1. Quality circles and its importance and aid of CAD and CIM in reducing to market time.

QUALITY CIRCLES AND ITS IMPORTANCE Kaoru Ishikawa is generally considered to have promoted the concept of Quality Circles. It is well known that he is the originator of fishbone diagrams to identify the root cause of any problem. The causes for the existence of a problem are classified as pertaining to the material, processes or method or any factor that goes into production. The matter is further investigated and pursued till the exact cause is determined. Quality circles use these principles in solving problems. The teams select projects selected on the above basis and implement actions to achieve improvement in the processes with a view to improve quality. Since these activities are carried out without affecting the regular day to day work and involve little involvement of the managers, team work gets reinforced and results in continuous improvement in methods and quality. The capital deployed is minimal, if at all, and therefore productivity is enhanced. Quality circles are very efficient in incorporating low cost and nonintrusive methods of improving productivity and quality throughout the organisation. They seek to involve all persons who are actually involved in the production system and the information they elicit and bring about improvements highly cost effective. They unveil creativity and encourage team work and bring about improvements almost on a day to day basis. They do not bring about dramatic changes, but continuous incremental changes in a harmonious way. They also tend to encourage identification of possible failures and seek methods of preventing things going wrong.

AID OF CAD AND CIM IN REDUCING THE CONCEPT TO MARKET TIME Designers of products are increasingly depending on Computer Aided Design. The software aids in creating or modifying an existing design. The images can be maneuvered on the screen.

Images of different components can be seen as assembled Sections taken and relative positions can be checked to great accuracies. Views can bee made seen from different angles and positions, so that the visualization process of the designed component/product helps the designer to suggest alternatives to the customer and the production department. The drawings can be sent via intranet or internet to the concerned persons and their opinions taken. Corrections and incorporations can be made very quickly. The database can be prepared, updated continuously and their access to executive. The efficiency of designers increases by nearly 5 times The software can generate the volume, weights of components as also other engineering parameters like centre of gravity, deflections under estimated loads, and various other design parameters on complicate forms either single components or assemblies Laborious mechanical drawings need not be drawn nor complicated calculations done. This aids in reducing the time required making a design or modifying a product and thus concept market period gets drastically cut.

Integration occurs when a broad range of manufacturing and supporting activities are linked. Activities include engineering design, production planning, shop control, order processing, material control, distribution etc. Information flow across all functions takes place with the help of computers. Transmission, processing,
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distribution and feed back happen almost in real time so that intended activities are conducted rapidly. This process helps in rapid production and also reduce indirect costs. As response times decrease, customer satisfaction increases resulting in better business. CIM helps in avoiding accumulation of materials resulting in better throughput and better utilization of space. Bar coded labels that accompany materials contain instructions for processing them which are read by sensing devices and display the status on monitors. This information is available to all concerned personnel responsible in planning, marketing etc. so that they will be aware of the status of any order and if expediting is needed to meet deadlines, and they will be able to seek intervention. Identifying shortages, ensuring faster deliveries becomes easy with CIM.

2. Differentiation Strategies and Tools used for implementation of Operations

DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES Differentiation is a process by which a company distinguishes itself from its competitors and their offerings. The process includes adding a set of differentiators which are meaningful and adds value for the customer. The differences should be perceived by the customer asimportant, distinctive, superior and affordable. Nonetheless, they have to make the companys offerings i.e the products and services profitable. To derive competitive advantage the study of the processes to adapt innovations which should be of such nature as being preemptive is important. Here, we are not considering the situation of an entirely new product but those which are already contributing to the company revenues and the threat of competitors has to be met. According to Miland Lele (Miland M.Lele, Creating Strategic Leverage: New York, John Wiley 1992) companies have different potential in terms of maneuverability along with target market, place(channels), promotion and price. These are affected by the companys position in the market, the industry structure. BCG has classified ( Philip Kotler) four types of industries and the approaches available, depending on the cell the particular industry fits into.

