Browsing by Author "Rogerson, J. H."
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Item Open Access Analysis of quality management requirements for product design in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)(Cranfield University, 1997-07) Fang, Wen-Hsin; Rogerson, J. H.The use of a quality management approach in the product design/development process is to control and monitor the design activities to improve the consistency of design, and further help to produce quality products that meet the customer needs. This is of particular importance to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) due to their natural constraints. The aim of this study has been firstly to examine relationship between the ISO 9000 approach and the Quality Award Business Excellence Models to see to what extent they can be applied in the SMEs. Secondly, several different techniques including metrics of the new view of value engineering using a design process "model" as framework were developed theoretically and applied in practical terms during the product design process to improve the efficiency of quality management on design for the SMEs. The conclusions are that, in the case of the ISO 9000 approach and the Models, it is appropriate for the SMEs to use in order to maintain competitiveness provided they are considered as process management disciplines. The concept of the new view of value engineering can be widely and consistently used to facilitate the generation process of design efficiency for the SMEs through a two-level of validation processes including a checklist. Such concept can only be fulfilled in practice with the positive recognition that achieving high worth instead of high value for the stages in the design process is a key factor.Item Open Access Definitions of Guidelines for Introducing an Integrated Management System to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises(Cranfield University, 1999-10) Fassoula, Evagelia D.; Rogerson, J. H.To survive and achieve to develop their activities in an increasingly competitive environment, small and medium sized enterprises have to increase their competitiveness and, progressively, reduce their operational cost. It is therefore the objective of this research project to develop a flexible and unique management system for these enterprises to use to integrate all management systems or activities related to quality, safety and environmental issues and continuously improve their overall business performance and also to get prepared for certification according to the relevant international standards. The research project has been based on the edition of 2000 of the ISO 9001 standard: "Quality Management Systems - Requirements", the ISO 14001: 1996 standard: "Environmental Management Systems - Specification with Guidance for Use", the BS 8800: 1996 standard: "Guide to Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems" and the Business Excellence Model. The thesis author carried out a data collection procedure to determine the special characteristics of small and medium sized enterprises and to specify their needs for survival and development. The results of the research reinforced the conclusions of the relevant literature that was reviewed. The areas of literature examined related to quality management systems as platforms for integration, to safety and environmental management systems and to business process analysis and the conclusions were taken under consideration from a point of view of small and medium sized enterprises. The output of the research project is a practical guide for small and medium sized enterprises. It is a route-map of activities for the implementation of the integrated management system, incorporating tools addressing specific management areas using quality, safety and environmental issues to focus them. The route-map has the potential to integrate the overall management activities of an organization and has an internal metric mechanism to indicate the rate of integration. The tools of the route- map were partially implemented to two (2) SMEs, giving positive validation of the concepts. 1Item Open Access Improvements in the materials supply chain for a motor sport supplier using quality management techniques.(2000-09-08) Robinson, Frances Margaret; Rogerson, J. H.; Nixon, J. H.Ray Mallock Ltd is a medium sized business operating in one of the fastest developing, expensive, international industries, motor sport. A tremendous amount is spent every year on research and developing cars to go faster because the company’s reputation stands upon their cars winning. Motor sport is primarily located in the south of England with many small specialist suppliers developing around the various teams. The suppliers to the motor sport industry are often under considerable pressure to respond instantaneously to the needs of each team. With such a wide range of skills and types of suppliers the supply chain becomes very complex and awkward for a company the size of RML to manage as it requires a lot of resources. Therefore the overall project aim was to look at the approach RML took toward their supply chain and resolve the major problems that were encountered by the Materials Department. The Materials Department consists of Purchasing, Inspection and Stores. These departments are closely linked and incorporate quality. A number of quality tools were used to gather data and information regarding the department including interviews, , ) internal literature review, observation, flow process mapping, gap analysis and data [ collection. This highlighted a common problem to medium sized companies, informality. i Procedures were not in place so improvements were limited, a wealth of experience lay with employees regarding suppliers but this needed to be gathered and methods for ; \ selecting, appraising and measuring performance formulated. Communication externally needed improvement, with the high variability and randomness of orders placed with suppliers they needed to be made more aware of how projects are progressing to help them plan. There is extra emphasis placed upon critical components for car builds which is the reason why a supplier development scheme was adapted for use by RML. The project concludes that proper procedures, supplier appraisal and selection schemes, performance measurement and future supplier development, if used properly and wholeheartedly the tools ought to aid the department. The Materials Department can improve after the initial implementation by developing the tools and make real steps towards making better informed decisions about suppliers, managing supplier relationships, continuous improvements and contributing to the bottom line of RML.Item Open Access Improving construction design : The lean thinking paradigm(Cranfield University, 1999-09) Morris, Jonathan; Rogerson, J. H.A study has been conducted into improving construction design through the application of the lean thinking paradigm. Its objective was to identify the issues relating to design efficiency and how a lean thinking approach might address these issues. The investigation consisted of examining work already undertaken in the field by other researchers"to identify the state of the art. The change order request system was examined to gain first insights into waste in construction design, and to gauge the size of the opportunity for the application of lean thinking. An Electronic Data Gathering Tool (EDGT) was then developed to allow further exploration of the design decision making process at the system / sub-system level. The EDGT was used on three live construction projects. From the data recorded a design planning tool, Design Decision Planner (DDP), was created to help improve control of the design process and lead to a more standardised approach to construction design. Standardising the approach to product development is an important component of lean thinking. The main recommendations for making construction design lean are: Use DDP to plan and improve control of the design decision making process, assign design responsibility and to make the process more transparent. 