THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK PROCEDURES, WORK INSTRUCTIONS AND QUALITY CONTROL IN A COMPANY

 

When carrying out a production process, you usually first determine the quality standard as seen from a work procedure outlined in the form of a work instruction which is created as a benchmark in determining the quality standard that will be used in making a product. Before knowing the relationship between the three theories and examples of cases that occur, first understand the meaning of these three theories. Are they?Let's look at the meaning below:

1. Procedure

Procedures or procedures are a series of actions, actions or certain operations that must be carried out or carried out in a standardized (same) way in order to always obtain the same results from the same circumstances, such as Occupational Health and Safety Procedures, School Entry Procedures, Leave Procedures School, etc. More precisely, this word can denote a series of activities, tasks, steps, decisions, calculations and processes, carried out through a series of works that produce a desired goal, product or effect. A procedure usually results in change.Procedures can also be interpreted as:

• Instructions or recipe, a series of commands that show how to prepare or make something

• Subroutine or method (computer science), namely a subprogram that is part of a larger program

• Algorithm, in mathematics and computer science, a series of operations or calculations to complete a specific task

• Standard operating procedures

• Legal procedures

• Parliamentary procedures

In text form, the procedure has the following structure.

• Objective, introduction to the topic that will be explained in the text.

• Step-by-step, detailed instructions suggested to the reader regarding the specified topic.

2. SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)

The smoothness of a business process that occurs in a warehouse is influenced by several factors, one of which is work procedures. To achieve professional, effective and efficient work results, a standard procedure is needed which guides the implementation of each process in the warehouse. Procedures in the work system are known as standard operating procedures (SOP) (Sitorus & Nasution, 2017). SOPs are instructions documented in written form that are used in carrying out routine activities carried out by an organization (Irawati & Hardiastuti, 2016). SOPs explain how activities are carried out under quality control management (US EPA, 2007). Implementing SOPs in carrying out every activity can help ensure that every step, decision and use of facilities is carried out effectively and efficiently (Sitorus & Nasution, 2017). Implementing SOPs can also help companies provide the best service to customers and become a reference for monitoring service quality (Rahmaningtias & Hati, 2020).SOPs are mandatory for companies that implement ISO 9001:2015.

3. Work Instructions

Work instructions are orders given by superiors to employees who work within that scope. Work instructions are there to help someone carry out various kinds of work activities so that everything is done correctly and in accordance with the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) that has previously been established. Work instructions serve several purposes. There are several things that cover the purpose of establishing work instructions, including:

A.              Providing information about what and how work rules should be established and implemented

b.             Provides various explanations regarding system bug solving procedures within the company

C.      Becomes a relevant guideline for Puskom and various other parties related to procedures for developing work procedures and so on.

Work instructions are part of standard operating procedures in a company. However, its position is below the SOP or work procedures. Meanwhile, work procedures in a company's performance are work procedures that are recorded in a document and contain stages that must be carried out in various activities in a particular operation based on a certain time sequence and procedures that have been prepared repeatedly. Work instructions or work procedures are determined according to the needs of each company. Therefore, we often know that work instructions and procedures in one company and another company have certain differences in them.All this because it is adjusted to the workforce, regulations and all matters relating to the operations of the company concerned. There are several things related to work instructions and procedures, consisting of:

A.          It must be stated in writing and then arranged systematically to later be expressed in printed or manual form

B.           Work procedures and instructions must be communicated or informed in advance regularly to all parties and interested officers or officials.

C.           It must be adjusted to leadership policies and various general policies that will be determined at a higher level.

D.        The management must be able to encourage the implementation of activities efficiently and create adequate guarantees for the creation and maintenance of various resources under the control of the company organization.

E.          It must be reviewed periodically, if there are rules that are not suitable and do not meet the company's needs, then revisions must be carried out.

F.            Re-evaluation of all work rules must be properly carried out and conditioned as best as possible so that misinformation and gaps in communication will not occur.

To be easy to understand, work instructions and procedures must be made as simple as possible and in a language that is accessible to all parties. In relation to work procedures, several things that are included in it and need to be understood are as follows:

A.  For whom work instructions and procedures are created.

B.  In what order and purpose are work instructions and procedures created?

C.    Who is the person who will carry out the work instructions and procedures?

D.    What is the workflow with the instructions that have been set.

E.   How to execute according to work rules.

In work procedures, there are three important stages that must be understood, namely what input, process and output are like. Everything is sustainable to obtain a conducive work environment and comfortable work rhythm so that work productivity for all parties can be obtained.

After knowing the three meanings of the theory above, next we have to know what quality and quality control are to relate them to work procedures and work instructions along with examples of cases that are currently occurring. 

• Quality

Quality is the degree of good or bad something. This term is more often associated with the field  of economics . This cannot be separated from various factors, such as company, product, and so on.  Quality is an interesting topic in the industrial world, because  the main factor that determines a company's performance is the quality of  the products produced. A quality product is a product that matches  what consumers want. Therefore, companies must know  consumer needs  and desires. According to  Gryna  (2001)  quality  means customer satisfaction  . Thus  , every part of the process in the organization has a customer. Internal customer satisfaction will lead to organizational customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, the definition of quality according to Feigenbaum (1991) states that product and  service  quality  can be  defined  as  a combination of  product and  service  characteristics  starting from marketing, engineering, formation and maintenance which makes  a product and service used meet customer expectations or hopes . Based on Feigenbaum's explanation of the definition  of quality, a conclusion can be drawn that performance is  a  measure  of quality. Based on  the explanations  put  forward  by  several  experts  above  regarding the definition of quality, in general we can take several  important things from each definition of quality put forward by these experts, namely  as  follows:

1.     Quality  can be achieved by fulfilling realistic characteristics or requirements  contained  in  products  or  services  .