TOOLS USED FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF OPERATIONS All functions in the organisation including administration, finance, materials, purchase, marketing, production, logistics, communication and others, can be considered operations. The reason is all of them use some inputs like materials or information either on a person to person basis or through a flow line. They are required to use some process and convert them into outputs usable in the next stage of the value chain. For example, when an invoice is received for payment, it contains information about a material or a service, the person who needed it, the price to be paid, the supplier, transportation, insurance, quantity, tax to be paid, etc. The bills payable section will have to verify data regarding the above, seek inspection reports from the quality control department/user department to certify the bill for payment. Before actual payment is made verification of the terms of payment, availability of funds etc are done You will notice that information is sought or given, materials received and transferred, papers/instructions are received / issued for initiating activities. All these are also operations. However, for our study we will limit our focus to operations involving manufacture. We identify a set of specialized techniques call them tools which can be standardized for ease of implementation and control. Implementation of Operations Implementation is the process of executing the planned operations. Estimating, routing and loading are the planning processes and dispatching and progressing are processes which are conducted while the manufacturing is going on. We call the former planning and the latter controlling function. Put together they are considered implementation. Estimating gives the quantities to be made at each workstation depending on the sales forecast, provision for buffer stock, quantities bought out, or services outsourced, likely shortfalls etc. It is done on the basis of capacity. The next step, routing, determines the sequence of operations and the machines that do them so that work flow as determined by the processes is smooth resulting in minimum inventory. Scheduling is mainly concerned with allocating time slots for different jobs. It specifies as to when jobs start and end at particular workstations. The purpose is to prevent
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imbalances among work centers and utilize labor hours in such a way that established lead times are maintained. Dispatching is concerned with actually moving the materials with tools, jigs and fixtures to specific machines along with drawings and ensuring inspections at specific nodes, so that the materials move in the supply chain, Expediting is mainly to ensure that all the above are being done properly. Reports are generated and any bottleneck that gets created is removed. Tools for implementation GANTT charts are used to record progress comparing the actual against the planned activities and keep track of the flow of the material. Line balancing and line of balance are two more tools to ensure that machining centers are loaded as uniformly as possible to prevent build up stocks at intermediate stages. Simulation models are used to predict utilization of machines and production levels. Various inventory models help us to determine when to order and how many to order and also give us an insight to the risks and opportunities that come up for our consideration. Proper maintenance and analysis of records help us to see the gaps that have crept into the operations system. Learning that happens across functions will make the tools used more realistically and increase efficiency. Many ERP software, especially SAP have many modules that store, sort and analyze data and make them available to the staff across the globe in many plants enabling managers to streamline their operations. Software specific to functions, applications or organization can be obtained. Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 is a useful tool in this regard.

3. Differentiation between Automated flow line and Automated assembly line and Rapid Prototyping

DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN AUTOMATED FLOW LINE AND AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY LINE AUTOMATED FLOW LINES When several automated machines are linked by a transfer system which moves the parts by using handling machines which are also automated, we have an automated flow line. After completing an operation on a machine, the semifinished parts aremoved to the next machine in the sequence determined by the process requirements a flow line is established. The parts at various stages from raw material to ready for fitment or assembly are processed continuously to attain the required shapes or acquire special properties to enable them to perform desired functions. The materials need to be moved, held, rotated, lifted, positioned etc. for completing different operations.

