Participation systems and quality circles in manuelita sa

Introduction:

The Quality Circles are the result of investigations in the humanistic area of Maslow, McGregor and Hersberg, as well as of the techniques developed by doctors Deming and Juran and that Professor Ishikawa concretized around 1961 in Japan. In 1985, with the help and advice of Carvajal SA we began to implement this participation system in Manuelita SA and to date (2000) it has proven to be one of the best to achieve the participation and collaboration of all the members of the Organization. The challenge posed by this system in Manuelita SA is to incorporate the workers into a productive movement in which they voluntarily strive to do their work better and as a team, with their colleagues, they seek to optimize the resources they manage;The process requires modifying the personal attitude towards work through commitment to the Organization, breaking the traditional scheme of the paternalistic company and awakens the need to carry out daily activities in cooperation and harmony with colleagues

History:

The Quality Circles had their origin in Japan in 1962, under the name of quality control circles, and they were extended to constitute a highly developed system by Japanese companies.

In July 1985, with the aim of establishing a participatory system that would contribute more effectively to the development of personnel and the Company, it was decided to initiate a pilot program of working groups to what we call "Circles of participation" with the advice of Carvajal SA These Circles of Participation were made up of people who developed similar or related jobs, and who voluntarily wanted to participate regularly in the identification of problems in their work area, analyze them and recommend solutions to senior management.

The basic idea of the Quality Circles consists of creating awareness of quality and productivity in each and every one of the members of an organization, through teamwork and the exchange of experiences and knowledge, as well as mutual support. All this, for the study and resolution of problems that affect the adequate performance and quality of a work area, proposing ideas and alternatives with a focus on continuous improvement.

The popularity of Quality Circles is due to the fact that they favor the workers themselves sharing with the administration the responsibility of defining and solving coordination, productivity and, of course, quality problems. Additionally, they promote the integration and involvement of company personnel with the aim of improving either products or processes. In other words, the Quality Circles realize everything wrong that happens within a company, they give the alarm signal and create the demand to seek solutions together.

The mission:

Contribute to improve and develop the company Respect the human side of individuals and build a pleasant work environment and personal fulfillment Promote the application of the talent of workers for the continuous improvement of the areas of the organization.

Definition:

The Quality Circles are a system of high participation in which the workers themselves identify their problems and look for the most viable solutions themselves, since the System starts from the principle that whoever knows the work best is who performs it and therefore who is you can optimize it.

The CCs are concentrated in a single area with workers from it and with their own problems; This allows them to speak a single language, all understanding the nature of the problem, an attitude that obviously facilitates the formulation of feasible solutions. As the workers themselves are in charge of putting it into practice, they will ensure that their ideas are successful, and therefore they will have the pride and satisfaction of being the ones who achieved the solution.

Goals:

Reduce errors and increase quality Generate more effectiveness in results Promote involvement at work Increase motivation Create an attitude to prevent problems Create the ability to solve problems Improve communication Develop more harmonious relationships between bosses and subordinates.Establish a genuine environment of hygiene and safety.Promote personal development.Organization: (Taken from the standard "System Organization..")

In 1992, a Standard for the Operation of the Circle System was prepared and approved, with modifications in 1994 and 1997.

This standard allows:

to. Orient the Area Heads, Facilitators and Leaders in the functions and responsibilities with respect to the Circle System (See figure 5).

b. Properly use some tools that expedite the use of the methodology in Leaders and facilitators. This allows to develop the improvements in 32 meetings for the new groups and 24 meetings for the groups that have been working for more than years, based on 1 (one) meeting per week of 1 (one) hour duration. The analysis of the results in 1995 and 1996 and the number of improvements completed showed factors that cannot be controlled without the help of the Area Heads, these are:

Facilitate the meeting time of the circles. Do not allow postponement of meetings due to overwork of leaders and circulists Motivate leaders discouraged by salary factors or expectations not fulfilled in their jobs Facilitate resources in the execution of improvements.

The Quality Circles have their internal organization that allows them to develop their activities with discipline and efficiency. All company workers can belong and are governed by the following general rules:

Meetings every eight days or at least every fifteen days within their working hours Duration of meetings: Maximum one hour, or two hours for fortnightly, Comfortable meeting place and with the necessary resources to hold meetings Prior preparation of the meeting Agenda: Work topics (that are under group control)

1. Organization of the area: Identification of useful things, order, cleanliness, safety, hygiene and social welfare, self-discipline and handling of work utensils. (Using the 5S)

2. Product defects, delivery failures, work instructions errors, reporting errors, waste, rework.

3. Steps that can be simplified in the process, design of tools for a better job, reduction of maintenance, reduction of wasted time, increased safety.

4. For mature Circles (with more than three years and continuity in 80% of the members) they will be able to work on topics (proposed by the Managers) that help to improve their management indicators.

Internal organization:

The leader: Generally the Supervisor or immediate head of the group, but after a certain time another person in the group can carry out this task A secretary: Is chosen by the group to prepare the minutes of the meetings, he also collaborates with the leader to organize the agenda, and remember the tasks and commitments of the group The administrator: Is chosen by the group and is in charge of organizing the meeting place, making sure that it is clean and has the flip chart, markers, pencils, notebooks or other elements that are needed for the meeting. General Facilitator: Assigned by the Quality and Human Resources Management is the person in charge of teaching and advising the circles on quality methodologies.

