Abstract:
As today's global competition grows in manufacturing industries companies are
forced to work smart in all areas of operations, starting with suppliers and ending
with customers. This competition in general requires firms to improve market
responsiveness, product quality, use computerised information systems for
production planning and control, have more rapid changeovers, reductions in setup
times, work-in-progress reduction and hence throughput time reduction. In
order to accomplish these formidable tasks, there are a number of management
philosophies available for manufacturing companies. These include just-in-time,
flexible manufacturing systems, computer integrated manufacturing, total quality
management, concurrent engineering. Implementation of these philosophies,
however, requires mass mobilisation encompassing many areas of operations
such as production, sales and marketing, suppliers, finance, customer servicing,
product design and method engineering, maintenance, personnel and training, etc.
This thesis details a study which evaluates the total quality management
philosophy in cellular manufacturing environment. Following this evaluation, a
quality management information scheme, which is structured and integrated, has
been produced using the Manufacturing Systems Analysis and Design Method. In
order to manage smoothly this mobilisation and incorporate the scheme to other
integrated functional areas, a new approach namely the Activity Based
Implementation (ABI) has also been produced.
Justification of the model from various points of view has shown that the model
is expected to address a considerable gap in the area concerned. The model was
designed to be used as an integrated part of a system or as a stand-alone scheme
by quality practitioners, the management board of organisations implementing
TQM and quality management researchers.