Sometimes, a few of the operations can be done on a single machine with a number of attachments. They are moved further to other machines for performing further operations. Human intervention may be needed to verify that the operations are taking place according to standards. When these can be achieved with the help of automation and the processes are conducted with self regulation, we will have automated flow lines established. One important consideration is to balance times that different machines take to complete the operations assigned to them. It is necessary to design the machines in such a way that the operation times are the same throughout the sequence in the flow of the martial. In fixed automation or hard automation, where one component is manufactured using several operations and machines it is possible to achieve this condition or very nearly. We assume that product life cycles are sufficiently stable to invest heavily on the automated flow lines to achieve reduced cost per unit. The global trends are favouring flexibility in the manufacturing systems. The costs involved in changing the set up of automated flow lines are high. So, automated flow lines are considered only when the product is required to be made in high volumes over a relatively long period. Designers now incorporate flexibility in the machines which will take care of small changes in dimensions by making adjustments or minor changes in the existing machine or layout. The change in movements needed can be achieved by programming the machines. Provision for extra pallets or tool holders or conveyors are made in the original design to accommodate anticipated changes. The logic to be followed is to find out whether the reduction in cost per piece justifies the costs of designing, manufacturing and setting up automated flow lines. Group Technology, Cellular Manufacturing along with conventional Product and Process Layouts are still resorted to as they allow flexibility for the production system. With methodologies of JIT and Lean Manufacturing finding importance and relevance in the competitive field of manufacturing, many companies have found that well designed flow lines suit their purpose well. Flow lines compel engineers to put in place equipments that balance their production rates. It is not possible to think of inventories (Work In Process) in a flow line. Bottlenecks cannot be permitted. By necessity, every bottleneck gets focused upon and solutions found to ease them. Production managers see every bottleneck as an opportunity to hasten the flow and reduce inventories. However, it is important to note that setting up automated flow lines will not be suitable for many industries

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AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY LINES All equipments needed to make a finished product are laid out in such a way as to follow the sequence in which the parts or subassemblies are put together and fitted. Usually, a frame, body, base will be the starting point of an assembly. The frame itself consists of a construction made up of several components and would have been assembled or fabricated in a separate bay or plant and brought to the assembly line. All parts or subassemblies are fitted to enable the product to be in readiness to perform the function it was designed to. This process is called assembly. Methodologies of achieving the final result may vary, but the basic principle is to fit all parts together and ensure linkages so that their functions are integrated and give out the desired output. Product Layouts are designed so that the assembly tasks are performed in the sequence they are designed. You will note that the same task gets repeated at each station continuously. The finished item comes out at the end of the line The material goes from station 1 to 5 sequentially. Operation 2 takes longer time, say twice as long. To see that the flow is kept at the same pace we provide two locations 2a and 2b so that operations 3, 4 an 5 need not wait. At 5, we may provide more personnel to complete operations. The time taken at any of the locations should be the same. Otherwise the flow is interrupted. In automated assembly lines the moving pallets move the materials from station to station and moving arms pick up parts, place them at specified places and fasten them by pressing, riveting, screwing or even welding. Sensors will keep track of these activities and move the assemblies to the next stage. An operator will oversee that the assemblies are happening and there are no stoppages. The main consideration for using automated assembly lines is that the volumes justify the huge expenses involved in setting up the system. RAPID PROTOTYPING Prototyping is a process by which a new product is developed in small numbers so as to determine the suitability of the materials, study the various methods of manufacture, type of machinery required and to develop techniques to overcome problems that my be encountered when full scale manufacture is undertaken. Prototypes do meet the specifications of the components that enter a product and performance can be measured on those. It helps in confirming the design and any shortcomings can be rectified at low cost. If serious defects or problems arise during the manufacture, a thorough change in design or even its replacement may be considered. To arrive at decisions to make use of the advantages stated above, it is important that the prototypes are made within the shortest possible time. Rapid prototyping facilitates this. It uses virtual designs from Computer Aided Design CAD or animation modeling which transforms dimensional data to 3dimensional views. The physical space of the product is amenable to have cross sections made. Cross sections taken at very close positions gives thin layers which enable the generation of a solid model of the designed product. The data that is thus created helps build a solid model exactly as per the drawings. Any shape can be generated in this method. Advanced technologies like SLS (Selective Laser Sintering), FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling), LOM (Laminated Object Manufacture), EBM (Electronic Beam Melting) are some of Rapid Prototype Modeling Processes. Since the basis data about the product is already available in CAD, the above processes can produce models in a matter of a few days. Conventional machines like lathes, milling machines, grinding machines, EDM (Electro Discharge Machining) also help in the production of prototypes. Because of their advantages Rapid Prototyping is being increasingly used. A bimonthly magazine TCT Magazine calling the Rapid Prototyping as Time Compressing Techniques is dedicated to the publication of latest developments in this field as researched and developed by practitioners around the world

