Implementing Six Sigma With TQM In The Aviation Industry – A Critical Review

The interpretation of TQM within the Aviation Industry

The paper focuses on the implementation of “six-sigma tool” within the virgin airline company by utilizing TQM approach. According to Bouranta et al. (2017), total quality management is defined as a system of management that is based on various principles that every member should be committed in order to maintain higher standards of work in different aspects of the company.

The assignment elaborates the interpretation of TQM within the Aviation Industry as well as Six Sigma. The paper also illustrates the methodology as well as implementation of six-sigma strategy. The assignment also elaborates critical success factor of six-sigma implementation in context to TQM approach

Total Quality management is defined as a framework that is dependent on the belief that helps the organization to build as well as create long-term success by focusing on an appropriate quality management. The principles of TQM or total quality management are generally applied in order to achieve proper goal of the organization by improving the entire economic performance of the organization (Antony et al. 2016). The TQM principles assist in bringing various processes of the company under appropriate statistical control. It also helps in defining sustaining infrastructure and its implementation. It is identified that many aviation organization like “Virgin Airlines” are implementing the principles of TQM in combination with other business strategies for achieving various goals as well as objectives of the company. The tool of TQM is considered as of the most appropriate system that is capable of achieving proper gains in order to improve the performance of the virgin airlines (Biswas and Chowdhury 2016). TQM generally focuses on both the quality as well as ability appropriately in order to bring the processes of Virgin Airline Company under proper statistical analysis. It is identified that organization like “Virgin Airlines” mainly implemented the approach of TQM in order to achieve success that is dependent on business process improvement. It helps in prescribing a series of ways for the airline company so that they can gain continuous improvement that is generally centered on various strategies, effective communication as well as data for instilling a discipline of quality within the process as well as culture of the organization (Talib and Faisal 2016). TQM generally helps in putting a spotlight on the various processes that Virgin airlines utilizes for producing procedures that continuously helps in monitoring as well as measuring various performances.

The main objective of the TQM is to increase the efficiency of the Virgin airlines. The approach generally aims to enhance the entire value of the customer by designing as well as continuously improving both processes as well as systems of the Virgin Airline. It helps in placing customers as principal focal point and assists in redefining quality of service for providing appropriate customer satisfaction (Mehralian et al. 2016). It is generally dependent on the fact of decision-making and it is properly utilized into the business in order to deliver appropriate goals, targets as well as strategies. It is identified that the implementation of TQM is generally dependent on three main elements that are illustrated below:

Six Sigma

TQM principles: The TQM principles are considered as one of the important element and it mainly comprises of various types of TQM principles.

Organizational culture: It is the present as well as desired state, which can be reached after the philosophy of TQM, is realized.

Implementation strategy: The approach of realizing philosophy generally includes various types of activities that identify as well as offset TQM implementation barriers.

 Six-Sigma is one of the disciplined as well as statistical approaches that is generally followed in order to eliminate various types of defects and for guiding various types of processes in order to reach appropriate perfection.  Six- Sigma is one type of versatile system that helps in making the business leadership much more important (Chaurasia, Garg and Agarwal 2016). It does not work on a single strategy but it is dependent on various results driven strategy that is mainly utilized in the past. Six Sigma tool is considered as one of the statistical measure of performance of various processes that helps in improving processes, helps in achieving proper business leadership and enhances performance in the entire run. The tool is utilized by the Virgin airline company for combining several techniques with appropriate management. The three main areas on which the Six -sigma generally focuses include customer satisfaction, minimizing defects and reducing the entire life cycle. In order to keep its interest as well as continuity on track and for maintaining appropriate metrics, the steps that are undertaken by the Virgin airline company include commitment from team leader, decision making as well as appropriate communication (Prakash, Barua and Balon 2015). It is the language used by management in controlling appropriate fact based approach in order to deliver proper money on the bottom line with the help of process improvement as well as process design projects.

