controlled variation is predictable and can be used to recommend optimal inputs and parameters for a process once identified.

Uncontrolled variation does not display a consistent pattern and is not predictable. This is due to assignable causes, such as, worker inconsistency,

EXAMPLE OF UNCONTROLLED VARIATION:

Product's colour variation.

Once this uncontrolled variation is observed, TQM exmines the source - paint composition is varied due to worker's inconsistency.

EXPLANATION WHY THIS IS UNCONTROLLED:

The colour variation in the production process is not a randum, controlled variation. This is not repeatable and cannot be studied statistically. It is attributable to worker's inconsistency.

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