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Difference between TQM and Lean Manufacturing |
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If you have any questions about our Quality Matrix, or wish to make any comments, please feel free to send a message to us at quality@artige.com. |
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| Overview |
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This analysis is just one of many comparisons that are offered as part of the Artige Quality Matrix, which can be seen here in its original form. The definitions that are used in these comparisons are the ones that we at the Artige Company use internally and with our clients, derived from the research that we perform as a matter of due course. These definitions are derived from natural laws of physics and statistics, in order to screen our work from the effects of the business press. The original article where these terms are discussed appears here. In other words, we like to think that this work will withstand the scourges of time and not be categorized as "management du jour". |
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| TQM |
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Definition |
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This is the foundation of the quality methodologies, as conceived by Deming. However, Deming never wanted to codify quality-oriented practices under a theory. He was more interested in the practice end of things. So that left a vacuum that others have rushed in to fill. This means that there is no true body of TQM theory that will increase the quality of products delivered. Instead, Deming left us with his "14 Points of Management", a toolkit that lists all of the concepts that have to do with quality one must be aware of when designing processes. A description of what a quality organization is, not how to accomplish quality. |
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Strange though that at face value those fourteen points left by the quality practitioner seem to be more philosophy than a framework or methodology in which one can design a quality business process. Each one of those points can give rise to a framework and practice in themselves, and there is no fixed manner in which those frameworks can be expressed. So it seems that TQM is readily left open to the reader's interpretation. |
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TQM includes both an empirical component associated with statistics, and an explanatory component that is associated with management, of both people and processes. The terms "hard" and "soft" are commonly used to represent these two components. TQM brought recognition to the fact that tasks can be categorized as value adding or not. The obvious corollary is that non-value adding tasks would be eliminated and the value adding ones improved. Many process design and operation tools have been highlighted in TQM, such as statistical process control, Kanban, and flexible organization, just to name the tip of the iceberg. |
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Note that at the Artige Company, we have mapped TQM back into the natural laws, of physics, general systems theory, thermodynamics and statistics, in order to provide a reference point to work from. This gives us the theoretical backing that Deming declined to document. So while Deming may have provided businesses with a 14-point philosophy in which processes can be designed, we are now able to approach business process design exercises with a firm determination as to what is feasible. |
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| Lean Manufacturing |
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Definition |
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The main concern of lean manufacturing design is to eliminate waste. The main desire is to reduce the production cycle, which eliminating waste should accomplish. Lean also has a focus on retaining tasks that add value, and eliminating non-value adding tasks. Other concepts having to do with time and waste are important to lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing is normally driven by customer demand. This brings up the point about what the driver of a business process should be. The two concepts are push and pull. Most concepts of lean involve a pull scenario. This is in comparison to the "traditional", "out-of-date", or "old-fashioned" push scenario. In the good old days companies manufactured to stock, filling warehouses with product that marketing was responsible for emptying out. The push method involves carrying costs and results in various types of waste, especially as the product lifetime came to an end. |
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| Pull-driven |
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In a pure pull scenario, the customer demands the product, and the manufacturer creates or delivers the desired product at the moment the demand signal is received. Based on today's technology, the marketing department closely monitors the customer' needs, or the customers themselves can directly make their own demands, so the firm is able to react very quickly to market conditions. Note the word "react". It is a term that lean and TQM aficionados would like to eliminate from business vocabulary, as it foreshadows the waste to come. To accommodate pulling, minimal amounts of work-in-progress and inventory will be desired in the process design, otherwise there must be additional steps that are adding delay, which will result in waste being generated. |
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| Takt time |
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When considering Lean manufacturing, one also has to take into account the concept of flow, which is driven by a production beat, that being called "takt time". Flow reinforces the notion that lean manufacturing requires constancy and cannot tolerate interruptions, otherwise additional amounts of waste will be generated. The term "takt time" describes the average amount of time it takes to manufacture a product or deliver a service, expressed in terms of a cycle. In other words, one might be able to manufacture one unit of a certain part in 120 seconds. However, if one needed to manufacture 2000 units of the part, will it still take 120 seconds per part? Takt time takes into account the flow of production, and requires that a process to run at a consistent rate, to the constant beat of a production clock. The concept of takt time recognizes that many business processes need to run at a consistent rate in order to maintain the highest quality and still deliver product at a particular volume. With takt time, one can visibly see when a problem might be brewing. If the production rate becomes erratic and inconsistent, or changes from a given norm, then some aspect of the process has failed. However, a period of erratic production may occur when the takt time period was purposefully altered. |
