QA6640 Chat Room Transcript
April 4, 2007
Prof Atkins 20:31:26
The chat room is closed for this evening. It will reopen next Wednesday at 7:35
pm.
Prof Atkins 20:27:59
If there are no other questions, we can close the chat room for this eveing.
Prof Atkins 20:24:11
All student responses have been noted and saved. The transcript will appear on
the web site tomorrow.
The Term Project information is on the web site.
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gstevens 20:22:40
Is the project information now available, I checked earlier today and it was
not there?
Chris Wellman 20:21:48
I tried to answer both.
Chris Wellman 20:21:11
Wow? Hope you got my inpu. I was a little surprised by the first set of
questions. Then did my best to address the second.
Prof Atkins 20:20:17
Gleiter,
I will add your response to the file since the
chat room got a poor start this evening.
Gleiter 20:17:38
Kimberly Gleiter
kgleiter@hedonline.com
Though I knew the first question stemmed from a former reading, since I missed
last week I did not realize a repeat question had been posted. I did not reload
until ľ of the way through answering the first question, so forgive my brief
response to the second question posted.
SC Packaging produces foam molded parts. It began as a family owned business
and eventually was bought out by a large European company. Over a span of 10
years, I saw most of the concepts described in the section Built to Last for a
While: The Age of Flexibility introduced and implementation begun.
Unfortunately not many reached fruition for one reason or another. In some
cases it was merely due to a change in management and differences in priorities
for the new incumbents. For example, Initially the initiative was to have all
sites certified to ISO 9000. When most were, top management determined that it
would be more cost effective to have our sites maintain “compliant” instead of
certified. We ended our contract with our registrar and attempted to place more
emphasis on the results of local internal audits. Unfortunately it was soon
discovered that what was found internally carried far less weight than the
results from an audit or auditor that had the authority to discontinue our
certification. After 1 and ˝ years top management reversed the decision and
again required certification for all original and newly acquired sites.
Observing both allowed me what a difference it made in management support.
There was much more when the sites were certified rather than compliant. The
original cost savings expected was consumed (and most likely exceeded) with all
efforts required to bring all sites back on track.
Prof Atkins 20:17:30
The thirty-minutes are now up. Responses posted after this message appears will
not be available for chat room participation credit.
At exactly 7:35 pm this evening when I clicked
the post button to post the question for this week my internet connection
failed.
It took me a few minutes to reconnect and when I
did the computer restored last week's discussion question to the top of my
menu. I quickly clicked it, copied it without reading it, and posted it.
Then I noticed that it was last week's question
and I loaded the current question and posted it.
If you answered EITHER one of the two questions
this evening you will be evaluated on the question that you answered.
If anyone has a question they can ask it at this
time.
Chris Wellman 20:17:26
the Government.
I will now discuss Flexibility and
Competitiveness
We have been trained “to apply various
statistical techniques to continuously improve processes” as discussed by
Lamprecht on page 42. That training has made a big change in our performance.
We now recognize how poorly some of our processes perform.
We form into groups of cross sectional employees
and we include suppliers and customers where necessary. These groups attach
poor performing processes and provide new ideas they must buid processes to
implement.
The group works together for a week to build the
basic ideas for the new process and will follow through on implementation over
the year. We have found using the stakeholders allows buy-in by the
organizations affected.
Our success in these efforts are added by what
Lamprecht states on page 42 as “executive management should relly learn to
become better leaders, better yet, they should become change agents.” Our
executive lead the charge, they take part in many of the teams.
As a minimum the executive monitor progress
throughout the process and provide support when needed.
