The Deming Application Prize Checklist
1. Policies (Hoshin)
(1) Quality and quality control policies and their place in overall business management.
(2) Clarity of policies (targets and priority measures)
(3) Methods and processes for establishing policies
(4) Relationship of policies to long - and short - term plans
(5) Communication (deployment) of policies, and grasp and management of achieving policies
(6) Executives and managers leadership
2. Organization
(l) Appropriateness of the organizational structure for quality control and status of employee involvement
(2) Clarity of authority and responsibility
(3) Status of interdepartmental coordination
(4) Status of committee and project team activities
(5) Status of staff activities
(6) Relationships with associated companies (group companies, vendors, contractors, sales companies, etc.)
3. Information
(l) Appropriateness of collecting and communicating external information
(2) Appropriateness of collecting and communicating internal information
(3) Status of applying statistical techniques to data analysis
(4) Appropriateness of information retention
(5) Status of utilizing information
(6) Status of utilizing computers for data processing
4. Standardization
(l) Appropriateness of the system of standards
(2) Procedures for establishing, revising and abolishing standards
(3) Actual performance in establishing, revising and abolishing standards
(4) Contents of standards
(5) Status of utilizing and adhering to standards
(6) Status of systematically developing, accumulating, handing down and utilizing technologies
5. Human resources
(l) Education and training plans and their development and results utilization
(2) Status of quality consciousness, consciousness of managing jobs, and understanding of quality control
(3) Status of supporting and motivating self-development and self-realization
(4) Status of understanding and utilizing statistical concepts and methods
(5) Status of QC circle development and improvement suggestions
(6) Status of supporting the development of human resources in associated companies
6. Quality assurance
(l) Status of managing the quality assurance activities system
(2) Status of quality control diagnosis
(3) Status of new product and technology development (including quality analysis, quality deployment and design review activities)
(4) Status of process control
(5) Status of process analysis and process improvement (including process capability studies)
(6) Status of inspection, quality evaluation and quality audit
(7) Status of managing production equipment, measuring instruments and vendors
(8) Status of packaging, storage, transportation, sales and service activities
(9) Grasping and responding to product usage, disposal, recovery and recycling
(l0) Status of quality assurance
(11) Grasping of the status of customer satisfaction
(l2) Status of assuring reliability, safety, product liability and environmental protection
7. Maintenance
(l) Rotation of management (PDCA) cycle control activities
(2) Methods for determining control items and their levels
(3) In-control situations (status of utilizing control charts and other tools)
(4) Status of taking temporary and permanent measures
(5) Status of operating management systems for cost, quantity, delivery, etc.
(6) Relationship of quality assurance system to other operating management systems
8. Improvement
(l) Methods of selecting themes (important activities problems and priority issues)
(2) Linkage of analytical methods and intrinsic technology
(3) Status of utilizing statistical methods for analysis
(4) Utilization of analysis results
(5) Status of confirming improvement results and transferring them to maintenance/control activities
(6) Contribution of QC circle activities
9. Effects
(l) Tangible effects (such as quality, delivery, cost, profit, safety and environment)
(2) Intangible effects
(3) Methods for measuring and grasping effects
(4) Customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction
(5) Influence on associated companies
(6) Influence on local and international communities
l0. Future plans
(l) Status of grasping current situations
(2) Future plans for improving problems
(3) Projection of changes in social environment and customer requirements and future plans based on these projected changes
(4) Relationships among management philosophy, vision and long-term plans
(5) Continuity of quality control activities
(6) Concreteness of future plans
THE DEMING APPLICATION PRIZE CHECKLIST
(FOR SENIOR EXECUTIVES)
l. Understanding
(l) Are the objectives of quality control and enthusiasm introduction and promotion clearly defined and well understood?
(2) How well do they understand quality control, quality assurance, reliability, product liability, etc.?
(3) How well do they understand the importance of the statistical way of thinking and the application of quality control techniques?
(4) How well do they understand QC circle activities?
(5) How well do they understand the relationship of quality control and the concepts and methods of other management activities?
(6) How enthusiastic are they in promoting quality control? How well are they exercising leadership?
(7) How well do they understand the status and the characteristics of their company's quality and quality control?
2. Policies
(l) How are quality policies and quality control policies established? Where and how do these policies stand in relation to overall business management?
(2) How are these policies related to short- and long-term plans?
(3) How are these policies deployed throughout the company for their achievement?
(4) How do they grasp the status of policy achievement? Are they taking appropriate corrective actions when needed?
(5) How do they grasp priority quality issues (priority business issues)? Do they make effective use of diagnostic methods such as top management diagnosis?
(6) How well are targets and priority measures aligned with policies?
(7) What kind of policies do they employ for establishing cooperative relationships with associated companies?
3. Organization
(l) How is the company organized and managed to human resources effectively and efficiently practice quality control?
(2) How are the authorities and responsibilities in the organization established?
(3) Is the allocation of human resources suitable for the organization?
(4) How do they strive to make employers happy and satisfied?
(5) How do they grasp and evaluate employees capability and motivation levels?
(6) How do they strive interdepartmental cooperation? How do they utilize committees and project teams?
(7) How do they relate to associated companies?
4. Human resources
(l) How clear is the philosophy for hiring, development developing and utilizing human resources?
(2) How appropriate are the employee education and training plans? Are the necessary budget and time allocated?
(3) How do they communicate the policies for quality control education and training and how do they grasp the status achieving their policies?
(4) How do they provide education and training specific to the company's business needs?
(5) How well do they understand the importance of employee self- and mutual-development? How do they support this effort?
(6) How do they strive to develop QC circle activities?
(7) How interested are they in developing human resources in associated companies?
5. Implementation
(l) What kind of measures do they have for the and evaluation effective and efficient implementation of quality control?
(2) How well is the overall coordination of quality control and other management systems?
(3) How do they grasp the status of improvement in the business processes and the individual steps of these processes so as to provide products and services that satisfy the customer needs? Are they taking necessary corrective actions?
(4) How well are the systems for developing new products and services, new technologies and new markets established and managed?
(5) How well are the necessary resources secured and allocated for establishing and operating management and information systems?
(6) How do they grasp the effects and contributions of quality control to the improvement of business performance?
(7) How do they evaluate their employees efforts?
6. Corporate social
(l) Is the company structured to ensure responsibilities appropriate profits for a long time?
(2) How well do they regard employer well being (wage levels, working hours, etc.)?
(3) How well do they regard employee self-realization?
(4) How well do they strive for co-existence and co-prosperity with associated companies?
(5) How well does the company contribute to the local community?
(6) How well does the company exert efforts to protect the environment?
(7) How well does the company positively impact the international community?
7. Future visions
(l) How do they assure the continuity of and future plans quality control?
(2) How do they anticipate and cope with changes in surrounding business environment and progress in science and technology?
(3) How do they grasp and cope with changes in customer requirements?
(4) How do they consider their employees and help them achieve happiness and satisfaction?
(5) How do they consider and manage relationships with associated companies?
(6) How do they plan for the future to cope with the items above?
