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The second part of this article, published in last month's issue of AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING, described some of the practical applications of the quality control method to machine shop production and, in particular, the use of control charts based on measurement. The present issue deals with a method of quality control based on the use of limit gauges, and with the applications of the control chart for “number defective” appropriate to this method. A further article, to be published in a subsequent issue, will discuss the extension, of the quality control idea to the sampling inspection of components and similar products in bulk, as an economic alternative to the detail (100 per cent) inspection which hitherto has been customary in such cases.

In many industries (e.g. cars and clothing) manufacturing complexity and unpredictability have increased over the last couple of years because of an increasing variety of products and shortening product life cycles. At the same time the manufacturers in these industries appear to have more problems with maintaining high quality levels. This paper aims to develop a methodology to study the effects of these developments on quality management systems.

At three European automotive manufacturers the two trends have been studied by means of a case study approach. Simons' four levers of control model is utilised to categorise and interpret the results of the case studies.

The application of a management control model in the field of quality management is found to be useful in explaining what changes are necessary to maintain high quality levels. From the case studies in the automotive sector it is concluded that there is a shift in quality management systems from a diagnostic towards a more interactive approach. This is in line with what can be expected as a result of the increasing uncertainty in the automotive sector, caused by shortening life cycles of car models and smaller batch sizes.

This research presents a novel application of Simons' four levers of control model to the field of quality management. Based on the experience with three case studies at European automotive manufacturers, this approach seems to have potential.

This study aims to examine the moderating effect of internal control on the relationship between internal quality assurance implementation and higher education institution (HEI) quality.

The study employed a survey method with hypothesis testing using partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique with a second-order analysis approach. The questionnaire survey was administered to 191 HEIs.

The results revealed that internal control and internal quality assurance implementations are positively associated with HEI quality. Additionally, internal control implementation strengthened the relationship between internal quality assurance and HEI quality.

This study adds to the body of knowledge on the moderating role of internal control in the HEI sector and its role in the non-economic aspect, namely, the HEI quality.

This study investigates internal control implementation contribution to quality management at higher education institutions (HEIs).

This study employed a qualitative method by conducting semi-structured interviews. The research respondents (interviewees) consisted of internal auditors, HEI management members and accreditation assessors of Indonesian HEIs. A total of 15 respondents were successfully interviewed to collect the data; 12 were from different HEIs, and 3 were from the HEI accreditation board.

This study deduced that internal control implementation could contribute to HEI quality management and improvement if integrated with other control policies, such as internal quality assurance, performance measurement systems and performance-based budgeting. By doing so, internal control corroborates total quality management (TQM) implementation within HEIs since it promotes employee empowerment and supervision, reduces budget wastage, increases the achievement of budget targets on output and outcome of programs and activities, enhances strategic and integrated system practices, provides reliable information for better decision-making, and promotes effective communication and coordination and good leadership culture.

The current study presents beneficial suggestions for HEI management on how internal control contributes to quality management at HEIs.

As suggested by Chalmers et al. (2019), most studies related to internal control were conducted in profit-oriented organisation settings, i.e. companies, and focused on their impact on economic aspects, such as profitability, cost efficiency and fraud mitigation. Meanwhile, internal control-related studies in the context of non-profit-oriented organisations, such as HEIs, and their role in non-economic aspects, in this case, the quality management in HEIs, is still lacking.

Aims to explore the role of management and control of quality in a process industry. Specifically, focuses on the current practices in the process of making cheese. Develops a survey instrument to measure managers’ perceptions regarding the extent to which various quality management procedures are implemented in the production of cheese. Reveals several interesting observations: for instance, many of the managers believed that implementing more quality control procedures positively contribute towards better quality, increased productivity, and improved exporting capabilities. Moreover, employee training was viewed as a critical factor to the success of TQM initiatives in organizations. Reports other interesting results relating to the different types of tests that are commonly employed during the production of cheese and whether every plant should have a separate quality control department.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a new approach for detecting the small sustained process shifts in multistage systems with correlated multiple quality characteristics.