Michael Ginn 20:13:39
Michael Ginn
Email: ginnmichael@hotmail.com
The company I will reference to is a tier one
automotive parts supplier (Radial Shaft Seals). I worked there as an IE. The
book topic “Built to Last for a While: The Age of Flexibility” can be summed up
to one company, Toyota. Toyota works on the principal of simple/flexible
processes are the best approach. This chapter covers the subject of how
organizations invest large amount of capital to produce highly technology
products to hopefully fulfill the customer’s desires. Sometimes the customer
forces the supplier to adhere to unrealistic demands. As stated in the text :
“By trying to continuously please their best and most demanding customers,
firms eventually end up developing products whose functionality exceeds the
needs of most (emerging) customers.” These demands pull the supplier away for
their primary focus of being successful and supplying a great product at a fair
price. The text suggests a supplier to adhere to a quality system to control
the internal/external variables also. I have seen this principal applied to a
GM/Allison transmission seal. We originally designed a seal that would be at a
lower cost for both us and GM/Allison. The original seal design was similar to
another seal we already produced for GM/Allison. This was a great seal design!
The only change was to the rubber compound to fit the application. GM/Allison
denied our proposed seal. They asked us to totally change the metal case design
and produce a rare rubber compound to form the seal. The rubber compound design
they suggested would cost us eight times our normal rubber cost and require the
addition of new unique equipment. The original design would have been a great
success, but the demands of the customer required us to invest this un-needed
capital to produce this seal. We did these actions to insure we would not lose
any business from GM/Allison. This reduced our flexibility as a seal supplier
and required us to spend additional capital.
el hamraoui hanane 20:13:37
Hanane El Hamraoui
helhamra@spsu.edu
The author in his chapter talks about “Built to
Last for a While: The Age of Flexibility.” Implying that companies now
implement some series of actions to achieve quality: employees’ empowerment,
enhancement of customer service, and put more emphasis on just-in-time
delivery. Firms then should register themselves to one of the ISO 9000
standards and their environmental management system to the ISO 14001 standard.
The author then stated that the most important cause of the economic success is
being based not only on quality issues but on successful relationships with
suppliers and distributors. My example is walmart that is one of the nation's
great companies, and one of the most familiar names in all of America. The
story of Wal-Mart exemplifies some of the very best qualities in the country --
hard work, the spirit of enterprise, fair dealing, and integrity. Without a
doubt, Wal-Mart has been a tremendous economic success. Associates lead the
industry in teamwork and productivity, in part because they see the opportunity
to rise in the company. About two-thirds of managers started out as associates,
so they know what it takes to make the whole enterprise work well. Walmart has
a strong leadership at the top of the company. The result is a tremendous
operation, an economic powerhouse, and a real credit to the coutry.
Prof Atkins 20:13:12
Stevens,
Either of the two questions this evening is
okay.
gstevens 20:11:31
Oh, no, I am now realizing that this was not the right question. I do not have
enough time to respond to the one from this weeks reading.
Rich Weaver 20:11:11
For someone who’s been a variety of roles in the quality field for a number of
years, Lamprecht’s claims hit you like a slap in the face. We all KNOW that the
discipline of ISO makes you better. Spelling out job requirements and following
documented procedures has to help, doesn’t it. He certainly has no qualms about
challenging accepted truths. But then you step back, and remember all the
quality fads that have been promoted as the solutions to everything, and you
give Lamprecht a second chance.
Despite the claims of many, quality is not a
sufficient condition for economic success. It does NOT guarantee that you’re going
to thrive. And as some of his examples show, many businesses DO seem to thrive
without the traditional focus on quality deployment, service, and voice of the
customer. (His example of the no-service attitude of Internet Service Providers
was right on!). So although traditional ‘quality’ is a strong enabler for
economic success, it is not an absolute pre-requisite.
General Motors has been desperately trying to
improve its quality over the last 20 years. Many feel that its quality
reputation was irrevocably damaged by the shoddy products of the 70s and the
80s. Perhaps because of this desperation, we (in the assembly plants) have been
mandated a tremendous number of quality initiatives. SPC, standardized work,
Layered Audits, Shainin Red-X, Voice of the Customer, J.D. Power improvement
process, Warranty Cost reduction process, Conformance to Specs, Shipping
Priority Audits, ISO, Global Customer Audits….the list goes on and on. Have
they improved the quality? Yes, some more than others. Have there been programs
that seem to be at cross-purposes to each other, and programs that consume
resources with little return? Definitely.
