质量控制毕业论文外文翻译.docx

Quality control refers to the process, most often implemented in manufacturing, of monitoring the quality of finished products through statistical measures and an overall corporate commitment to producing defect-free products. Quality control principles can also be utilized in service industries.The term quality control came into common use in the 1950s thanks to W. Edward Deming, whose Fourteen Points have become the bible for quality control proponents. With the post-war world returning to normal manufacturing patterns, Deming preached that inspecting products for quality after they were manufactured was unacceptable. Instead, he proposed a process known as statistical quality control that would use closely monitored performance measures to gauge quality as a product was being manufactured. The goal of statistical quality control was to gather data that would allow for the constant improvement of manufacturing processes, which would in turn improve quality control. Introducing such statistical controls could be expensive, but Deming argued that instituting quality measures ultimately saved companies money.Another important tenet of Demings beliefs was that upper management was largely to blame for quality failures. He firmly believed that, given the right tools and working environment, workers would strive to create the highest quality products possible. In Demings own words, the basic cause of sickness in American industry and resulting unemployment is failure of top management to manage. He believed that strong leadership led to an inspired work force that did not fear management and did not fear taking chances when seeking ways to improve quality.If strong leadership is the buzzword for managers in a quality environment, then empowerment is the key concept for workers in Demings system. Improved education and training are the key factors in reaching employees and making them believe that their increased participation in the work process is an essential part of improving quality. Involvement, participation, and teamwork are seen as absolute musts if a quality workplace is to be created.The Japanese were the first to adopt Demings Fourteen Points, and with great success. As an example, Deming learned of one Japanese factory that doubled production in just one year and was expecting to gain an additional 25 percent improvement the following year, with no increase in the amount of hours worked. All this occurred as a result of simply improving quality. What is most significant about this achievement is the year it happened1951. Many American and European companies chose to ignore these dramatic results and nearly perished as a result. Critics contend that by the time American manufacturing plants realized that quality control was a significant issue, it was the late 1970s and Japanese firms such as Honda and Sony were taking over large portions of the American consumer market.In the 1990s, most American firms have embraced quality control practices. Analysts indicate that when firms first began adopting these principles, many went too far, becoming bogged down in quality control charts and measurements of inconsequential operating factors. In too many cases, American industry went from ignoring statistical quality control to applying it to every single facet of a business, no matter how small. This overemphasis quickly disappeared, however, and has been replaced by a commitment to overall quality control that is unprecedented in the American workplace.The Scope of Japanese InfluenceBecause they have been practicing quality management since the 1950s, the Japanese are still the leader in producing quality products in a number of industries and are still the role model for U.S. companies to emulate. For example, a study of the air conditioning industry in the early 1990s found that the worst Japanese air conditioning plant had an error rate that was less than one-half that of the best U.S. company.This drastic difference is largely due to the Japanese adherence to one of Demings most important ideasthat quality should be designed in to a product instead of inspected out. Japanese firms treat suppliers as equals, sharing information with them as if the supplier was an internal department of the company. This ensures that quality is already a part of the product before it is even manufactured.Another common practice in Japan that has found its way to the United States are quality circles. Workers are brought together on a regular basis to brainstorm about quality and manufacturing processes, all with an eye towards improving quality. The circles are a success if management follows through on its end of the deal and incorporates the suggestions made in the quality circles into operations. When workers see their suggestions implemented, it increases their confidence in management and in the company as a whole, which in turn increases their commitment to the company and to producing high quality goods.A highly trained work force is one of the keys to producing quality goods, and the training programs of many American companies reflect this recognition, for they are allocating more time and money to this area. Still, many U.S. companies lag behind in this respect. Researchers have stated that a higher commitment to