Model implementacije TQM-a u grafičku industriju
D. Donevski, D. Milčić, D. Banić
ISSN 1330-3651 UDC/UDK 005.6:655
A MODEL FOR IMPLEMENTING TQM IN THE GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRY Davor Donevski, Diana Milčić, Dubravko Banić Subject review The most important criterion for pronouncing a certain production process to be successful is that it produces products of the desired quality level. Attaining quality is the aim of every production process. Achieving superior quality is possible by ensuring that a production process is being conducted under the best possible conditions. Another important step toward quality is employee education. Ensuring the best production conditions and the best education of employees requires enormous investments and does not lead toward optimization because the costs of quality become too high. Printed material has the aim of meeting certain requirements for quality in order to successfully transfer the message to consumers on the competitive market. In the production process of this dynamic, every fault results with delays in delivery and quality reduction. This paper investigates current approach to quality in the graphic arts industry, and elaborates the model of applying knowledge from the field of quality management to the printing industry. Key words: graphic arts, print production, quality, TQM
Model implementacije TQM-a u grafičku industriju Pregledni članak Najvažniji kriterij proglašavanja nekog proizvodnog procesa uspješnim je sposobnost tog procesa da proizvede proizvod tražene kvalitete. Postizanje kvalitete je cilj svakog proizvodnog procesa. Superiornu kvalitetu moguće je postići osiguranjem najboljih mogućih uvjeta u kojima se odvija poizvodni proces. Druga važna aktivnost je edukacija kadrova. Osiguranje najboljih mogućih uvjeta i najbolje edukacije kadrova zahtijevaju velika ulaganja pa troškovi kvalitete postaju previsoki. Takav pristup, ako i jest praktično izvediv, ne vodi optimizaciji. Tiskani materijal mora udovoljiti određenim zahtjevima za kvalitetom kako bi na konkurentskom tržištu uspješno prenio poruku potencijalnom kupcu. U tako dinamičnoj proizvodnji kao što je grafička, svaka greška uzrokuje kašnjenje i pad kvalitete. U ovom članku izneseni su rezultati istraživanja trenutačnog stanja u grafičkoj industriji i prijedlog modela implementacije znanja s područja kvalitete u grafičku proizvodnju. Ključne riječi: grafička proizvodnja, kvaliteta, tisak, TQM
1 Introduction Uvod
2 Evaluation Procjena
Traditional approach to quality relies on the prevention of defective products being shipped to the customers. This approach results in high percentage of products being discarded or reworked, which makes it highly ineffective. In the 1950s, Japanese companies looked up to the quality improvement ideas of such western experts as Deming and Juran, and chose their approach. That was the prevention of the defective units being produced at all, [1]. A core objective in the prevention of defects is the reduction of variation. All units being produced in a certain production process vary to some extent. Those variations depend on the four most important factors: machinery, people, method and materials. The question whether these variations do or do not have any effect on quality can be answered only by measuring variations, and TQM provides tools for that. The process management systems designed for the printing industry have developed significantly over the past 30 years, and those technological improvements facilitated the reduction of variation and collecting of data. However, technology alone does not lead toward the goal of TQM, which is continuous improvement in quality. This requires the involvement of the company's employees. Every participant who contributes to improvements in one segment in a series of processes contributes to the final costeffective quality. The implementation of TQM is based on the gradual introduction of the problem-solving tools and techniques, such as the seven quality control tools (QC7). Tools and techniques are used in a well planned investigation with the aim of making improvements, and a typical method of TQM is the PDCA (plan, do, check, act) Cycle, also known as Deming's Wheel.
This section analyzes the print production processes and investigates the current state in the printing industry. The cause-and-effect diagram (Figure1) shows major categories and processes affecting the final quality of a product or service. The prepress stage is a common source of faults, [2]. Desktop publishing (DTP) allowed non-experts to design their pages, which resulted in files which are not suitable for production. Some print shops have created instruction manuals with file specifications and requirements and lists of most common prepress faults for their clients. This significantly reduced the number of incorrigible prepress work and lead toward meeting customer's needs. The storing and conditioning of raw material, particularly paper is very important. As storage and production rooms are usually separated, the air temperature and relative humidity are different in each. As paper is hygroscopic, these factors affect its moisture absorption, which results in dimensions change. Depending on the amount of difference between conditions in storage and production room, the paper should be conditioned for a certain period of time in the production room to reach stability. This requires additional space which is usually not available in the production of this dynamism. The production processes, both press and postpress, should be monitored and data should be collected continuously. This is rarely done in practice. Collected data can be used to optimize processes and reduce variation. Simplified methods of the DOE (Design of Experiments) can lead toward significant improvements.
Technical Gazette 16, 1(2009), 31-34
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