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4. Different factors influencing plant location and Product Layout

DIFFERENT FACTORS INFLUENCING PLANT LOCATION Selecting the location of a facility is of strategic importance for any organization as it acts as the basis for determining the production technology and cost structure. For example, a manufacturing facility that is located in a less developed country will use a labor-intensive process, to cash in on the low cost labor and will have a different cost structure than the one located in a developed country. In the case of a developed country, the cost of labor will be high because the manufacturing process will be more capital intensive. Second, location decisions require huge financial investments and are not easily reversible in the short term. Third, the location of the facility affects the company's ability to serve customers quickly and conveniently. Major factors that influence plant location decisions are: Market proximity. Integration with other parts of the organization. Availability of labor and skills. Availability of amenities. Availability of transport. Availability of inputs. Availability of services. Suitability of land and climate. Regional regulations. Room for expansion. Safety requirements. Site Cost. Political, Cultural and Economic Situation. Regional taxes, special grants and import/export barriers. Units concerning both manufacturing as well as the assembling of the products are on a very large scale affected by the decisions involving the location of the plant. Location of the plant itself becomes a very important factor concerning service facilities, as the plant location decisions are strategic and long-term in nature. Plant location decisions need detailed analysis because: 1. Wrong plant location generally affects cost parameters i.e. poor location can act as a continuous stimulus of higher cost. Marketing, transportation, quality, customer satisfaction are some of the other factors which are greatly influenced by the plant location decisions hence these decisions require in-depth analysis. 2. Once a plant is set up at a location which is not much suitable, it is a very disturbing as well as very expensive process to shift works of a company to some other place, as it would largely affect the cycle of production.
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3. The investments involved in the in setting up of the plant premises .buying of the land etc are very large and especially in the case of big multinational companies, the investments can go into millions of rupees, so economic factors of the location should be very minutely and carefully checked and discussed in order to achieve good returns on the money which has been invested. The Need for location decisions These decisions are needed when a new plant is to be set up or when the operations involved in the company at the present location need to be expanded but expansion becomes difficult because of the poor selection of the site for such operations. These decisions are sometimes taken because of the social or the political conditions engulfing the working of a company. The way the works of a company have to be performed, largely depends upon the industrial policies issued by the government. Any change that creeps in the industrial policy of the government which favors decentralization and hence does not permit any change or any expansion of the existing plant requires strictly evaluated location decisions. Factors governing plant location: 1. Regional factors: These factors include proximity of the plant to the market and also to the sources of the raw materials. They also include infrastructural facilities, transportation facilities, and availability of skilled workers, legislation, the taxation and also the work attitude of the workers. Robinson was the one who has very clearly and efficiently justified industrial location concerns using pure materials nearer to the markets or the consumption centers. According to Robinson, the place of production is likely to be at the place of consumption where the final product is more expensive to carry because it is more bulky, more fragile or more perishable than is raw materials. 2. Community factors: These involve accommodation, education, entertainment and transport facilities. It also includes attitude of the community, supporting industries and services, suitability of the land etc. Examples of plant location ( India) Most of the textile mills are found in or near Mumbai and Ahmedabad because of the humidity conditions that prevail there. Sites for nuclear power plants to be located in different parts of the country largely depend upon environmental, safety, socio-economic and also the engineering factors affecting the construction and operation of such plants. Steel plants are generally located near the Jharkhand, Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Orissa regions. This choice of site is mainly because of more economical transport of the finished goods as compared to basic raw materials. Similar case is observed in the plants which manufacture cement; such plants are located near the lime and the coal deposits. Namroop and Thal Vaishet, both act as very important sites for the gas-based fertilizer plants. Coal based fertilizer plants at Ramagundum are located near the source of raw materials (coal). Naptha / oil based fertilizer plants at Mangalore, Madras, Cochin have been located near ports, which act as a great source for the import of the raw materials.
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 Proximity to market forms a major factor which affects plant location decisions in case of machine tool industries. In case of such industries, sites are scattered over different parts of the country such as Ludhiana, Pune, Bangalore, Calcutta, Mumbai etc. Information Technology/BPO/Software Industries depend largely on availability of skilled personnel, infrastructure etc Because of these reasons most of such organizations operate in urban areas such as Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune etc.

