Quality Failure Analysis and Quality Improvement Methods in Small and Medium Manufacturing Companies (A Case Study of Shamco Industries Limited)

Abstract

This paper elucidates the analysis of quality failure in small and medium manufacturing companies and established methodological approaches that mitigate these problems in order to improve on the quality of products manufactured. The study was carried out at shamco industries limited a steel furniture manufacturing company in Nairobi County in Kenya. The company’s records for the year 2014-2016 provided the secondary data regarding the customer complaints that led to the poor quality of steel furniture. The study adopted a case study methodology and brainstorming was the main method that was used to collect primary data. The defects were ranked in the order of severity, occurrence and detect-ability using Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). The most common defect was dripping paint which appeared in almost all products. The most critical defect on the other hand was breaking of welded joints. After brainstorming with the experts in the company, root causes of these defects were determined. It was found that causes due to the Workers were 35%, due to the processes were 30%, due to materials were 24% and due to the machines were 11% respectively. The research provided the knowledge of quality failure analysis and established practical solutions to the detected defects. The paper concludes that similar analysis on quality is required to be done in other manufacturing companies so that quality of the products manufactured can be improved and become competitive in the global market.