Hank Kolb Case
Hank Kolb, Director of Quality Assurance | Case Study | | Presented by: Joanna Kristine | Total Quality Management (TQM) |
Hank Kolb, Director of Quality Assurance Case Study
I. Background of the Case
Hank Kolb was whistling as he walked toward his office, still feeling a bit like a stranger since he had been hired four weeks ago as director, quality assurance. All last week he had been away from the plant at an interesting seminar entitled “Quality in the 80s” given for quality managers of manufacturing plants by the corporate training department. He was not looking forward to really digging into the quality problems at these industrial products employing 1,200 people.
Hank poked his head into Mark Hamler’s office, his immediate subordinate, the quality control manager, and asked him how things had gone last week. Mark’s muted smile and an “Oh, fine” stopped Hank in his tracks. He didn’t know Mark very well and was unsure pursuing this reply any further. Hank was still uncertain of how to start building his relationship with him since Mark had been passed over for the promotion to Hank’s job—Mark’s evaluation form had stated “superb technical knowledge; managerial skills lacking.” Hank decided to inquire a little further and asked Mark what had happened. Mark replied:
Oh, just another typical quality snafu. We had a little problem on the Greasex line last week (a specialized degreasing solvent packed in a spray can for the high-technology sector). A little high pressure was found in some cans on the second shift, but a supervisor vented them so that we could ship them out. We met our delivery schedule!
Since hank was still relatively unfamiliar with the plant and the products he asked Mark to elaborate. Painfully, mark continued:
We’ve been having some trouble with the new filling equipment, and some of the cans were pressurized beyond our acceptable standard on a psi (pounds per square inch) rating scale. The production
Hank Kolb, Director of Quality Assurance Case Study
I. Background of the Case
Hank Kolb was whistling as he walked toward his office, still feeling a bit like a stranger since he had been hired four weeks ago as director, quality assurance. All last week he had been away from the plant at an interesting seminar entitled “Quality in the 80s” given for quality managers of manufacturing plants by the corporate training department. He was not looking forward to really digging into the quality problems at these industrial products employing 1,200 people.
Hank poked his head into Mark Hamler’s office, his immediate subordinate, the quality control manager, and asked him how things had gone last week. Mark’s muted smile and an “Oh, fine” stopped Hank in his tracks. He didn’t know Mark very well and was unsure pursuing this reply any further. Hank was still uncertain of how to start building his relationship with him since Mark had been passed over for the promotion to Hank’s job—Mark’s evaluation form had stated “superb technical knowledge; managerial skills lacking.” Hank decided to inquire a little further and asked Mark what had happened. Mark replied:
Oh, just another typical quality snafu. We had a little problem on the Greasex line last week (a specialized degreasing solvent packed in a spray can for the high-technology sector). A little high pressure was found in some cans on the second shift, but a supervisor vented them so that we could ship them out. We met our delivery schedule!
Since hank was still relatively unfamiliar with the plant and the products he asked Mark to elaborate. Painfully, mark continued:
We’ve been having some trouble with the new filling equipment, and some of the cans were pressurized beyond our acceptable standard on a psi (pounds per square inch) rating scale. The production