PRODUCT LAYOUT Product layouts are found in flow shops (repetitive assembly and process or continuous flow industries). Flow shops produce high-volume, highly standardized products that require highly standardized, repetitive processes. In a product layout, resources are arranged sequentially, based on the routing of the products. In theory, this sequential layout allows the entire process to be laid out in a straight line, which at times may be totally dedicated to the production of only one product or product version. The flow of the line can then be subdivided so that labor and equipment are utilized smoothly throughout the operation. Two types of lines are used in product layouts: paced and unpaced. Paced lines can use some sort of conveyor that moves output along at a continuous rate so that workers can perform operations on the product as it goes by. For longer operating times, the worker may have to walk alongside the work as it moves until he or she is finished and can walk back to the workstation to begin working on another part (this essentially is how automobile manufacturing works). On an unpaced line, workers build up queues between workstations to allow a variable work pace. However, this type of line does not work well with large, bulky products because too much storage space may be required. Also, it is difficult to balance an extreme variety of output rates without significant idle time. A technique known as assembly-line balancing can be used to group the individual tasks performed into workstations so that there will be a reasonable balance of work among the workstations. Product layout efficiency is often enhanced through the use of line balancing. Line balancing is the assignment of tasks to workstations in such a way that workstations have approximately equal time requirements. This minimizes the amount of time that some workstations are idle, due to waiting on parts from an upstream process or to avoid building up an inventory queue in front of a downstream process. Advantages of product layouts include:

Output. Product layouts can generate a large volume of products in a short time. Cost. Unit cost is low as a result of the high volume. Labor specialization results in reduced training time and cost. A wider span of supervision also reduces labor costs. Accounting, purchasing, and inventory control are routine. Because routing is fixed, less attention is required. Utilization. There is a high degree of labor and equipment utilization.

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Disadvantages of product layouts include:

Motivation. The system's inherent division of labor can result in dull, repetitive jobs that can prove to be quite stressful. Also, assembly-line layouts make it very hard to administer individual incentive plans. Flexibility. Product layouts are inflexible and cannot easily respond to required system changes especially changes in product or process design. System protection. The system is at risk from equipment breakdown, absenteeism, and downtime due to preventive maintenance.

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5. PDCA cycle, Jurans Quality Trilogy and Crosbys Absolutes of Quality and list of Quality Tools.

PDCA CYCLE The PDCA Cycle is a checklist of the four stages which you must go through to get from `problem-faced' to `problem solved'. The four stages are Plan-Do-Check-Act, and they are carried out in the cycle illustrated below.