At the Tarrytown plant, we were told that unless
the quality improved, there was no chance of the plant staying open. Well, we
improved the quality ….. and the plant closed anyway. “Financial
considerations”. “Regrettable, but necessary.” “You can hold your heads high”.
Bottom-line, quality did not save us.
GM could be best characterized as a role-focused
culture; bureaucratic, functional silos, and interactions between departments
governed by rules and procedures. Such an organization can flourish if it
operates in a stable environment. And GM did, for decades. But with the
economic and societal upheavals beginning in the 60s and 70s, the environment
changed, and the old rule-based procedures were no longer adequate. So I see
GM’s latest quality efforts as a combination of what’s always worked for them
in the past, with a mixture of newer, more flexible thinking. Still up in the
air if the current mix is going to be adequate to cope with the changing market
Natasha_Romero 20:11:00
Natasha Romero
nromero@spsu.edu
1. I currently work for Sandia National Laboratory. We are a contractor to the
Department of Energy and Department of Defense. Our mission is national
security. We design both embedded and non-embedded software systems.
2. The concept of “Built to Last for a While: The Age of Flexibility” really
hits home to me as I work for a software design agency. Lamprecht expresses
that we have accepted bugs in software. In some cases I do agree with him, but
in others I do not. I work for a project where it would be very hazardous and
dangerous to have software bugs in the software. This software is tested very
rigorously and is also evaluated by an outside source to identify
vulnerabilities in the software. The vulnerability assessment is then reviewed
to decide if the identified vulnerability needs to be addressed or not. My
point being that there are cases where software bugs are not acceptable. There
is a dependency on the criticality of software and of the software bug.
Lamprecht also implies that it is necessary for
a company to have some sort of quality certification or award in order to stay
in existence. I do not agree with this. In my current work environment we are
in the process of adhering to the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI),
but we do not have any intention of getting an official certification. I do
accept his opinion that we should model our business practices after some kind
of quality model or combination of models. I do not think it is always
necessary to have a certification or award to prove that a business is
conducting business in a way in which to ensure their success. I think their
success and continued success is more valuable than a certification or award.
Although there have been rumors that our customer at some point in time may
require us to have ISO 9000 certification I do not believe it will happen
because they would need to provide the funding in order for us to get certified
and I just do not see this happening any time soon with current budget cuts.
Brad McGuire 20:10:43
1) I will be using Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Marietta, GA as my
example company.
2) Lockheed Martin’s cavernous assembly plant
(and related buildings) were built in the time just prior to WWII. Starting
then and lasting until approximately 2000/2001, through many presidential
administrations and defense contracts, Lockheed maintained an in-house machine
shop in which a sizable share of aircraft parts were designed and built. The
majority of these machine shop parts were then either sent to stock or carted
to the C-130 main assembly line where they were installed on the aircraft. Of
course, during this time, Lockheed also maintained a large supplier base in
which the remaining parts for the C-130 came from outside “feeder-plant”
sources such as Meridian, MS. During this time, the Procurement Quality
Assurance department didn’t exist on the same scale as it does today. This is
due several contributing factors that are inherent to large defense
contractors: 1) Producing parts “in-house” (as Lockheed did), 2) fluctuations
in defense contract spending, 3) the introduction of new products (C-130 J
model) resulting in higher costs, 4) impending higher costs of producing
in-house parts for new product, 5) lack of political prescience, and 6) lack of
orders for the new product. All of these factors combined in the late 1990s
making Lockheed realize that it could not go on producing these in-house parts
for the C-130 and still 1) afford to build the plane and 2) afford to pay the
same amount of employees for in-house machine shop production. Lockheed was
forced to implement a solution that would ensure the survival of the Marietta
facility and the new C-130J model. This solution was out-sourcing nearly all
the C-130J parts to a supplier base that spans across the nation, otherwise
known as “political engineering”. And in doing so, it was imperative that
Lockheed also ramp up its PQA department in order to ensure the quality of the
new cargo plane didn’t suffer as a result of this. Today, the PQA organization
exerts its “power in the supply chain” by constantly deploying procurement
field engineers to all suppliers as necessary. Since this massive transition 6
years ago, the C-130J has received an influx of new orders and the Aeronautics
division has seen a record number of incoming orders and sales figures.
