RavishankarNarayanan

VOC is key starting point.. This has to get converted to CTQ.. Some of key mistakes in VOC are 1. Not converting voc to proper ctq 2. Not providing enough detail to the factors affecting the issue, instead getting only statement on the issue from customer Need to spend good amount of time in arriving ctq and the relevant factors & more details around that - to make further study and bring out right inference.

Time data set is one of the confusing.. if we are having the time data set with hours, minutes and seconds - this can be classified as continuous.. if it is rounded off to nearest hour, it can be classified as discrete.

If we made a transaction wrong and got identified by quality auditor, immediately we need to make some action to correct that error is called correction. Then for that error, doung root cause analysis and identify the causes - then put some control in place or take necessary action like implementing automation etc will lead to prevent of recurring that error. This is corrective action. Before making any error, identifying all the error prone areas and its potential causes - then implementing best control in place to mitigate the error occurrence is called preventive action. FMEA is one of the example for preventive controls and mitigate the risk. Both corrective and preventive actions are desirable.. But when the error occured, immediately correction is required instead of looking corrective action and why its not been looked earlier in preventive controls.

The fault tree analysis (FTA) was first introduced by Bell Laboratories and is one of the most widely used methods in system reliability, maintainability and safety analysis. It is a deductive procedure used to determine the various combinations of hardware and software failures and human errors that could cause undesired events (referred to as top events) at the system level. The deductive analysis begins with a general conclusion, then attempts to determine the specific causes of the conclusion by constructing a logic diagram called a fault tree. This is also known as taking a top-down approach. The main purpose of the fault tree analysis is to help identify potential causes of system failures before the failures actually occur. It can also be used to evaluate the probability of the top event using analytical or statistical methods. These calculations involve system quantitative reliability and maintainability information, such as failure probability, failure rate and repair rate. After completing an FTA, you can focus your efforts on improving system safety and reliability. It is most effective in the manufacturing industry...

The given prescriptions for value addition is right generally. But when come to specifc, the prescription may vary slightly. In Service industry: 1. Value Adding activity – any activity in the process that is essential to deliver end output for the customer. For example: In a reconciliation process, for the open items – investigate, reaching out to multiple teams/bank’s, perform multiple follow up’s leads to reduction of open items. Which will create impact on the Balance sheet and P&L (profit and loss). Here the client will not pay for performing follow up’s – but its least expected from client side that this need to be done to reduce the open item. In this case, it’s a value addition which is essential to deliver the end output of completed reconciliation with less open items. 2. Value Adding activty – any activity where the client is getting benefitted out of that For example: In the competitive market, the BPO inorder to sustain the business or get the new business – they have to give more to client than what has been agreed. The client will pay only for the work which you had been agreed say processing 1000 transactions in a month and + or – of 5%. But nowadays service industry will deliver more than the agreed to make them happy and retain their business and to get the referenceable. Performing analytics for the client, creating some automation for the client and share the productivity benefits – with all these we are not getting paid.. but we are doing these for client benefit. These are treated as a value adding activity.

Yes the 5S will save enough money outside manufacturing. Lets see, how is it possible: First let me explain what 5s means Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain. I will give the example of my own experience in banking service back operations for Account opening. Sort - keep only necessary items in the workplace. In the account opening team - we will get account opening forms, account transfers, account closures etc..post completion everything will get dumped in the storage instead of segregation.. also it will get stored in the processor cabin draw as well. This sort helps us to keep only necessary items in the respective place. That means, the processor has to keep only necessary stationary items in the cabinet draw. Rest everything like processing form will be moved out. Also for the unprocessed forms will also get moved out from his place. Set in order - arrange items to promote efficient workflow - the processed forms will be moved to the respective storage place. The unprocessed forms will be segregated and basis the cut off time processing, it will be prioritized and given it to the processor. Shine - Clean the work area regularly, so that it will be neat and tidy.. This will avoid unnecessary cluttering in the processor bay and also in storage space Standardize - set standards for a consistently organized workplace - this will enable all the processors/team to follow the same Sustain - Maintain and review standards - do regular audits of the workplace and storage space to ensure sustenance and everybody is follow the same. By following this policy - what are the benefits? 1. the team can able to meet the agreed turn around time with end clients. 2. By meeting the turn around time, there is no penalty being paid to end client 3. Productivity, Utilizaiton and through put will get improved (because everything will be in right place for easily traceable and accessible). Because of this, either I can reduce the resources of handling the same volume, so that i can able to reduce the cost or with the same resources I can handle more volumes, so that my revenue will get increase without additional cost 4. my response time will get increase by easily accessing the relevant documents. 5. Improve employee morale 6. Finally the client satisfaction will get improve.