2.     Quality  reflects  the image  of the maker.

3.       Quality includes efforts to meet or exceed consumer expectations  .

Thus ,  a simple conclusion  can  be  drawn about the  meaning of quality itself, namely that quality cannot  be  determined  or ensured  through  fixed  criteria  .  Rather, it will continue to change and expand following developments or  changes that occur. This is because quality criteria will  continue to  increase  and  expand  in accordance  with  developments  and  changes in  those circumstances that occur.

• Quality Control 

Quality control is a system and activities carried out to guarantee a certain level or standard of quality in accordance with planned specifications starting from the quality of materials, the quality of the production process, the quality of processing of semi-finished goods and finished goods to delivery standards to consumers so that the resulting product is effective and efficient. Quality control is a process used to guarantee the level of quality in a product or service. Quality control is a technique and activity/planned action carried out to achieve, maintain and improve the quality of a product and service so that it conforms to predetermined standards and can meet consumer satisfaction. Quality control is not only used to detect product damage in a production series, but can also reduce this damage to a minimum. By carrying out quality control, it is hoped that the product will be under control so that operations managers can find out the cause and immediately resolve the problem and thereby maintain the quality of the product they produce.  Quality  control  must  be carried  out  continuously  . In order to  maintain  consistent  quality of  the products  produced  ,  control  must  be carried out  on the process  activities  carried  out. Quality  control  is useful for preventing quality problems from arising so that errors  that  have occurred do not  repeat themselves. In order to create a quality product, it is necessary to control the quality itself. According to Feigenbaum (1991), quality control is an effective system for combining quality development , quality maintenance , and quality improvement efforts of various groups in an organization so that marketing, engineering, production and services can be at the most economical level so that customers get complete satisfaction . Based on this explanation, a conclusion can be drawn that quality control is an integrated system that combines all activities in producing a product with techniques that are useful for controlling quality in order to obtain product results that truly match the customer 's wishes . Identifying all customer needs clearly is fundamental to effective quality control. There is a tendency in some industries to view some basic quality requirements from the buyer's perspective as an "extra", whereas customers consider them as part of every product they purchase. Therefore, procedures are needed to achieve industrial quality targets that are in accordance with customer needs. The procedures for achieving these quality targets are termed quality "control". In general, there are 4 (four) steps in carrying out quality control, namely :

1                   setStandards

Determine cost quality standards, work performance quality standards, safety quality standards, and reliability quality standards required forthe product.

2.                   AssessSuitability

Compare the conformity of the products made or services offered to these standards.

3.                  Act when  necessary

Correcting problems and their causes through factors including marketing, design, engineering, production, and maintenance that influence user satisfaction .

4.                   PlanImprovements 

Develop a sustainable effort to improve performance standards , safety and reliability .

So, after knowing about quality and control, the next step is to link work procedures, work instructions with quality and quality control in a problem that has occurred in the automotive industry in recent months.

1. Case of broken eSAF frame on a Honda motorbike 

In August 2023, several viral videos on Tiktok social media showed incidents of many Honda motorbikes of the automatic scooter type breaking in the frame in the middle of the road and on average this happened to motorbikes that were under 1 year old. The causes of the incident found were various, some were caused by sea water, exposure to rainwater splashes, etc. However, various YouTube accounts, including Dtech Engineering, found that the main cause of this problem was the thickness of the plate material which, after being measured using a caliper, resulted in a size of 0.8 mm without being painted, equivalent to the thickness of a car body plate, there were silicate residues as a result.welding that was not cleaned, the motorbike frame not being coated with anti-rust before painting, which was exacerbated by the lack of painting on the inside of the frame, and the lack of water drainage holes in the frame. After the cause of the frame problem occurred, AHM has not carried out a product recall until today by making improvements to the frame manufacture for subsequent products including the latest Honda Stylo 160 scooter, providing a frame guarantee of up to 5 years, and opening a consumer complaint service regarding frame problems. 

2. Daihatsu safety test data falsification scandal case

After a gap of several months from the eSAF frame fracture case, in December 2023, falsification of safety data was discovered by an independent team and a safety testing team in Japan involving the world's largest and most well-known four-wheeled vehicle company, namely Daihatsu Motor Corporation (DMC), including several other vehicle manufacturers such as Toyota, Subaru and Mazda. This finding was found in several vehicle models sold in Japan, including vehicle models marketed in Southeast Asia and Latin America. This incident lasted for 30 years starting from 1989 until December 2023. The impact of this incident was the temporary cessation of vehicle production until January 2024 and the change of Daihatsu management by Toyota to improve internal management for the better.

3. Toyota diesel engine scandal case

Not long ago, after the scandal involving falsifying safety test data from Daihatsu, at the beginning of February this year there was a scandal regarding vehicle certification or homologation permits for Toyota diesel engines globally. This problem was discovered by TICO (Toyota Industries Corporation) which was commissioned by TMC (Toyota Motor Corporation) in Japan to develop diesel engines in various vehicle models marketed by Toyota. This problem occurred because there was an error in implementing the SOP internally at TICO by finding irregularities when testing the horsepower and torque output on diesel engines coded 1GD, 2GD and F33A in forklift engines and construction machines which resulted in a difference of 2% by using a different ECU. mass production. After discovering this problem, Toyota finally apologized and temporarily stopped deliveries of the affected engines and re-verified the production of mass products produced at the factory to ensure that the vehicles produced met engine performance output standards.

Based on the incident above, the lesson that can be taken is that in carrying out the production process you must first prepare work procedures and work instructions, then carry them out, then set quality standards and carry out product quality control in order to ensure that the products made are in accordance with the procedures and instructions. work that has been created and can meet product quality standards set by the company to control production quality which has an impact on reducing the level of product defects.