Quality Intervention inmanufacturing, Project Documentationsand Performance of an Indigenous Subsea Production System

Transcription

1 American Journal of Engineering Research (AJER) e-issn: p-issn : Volume-7, Issue-11, pp Research Paper Open Access Quality Intervention inmanufacturing, Project Documentationsand Performance of an Indigenous Subsea Production System A. S. Lawal 1,S. M. Famuagun 2 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.. 2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria, Corresponding Author : A. S. Lawal ABSTRACT : In manufacturing, quality plays a significant role in achieving the overall objective of the enterprise. Quality is a means of reducing waste and eliminating the huge cost associated with nonconforming process and outputs. The cost of executing project in an indigenous subsea production systemis high partly due to wastes that could be eliminated through effective implementation of quality tools. There are layers of wastes that increases time required to execute tasks from tender stage to contract acquisition.the study covered activities in manufacturing and project documentationsin an Indigenous Subsea Production System.There were visits and interactions with staff of the organizations in the project area where operational and project data was collected and also review their existing method in use.a data collection plan was developed in conjunction withchecklist to guide the process. Quality review processes were initiated to resolve the problems identified. Root Cause Analysis was performed. The outcomes revealed that, there is significant relationship between quality intervention and project execution leading to an overall reduction in waste and thus improving compliance products and services, customer satisfaction and profitability.finally, the study established that the top management involvement and commitment is necessary for the quality intervention to be effective. KEYWORDS -assembly, cost, documentation, fabrication, maintenance, manufacturing Date Of Submission: Date Of Acceptance: I. INTRODUCTION In production and manufacturing operations, quality plays a significant role in achieving the overall objective of the enterprise. Quality is not just a requirement to fulfil contractual and statutory obligations; it is a means of reducing waste and eliminating the huge cost associated with nonconforming process and outputs [1]. The rigorous application of quality tools is more pronounced in the oil and gas industry. Quality management has emerged as a management paradigm for enhancing organizational effectiveness and competitiveness. According to [2, 3] firms achieve higher levels of profitability and organizational performance through successful quality management application.a misunderstanding exists in project management in that quality is only applicable during the manufacture and installation of hardware. This is incorrect since comprehensive quality management in projects includes the entire development process and is inclusive of all disciplines during the project study and execution phases [4]. Quality management in projects spans the entire project management function, the manufacturing and execution processes and includes quality assurance, quality control and quality costing. Effective quality in projects can only be achieved by addressing all theseelements. Due to thesignificant differences in terms of construct development and research methodology, research in quality management has produced mixed results. Besides, process management programs appear to improve profitability in the auto industry while they deteriorate profitability in the computer industry [5, 6]. Also, operationalizing quality management as single or multiple constructs, measuring performance in one level or multiple levels, and differences in data analysis techniques have contributed to producing mixed results in the relationship between quality management and firm performance [7, 8].However, there are other factors that have had a great impact on producing mixed results. Researchers have utilized different theoretical frameworks for understanding the effect of quality management on firm performance. Also, some have focused on the viewpoint of the pioneers of w w w. a j e r. o r g Page 330