The authors propose a new multivariate linear regression model for a multistage manufacturing system with multivariate quality characteristics in which both the auto-correlated process outputs and the correlations occurring between neighboring stages are considered. Then, the multistage multivariate residual control charts are constructed to monitor the overall process quality of multistage systems with multiple quality characteristics. Moreover, an overall run length concept is adopted to evaluate the performances of the authors’ proposed control charts.

In the numerical example with cascade data, the authors show that the detecting abilities of the proposed multistage residual MEWMA and MCUSUM control charts outperform those of Phase II MEWMA and MCUSUM control charts. It further demonstrates the usefulness of the authors’ proposed control charts in the Phase II monitoring.

The research results of this paper can be applied to any multistage manufacturing or service system with multivariate quality characteristics. This new approach provides quality practitioners a better decision making tool for detecting the small sustained process shifts in multistage systems.

Once the multistage multivariate residual control charts are constructed, one can employ them in monitoring and controlling the process quality of multistage systems with multiple characteristics. This approach can lead to the direction of continuous improvement for any product or service within a company.

Two main objectives and they are: to determine whether the internal audit department of the companies listed in the Bursa Malaysia complies with the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditors IIA (2000); and, to determine whether compliance to SPPIA will affect the quality of the internal control system of the company.

Two sets of questionnaires were used in the study. Internal auditing practices was measured by the items listed in the SPPIA and the internal control was measured by means of the statement on internal control: guidance for directors of public listed companies. The population used in this study was all the companies listed in the Bursa Malaysia in 2001. This study used both descriptive and inferential analyses.

It was found that management of internal audit department, professional proficiency, objectivity and review significantly influence the monitoring aspect of the internal control system. Scope of work and performance of audit work significantly influences the information and communication aspect of the internal control system while performance of audit work, professional proficiency and objectivity significantly influence the control environment aspect of the internal control system. The study also shows that management of internal audit department, performance of audit work, audit program and audit reporting significantly influences the risk assessment aspect of the internal control system. Lastly, performance of audit work and audit reporting significantly influences the control activities aspect of the internal control system.

The research has contributed to the agency theory with respect to the bonding costs that management has to pay to the internal auditors for the best interest of the principals of the companies. Another important implication pertains to the extent of the internal auditing practices among internal auditors in Malaysian public listed companies. Research has also shown that the compliance with internal auditing practices partially influence certain aspects of the quality of the internal control system.

This is the first empirical study that has linked the compliance of the internal auditing function to the SPPIA and its effect on the internal control system.

The purpose of this paper is to implement statistical process control (SPC) in service quality using three-level SERVQUAL, quality function deployment (QFD) and internal measure.

The SERVQUAL questionnaire is developed according to internal services of train. Also, it is verified by reliability scale and factor analysis. QFD method is employed for translating SERVQUAL dimensions’ importance weights which are derived from Analytic Hierarchy Process into internal measures. Furthermore, the limits of the Zone of Tolerance are used to determine service quality specification limits based on normal distribution characteristics. Control charts and process capability indices are used to control service processes.

SPC is used for service quality through a structured framework. Also, an adapted SERVQUAL questionnaire is created for measuring quality of train’s internal services. In the case study, it is shown that reliability is the most important dimension in internal services of train for the passengers. Also, the service process is not capable to perform in acceptable level.

The proposed algorithm is practically applied to control the quality of a train’s services. Internal measure is improved for continuous data collection and process monitoring. Also, it provides an opportunity to apply SPC on intangible attributes of the services. In the other word, SPC is used to control the qualitative specifications of the service processes which have been measured by SERVQUAL.

Since SPC is usually used for manufacturing processes, this paper develops a model to use SPC in services in presence of qualitative criteria. To reach this goal, this model combines SERVQUAL, QFD, normal probability distribution, control charts, and process capability. In addition, it is a novel research on internal services of train with regard to service quality evaluation and process control.