training and lifelong learning are needed if the commitment to quality is to continue.Today, the key components of quality control that were preached by Deming and practiced by the Japaneseincluding benchmarking, supplier partnering, and continuous improvementhave found their way into American industry. Each of these components demands a closer look.BenchmarkingBenchmarking is a continuing process of measuring products, services, and practices against your strongest competitors. More simply stated, it means using the best companies as the yardstick against which your company measures itself. If your company comes up short, than improvements must be made to ensure that your products are just as high in quality as those of your competitor.There are two types of benchmarking. The first, competitive benchmarking, entails benchmarking against direct competitors in the marketplace. This can include comparing specific numerical or statistical measurementsreturn on assets used, market share, etc. The more detailed information that can be obtained about a competitor, the better.The second method, noncompetitive benchmarking, can take two forms. The first is measuring your company against the best companies in the world, regardless of industry. Companies such as 3M, Coca-Cola, and General Electric are considered to be trendsetters and leaders in quality, so companies from nearly every industry study them and copy their best practices. Business analysts note that noncompetitive benchmarking is a broaderand sometimes more usefulinstrument of quality control. By only benchmarking against competitors, a company only ensures it will be as good as that competitor. By benchmarking against the best companies in the world, a company can aspire to be as good as those companies and can surpass the competition in its own industry. Additionally, companies may find it easier to gain access to information about companies they do not compete with because they are not seen as a threat to the well-being of the company.The second type of noncompetitive benchmarking is internal benchmarking, which involves comparing functions or processes in different departments within the same organization. Internal benchmarking is often seen as a logical starting point for a business that is attempting to use benchmarking for the first time.To successfully benchmark, a company must first look closely at its own practices and conduct a rigorous self-assessment. Once that self-assessment is completed, the company has a good idea of where it stands on each quality issue and can successfully compare itself to other companies. The self-assessment must be honest and thorough. It should identify weaknesses, but should also highlight strengths. Improving weaknesses that are identified should be tied to stated company strategic aims.Supplier PartneringSupplier partnering is an increasingly common practice in the United States. Simply put, it means that manufacturers work directly with their parts and components suppliers to improve quality at the suppliers location. This can involve direct participation in the suppliers operationsthat is, staff from the manufacturer might work on-site at the suppliers office or provide technical assistance and equipmentor simply a very close working relationship that more resembles a partnership rather than a simple business transaction between two unrelated companies.One of the biggest methods of partnering with suppliers involves sharing the use of statistical controls. This is an underdeveloped area in the United States that should grow in the coming years. Most manufacturers have switched to outsourcing as a means of cutting the costs of production. This increased emphasis on outsourcing means that the companies that supply the parts or components must place just as much emphasis on quality as the manufacturer if the finished product is to be high quality.Among the quality issues that still need to be addressed in the manufacturer-supplier relationship are: Inconsistent quality levels from suppliers, even from different plants of the same supplier. While most first-level, or Tier 1, suppliers have made a commitment to quality control, that commitment has yet to be made by Tier 2 suppliers (those companies that supply smaller parts or raw material to the Tier 1 supplier). The importance of quality must trickle all the way down the supply chain to be meaningful. In many industries, mergers are occurring at a record pace. Whenever a merger of two suppliers occurs, there is the chance that quality will suffer while the details of the merger are hammered out.In many industries, especially the auto industry, manufacturers are overcoming these supplier problems by helping the suppliers meet quality standards.The other facet of supplier partnering means that the manufacturer also actively seeks out feedback from the supplier on how the formers operations can be improved. Suppliers often have a unique perspective on the industry they work in and on the companies they supply and can provide valuable advice on how to make changes for the better. When this happens, it is important that the two companies have a framework in place to manage the partnering system. This can mean that the manufacturers purchasing department would be deemed as the intermediary between