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| Lean Management / Lean Thinking |
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One will see the terms of lean manufacturing, lean management and lean thinking used interchangeably. From what we have found, there is no difference between these terms. They are all driven by the same methodology of cutting waste. The vast majority of lean manufacturing implementations have been applied to manufacturing, but there is no reason why it could not also be applied to service processes. Lean manufacturing would be considered incremental in the rate of change being applied. |
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This last concept of purposefully altering takt time helps explain an inconsistency that one might think exists at first glance between pull-driven manufacturing and takt time. If a lean manufacturing process was based upon a consistent, never-varying takt time, how can it deal with changes in demand? The answer lies in the fact that a takt time system does not react to every demand whim on a first order basis. Rather, a second order function is used, that watches the rate of change in demand. This rate change will manifest itself in a change to the takt time period of the production line. The takt time change may result in some waste (time, resources, cost, depending on the situation). In the end the total cost of operating the production line with a takt time is supposed to compensate for the waste that may occur with individual takt time period changes. |
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| The Difference |
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Differences and / or Similarities |
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At first glance, one would think that TQM and the Lean principles do not have much in common, other than the fact that they both deal with the topic of quality. One is a philosophy of what makes up a quality organization, and the other is a methodology that one could apply to encourage improvements to existing processes. As is typical for comparisons to TQM, this instance ends up being a parent-child situation. |
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TQM, through its 14 Points, provides guidance that an organization can reference when designing their processes and operations. Lean Manufacturing could be deployed as one of those reference points. Specifically, Deming's tenth point "... the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system ..." points out that system design plays an essential role in establishing the outcome of products manufactured or delivered, as well as the resources consumed and lost among the way. This infers that process design methodologies such as the lean principles are responsible for carrying out a portion of the TQM philosophy. So this would make Lean Manufacturing a subset of TQM, and not a peer concept for comparative purposes. |
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As we always like to add, Lean Manufacturing is not the only method of setting out a process design and improvement policy that results in lower operating costs and higher quality. In some instances simpler methods may be called for, such as continuous improvement. In other situations, a more radical approach may be called for, such as reengineering. It all depends on the circumstances at hand. |
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| Questions |
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1- What are the negative effects of Lean Manufacturing? |
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We hope that after reviewing the information presented above on lean manufacturing, that one would come away with the idea that there are no negative effects for following a lean process, and that every deliberate attempt at avoiding a lean practice is to be seen in a negative light. This follows the philosophy based on the laws of physics that waste is to be avoided, and that lean manufacturing is one practice that will allow one to accomplish that goal in terms of creating and delivering physical goods. |
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If your desire is not to minimize waste, but to deploy and consume as many resources as possible, then the practice of lean manufacturing is not an option to consider. Note that an abrupt transition to lean manufacturing will leave vendors and people without orders and work to do, which will bring about its own negative ramifications. As discussed in the Business Process Design Appraisal (BPDA) article, this question needs to be answered based upon a set of criteria. Our criteria is to minimize waste. Other people may have different criteria, and it is these varying sets of criteria that need to be reconciled in order for different parties to agree upon a level of lean manufacturing that all involved can be comfortable with. |
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2- What is the difference between Lean Manufacturing and Deming's "14 Points of Management"? |
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This question would be better phrased as "How are Lean Manufacturing and Deming's '14 Points of Management' similar to each other?". That is due to the fact that Lean Manufacturing is encompassed by some of Deming's "14 Points of Management", and is not contrary to Deming's philosophy. As explained in the above article, Deming sought to institutionalize manufacturing practices that would result in producing items as desired by the customer, using the least amount of resources, plus in a manner that people are treated with respect towards each other. Lean Manufacturing is the focus on using least amount of resources, potentially in a vacuum without regard to anything else (including other systems). As the previous question shows, there is more than one approach to deploying lean manufacturing, so the question lies in how the parties involved work out their criteria. The fact that you wish to take other people's criteria into account is the scientific embodiment of "respect" and "manners". |
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