Quality methodologies:

The Quality Route or Problem Solving Process (PSP) is established as a methodology for your work meetings.

It is a standardized sequence of activities that facilitates problem solving or improvement in an organized and scientific way.

This process comprises six steps and is based on the Plan, Do, Check and Act (PDCA) quality cycle.

Explanation:

STEPS	DESCRIPTION
1. Identification and selection of the problem	to. List of problems: Clarification, Evaluation and Qualification of each one b. Description of the problem based on TIME, LOCATION, IDENTITY AND MAGNITUDE. c. Identification of the process diagram. Visit the place where it happens and set a goal.
2. The analysis (Causes of the problem)	to. Identification of the main causes of the problem, the STORM OF IDEAS technique is used and a list of possible causes that cause the problem is made. These causes are located on a Cause-Effect Diagramb. Determine the actions necessary to eliminate or reduce the causes.
3. Generation of solutions	With the STORM OF IDEAS technique, several alternative solutions are considered. Selection of the best solution.
4. Selection and planning of the solution	to. Design of a development plan that answers the questions: What, How, When, Who, Where. b. Preparation of an estimated budget of the investment that is needed c. Obtaining the necessary approval and collaboration.
5. Implementation	People are told what to do. People are trained in What to do and How to do it right. Actions are implemented according to the plan prepared. Records of the resources used.
6. Evaluation and standardization	The effectiveness of the actions that have been developed is verified and compared, confirm if the proposed goal was achieved. Establish a document if there is a new procedure Calculate cost benefit analysis of improvement

Preparation of minutes:

To ensure that a job is completed successfully after a meeting, a document (minutes) must be prepared that contains the elements necessary to follow up on the commitments and decisions made at said meeting.

The minimum elements that the minutes must contain are:

1. Date and time	When did the meeting take place (date, start time, and end time)?
2. Assistants	Who attended the meeting?
3. Agenda items that were discussed	Describe the topics briefly
4. Alternatives presented	What ideas were presented and who presented them? Include brief comments or key points, and the name of the person who presented them
5. Agreed solutions	Which it was the result? Explain the true solution on which the attendees agreed to act to solve the problem
6. Assigned and accepted tasks	What people were assigned tasks? If they attended, indicate that they recognized and accepted the work and that they understood the task; If they did not attend, comment that it is necessary to make a follow-up contact.
7. Deadlines	By what date should the job be finished?
8. Follow-up actions	What actions must be taken after the meeting? Who is responsible? Who will supervise the monitoring, and how will the responsible person be informed?

Meeting minutes No.___

Group:__________________________

Date:_________________

Order of the day:

to. Reading of the previous act and previous commitments

b. Topics to talk about:

c. Various:

Development: (Topics discussed, alternatives presented, agreed solutions)

Commitments: ( assigned and accepted tasks, deadlines, follow-up actions)

Next meeting date: (place and time)

Incentives:

Each circulista receives an award in kind for each presentation made to the Senior Management of the company of the improvements developed, using the methodologies taught by the Quality Facilitators. The above entitles him to participate in the end of the year outing with his wife and children under 18 years of age with all expenses paid for snacks, lunches and entrance to a recreation center chosen in consensus by all circles.

Workplan:

The working groups organize their working meetings according to a plan developed with the guidance of the General Facilitator. This makes the meetings are organized taking advantage of the effective time of their meetings. Here is the format that is used for this plan:

Work plan for quality circles
Circle name ________________________________
Leader : __________________________________	Date:_______________
#meetings	Topic to be discussed	Expected result	Meeting date	Visiting program
Circles
New	Trained	Not.		(output)	(year month day)	New	Trained
1.00		1.00	Presentation of the objectives group	Group relaxed
2.00	1.00	2.00	Preparation of the work plan	Committed group
3.00		3.00	Human development - consensus - team	Identify and break barriers
4.00		4.00	Group mission (area)	Known mission
5.00		5.00	Brainstorming - name circle	Know importance and application
6.00		6.00	Effective meetings (guidelines)	Drawn code of ethics
And so on…

Conclusions and recommendations:

1) The Quality Circles owe their existence to the commitment of Senior Management, which supports and promotes this participation system throughout the organization.

2) The System is an integral part of the total quality process of the Company and has served as support to develop quality assurance programs, continuous improvement, process control, competition analysis and comparison with the best.

3) The Quality Circles are not an immediate or guaranteed solution to the problems of a company, they imply a long-term continuous effort where an improvement in communications and attitudes is mainly sought. Its greatest contribution is the consolidation of the quality culture and, additionally, the improvements are reverted to economic benefits for the Company.

4) Our System of Quality Circles is in constant evolution, where management tools are adapted in the process of solving problems and ideas that have been developed in work groups of other companies in the region.

5) The central idea of having a Quality Circle System is to integrate a concept of active participation throughout the organization, based on the principle that only by amalgamating the potential and synergy of a human group, can changes be generated. The same people in the company are the ones who can offer us more ideas on how to enrich our products or services.

6) The training process of the Quality Circle System contributes to the development of the worker in the field of human training, he learns to relate properly, not only with his co-workers but also with his partner, children, family, friends and community. Values of active communication, commitment, organization and personal growth are increased (he learns to express himself, give ideas, speak in public).