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Quality 4.0

Discussion in 'Other Quality and Business Related Topics' started by Dr. Ahmed Yahia, Mar 9, 2021.

  1. Dr. Ahmed Yahia

    Dr. Ahmed Yahia New Member

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    How will the world see the practical aspect of Quality 4.0 technology?
     
  2. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Welcome, Doctor! Can you expand on what you are referring to as "Quality 4.0"?
     
  3. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    The U.K's Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) has recently published these documents: https://www.quality.org/quality-4-point-0

    I believe this is the early days of an attempt to clearly define what is, perhaps, a conceptual thing at the moment...

    Anyone got any thoughts on this "Vision of Quality"?
     
  4. John C. Abnet

    John C. Abnet Well-Known Member

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    Great topic @Andy Nichols . This topic has risen in my circles recently and with increasing frequency.

    I had done a little research prior, but really appreciated and learned from the link you provided...thank you. I appreciate CQI's work in defining and establishing principles. Hopefully this or similar will find a global adoption at some point. (funny how an industry that preaches and promotes "standardized work" has such a tough time standardizing ;)

    I must admit when I first heard about I4.0 and Q4.0, (SC 4.0 MIC2025, etc..etc..etc..etc...etc..etc...), I was skeptical. Possibly jaded by the constant influx of "here is a new and better approach", which tend to simply repackage proven past approaches.

    It is hard to deny, however, the progression that industry continues to make and that the progression will (must) impact how "quality" is perceived and integrated. Since "quality" doesn't always get a seat at the table, I see this as simply one more opportunity to gain that seat.

    My response to Quality 4.0 is as follows...
    1- Slightly jaded. "New" approaches would be great if we could influence industry leadership to properly embrace and implement "old" approaches (Any one that reads Deming can "hear" the frustration in his voice)
    2- Recognition. I do, however, recognize that "quality" must continue to be part of the conversation on the FRONT end in order to gain the necessary influence. Industry and generations evolve, and we all (all aspects) must evolve with it (or get left out completely)
    3- Disappointed. That there is a separate identify for"QUALITY 4.0" How can there be an "INDUSTRY 4.0" without quality? This separation/segregation has been an (the?) ongoing problem .
    4- Willing. I am extremely willing and enthused to gain additional knowledge and promote an approach (as I see it), that deeper embeds/incorporates "quality" within industry, instead of simply a red line "necessary evil" on the P&L statement
    5- Hopeful. Based on my statements in "4" above, I'm hopeful that this approach will make "quality" an integral part of industry and not a separate function.

    You will notice that I continued to place "quality" in quotes. "Quality" in itself is not always well understood by industry, which is one reason it is often relegated to a low priority. Quality is not a "thing", it is an approach and a goal. I actually define "quality" in many of my training curriculums, just for this purpose. "Quality", when properly understood and applied as an approach, is an invisible part of the overall fabric, with a goal of cost avoidance. "Quality" , when understood and integrated in this fashion provides an ROI and causes increased profit as well as associate pride and satisfaction.

    Thanks again for starting this conversation. Hopefully others will join in.


    Be well.
     
  5. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Happy to resurrect this thread. We appear to be of similar minds, @John C. Abnet. I've tried to approach Quality 4.0 from understanding I4.0 and with a couple of exceptions, I see little difference in what a Quality Professional might involve themselves. From a traditional quality tools, point of view, SPC applied to 3D printing is still SPC. IQ/OQ/PQ for automation and robotics is still the same. Competency for AR/VR and simulation isn't changing. I can see a strong link with Cyber Security and Big Data to "retained" and "maintained" documented information, however... I fear "Much Ado About Nothing".
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2022
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  6. John C. Abnet

    John C. Abnet Well-Known Member

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    @Andy Nichols , appropriate to move this thread to a QMS forum ? (those QMS will obviously be drawn in to the discussion eventually ??)
     
  7. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    A year has passed and I'm no better off understanding. I see a case study in the CQI's newsletter https://www.quality.org/quality-4-point-0/baltic-exchange-move-to-quality

    I'm struggling to grasp what, in practical terms, it is. There's this definition which is being adopted: "Quality 4.0 is the leveraging of technology with people to improve the quality of an organisation, its products, its services and the outcomes it creates."

    I understand Industry 4.0 and the "9 Pillars" (at least one version is):
    Cybersecurity -
    Augmented & Virtual Reality
    Big Data
    Robotics/Automation
    Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing
    Simulation
    System Integration
    Cloud Computing
    Internet of Things

    So is Quality 4.0 the relationship of the Quality function to these? An example might be the need for Cyber Security applied to an organizations "maintained and retained documented information" (ISO 9001 clause 7.5). Is "Big Data" also part of this, plus Analysis and Evaluation (9.1.3) as inputs to Management Review (9.3.2) and hence Improvement (10.1)? Do Robotics and Automation align with Control of Production (8.5.1)? Would a simulation be a way to demonstrate Operational Planning and control (8.1)

    Or, as I fear, it's an amorphous concept which has yet to find a practical application in the vast majority of manufacturing companies (which represent the majority ISO 9001 users)
     

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    Last edited: Oct 13, 2022
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  8. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    I've also discovered some more on "Quality 4.0" and that the ASQ has a different take on things:
    upload_2022-11-9_13-17-34.png
    upload_2022-11-9_13-18-5.png upload_2022-11-9_13-17-34.png upload_2022-11-9_13-18-5.png
     
  9. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Further, it seems that the origination of the term is here:

    https://blog.lnsresearch.com/what-is-quality-4.0-and-what-it-isnt

    I am struggling to find any experience of "overlaying" Quality 4.0 to a manufacturing organization. Could it be that, because Industry 4.0 has yet to find its "wings", Quality 4.0 is going to be delayed?
     