It is identified that this type of designs are generally selected by the top management of Virgin Airline Company. This are generally led by either Six sigma black belts or master black belts with appropriate intention for creating ideal processes, services as well as products which are generally aligned in order to deliver customers demand. It is analyzed that the commitment of the management is quite important in driving appropriate force for appropriate traditional improvements and for breakthrough. Mathematical six-sigma helps in creating proper relationship with both manufacturing variability as well as with appropriate product specification. The critical factors that are needed by Virgin airlines for attaining proper quality level of Six-Sigma include variability, discrepancies as well as wastes that helps in weakening the trust of the customer (Raja et al.  2017). Any organization associated with sales, marketing, manufacturing, health care as well as government agencies can utilize the Six- sigma in order to gain excellence and quality. It is found that the airline managers as well as airport authorizes of Virgin airline are helping in turning the entire methodology or tool that is known as Si-sigma. The philosophy of six -sigma generally includes two types of philosophies that are:

Critical Success Factors for Six Sigma Implementation with TQM

Understand ability: The ability of the people to understand the languages as well as number for characterizing each of the procedures (Kumar et al. 2014).

Reducing variation: The variation within the organization is reduced that is considered good.

 Additionally, Six-sigma helps in providing a roadmap for achieving proper quality within organization that includes:

Customer Focus: It is identified that systems are generally developed in order to establish appropriate communications with the external as well as internal customers.

 Strategic Deployment: It mainly helps in focusing on various resources of the company. In order to achieve appropriate bottom-line success, it generally helps providing right people, right support for improving the entire performance (Kumar and Sharma 2017).

Integrated infrastructure: The team of leadership generally assists in defining as well as reviewing projects that are in progress. The champions generally act as a political leader and helps in reviewing various types of barriers for the project team. Additionally, both the incentive as well as recognition system assists in motivating the project team that generally helps in achieving appropriate goals of the business.

Disciplined framework: It is identified that various types of project within the virgin airline is generally implemented by utilizing measure, improve, control disciplined map. It helps in setting up clear protocol for facilitating appropriate communication (Vouzas,  Psychogio and Tsironis 2013). Additionally, from the perspective of business, it is considered as one of the framework that helps in continuous improvement.

Education and Training: Six -Sigma generally believes that appropriate commitment within Virgin airlines is generally driven with the help of appropriate understanding.

 The diagram that is provided above helps in illustrating the procedure of six-sigma by utilizing DMAIC:-

 Define: The project is defined by the team members with the help of proper procedure that is generally known as high-level mapping. It is identified that the classic tool, which is utilized for the entire procedure, includes SIPOC (Mason, Nicolay and Darzi 2015). Once the entire mapping is completed, the various key areas that are related with the project must be identified with the help of appropriate flowchart. The focuses of the project include customer procedure that is mainly done by understanding the voice of the customers properly.

Measure: Once appropriate baseline of the problem is identified, appropriate method of data collection is utilized by using appropriate plan of data collection. The main root cause of the problem is generally found by utilizing the cause as well as effect diagram. After testing as well refining the methodology as well as measurement appropriately, it is ensured that various corrective actions are dependent on various types of data rather depending on the assumptions as well as constraints.

Conclusion

Analysis: The next process is to confirm the root cause of problem creation, which is proposed in order to verify the data with the help of process analysis, data analysis as well as comparative analysis by utilizing the tools include Pareto chart, histogram as well as project charter (Wang, Wang and Lee 2014). The charter is mainly utilized for adding information so that accurate reflection off project must be obtained.

Improve: Brainstorming is mainly utilized for producing many ideas as they assists in providing quality. For ensuring that proper as well as appropriate decision is made, PDCA cycle is utilized. In order to accomplish the implementation procedure successfully, proper planning is needed as it helps in improving the procedure appropriately.

Control: For maintaining the focus, various measurements techniques that are related with performance are generally utilized. Proper documentation must be made and updated. One of the powerful tools for enhancing the performance is benchmarking (Raja et al. 2016). It is identified that sharing of project success causes greater momentum of change within the organization. The sharing of project generally leads to appropriate momentum of change within the entire organization. The six- sigma helps in driving more towards success.

