A system dynamics approach to quality improvement programs in a heavy engineering manufacturing environment: A case study

Organisations are continually challenged to provide the best return on investment for their shareholders. This challenge has become increasingly more difficult through globalisation of the market place. Companies quickly realized to stay competitive they have to introduce quality improvement programs. Many quality improvement programs such as quality circles, statistical process control (SPC), total quality management (TQM), six sigma, to name a few, developed in the manufacturing industry with the common goal, to improve the quality of the product or service. Typical causality is studied using one of the six sigma tools, a fish bone diagram, to relate cause and effect. This tool does not allow the user to study and understand feedback from other factors in the improvement process system, typically referred to as feedback causality. Generally the understanding is poor of the dynamic behaviour of the improvement process system with the soft issues, as factors of the system. System dynamics may improve this understanding. Quality improvement programs in a heavy engineering manufacturing environment are not researched to the same degree as quality improvement programs in an automotive manufacturing environment. The purpose with this paper is to share results from research done in a heavy engineering manufacturing environment. The organising framework for this research is qualitative research, with a polar type case study focused on initiatives where there were dramatic successes or failures, with the expectation that their comparison would help identify those processes that prevent competence enhancing change. The methodology used in this research is a case study method. The purpose of this paper is specifically aimed at testing the theory, developed by Repenning and Sterman for an automotive manufacturing environment, in a heavy engineering manufacturing environment.