I was assigned to be a session chairman on 30th Nov 2008. The morning technical session entitled “Quality Management”.
Mr. Massudul Islam (VP – HR&A, Orion Group) presented firstly and his topic was “TQM in Orion Group: Behind the Success”.
He introduced Orion Group and selected two sub-companies (Orion Lab Ltd. & Orion Infusion Ltd.) which have implemented Solving Human & Organization Problem (SHOP) training program in 2003 and implemented TQM in 2006. He believed that “People are behind organization to success.”
The second one was Prof. Kyung H. Nam (Dept. of Applied Information Statistics, Kyonggi University). His topic was “A Study on the Quality Assessment of Korean National Statistics”.
Korea National Statistical Office (KNSO) defines quality of statistical information in terms of six elements: relevance, accuracy, timeliness, accessibility, compatibility, and coherence.
The speaker concluded 7 basic principles for the successful performance of a quality management:
1) User Centered
2) Leadership
3) Total Participation
4) Process Approach
5) System Approach for Management
6) Continuous Improvement
7) Realistic Approach for a Decision Making
Dr. Kun-Huang Chen (Dept. Of Industry Engineering and Eng Mgt, National Tsing Hua University Hsinchu, Taiwan) was the third speaker and the speech title was “Applying Neural Network to Improve the Quality of OSA Diagnosis”. OSA stands for obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) means “uncontrollable tendency to sleep”. At least 450,000 people suffer from SAS in Taiwan. Polysomnography, the only available diagnostic tool to accurately detect OSA, is quite expensive and time-consuming. Dr. Chen applied the NN model to enhance the quality of OSA diagnosis when conducted through a questionnaire and at the same time can reduce cost and the time needed for an accurate diagnosis.
After that I had joined different sessions and summarized as follows.
Dr. Masataka Sano (Waseda University, Japan) presented “Application of a Process-Oriented Analysis Method to Clinical Laboratory Testing for Analyzing Medical Incidents”. Process-Oriented Analysis Method for Medical Incidents (POAM) has been proposed for analysis of the incidents of medication-related errors, as an attempt to change the medication process with an aim of error reducing.
A model of the medication process was shown below.
Dr. Hirotaka Inoue (University of Tsukuba, Japan) presented the topic called “Application of process FMEA as a performance improvement tool in pharmaceutical research”.
The speaker redefined undesirable effects on the process defects comprehensively.
All of the steps in the FMEA are generally conducted by the cross functional team.
Step1 Selection of the target process
Step2 Addressing process flow
Step3 Responsibility and purpose descriptions
Step4 Addressing undesirable effects and their root causes
Step5 RPN before improvement
Step 6 Actions for improvement
Step7 Risk priority number after improvement
Mr. B. Purushothama (Facilitator TQM Consultant QMS and Textile) presented the topic “Quality People – Key to Excellence”. He questioned what do we mean by Quality People? And he used a music instrument (Veena) as an example.
Veena is one of the oldest instruments known designed with some calculations to get different sounds from different places. All veenas follow the same specifications for strings and reed calculations so that any one can play. Why there should be so much of a difference in quality between musicians?
He also introduced five questions which could help in achieving success provided we answer sincerely and prompt actions are taken.
1. Do we have a procedure?
2. How do we ensure it as the best?
3. How it is implemented?
4. Did we get the results as anticipated?
5. How do we compare with our competitors?
The speaker concluded that just by adopting latest technology cannot give the required results unless the people working are dedicated and have competency to handle that technology.
In Closing Ceremony, there were 2 keynote speakers to present as follows:
The first keynote speaker was Mr. Janak Mehta (ISQ) and presented “Peace Invocation”. He introduced the new model of quality management. He also introduced ANQ Way at the end.
After that Prof. Noriaki Kano (ANQ Honorary Chairperson) presented the topic called “Let’s Revisit What PDCA Cycle Means in Today’s IT Age!”
Kano reviewed the following questions:
· What is appropriate PDCA cycle?
· How statistically does SOP non-observance or observance effect on a quality characteristic?
· What are DO’s and DON’T’s for outlier and insufficient Cpk, respectively?
· How do we evaluate the practice of PDCA cycle in our process?
· How do we overcome the today’s weakness?