  10. Miner

    Miner Moderator Staff Member

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    Further exacerbating the problem is that there does not seem to be a consensus on Quality 4.0. ASQ, CQI and LNS/Juran Institute have three different concepts. While there is some overlap and similarity, there are still major differences. ASQ's seem overly simplistic and vague. The LNS/Juran Institute is more complete and thought out, but not quite a finished product. CQI's is somewhere in between.
     
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  11. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    If we take the standard definition (ISO 9000 that is) of quality being "degree to which a set of inherent characteristics of an object fulfils requirements" and I overlay that on any of these descriptions, I'm (still) really struggling to see a fit.
     
  12. Miner

    Miner Moderator Staff Member

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    I am not sure where you are heading with this. One thing they all seem to agree upon is that Quality 4.0 does not change existing quality principles or methods. It changes the means by which we enact them.

    Think of the new possibilities if you were able to have real-time visibility into the CTQ dimensions of 100% of any given product at any time. Another is if an employee wore VR goggles that showed their standard work step by step just as needed. Or providing remote support to customers through VR headsets.
     
  13. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Absolutely! I see these types of things daily, in our demonstration lab which is a portal on Industry 4.0 for clients. Where I'm struggling is "Quality". These things are part and parcel of I4.0 - process control, measuring/monitoring, training, standard work. They are all recognized practices, with "digitalization" - what's the Q4.0 "bit"?
     
  14. Miner

    Miner Moderator Staff Member

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    Are you familiar with the breakout of Quality 1.0, 2.0, etc.?
    1. Quality 1.0 - Inspection
    2. Quality 2.0 - Adherence to military standards, AQLs, focus on reducing scrap and rework
    3. Quality 3.0 - Continuous improvement, stabilizing processes (SPC), standardizing work, ISO standards
    4. Quality 4.0 - Leveraging the digital transformation to make step-function improvements in quality
    This is usually presented as being in-sync with the same phases of Industry 1.0 to 4.0.
     
  15. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Never knew of this. To whom is it attributed? I’m not sure its accurate…
     
  16. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    I’m genuinely lost. I cannot grasp the idea that it’s a “thing”. If I look at a tool, such as a robot being used to do a dull job - let’s say fitting a wheel/tire to a car on an assembly line and torquing up the fasteners, I cannot conceive how Quality 4.0 is in any way different. The requirement to ensure the process is carried out in control, is repeatable, torque meets spec etc., is maintained preventively and programming is controlled like any machine would be.
     
  17. Miner

    Miner Moderator Staff Member

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    I cannot recall to whom it is attributed. The source linked the four phase of Quality to the same four phases of the industrial revolution then added in the main quality principles

    This graphic is from ASQ. I overlaid the boxes based on the standard timelines for Industry 1.0 thru 4.0. You can then see or recall what quality principles were in play at those times.
    upload_2022-11-10_9-57-35.png
     
  18. Bev D

    Bev D Moderator Staff Member

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    As I recall, Industry 4.0 was a uniquely German thing due to political and industrial situations in the region. Then of course it became something that the US just had to have…and so Quality jumped on the band wagon. (I may be a bit fuzzy in my attribution so feel free to correct me). BUT…

    Quality 4.0 is a thing. It’ a categorization of a new era in Quality. Much like we categorize ‘generations’. Certainly the advent of large scale data collection and more sophisticated software to analyze that data and ‘automation’ to adjust equipment in the factory and in the field is a step function addition to our tools. I could quibble over the attributes that categorize the other eras but that would really be pointless at this time. In my last organization we made really good use of this and it helped us to improve our quality in the eyes of the Customer and improve our hold on the market. And here is a critical point: we also used all of the tools from other eras (except AQL sampling - we moved away from that pretty solidly towards process improvement and stability so that acceptance sampling was rarely needed). Quality 4.0 is an ‘and’ not an ‘instead of’.

    Quality 4.0 is also a gimmick and a fad much like six sigma was and SPC before that. Once the hack consultants get ahold of one thing ‘new’ to tout a real thing crosses the line into a fad. But many executives love that stuff - “money for nothing and your chicks for free” as it were…

    So as always caveat emptor.
     
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  19. Bev D

    Bev D Moderator Staff Member

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    Another downside is that the analytical software is so ‘sophisticated’* and at times black box that the IT guys think that makes them a quality and statistical expert. They are not. They are just band wagon riders. It’s like watching a 5 year old wield a chain saw…

    *A lot of the AI and Machine Learning software is just multi-regression statistics. And the IT guys have no understanding of physics, Customer behavior, or data. But they are hiring data scientists like crazy…
     
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  20. Miner

    Miner Moderator Staff Member

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    I think most ML is some type of stepwise or best subset regression. Those obviously have the risk of correlation without causation, but many are willing to use that regardless (think credit scores).