The table below helps in reflecting the tools that is needed for DMAIC:-

 It is identified that six-Sigma can be implemented properly by utilizing the approach of TQM in the following sections that are discussed below:

 Steps to Improve

It is identified that there are number of models of enhancement for improving the process. The enhancement cycle as well as various design procedures of five-phase  design is widely held with the help of  six-sigma. The improvement cycle include define, measure, analyze, improve as well as control.

Roles of staff

 The six- sigma is very much effective in context to TQM approach in the virgin airline company. It is identified that with the help of proper maintenance, resources as well as tough leadership, the high-ranking management is generally accountable in order to make the project successful (Sreedharan and Raju 2016). The below points helps in discussing specific roles in an organization, which are:

 Champions: This term is provided to all the senior managers who are generally the project supporters and they are accountable for various success efforts of six-sigma. This type of senior managers generally helps in encouraging and leading the organization of various six-sigma projects, as they are mainly qualified with the help of business leaders.

 Master Black belts: This term is generally utilized by the trainers as well as consultants as they are the people who are generally accountable within the organization “virgin airline” for applying six-sigma strategy, for conducting training, mentoring as well as for obtaining various types of results.

Black belts: This term is generally utilized by the individual that have main effective part within an organization as full time players of six- sigma (Mehralian et al. 2017). The black belts specialists are generally trained and they mainly help in leading the organization for enhancement.

Green belts: The green belts are generally controlled with the help of black belts within the virgin airline company in order to work on the project of six- sigma that is associated with the approach of TQM.

 Training investment

It is identified that training is one of the main element that helps in attaining appropriate victory with the help of the Six Sigma tool. Appropriate training program must be provided to the staff of the Virgin Airlines in context to TQM approach in order to train the staff of the organization properly (Ainul et al. 2017). This training program is generally developed with the help of  virgin airline and the program of training generally include measurements, leadership, systematic tools, implementation skills, planning as well as enhancement. The details of the training program that is utilized by the Virgin airlines are provided below:

Champions: The staff of the organization generally involves week training that is associated with the improvement of six–sigma, leadership as well as implementation plan in context to TQM approach

Master Black belts: The staff members of virgin airlines are mainly accountable for providing training on GBs and on BBs.

Black belts: The staffs of the virgin airlines generally spend their four to five weeks for obtaining appropriate quantitative as well as intense training that is associated with the DMADV as well as DMAIC cycles (McFadden et al. 2015).

Green Belts: In this training program, the staffs of virgin airline are provided training of about six to ten days on software that is associated with statistics, enhanced tools as well as on various skills of project management.

 It is analyzed that there is a need of appropriate resilient support with the help of resources that is generally delivered by the top level of the organization. There is very much significant need of both enactment as well as approval of various basic disciplines that are associated with the member of six -sigma. It is quite important to have proper relation between substructure accomplishments as well as innovative accomplishments. ( Cherrafi et al. 2016). It is very much necessary to have complete as well as appropriate obligation from the management. Proper training must be provided to the staffs of virgin airlines so that they can be able to perform various procedures of six- sigma appropriately without any type of problem that is mainly familiarized with different types of tools as well as techniques. The communication must be proper so that the firm can easily focus on various types of results that are generally maintained. These are some of the critical factors for six sigma which must be considered appropriately by the company “Virgin airlines”.

7. Conclusion

 The TQM journey is considered long as well as slow and therefore continuous improvement must be made appropriately in the long way. From the observation, it is identified that TQM must be implemented in each of the stage appropriately for proper improvement. All the staff of the virgin airlines must undergo through proper training on TQM tools for continuous improvement. In order to sustain the improvement, it is very much important to improve the employees, provide additional training, for identifying areas of improvement and for developing log term strategies for institutionalize the TQM procedures. The tools for each of the procedure in maintenance of aircraft are quite helpful in improving the TQM culture in an organization.

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