The concept of the PDCA Cycle was originally developed by Walter Shewhart, the pioneering statistician who developed statistical process control in the Bell Laboratories in the US during the 1930's. It is often referred to as `the Shewhart Cycle'. It was taken up and promoted very effectively from the 1950s on by the famous Quality Management authority, W. Edwards Deming, and is consequently known by many as `the Deming Wheel'. Use the PDCA Cycle to coordinate your continuous improvement efforts. It both emphasises and demonstrates that improvement programs must start with careful planning, must result in effective action, and must move on again to careful planning in a continuous cycle. Also use the PDCA Cycle diagram in team meetings to take stock of what stage improvement initiatives are at, and to choose the appropriate tools to see each stage through to successful completion. How to use the PDCA Cycle diagram to choose the appropriate tool is explained in detail in the `How to use it' section below. Here is what you do for each stage of the Cycle:

Plan to improve your operations first by finding out what things are going wrong (that is identify the problems faced), and come up with ideas for solving these problems. Do changes designed to solve the problems on a small or experimental scale first. This minimises disruption to routine activity while testing whether the changes will work or not. Check whether the small scale or experimental changes are achieving the desired result or not. Also, continuously Check nominated key activities (regardless of any experimentation going on) to ensure that you know what the quality of the output is at all times to identify any new problems when they crop up.
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Act to implement changes on a larger scale if the experiment is successful. This means making the changes a routine part of your activity. Also Act to involve other persons (other departments, suppliers, or customers) affected by the changes and whose cooperation you need to implement them on a larger scale, or those who may simply benefit from what you have learned (you may, of course, already have involved these people in the Do or trial stage).

You have now completed the cycle to arrive at `problem solved'. Go back to the Plan stage to identify the next `problem faced'. If the experiment was not successful, skip the Act stage and go back to the Plan stage to come up with some new ideas for solving the problem and go through the cycle again. Plan-Do-Check-Act describes the overall stages of improvement activity, but how is each stage carried out? This is where other specific quality management, or continuous improvement, tools and techniques come into play. The diagram below lists the tools and techniques which can be used to complete each stage of the PDCA Cycle.

JURANS QUALITY TRILOGY The Quality Trilogy emphasizes the roles of quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. Quality planning's purpose is to provide operators with the ability to produce goods and services that can meet customers' needs. In the quality planning stage, an organization must determine who the customers are and what they need, develop the product or service features that meet customers' needs, develop processes which are able to deliver those products and services, and transfer the plans to the operating forces. If quality planning is deficient, then chronic waste occurs.

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Quality control is used to prevent things from getting worse. Quality control is the inspection part of the Quality Trilogy where operators compare actual performance with plans and resolve the differences. Chronic waste should be considered an opportunity for quality improvement, the third element of the Trilogy. Quality improvement encompasses improvement of fitness-for-use and error reduction, seeks a new level of performance that is superior to any previous level, and is attained by applying breakthrough thinking. While up-front quality planning is what organizations should be doing, it is normal for organizations to focus their first quality efforts on quality control. In this aspect of the Quality Trilogy, activities include inspection to determine percent defective (or first pass yield) and deviations from quality standards. Activities can then focus on another part of the trilogy, quality improvement, and make it an integral part of daily work for individuals and teams. Quality planning must be integrated into every aspect of the organization's work, such as strategic plans; product, service and process designs; operations; and delivery to the customer.

CROSBYS ABSOLUTES OF QUALITY Crosby espoused his basic theories about quality in four Absolutes of Quality Management as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. Quality means conformance to requirements, not goodness. The system for causing quality is prevention, not appraisal. The performance standard must be zero defects, not "that's close enough." The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance, not indexes.

To support his Four Absolutes of Quality Management, Crosby developed the Quality Management Maturity Grid and Fourteen Steps of Quality Improvement. Crosby sees the Quality Management Maturity Grid as a first step in moving an organization towards quality management. After a company has located its position on the grid, it implements a quality improvement system based on Crosby's Fourteen Steps of Quality Improvement as shown in Figure 4. Crosby's Absolutes of Quality Management are further delineated in his Fourteen Steps of Quality Improvement as shown below: Step 1. Management Commitment Step 2. Quality Improvement Teams Step 3. Quality Measurement Step 4. Cost of Quality Evaluation Step 5. Quality Awareness Step 6. Corrective Action Step 7. Zero-Defects Planning
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Step 8. Supervisory Training Step 9. Zero Defects Step 10. Goal Setting Step 11. Error Cause Removal Step 12. Recognition Step 13. Quality Councils Step 14. Do It All Over Again