the two companies, passing information from the supplier back to the appropriate internal customers.Continuous ImprovementContinuous improvement (CI) is a method for improving every facet of a companys operations and increasing competitiveness by developing a companys resources. The improvement can involve many goalsproducing products with zero defects or achieving 100 percent customer satisfactionbut CI has the same basic principles no matter what the goal: Involve the entire company at all levels Find savings by improving existing processes, not by investing more money Gather data about company operations and quantify that data, which becomes the baseline against which improvements will be measured Do not forget that common sense is perhaps the most important component of CI Do not just give lip service to improvementimplement or practice ideas.Continuous improvement most often involves creating a team that includes representatives from all areas of the company. The team first spends time learningabout the company they work for (looking at it in new ways) and about other companies (benchmarking is common during this phase). The necessary quantitative data is created. The team then proposes solutions to management and begins to implement those solutions. Once that is achieved, follow-up mechanisms must be put in place that seek additional improvements as time goes by. The team might change members with the passage of time, but hopefully it will become an established and accepted part of the company even as its roster changes. If the endeavor works as planned, the team will have improved quality to show as a result of its initial efforts. This can make even skeptical employees buy into the concept, which in turn leads to the continued search for even more improvementshence the term continuous improvement. Follow-up mechanisms can include regular audits or regularly scheduled meetings to evaluate progress.Other Quality BuzzwordsQuality control and literature about it have become a huge cottage industry in the business world. In addition to the terms outlined in this article, there are several other popular concepts and terms associated with quality control that are actually offshoots of the larger issue, or separate issues altogether. Among the most popular are:Finally, there is one term associated with the quality control movement that is too broad and too important to cover here. Total quality management, or TQM, has become an important quality movement in its own right and is fully explained in a separate entry in this book.The Future of Quality ControlDespite the growing importance of quality control in the United States, there is still room for improvement in many areas. One of the most important is the attitude towards teams, especially cross-functional ones. Teams are recognized by quality experts as one of the best ways to increase speed to market and improve quality. Slowly, as American firms adopt other quality measures, they are also adopting the team philosophy. Still, improvements must be made. Too many firms still rely on the old styles of product development and production, handing off responsibility for a product from one department to the next with no interaction between the departments.质量控制是指整个过程中，在制造业最经常实施的质量监测，通过统计的措施，以及整体企业承诺生产无缺陷产品的产品。质量控制的原则也可以运用在服务业。术语“质量控制”形成于20世纪50年代，为感谢爱德华戴明，他的“14点”已经成为质量控制的支持者共同使用。在战后随着世界回到正常生产模式，戴明鼓励质量检查后，他们生产的产品是不可接受的。相反，他提出的“统计质量控制”，将使用性能的措施，密切监测评估优质服务的过程作为一种产品被制造。统计质量控制的目的是为了收集数据，以便为制造过程，这将反过来提高质量管理而不断改善。引入这种统计控制可能是昂贵的，但戴明认为，实行质量的措施，最终节省公司的钱。另一个戴明的信念的重要宗旨是，高层管理人员，主要是归咎于质量故障。他坚信，只要有合适的工具和工作环境，工人将努力创造最高品质的产品成为可能。在戴明自己的话说，“在美国工业界疾病的根本原因和造成的失业是高层管理人员没有管理。”他认为，强有力的领导导致了灵感的劳动大军，没有恐惧，没有恐惧管理冒险时设法提高质量。如果强有力的领导是管理者在一个优质的环境口号，那么权力是在戴明的系统工人的关键概念。改进教育和培训是在实现员工的关键因素，并使他们相信，他们在工作过程中更多地参与是提高质量的重要组成部分。参与，参与和团队协作被看作是绝对的，如果质量工作务必要创建。日本是第一个采用戴明的14个点的国家，并取得卓越成就。作为一个例子，日本的一个工厂，在短短一年翻了一番生产，并期待获得一个额外的百分之二十五以下改进一年的时间没有量的增加，学习工作。所有这一切的发生是由于单纯提高质量的结果。什么是最重要的是对这一成就的一年它的发生。1951年，许多美国和欧洲公司选择忽略这些戏剧性的结果，几乎因此而丧生。一些批评家指出，美国制造业的时候意识到，工厂的质量控制是一个重要的问题，它是20世纪70年代后期，如本田和索尼日本公司接管了美国消费市场的大部分。在20世纪90年代，大多数美国公司都接受的质量控制措施。分析家指出，当公司刚开始采用这些原则，许多走得太远，成为深陷质量控制图和无关紧要的经营因素的测量。在许多情况下，美国工业就从无视统计质量控制，应用到每一个业务单一的方面，无论多么小。这过分强调迅速消失，然而，已经由一个以全面质量管理是在美国工作场所前所未有的承诺所取代。日本的影响范围因为他们一直从事20世纪50年代以来，质量管理，日本仍然是在一个生产行业的领先者和优质的产品仍是美国公司的榜样学习。例如，对空调业在20世纪90年代初的研究发现，日本最严重的空气调节装置有一个错误率不到一半的美国公司，最好的。 这激烈的差异主要是由于日本坚持对戴明的最重要思想，是素质之一应该是“设计”的产品，而不是“检查出来。”日本企业平等相待，与他们分享信息，如果供应商是该公司内部各部门的供应商。这确保了质量已经是一个产品的一部分甚至是以前生产的。另一种常见的做法，在日本发现的方法，美国是“质量圈。”工人们汇集了定期向有关质量和制造工艺攻关，提高质量与一对眼睛的。一个成功的圈子，如果管理遵循其通过该交易结束并吸收到行动的质量界提出的建议。当工人们看到他们的建议付诸实施，增加了他们的信心，管理作为一个整体，在公司，从而增加了它们的承诺，公司和生产高品质的产品。 一个训练有素的劳动力是关键之一，生产优质的产品，许多美国公司的培训计划反映了这一认识，为他们分配更多的时间和金钱来这一地区。尽管如此，许多美国公司在这方面落后。研究人员指出，较高的承诺，培训和终身学习的需要，如果对质量的承诺是要继续下去。今天，质量控制是由戴明倡导和实践的重要组成部分，日本，包括基准，供应商合作，并不断改进，发现他们的方式进入美国的工业。这些组件的每一个要求仔细看看。标杆标杆管理是衡量产品，服务的持续过程，以及对你的强大竞争对手的做法。更简单地说，这意味着以此作为标准，让您的公司本身的措施，最佳的公司。如果你的公司到家，比必须有所改善，以确保您的产品也同样在为你的竞争对手的高品质。 有两种类型的基准。第一，竞争标杆，需要在市场基准对直接竞争对手。这可以包括比较具体的测量数值或统计上使用的资产，市场份额的回报，等等更详细的资料，可以对一个竞争对手，获得了更好的。 第二种方法，非竞争性基准，可以采取两种形式。首先是衡量标准是世界上最好的公司你的公司，不分行业。例如3M公司，可口可乐，通用电气被认为是潮流和质量的领导人，所以几乎每一个行业从他们的研究和复制的最佳做法的公司。业务分析人员指出，非竞争性标杆，是一个更大和更加有用，有时，质量控制的工具。只有对竞争对手基准，一个公司只有保证它会像它的竞争对手好。通过对世界上最好的公司基准，一个公司可以希望成为这些公司一样好，能超越自己在行业的竞争。此外，公司可能会发现更容易获得有关公司的信息，他们不竞争，因为他们不作为的福祉，该公司正在出现的威胁。 非竞争性标杆的第二类是内部基准，涉及不同部门的比较在同一个组织的功能或程