Lockheed’s actions could be viewed as a case study in showing effective flexibility
in a constantly changing environment. So, it could be said that “Built to last
for a While: The Age of Flexibility” might work as a model for the new C-130J.
gstevens 20:08:08
Glenn StevensEmail: anandale@comcast.netCompany Selected: Federated Systems
Group (FSG) is the IT arm of the Federated Department Stores the parent company
for Macys and Bloomingdales. The organization develops, maintains software
applications use by Federated to transact its various business, including
inventory management, supply chain management, sales, human resources etc. .
Concept: Traceability provides the means to track a product component or a full
product back to its various stages of development. It emphasizes the ability to
identify a part and being able to find relevant documentation attesting to
verification of the part to requirements or specifications. As the part
progresses through the product development cycle tags or unique identifiers are
provided for matching back to supporting documentation. Example: FSG develops
and software products or enhances existing software products for its customers.
Traceability plays a significant role. The following are the steps used in
traceability.Requirements Definition and Identification: Requirements are
created and recorded in the database. Each requirement is tagged based on the
type using the following codes: BFR### for Business Functional Requirement,
where ### is a unique three digit number, BNF### for Business Non-fucntional
requirement. Each requirement is also assigned a business impact level:
critical, important, minor. Once all the requirements are completed a work
product review is held where each requirement is checked for ambiguity,
completeness, clarity and accuracy. A Requirements Traceability Verification Management
tracking document is prepared. This consists of each of the requirements
number.System Analsysis and Design. Upon successful verification of the
requirments the system design specification is produced. These are also tagged
using the following convention- TDS###, for Techical Design Specification and
### being a three digit number. The RTVM document is updated with corresponding
TDS### mapped to the original BFR ### and BNF ###. A verification appraisal is
done for the technical system design, with emphasis on requirements coverage.
Checks are instituted to determine if technical specification designs were
created for missing requirements, or were any of the requirements missing
technical design specifications. Coding: The configuration management system
used to manage the code utilizes a built tracking identification. Each code to
be worked on, must have a requirement number or defect number. Without such a
number the code cannot be checked into the system. As part of the log for
registering code, there are fields that must be populated that uniquely
identify the code. These fields contain the module number, the track number and
a version of the code. Again the RTVM is updated to reflect the code tracking
id consisting of the abbreviation for the application, the track number for the
code and the version number for the code. The code also contains a change
history log area that must be updated by the developer, requiring the date of
the change, the reason for the code change or development, the name of the
person making the change and the supervisor signing off on the change.Software
Testing: The test cases are developed that are used to guide the overall
testing of the developed or enhanced application. Each test case is given a
unique number, TC### where TC stands for Test Case and ### is a 3 digit number.
Again the RTMV document is updated to map the test case numbers back to the
requirement and technical design specification tags. Verification is done of
the test cases to check for completeness, check for gaps or omissions relative
to the requirements or the design specification.When the code has been
successfully tested and is ready to be delivered to production, review is done
of the RTVM, by the Quality Assurance analyst. The release note is also
prepared listing the requirement numbers included in the build of the product
that is to be deployed. The build log and all the tracking information is
stored in a data base for future references.
gstevens 20:07:59
Also culture tends to change over time. Look at us in the States. In less than
10 years formal business attire is now out with business casual being the norm.
