Anıl Uzal, 030070012, 2nd week

Quality Circle:

Quality circles, or QCs, are generally defined as “small groups of volunteers from the same work area who meet regularly to identify, analyze, and solve quality and related problems in their area of responsibility” (Munchus, 1983: 255). They usually consist of eight to ten members and meet once a week during normal working hours. Moveover, members of QCs usually receive some form of training in problem-solving techniques. (Ricky W. Griffin, The Academy of Management Journal Vol. 31, No. 2 (Jun., 1988), pp. 338)

Integrated Manufacturing:

Integrated manufacturing (IM) is driven by the widespread adoption of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT), total quality management (TQM), and just-in-time inventory control (JIT). AMT is the manufacturing subset of information technology, and comprises such specific technologies as flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), as well as the integration of aspects of manufacturing into computer-integrated manufacturing (CIh4) systems (Majchrzak, 1988; Dean and Susman, 1989). JIT is a set of practices for reducing lead time and inventory, and is associated with reductions in number of parts and suppliers, and increased frequency of parts delivery (Schonberger, 1986; Gunn, 1987). Finally, TQM is a philosophy of management comprised of principles such as continuous improvement and teamwork with suppliers to improve quality (Dean and Bowen, 1994).

These three techniques-AMT, JIT, and TQM-combine to create ‘a streamlined flow of automated, value-added activities, uninterrupted by moving, storage, or rework… The elimination of barriers is the heart of IM’ (Snell and Dean, 1992: 472). Together they have important strategic potential in that they blend the stages, functions, and goals of manufacturing. Rather than viewing performance as the result of tradeoffs between, for example, cost and quality, the IM perspective posits that firms can pursue several outcomes simultaneously (cf. Ferdows and DeMeyer, 1990). (Dean J.W., Snell S.A., Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 17, Issue 6, p. 459)

On-Line Inspection:

On-machine inspection, which is also known as on-line inspection, offers an attractive alternative solution. On-machine inspection enables measurement taking, data collection as well as data feedback and process adjustment fully automated and integrated. With on-machine inspections, a part can be measured at the machine and corrected there to avoid relocation between the CNC and a CMM. Small samples can be made and then checked immediately. Problems such as overcompensation and under-compensation can be identified at an early stage. (F. Zhao et al., Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 24 (2008), p. 201)

Logistic Process:

The logistic process is fundamental to the study of population dynamics. It encapsulates the two basic features of an isolated population, namely, death and reproduction of individuals. The logistic process has several distinct theoretical manifestations, the two most common being deterministic with either continuous or discrete time—the Verhulst equation ([Edelstein-Keshet 1988]) and the logistic map ( [May 1976]), respectively. A third theoretical manifestation of the logistic process, which is somewhat less well known, is that in which time is treated as a continuous variable, but in which the population number can change only by discrete units of a single individual. This is the appropriate description for a population which has overlapping generations, and whose size may be small. This model, which is often termed the stochastic logistic process (SLP), has attracted rather less interest than its two peers since it is by nature a stochastic model, and therefore its analysis is rather complicated. (Newman T. J., Ferdy J.B., Quince C., Theoretical Population Biology, Volume 65, Issue 2, March 2004, p. 115)