QUALITY TOOLS Flow Chart, Check sheet, Histogram, Pareto Analysis, Scatter Diagram, Control Chart, and Cause and Effect Diagram are the basic seven control tools considered for achieving quality.

a) Flow Chart: Flow chart is a visual representation of process showing the various steps. It helps in locating the points at which a problem exists or an improvement is possible. Detailed data can be collected, analysed, and methods for correction can be developed using flow charts. The various steps include:

Listing out the various steps or activities in a particular job Classifying them as a procedure or a decision Each decision point generates alternatives. Criteria and consequences that go with decisions are amenable to evaluation for purposes of assessing quality. The flow chart helps in pin-pointing the exact points at which errors have crept in. b) Check Sheet: Check sheets are used to record the number of defects, types of defects, locations at which they are occurring, times at which they are occurring, and workmen by whom they are occurring. The sheet keeps a record of the frequencies of occurrence with reference to possible defect causing parameters. It helps to implement a corrective procedure at the point where the frequencies are more. The table shows that the number of defects 1 and 5 are not many as compared to defect no 2 which increased over the days and appears to be stabilising at the higher side and therefore needs to be attended immediately. The column which shows days can be changed to observed by the hour, if need be. c) Histogram: Histograms are graphical representations of distribution of data. They are generally used to record huge volumes of data about a process. They reveal whether the pattern of distribution has a single peak, or many peaks and also the extent of variation around the peak value. This helps in identifying whether the problem is serious. When used in conjunction with comparable parameters, the visual patterns help us to identify the problem which should be attended to. The values shown are the number of observations made regarding a parameter. Sometimes, the percentages are shown to demonstrate the relative contribution of
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each of the parameters. d) Pareto Analysis: Pareto analysis is a tool for classifying problem areas according to the degree of importance and attending to the most important. Pareto principle, also called 8020 rule, states that 80 percent of the problems that we encounter arise out of 20 percent of items. If we find that, in a day, we have 184 assemblies having problems and there are 11 possible causes, it is observed that 80 percent of them, that is, 147 of them have been caused by just 2 or 3 of them. It will be easy to focus on these 2 or 3 and reduce the number of defects to a great extent. When the cause of these defects has been attended, we will observe that some other defect becomes predominantly observed and if the process is continued, we are marching toward zero defects. e) Scatter Diagram: Scatter diagram is used when we have two variables and want to know the degree of relationship between them (See Figure 6.5 for Sample scatter diagram). We can determine if there is cause and effect relationship between the variables and the degree of extent over a range of values of the variables. Sometimes, we can observe that there is no relationship, in which we can change one parameter being sure that it has no effect on the other parameter. f) Control Charts: Control charts are used to verify whether a process is under control. Variables, when they remain within a range, will render the product and maintain the specifications. This is called the quality of conformance. The range of permitted deviations is determined by design parameters. Samples are taken and the mean and range of the variable of each sample (subgroup) is recorded. The mean of the means of the samples gives the control lines. Assuming normal distribution, we expect 99.97 percent of all values to lie within the Upper Control Limit (UCL) and Lower Control Limit (LCL) corresponding to + 3. The graphical representation of data helps in changing settings to bring back the process closer to the target. g) Cause and Effect Diagram: Cause and effect diagram represents all the possible causes which lead to a defect on quality characteristics. These are arranged in such a way that different branches representing causes connect the stem in the direction of the discovery of the problem (See Figure 6.6 for Sample cause and effect diagram). When each of them is investigated thoroughly we will be able to pin-point some factors which cause the problem. We will also observe that a few of them can have cumulative effect or even a cascading effect. When we observe that we have excessive defects from a machine, we try to identify all possible sources of the causes of defects. We make a study of each of them and try to correct it.