2 quality management and have framed their model on the perspective of founders of quality management [9, 10]. Most recent studies have employed the Baldrige criteria as the reference model for quality management [11, 12]. In addition, there is not much consistency in the selection of industries as the research context. Thestudies show that different industries have mixed manufacturing [13, 14]. Besides, it has been shown that contextual variables such as the industry structure and competition affect the strategic planning of quality of firms [15]. Differences in theoretical framework and industry selection as well as differences in construct development have resulted in mixed and somewhat confusing results in the effect of quality management on firm performance in manufacturing. It has been suggested that more industry-specific and cross-cultural research in quality management is needed to validate the effect of quality management on firm performance. Industry-specific studies help us to better understand the determinants of performance manufacturing and project documentations[16, 17].Quality assurance in manufacturing ensures that the quality of the product or service meets and exceeds the customer s requirements, whereas quality control is a methodology for ensuring that the quality requirements of the project, including testing and other verification systems, have beenimplemented and are effective {18]. Effective quality management in projects requires that all quality prerequisites and controls are included in the project, from concept to execution, commissioning close out and that quality is customized to meet the project requirements. An essential component of good operations management and project execution is the usage of quality intervention to identify, assess and mitigate risks associated with poor or weak quality system. Robust quality systems consist of quality assurance and control. Quality assurance defines the level of quality required for project implementation, and the process to be followed to achieve it. A good quality assurance plan will also define the method to measure compliance with the project's quality requirements. Mistakes are bound to occur occasionally; a good quality assurance system will filter out mistakes to ensure an accurate output [19, 20]. II. METHODOLOGY The questionnaires were distributed to staffs of the organizationin an indigenous subsea production system in Nigeria.The operation and project data were collected and reviewed. The entire organization operational and project process could not be reviewed under this study but area of concentration was identified which resulted into focusing data collection in the area of Manufacturing and Project Documentations. A data collection plan was developed in conjunction with checklist to guide the process. Both documents were formulated so that the personnel responding to questions were able to identify specific issues encountered in their operations, the type of quality intervention applied and the results of the intervention. The reliability of the information provided was verified during interview by reviewing the data directly from the organization Enterprise Resource Planning tool (ERP). Pareto and Run Charts were employed to analyse the data.quality review processes were initiated to resolve the problems identified. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) was performed to review and analyse available data in other to understand and advice on the true cause of any issue that occurred. 5 Why Analysis root cause method was employed. The 5 Whys is a technique used in the Analyse phase of the Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control)methodology. By repeatedly asking the question Why (five is a good rule of thumb), the layers of symptoms were peeled away leading to revelation of the root cause of the problems. III. MANUFACTURING AND PROJECT DOCUMENTATIONS 3.1 Documentation Issues Focus on Manufacturing Record Book Manufacturing record book (MRB) is a database used to capture information of the various stages of production and it also contains data on approvals and corrected failures. For this study, data was collected on 150 MRB reviewed in accordance with the acceptance criterial of the project. The organization place equal and important effort on both in process and final documentation as it forms the basis of reporting progress and evidence of milestone invoice to its customers. Therefore errors leading to rejection of MRB s have direct consequences to cash flow of the organization. Table 1 and Figure 1 captures the number of rejected MRB s over the period monitored. It is interesting to note that over the five month period, total missing certificates accounted for were 226 which represent 42.5% of the total non-conformance for the period under consideration (Figure 1). This constitutes a fatal flaw in the process that should have attracted the attention of the management if quality process was initiated, implemented and monitored. Effective monitoring would have revealed that the principle of Pareto could have been applied as corrective efforts should have been focused on correcting the anomaly in the process to secure maximum positive impact of reduction in non-conformance [21]. The same principle applies to the incorrect certificates totaling 227 for the same period that represents another 42.7%. w w w. a j e r. o r g Page 331

3 As shown in Fig. 2, run chat, the failure rate was consistently high over the five month period examined. A modest improvement in period 2 was not sustained. The situation further deteriorates in periods 3 and 4. Overall, this process was not working well at such a high levelof rejection rate that has direct impact on the ability of the organization to complete documentation and submit invoice to the customer to maintain a good cashflow. w w w. a j e r. o r g Page 332

4 Identifying the root cause of the problems in Fig. 2, it would be important in providing solutions to the occurring problems in Documentation (MRB) as the impact to production caused a lot of downtime and prevented delivery to the customer. Using combination of data collection and interview which already pointed out the two major issues responsible for majority of the failures, Tables 2 and 3 captured the 5 why process that was used to investigate the root cause of the problems. It was observed in Table 2 (root cause), that Engineering failed to adequately reviewand state the quality requirements for the equipment by omitting a key acceptance criterion that certificate are to be submitted by the supplier of small components. This error was cascaded to the purchase order hence the resulting problems of missing certificates. w w w. a j e r. o r g Page 333

5 3.2 Improvements measures Engineering specifies requirement of materials and components: Material Planning develop scope of work and work with procurement to produce draft PO Scope of work and PO are reviewed together by Quality / Engineering department prior to final approval. (All quality requirements are discussed and agreed). Approved PO issued to supplier by Procurement Department. The production team issue certificate and review to Suppliers. Part time Quality Control personnel reviews the Certificate during manufacturing stage / after manufacturing / prior to shipping to Client Stage certificate review process commenced. A joint review was initialized between contractor & client so that there is only one level of review/approval. Also, agreement was reached that after joint comments are incorporated, no new comments can be added except in extraordinary cases where both parties missed it out. IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The outcome of the root cause analysis carried out were used to develop improvement plans which were implemented in the areas of focus of this study. Data collection on the effect of the implementation was carried out over a period of time and analysed. The Identifying the root cause of the two major issues responsible for the failures on MRB rejection and the subsequent intervention quality measures proved to be successful based on the post intervention data collected and analysed. Issues around incorrect and missing certificates went down significantly. Although analysis reveals that the two main sources of high rate of rejection are still consistent with the Pareto principle in the five months following the improvement plan, the overall number of non-conformance reduced significantly (Table 4). w w w. a j e r. o r g Page 334