2. Measuring progress against planned design is a useful process metric. 3. Improve the designer's cost and programme visibility when choosing between design options. 4. Redefine the role of the quantity surveyor from cost controller to value for money assessor. The role needs to be better integrated into the design process to reach its full potential. 5. Need to develop more rigorous methods of assessing the buildability of design options. This problem could be eased in the short-term by incorporating construction professionals into the early design phases. 6. Designers need to use more process reason drivers when choosing between design options, not just functional criteria. 7. The change order request system could be redesigned to identify the root causes of contract issue design changes and, hence, improve the design decision making process.Item Open Access The Quality Management of New Product Design and Development(Cranfield University, 1993-04) Wang, H. M.; Rogerson, J. H.The quality management of a modern complex product from design to production is very complicated matter which involves the whole company as well as external bodies (customer and supplier etc). In this thesis, based on customer-oriented principles, major management techniques, creating a time phased quality management programme to approach the quality related design processes, combines with the development of a quantitative method to measure the quality achievement of each design activity, including each phase and the overall design stage, for their correctness and efficiency in terms of time, cost and performance. A practical example is given for demonstrating the validation of the quantification. Through proper tailoring, the time phased quality management programme can be applied to different types of product, simple and complex, and to hardware and software, as well as to totally new design or partial design improvement. A quality information system is also developed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the design and development process and to obtain improved product performance. Through a systematic analysis of the design process, it is shown that the majority of the steps taken are amenable to discipline and control and, therefore, design can realistically be included in a formal quality management system.Item Open Access The relationship between the welding conditions, thermal cycles, microstructure and toughness of weld metal in C»~Mn steels(1978-02) Rodrigues, Pedro Eduardo Leal Barbosa; Rogerson, J. H.Submerged arc weld deposits were produced using a 40 mm thick low Sulphur, low Phosphorous, Carbon Manganese microalloyed steel to B»S. 45d0 : 50D. The welding consumables used were a 4 mm diameter C. 1'2/fc Mn Wire (SD5) in conjunction with the OP 41 TT ffully basicf flux. Two series of three welds were made at three different calculated heat inputs of 5.8 EJ/nnn, 3.9 KJ/mm- and 2.9 KJ/mm. For the first series . the welding current was kept constant at 650 amp and the welding speed was varied from 200 mn/min to 400 mm/min. For the second series the welding speed was kept constant at 300 mm/min, but the welding current varied from 850 amp to 480 amp. For both the sub-surface and root regions of each weld the relationship between weld metal post solidification cooling cycle, transformation temperature, weld metal microstructure and toughness was examined and it was shown primarily that there is not a simple relationship between heat input as conventionally measured and the weld metal cooling cycle. The weld metal cooling cycle was found to be dependent upon various factors such as : 1. The actual heat input, measured in terms of weld metal bead volume. 2. Weld bead shape measured in terms of width to depth ratio, 3. Flux consumption measured in weight of the slag removed per unit volume of weld bead. 4. The relationship between the size of the weld bead and the geometry of the immediately surrounding plate. 5. The post solidification thermal effects imposed by the subsequent weld runs. From the thermal analysis measurements made whilst welding was in progress, two transformation reactions were identified. À high temperature transformation occuring at approximately 85Q°C identified by subsequent metallographic examinations as the pro-eutectoid ferrite transformation, and a low temperature transformation occuring at approximately 650 C identified as the acicular ferrite phase trans-. formation. The thermal analysis results also showed that .the weld metal cooling rate had an effect on the weld metal transformation temperatures. For each transformation an increase in the weld cooling rate lead to a depression of the transformation Temperature. The present results indicate that the most desirable welding condition from a toughness point of view, should give a weld metal cooling cycle which was "slow" for the 1400°C - 900°C temperature range, but "fast" below the temperature of 900°C. This would lead to a microstructure formed of large columnar grains, but with a high acicular ferrite volume fraction. 1 All welds showed a through thickness toughness variation. These differences in the through thickness properties were mainly attributed to the large differences in the thermal history between the sub-surface and the root beads which in turn lead to different microstructures, the sub-surface beads were formed by a larger columnar grain and a higher volume fraction of acicular ferrite than the root beads. The root beads Charpy V specimens also contained some refined equiaxed ferrite grains while the sub-surface Charpy V specimens contained solely as deposited weld metal. These differences in the microstructure features between the sub-surface and the root beads in turn appear to be, for the present welds, the main cause for the differences in the through thickness properties. The overall conclusion from the present work is therefore that the weld metal deposits made at the same calculated heat input do not necessarily show the same toughness properties. This results from the fact that the cooling cycle, transformation temperature and amount of weld metal reheated by the subsequent runs are determined by the precise welding conditions.