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6. Project Cycle, Project Management, and Scope of Project. Various project management knowledge areas and reasons for Failure of a project

PROJECT CYCLE The project cycle has six stages, each stage links with the preceding one and leads forward to the next one. PCM integrates the stages of the cycle so that issues are examined systematically. This system makes the project concept and context in which it operates clear and visible and therefore enables better monitoring and evaluation. The stages of the project cycle provide a structure that ensures that:

problem analysis is thorough stakeholders are clearly identified and monitored quality assurance is built in objectives are relevant to problems and clearly stated outputs and objectives are logical and measurable beneficiaries' strengths and weaknesses have been identified assumptions are taken into account monitoring concentrates on verifiable targets and outputs evaluations identify 'lessons learnt' and integrates them into the cycle for similar succeeding projects sustainability is defined, not essentially by 'organisational continuity', but primarily by the continuous 'flow of benefits'

Project Cycle Management Stages 1. Programme:

review of local social and economic conditions review of relevant local and central government policies and initiatives community strategy undertaken and project criteria developed

2. Identification:

definition of a project problem stakeholder analysis problem and objective assessment strategy options explored and decided quality assurance undertaken

3. Formulation:

develop the Logical Framework assessment of impact and sustainability review of the prepared project for institutional capacity, costs and
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benefits prepare project proposal prepare budget and provide a set of financial ratios quality assurance undertaken

4. Appraisal & Commitment:

agreement by partners to support the project project appraisal project appraisal undertaken comparative ratio analysis undertaken

5. Implementation:

project inception review prepare activity schedule monitor progress of project

6. Evaluation:

assessment of the project results against objectives evaluation lessons influence future projects

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Managing a project is the practice of controlling the use of resources, such as cost, time, manpower, hardware, and software involved in the project. It usually starts with a problem statement and ends with delivery of a complete product. Project management involves understanding the scope and various processes in a project cycle. Some of the other definitions of project management are shown below. Project management is the complete set of tasks, techniques, and tools applied during project execution. DIN 69901 (German Organisation for Standardisation) Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge, defined by Project Management Institute (PMI))

SCOPE OF PROJECT Scope of the project refers to the various parameters that affect the project in its planning, formulation, and executions. The project scope is the definition of what the project is supposed to accomplish and the budget of both time and money that has been created to achieve these objectives. Best results are achieved when both the definition and the budget are precise and detailed. A good project scope document defines specifically what tasks are to be performed or results delivered. It defines the specific date when these
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deliverables are due and lists the budget allocated for them. It is not uncommon for the project scope document to also list specific items that are not part of the project scope and thus are excluded from the work to be delivered. For example, a project to build a house might stipulate that obtaining environmental permits is to be done by the owner and is outside the project scope of the contractor building the house.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE AREAS The knowledge areas of project management are the following: Project integration management, cost management, communications management Project scope management, quality management, risk management Project time management, human management, procurement management

For a project to be successful, it is necessary to understand its relationship with other management disciplines. Other management supporting disciplines are business legal issues, strategic planning, logistics, human resource management, and domain knowledge. REASONS FOR FAILURE OF A PROJECT A project may fail because of one or more of the following reasons: Incidence of project failure Factors contributing to project success not emphasised Overview of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) projects Common problems encountered during projects Let us know more in detail the reasons for the failure of a project in this section. Incidence of project failure: The incidents of project failure are due to following reasons: Projects being initiated at random at all levels Project objective not in line with business objective Project management not observed Project manager with no prior experience in the related project Non-dedicated team Lack of complete support from clients Common problems encountered during projects: No prioritisation of project activity from an organisational position One or more of the stages in the project mishandled Less qualified/non-dedicated manpower Absence of smooth flow of communication between the involved parties

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