Resource Person: Dr. Samir Kamat, Principal, Advisory at KPMG UK

Venue: E-learning studio, Ammachi Labs, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus.

Date: December 31st, 2014

As a principal in the business information management practice, Dr. Samir Kamat leads the global risk and compliance center of excellence and the global advanced analytics practice. He has been involved in projects to forecasting commercial bank losses in mortgage and real estate portfolios, the design and implementation of credit scorecards, economic capital frameworks, and RAROC tools and stress testing. He has implemented strategic and tactical business intelligence and reporting blueprints and road maps for large commercial banks and is responsible for developing Capgemini’s analytical services to the capital markets and insurance sectors. He was previously vice president of the portfolio management group at Wachovia. Dr. Kamat holds a Ph.D. in finance from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He has a production engineering degree from VJTI and an M.B.A. in technology management from The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay.

Ammachi Labs hosted several international experts who conducted various classes and workshops. Dr. Samir Kamat, a KPMG partner, conducted an immersive session with the entire team on quality management processes. 

A Quality Management Process is a method by which the quality of products is assured and controlled during the manufacturing project. This process entails completing a variety of review techniques and implementing a set of corrective actions to address any deficiencies and raise the quality levels of products. The Quality Management Process is followed during all aspects of manufacturing products. It covers the inputs and standards used to manufacture the products, the process used for manufacturing and testing of the final product. The Quality Management Process involves: Listing the quality standards and targets to achieve Identifying the types of quality measurement techniques to be undertaken Measuring product and process quality Taking action to enhance the level of deliverable and process quality Reporting the level of quality achieved while manufacturing.

Topics Covered:

1. Quality Standards
2. Quality Process
3. Quality Management Roles
4. Quality Management Documents

Key points

Quality Standards

Quality standards have to be maintained across the manufacturing process. Good quality inputs and processed lead to quality end products. Quality standards (and process standards) need to be maintained at a very granular level and should lead to an improvement of the quality. Improvement of quality not only been seen as adherence to requirements and standards but also a reduction in waste. For example, in the making of bracelets, it is not only important to ensure that the bracelets are of the right diameter, but also that the very few bracelets are discarded as not being of the correct size.

Quality Process

The Quality Management Process is undertaken to ensure that the Quality Targets are achieved so as to ensure that the products are manufactured on a consistent basis with minimum wastage due to poor quality. 

Quality Manager  Roles

1.  Ensuring that Quality Targets are defined for each product
2. Implementing Quality Assurance techniques to assure the quality of the products to be produced by the manufacturing process
3. Implementing Quality Control techniques to control the quality of the products actually produced
4. Identifying quality deviations and improvement actions for implementation
5. Recording the level of quality achieved within the product quality register
6. Reporting the quality status to the Manager. 

             Quality Management Documents

Quality Review forms: The Project Quality Review Form is used to conduct a formal Quality Review of the deliverables and processes. This form is used to assess the level of quality of the management processes being undertaken to deliver the required deliverables. Quality Reviews should be undertaken on a regular basis (e.g. weekly, monthly) in a standard, repeatable fashion. The procedures within each management process should be reviewed and the impact of any deviation from the required procedures should be noted and acted on immediately. 

Conclusion:

The session gives a good overview of the quality management concepts to the entire team members