Mapping quality assurance systems: A methodology

This paper reports on a method (quality management activity planning—Q-MAP) for mapping quality assurance procedures, information flows and responsibilities. A comparison is made of the ICAM definition (IDEF) method and Q-MAP as to their suitability for mapping quality assurance systems and fostering the advancement of the quality improvement process. The achievements arising from the use of Q-MAP at Garrett Automotive Limited are examined. It is pointed out that the involvement of employees in the preparation of Q-MAP diagrams has led to improvements in processes and procedures by eliminating differences between actual and documented work practices and that a wider cross-section of employees are now familiar with the company's quality assurance system.     

面向重组的质量保证计划建模环境

本文提出了解决了质量计划建模工具的关键技术。讨论了敏捷企业根据质量保证计划快速重组的方法和工作流技术在质量保证系统中的应用,并对质量计划建模工具如何根据质量管理流程的设计和实现特点做了阐述。     

制造质量记录信息管理系统的总体设计与开发

本文首先论述了质量记录在计算机辅助质量管理（ＣＡＱＭＳ）中的作用及地位，随后阐述制造质量记录信息管理系统的总体设计方案，以上工作在计算机集成制造系统（ＣＩＭＳ）应用中将得到体现。     

转变观念,搞好质量体系建设

阐述了计量技术机构在按照国际标准建立质量体系过程，应当转变的观念，思想，习惯和办法。     

Quality control results of the drift tubes for the ATLAS MDT-BIS chambers

ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS) is a general purpose experiment, which will start its operation at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in 2007. The ATLAS detector is designed to study the products of proton–proton collisions at c.m.s. energies of up to 14 TeV. Three Greek Universities have taken the responsibility to construct 112 BIS-MDT (Barrel Inner Small) chambers using 29 000 drift tubes of 170 cm length and 3 cm diameter that have been quality tested before assembly. This work describes the Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA_QC) procedures for the drift tubes, followed at the High Energy Physics Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens, while emphasis is given on the obtained results for the above mentioned number of tubes.     

质量检验与企业质量改进

质量改进是企业质量管理中的重要一环，质量检验方法虽然由来已久，但随着检验观念，检验技术的发展和变革，它在生产过程中正发挥着越来越重要的作用，对于质量改进这一目标更是必不可少，计算机视觉系统（AVI）具有速度快，精度稳定，无损检测等特点，是实现在线实时检测的优良工具，值得推广和应用。     

Quality Management in Pakistan's Knitwear Industry

Although quality is a critical success factor for all types of business, its salience is to be driven home in Pakistan's business environment in general and its export-oriented business segment in Pakistan in particular. As a first part of this effort, we chose to study quality management in Pakistan's knitwear industry, whose combined share with readymade garments in Pakistan's total exports rose to 16.7% by 1997/1998. We mailed a postal self-completion questionnaire to 59 members of the Pakistan Knitwear and Sweaters Exporters Association. The response rate was 29%. It was found that Pakistan's knitwear industry was in various stages of development in quality management, with greater concentration in the quality inspection mode. Although there are attempts to graduate to quality assurance and beyond, it was found that considerable distance has yet to be traversed before Pakistan's knitwear industry acquires a quality philosophy as a part of its overall business approach industrywide. As part of a statistical test, however, advanced quality management concepts were found applicable in Pakistan, although the application is currently limited. These concepts must gain in popularity.     

Quality control information systems

As competition for world markets becomes more intense and as greater demands are placed on human and natural resources, manufacturers face a formidable challenge — to produce cost competitive products of the highest possible quality. Nowadays the quality control (quality assurance) department can spend incredibly large amounts of time just collecting the test data they need in order to do their job. Collating and analysing the data is similarly very demanding in terms of how much human time can be expended. Simplification and automation of the tasks of data collection, collation and analysis is possible with a quality control information system. A microprocessor can form the basis of a quality control information system if application to only a very small area of a manufacturing operation is desired. However, far greater benefits can be derived if a real-time minicomputer is used instead of a microprocessor. This is because quality control data can then be collected across the entire factory floor. Statistical quality control techniques can subsequently be applied to examine the effect of process conditions in some part of the factor on product malquality exhibited in any other part of the factory. ‘What-if’ type analyses can also be conducted factory wide. A quality control information system should be capable of (a) identifying the product quality problems (b) determining the causes of these product quality problems (c) helping to eliminate the causes (d) monitoring the altered process. These system functions enable the quality control department to progress from a ‘fix-the-product’ mode to a ‘fix-the-process’ mode and thereby concentrate on making the product right in the first place, by achieving better control of the manufacturing process. Application software packages are now available which have been purpose-designed for quality control information systems. One such example is the Quality Decision Management (QDM) software package from Hewlett-Packard, which runs on an industrial HP 1000 real-time minicomputer. On the data entry side a quality control information system should be capable of manual input from menu-driven terminals and bar-code wands. Automatic input of test data is also vitally important. This enables such devices as analysers, test instruments, data acquisition units. ATE and other computers to be interfaced to gather test data with no manual intervention. All collected data should be held in a database. The QDM database can be searched to generate a wide range of reports in tabular or colour graphic form, the latter include histograms, scattergrams, control charts (X-bar, sigma), P-charts and Pareto diagrams. The reports enable crucial quality control decisions to be taken. Quality control information systems can be linked to higher level production control computers to form a computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) network. Free movement of data around a CIM network offers enormous flexibility and efficiency in the overall manufacturing process, together with considerable savings in manpower. Costs incurred in the creation of a quality control information system can be easily won back by virtue of the significant savings that such a system brings about.     

Designing a multivariate–multistage quality control system using artificial neural networks

In most real-world manufacturing systems, the production of goods comprises several autocorrelated stages and the quality characteristics of the goods at each stage are correlated random variables. This paper addresses the problem of monitoring a multivariate–multistage manufacturing process and diagnoses the possible causes of out-of-control signals. To achieve this purpose using multivariate time series models, first a model for the autocorrelated data coming from multivariate–multistage processes is developed. Then, a single neural network is designed, trained and employed to control and classify mean shifts in quality characteristics of all stages. In-control and out-of-control average run lengths and correct classification ratio indices have been chosen to investigate the performance of the designed network. The results of a simulation study show that the network is capable of detecting both in-control and out-of-control signals appropriately.     

Quality Management in Pakistan's Readymade Garments' Industry

Pakistan's readymade garments' industry is a key player in Pakistan's industry in general, and its textile industrial output and exports in particular. In a liberalizing international trade regime, quality will be a critical success factor in the international competitiveness of Pakistan's readymade garments. Research in quality management in Pakistan's readymade garments' industry was undertaken. To gain further information, a postal self-completion questionnaire was mailed to 101 members of the Pakistan Readymade Garments' and Exporters' Association (PRGMEA). The response rate was 32%. It was found that while this industrial segment was in various stages of development, it needs to graduate fast to advanced quality management concepts of Kaizen and total quality management in order to maintain its competitive advantage in an environment that will soon be liberalized fully.