Business loyalty is almost a thing of the past.
Prof Atkins 20:07:35
Wellman,
Either of the two questions and 30-minutes for
the one question.
Chris Wellman 20:06:09
Do we get an Hour?
Chris Wellman 20:05:49
Two assignments?????
J Scott 20:04:40
J Scott
QA6640
Jscott6@spsu.edu
I would like to discuss “The Innovator’s
Dilemma”, which is characterized by Lamprecht as “Blindly following the maxim
that good managers should keep close to their customers can sometimes be a
fatal mistake”.
The company I chose to discuss is Delta
Airlines. Delta is a major airline that operates globally. I feel that Delta
suffered due to the “Innovator’s Dilemma”. Delta has traditionally valued it’s
business travelers and has always catered to this category of customer. Many of
the service and amenities were tailored to better serve this class of
passenger. In fact, Delta’s bread and butter and the bottom line were based on
a continuous stream of high paying business travelers.
In the late 1990’s, the market started to shift
with business travelers feeling the economic impact. This was further
exacerbated by the events of 9-11 but the wheels were already in motion. When
the business traveler started to feel the economic pinch, they began to pay
closer attention to the fares they were paying. There were also more choices
available with the advent and proliferation of the low cost carrier. Business
travelers began to choose cost over service. They were then and remain less
concerned with the “bells and whistles”, instead choosing a lower price. This
gradual shift played a mayor part in Delta financial troubles.
Delta failed to pay attention to the coach passengers,
who provided the majority of the business. Delta failed to recognize the shift
in the business travel sector. They reacted too slowly to the changing market
place. Delta was not flexible enough to change with the market place and
industry.
The example of Delta is a good example of the
dilemma of Responsiveness discussed by Lamprecht.
Chris Wellman 20:03:16
Chris Wellman
I have chosen Sonalysts, that has a small group
assigned to provide product for a Large Sensor System. This group is trying to
move from a service organization to a manufacturing organization. They work
primarily with Radio Frequency Electronic products.
I have chosen to discuss Documentation. Bossert tells us on page 172 that
documentation “traceable to purchase order numbers, lots, heat, batch, or
traceability code numbers marked on the materials”
Sonalysts had no formal Quality Management
System and has had to make a lot of strides putting the infrastructure in place
to be able to provide documentation necessary to give their customers
confidence in the documentation that is supposed to provide assurance for their
product.
An example of the kind of problem they have
experienced with documentation is the ability to flow down requirements for
certification from their customer to their supplier. This in turn requires that
we as their customer must do additional testing on their product to ensure
compliance to our customer.
As a service organization the documentation was
generally clearly spelled out by their customer during each service call they
made. Now that they are involved in making product, it is up to them to ensure
that they have the necessary records generated during their in-process work and
by their suppliers.
I see the key here is that they just have not
created a mature process to communicate what is needed to those who must do the
day to day work I think that people have focused solely on getting the hardware
out and have not understood the necessity to back it up with documentation they
can provide the necessary “traceable to purchase order numbers, lots, heat,
batch, or traceability code numbers marked on the materials” (Bossert, pg.
172). I guess this goes along with the saying that “the job is not over until
the paperwork is finished.”
I think Sonalysts has not fully recognized that
when they started down the road to become a manufacturing organization. It was
up to their Management to see that and lead the troops down the right path.
Instead the troops were left to mill about smartly so while a lot of energy was
expended, the progress needed to demonstrate compliance was not made.