Kaizen Kaizen is the Japanese word for continuous improvement using small incremental changes. Kai means change, Zen means for the better. Its an approach for solving problems and forms the basis of incremental continual improvement in organizations. When applied to the workplace, Kaizen means continuous improvement involving everyone, managers and workers alike, every day and everywhere, providing structure to process improvement. Kaizen is about continuously improving: everyday, everyone and everywhere. Kaikaku Lean also recognizes that there are moments that more radical, step change is necessary. This type of change is known as Kaikaku. This refers to a revolutionary change to the existing situation. Eg. of upgradation of technology from 2g to 3g in telecom industry etc.. Kakushin Kakushin means some change will form a complete departure from the current situation. It is about innovation, transformation, reform and renewal. Again, in our software example, this may mean replacing a complete application with a different application that supports the process in a completely different way, for example a web-based application that fully automates the registration of orders, the submission of invoices and the generation of a picking order at order fulfilment. This kind of change will entail the disappearance of many roles and functions within a business. Both from technological and business process perspectives, this example represents a complete departure from the current way of working. Another example of Kakushin is where the organization standardizes a process and supporting software across the entire organization where previously various groups had different processes and applications to achieve similar goals. All these are very important for any organization to survive in the competent world.

Dr. Deming, the father of Quality (my favorite) did very much believe in the value of using data to help improve the management of the organization. In fact several of the tools like PDSA, Control charts etc. which he recommended are involved using data. He stated one of the seven deadly diseases of management was Running a company on visible figures alone. The important points which he made are: you can't measure everything of importance to management. you must still manage those important things. Taiichi Ohno (father of TPS) also mentioned - “Data are of course important in manufacturing, but I place the greatest emphasis on facts.” Let's look into this in detail: Irrespective of the industry (manufacturing or BPO or technology etc..) – not all the factors which are creating an impact on the “Y” are quantitative. There are Y’s which is very important for any organization. Speed Accuracy Cost Eg. 1. Speed: The different causes which will affect the speed are Availability of inputs on time, Capacity utilization, Resource required vs Actual. If you look at all these are quantitative. These are data-driven. But if you look at other causes like skill set of the people, the temperament of the people are more subjective which is not data-driven and you can’t measure. These causes may create a big impact on speed. Because you can’t measure, you should not leave this. Eg. 2. Accuracy: Similarly, if you look at Accuracy. Some of the causes like a feedback mechanism, quality of the process manual – these are not data-driven and subjective to the extent. You can’t measure this. But these will have a significant impact on your accuracy. My point is: Measurement is very important for any organization to see whether they are going in right direction, they are in the improving trend, are they sustaining etc., But in order to meet this end objective, whatever is the factor you are targeting for improvement (which creates significant impact on your end objective) should not be necessarily the measurable one. Whatever should be measurable, that need to be tracked on a regular basis. Tracking on the measurable factor will help us to put a right control in place for improvement. Whatever factor which is nonmeasurable, keep a close monitor on that for improvement.

While doing the root cause - it will land up in any of these four categories. How should our approach to problem-solving change for each of the above situations? I would suggest FMEA (Failure mode effect analysis) - is the best approach for identifying the right cause and implement right control if the existing control is not effective. The FMEA is for identifying all the potential failures, its effects, potential causes, occurrence, detectability. Here the causes may fall under any of the four categories. we will also look at the past occurrences and detectability (current control). Basis the severity, occurrence and detectability - the RPN (Risk priority number = Severity * Occurrence * Detectability) will be generated. Basis the top contributing RPN, we need to brainstorm and implement new controls to mitigate the risk.

Personal excellence – becoming best in their own performance. They will always benchmark and contest with their own performance. Process excellence – is for the process. The Process Management fundamentals (by understanding what customer wants, how to perform the process consistently, workload balance, organize the teams around the process, visual displays of the metrics, look for continuous improvement), Quality framework and Focus on end to end processes are Process excellence. It helps for continuous process improvement by reducing the process variation and by elimination waste. Consistently meeting customer requirement, right first time and zero defects are the three key things. Operational excellence – it’s a broader term of process excellence. Over then the above mentioned process excellence, its about driving the culture across organization. Business excellence – focusing on operations and as well as the business (for both clients and internal). It means the operational excellence and drive innovation. Also it will focus on people development and continuous learning to bring the people as business advisors. Here they will look for client value creation through analytics, leading practices replication and look for business outcomes (which will impact the shareholder/client’s positively). If you ask for the comparison on these four terms – the focus starts from the individual, then process, then organization and the entire business. All these are very important for any organizational growth.

Hi Vish, am eagerly waiting for knowing your final answer. Pls advise.

I am going with option 3. A,B,D, E and F.