6 V. CONCLUSION The study reveals that there are considerable connections between quality intervention and project execution leading to an overall reduction in waste. Besides, the tools of Quality can be adapted to the underdeveloping environment. The top management participation is important for the successful quality intervention in production system facility. Also, the notion that it costs a lot of money to implement good quality measures can be seen not to be true using the simple tools applied in the study as improving compliance products and services, customer satisfaction and profitability was accomplished. REFERENCE [1]. SW. Doll and M.A. Vonderembse, The evolution of manufacturing systems: towards the post-industrial enterprise, OMEGA, Vol. 19 No. 5, 1991, [2]. R. Florida, Lean and green: the move to environmentally conscious manufacturing, California Management Review, Vol. 39 No. 1, 1996, [3]. C. Forza and R. Flippini, TQM impact on quality conformance and customer satisfaction: a causal model, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 55 No. 1, 1998, [4]. J.R. Hackman and R. Wageman, Total quality management: empirical, conceptual and practical issues, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 40 No. 2, 1995, [5]. Asian Development Bank, Managing the project Quality and Risk (Institutional Document), Handbook on Project management (section 3.5), [6]. H.Kaynak, The relationship between total quality management practices and their effects on firm performance, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 21 No. 4, 2003, [7]. D. M. Lascelles, and B. G. Dale, A review of the issues involved in quality improvement, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 5 No. 5, 1989, [8]. C. A. Barclay, Quality strategy and TQM policies: empirical evidence, Management International Review, Vol. 33, 1993, [9]. M. D. De Ceiro, Quality management practices and operational performance: empirical evidence for Spanish industry, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 41 No. 12, 2003, [10]. S. A. Mohrman, R. V. Tenkasi, E.E. Lawler, and G. G. jr. Ledford, Total quality management: practice and outcomes in the largest US firms, Employee Relations, Vol. 17 No. 3, 1995, [11]. M. Rungtusanatham, C. Forza, B. R. Koka, F. Salvadora, and W. Nie, TQM across multiple countries: convergence hypothesis versus national specificity arguments, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 23 No. 1, 2005, [12]. S. M. Lee, K. M. Zuckweiler, and S. Trimi, Modernization of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 44 No. 23, 2006, [13]. C. Bou-Llusar, A. Escrig-Tena, V. Roca-Puig, and I. Beltra n-martı n, An empirical assessment of the EFQM excellence model: evaluation as a TQM framework relative to the MBNQA model, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 27 No. 1, 2009, [14]. T. C. Powell, Total quality management as competitive advantage: a review and empirical study, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 16 No. 1, 1995, [15]. B. B. Flynn, R. G. Schroeder, and S. Sakakibara, A framework for quality management research and an associated instrument, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 11 No. 4, 1994, [19] [16]. S. S.Rao, L. E. Solis and T.s. Raghunathan, A framework for international quality management research: development and validation of a measurement instrument, Total Quality Management, Vol. 10 No. 7, [17]. X. Zhao, A. C. L. Yeun, and T. S. Lee, Quality management and organizational context in selected service industries of China, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 22 No. 6, 2004, [18]. D. Garvin, Managing Quality: The Strategic and Competitive Edge, The Free Press, New York, NY, [19]. S. L. Ahire, and K. C. O Shaughnessy The role of top management commitment in quality management: an empirical analysis of the auto industry, International Journal of Quality Science, Vol. 3 No. 1, 1998, [20]. ABD. Hakim Mohamed, Total Quality Management in Construction Projects, University of Technology Malaysia Journal Bill 27, 1997, [21]. B. E. Okah, The Science of Industrial Machinery and Systems Maintenance, published by spectrum book LTD, ISBN: X(Limp), A. S. Lawal "Quality Intervention inmanufacturing, Project Documentationsand Performance of an Indigenous Subsea Production System "American Journal of Engineering Research (AJER), vol. 7, no. 11, 2018, pp w w w. a j e r. o r g Page 335