There is some light at the end of the tunnel now
though, I thin their Management now recognizes the need to lead the troops and
they are making progress. Time will tell.
alan dial 20:02:40
Alan Dial
Alan.dial@aleris.com
I have chosen to discuss the company I last
worked for, GE Contractual Services (GECS). GECS provides long term services
agreements for the Gas Turbines, Steam Turbines and the electrical generators
it manufactures in another business within GE Infrastructure. A P&L within
this business is the Operations and Maintenance Group (O&M). This O&M
group provides operations services for the Customers that chose not to owner
operate their plants and they pay a contractually distributed fee for the
service. The O&M group is an ISO 900 certified business segment. There is a
great amount of argument whether the ISO certification provides any additional
value to the Customer. The certification definitely adds value in selling the
contract and marketability, however, the P&L is suffering right now as a
long-term result of the Enron affair and gas prices. Where it would be expected
that the certification for the Customer sites within that P&L would see
productivity benefits, the Customers view it as an additional expense and right
now they leverage this to attempt to get contract pricing consideration. So,
when considering the question presented in the text, “Is the economic success
of a firm solely based on Quality Issues?” the answer is a resounding “no”. The
quality program for the O&M group is mature and data supports that it helps
the customer but it doesn’t do it directly to the wallet. I was the Quality
Manager for this P&L, and many times, I would have to validate or prove to
our customers statistically the benefit of being ISO certified. This is not
always an easy sale. I can do it, but in the end it comes down to dollars and
the Customer realizes that it is a good management discipline for GECS, but
does not reward the Customer. The quality team is by definition and overhead.
The GECS quality team would often get the same feedback from internal
stakeholders as well. The O&M business is a $3 Billion business, and for
most companies this would represent the magnitude of an entire company,
however, in GE, not providing double-digit top line and bottom line growth can
put your business on the cutting board. The O&M group is a pull-through
contract for additional work and sales that does not always stay within the
portfolios or it is shared across another GE business. So, in conclusion, no,
many other variables affect the economic success of a firm. Customer service in
GECS is heavily dependent upon what the Customers financial position is. In the
recent events in the power industry, company liquidity, fuel prices and
financial management governs much of their perspective on the GECS service and
perception of its ISO program.
alan dial 19:43:41
We shouldnt have said anything...LOL!
Prof Atkins 19:43:40
CHAT ROOM DISCUSSION QUESTION:
You have thirty-minutes to answer the following
chat room question:
In Chapter 5 of the Lamprecht textbook, “Quality
and Power in the Supply Chain,” the author discusses “Built to Last for a
While: The Age of Flexibility.”
Discuss the above general concept in reference
to a specific company. You may discuss your example in context to any ONE of
the following:
The company you now work for, or
a company you have worked for before, or
any company you are familiar with.
Your discussion should cover the following two
issues:
1. Briefly describe the company you have chosen.
2. Discuss the concept and include as much detail as possible without exceeding
the thirty-minute time limit for your response.
Prof Atkins 19:43:16
Wrong question. My computer link broke. The correct question for this week will
be posted in a minute and you will have 30 minutes to respond.
Michael Ginn 19:42:58
Prof. Atkins isn't this the same questions from last week?
Natasha_Romero 19:42:42
Wasn't this our question last week? Do we choose another topic?
el hamraoui hanane 19:42:28
isn't this the same question as last week??
alan dial 19:42:24
Professor, this is the same question aas last week. Is this still ok?
Chris Wellman 19:40:32
I think people are much closer than charecterised in the book as well as having
more Sophistication.
Prof Atkins 19:40:21
CHAT ROOM DISCUSSION QUESTION:
You have thirty-minutes to answer the following
chat room question:
In the fourteenth chapter of “The Supplier
Management Handbook” on pages 170 to 173 the author briefly discusses:
1. product certification,
2. documentation, and
3. tracebility.
Discuss any ONE of the above three concepts in
reference to a specific supplier using an example you are familiar with. You
may discuss your example in context to any ONE of the following:
The company you now work for, or
a company you have worked for before, or
any company you are familiar with.
Your discussion should cover the following three
issues:
1. Briefly describe the company you have chosen.
2. Briefly describe the concept you have selected.
3. Discuss the concept as it pertains to a specific supplier, and include as
much detail as possible without exceeding the thirty-minute time limit for your
response.