This study investigates whether quality management has developed to such an extent that retailers, service repair organisations and consumers are satisfied with product and repair service quality provided by South African manufacturing companies. To investigate these aspects, the colour television industry has been selected because it contains various manufacturing companies of varying sizes and characters, employing different quality policies and performances. It offers relatively standardised products and services, which facilitates intercompany comparisons and employs a simple flow type assembly line process that is representative of other mass production industries. The hypotheses are tested by interviewing four selected populations by means of carefully constructed questionnaires, namely a retail population, a repair service population, a consumer population and a manufacturing population. The empirical results are statistically evaluated in terms of the various manufacturers ability to provide satisfactory product and repair service quality. Consumers and repair service organisations are selected because they represent a broad spectrum of the population with varying, but important opinions on product and repair service quality. Retailers selling colour television receivers are also selected as they play an important role in the management of quality and vary from small independent retailers to large chain stores and discounters. The results obtained from this study show that: • there is a need from the retailers, service repair organisations and consumers for the South African manufacturers to improve the quality of colour television receivers • there is a need by the consumers and the retailers for the manufacturers to improve their repair service quality • there is a need to improve the quality control procedures employed by the colour television manufacturers. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements of the Masters Degree in Technology: Chemistry, in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the Durban University of Technology, 2008. / In this work, a holistic approach to validate analytical methods was assessed by virtue of Monte Carlo simulations. This approach involves a statement of the methodsâ s scope (i.e. analytes, matrices and concentration levels) and requisites (internal or external); selection of the methodâ s (fit-for-purpose) features; pre-validation and validation of the intermediate accuracy and its assessment by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Validation of the other methodâ s features and a validity statement in terms of a â fit-for-purposeâ decision making, harmonized validation-control-uncertainty statistics and short-term routine work with the aim of proposing virtually â ready-to-useâ methods. The protocol could be transferred to other methods. The main aim is to harmonize the work to be done by research teams and routine laboratories assuming that different aims, strategies and practical viewpoints exist. As a result, the recommended protocol should be seen as a starting point. It is necessary to propose definitive (harmonized) protocols that must be established by international normalisation/accreditation entities. The Quality Assurance (Method verification and Internal Quality Control, IQC) limits, as well as sample uncertainty were estimated consistently with the validated accuracy statistics i.e. E U (E) and RSDi + U (RSDi). Two case studies were used to assess Monte Carlo simulation as a tool for method validation in analytical laboratories, the first involves an indirect polarographic method for determining nitrate in waste water and the second involves a direct determination of heavy metals in sea water by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry, as an example of the application of the protocol. In this sense the uncertainty obtained could be used for decision making purposes as it is very tempting to use uncertainty as a commercial argument and in this work it has been shown that the smaller the uncertainty, the better the measurement of the instrument or the laboratoryâ s reputation.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Quality)-Dept. of Operations & Quality Management, Durban Institute of Technology, 2005 xiii, 68 leaves / The increasing awareness and demand of consumers for safe and high quality food have lead many companies to undertake a comprehensive evaluation and reorganisation of their food control systems in order to improve efficiency, rationalisation of human resources and to harmonise approaches. This evaluation in food control systems has resulted towards the necessity to shift from the traditional approach that relied heavily on end-product sampling and inspection and to move towards the implementation of a preventative safety and quality approach, based on risk analysis and on the principles of the hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) system. Yoghurt is the most popular fermented milk world-wide; the estimated annual consumption in South Africa amounts to nearly 67 million litres. The aim of this study was to implement a HACCP program in a commercial yoghurt factory and then to evaluate the program during certain critical stages of the manufacturing process.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Over the years, organisations have been criticised for implementing the ISO 9000 Quality Management Standards purely as a marketing strategy without any commitment to improving quality and customer satisfaction. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the ISO 9001:2000 quality management standard on performance and customer satisfaction. The objectives of the study included determining the level of effectiveness of the ISO 9001:2000 quality management with respect to enhanced leadership, continuous improvement and customer satisfaction; ascertaining the extent to which ISO 9004 and other business improvement approaches that were used to improve the performance of the organisation and determining the level of customer complaints before and after ISO 9001:2000 certification. This research investigation involved the case study approach which utilised both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The latter involved the analysis of the organisation’s production and customer complaints data pre- and post ISO 9001:2000 certification as well as the responses to the closed-ended questions in the questionnaire, while the former entailed an analysis of the responses to the open-ended questions in the questionnaire and a search of the literature to corroborate the findings of this study. Thirty-one of the fiftytwo employees of the organisation completed and returned the questionnaire that was administered. This represented a 60% response rate. The responses to the questionnaire were influenced by the employees’ level of training, knowledge and experience of the ISO 9001 quality management standard. Thus, the results cannot be generalised to other ISO 9001 certified organisations. The pre- and post study revealed that the level of customer complaints decreased following ISO 9001:2000 certification. Analysis of the responses to the questionnaire indicated that the ISO 9001:2000 quality management standard was, in most instances, perceived to be effective in ensuring customer satisfaction, leadership and continuous improvement. For future research, it is recommended that researchers investigate the impact of continuous improvement teams and the introduction of appropriate business improvement approaches on organisational performance and customer satisfaction in ISO 9001 certified organisations.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Eskom, the South Africa and trans-Africa electrical power utility, has a capacity expansion project that is estimated to cost roughly R340 billion. The programme is anticipated to continue through 2018. Eskom will be contracting with a multitude of suppliers and it is imperative that the projects delivered under the capacity expansion programme meet Eskom’s required quality standards. The question then arises whether the set quality standards are sufficiently comprehensive to provide confidence that suppliers will achieve high quality standards. This aim of this research was to examine supplier assessment programmes to determine the criteria that will best provide supplier assurance. The researcher consulted a vast range of literature available on supplier quality assessment programmes. From the literature consulted, there appeared to be some recurring themes from the range of assessment tools. It also becomes apparent that the assessment tool cannot only focus on a quality system, but a balance of strategic and operational focus was needed to fully understand suppliers’ ability to deliver. One of the key considerations was establishing longer-term collaborative relationships with key suppliers. Long-term relations encourage trust, transparency and innovation. It was equally important to ensure that operational assessments provided insight on suppliers’ capability. Based on the literature reviewed, a proposed framework was tested against the current methodology for supplier evaluation. From these comparisons, some gaps were identified and recommendations were suggested to improve the supplier evaluation programme.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / Computer Science / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Sanden international, an automobile air conditioning compressor manufacturer, was facing a problem in its incoming material inspection procedures. Although the company had designed and was using its own sampling plan, some managers and supervisors where not confident of its reliability. Sanden recently established a goal for its total number of defects per supplier as one part per million. Achievement of this target required reviews of the existing sampling plan. The purpose of this project was to help Sandra identify the best alternatives for its incoming material inspection procedures. To do that considerations were made about the usefulness of sampling inspections, theoretical aspects of inspection sampling plans were examined, current sampling plans were analyzed and recommendations were made.

A própolis é uma resina de coloração e consistência variada coletada por abelhas da espécie Apis Mellifera de diversas partes da planta como brotos, botões florais e exsudados resinosos, sendo transportados para a colméia com a finalidade de defesa e vem se destacando por suas atividades terapêuticas, como atividade antimicrobiana, antiinflamatória, cicatrizante, anticaríogênica e anticancerígena. Estudos realizados com a própolis brasileira mostraram a presença de muitos compostos fenólicos, sendo o mais recente, a identificação de derivados prenilados do ácido cumárico. Dentre estes, o mais estudado é o ácido 3,5-diprenil-4hidroxicinâmico (Artepillin-C), separada da própolis produzida em áreas cuja flora é rica em espécies de Baccharis. A sua quantificação tem se tornado um fator importante como indicador da qualidade da própolis brasileira. O objetivo deste estudo foi o desenvolvimento e a validação do método de determinação de Artepillin-C, assim como a caracterização e quantificação dos principais parâmetros relacionados ao controle de qualidade da própolis preconizada pela legislação brasileira vigente, foram realizadas análise de: umidade, cinzas, teor de cera, teor de massa mecânica, teor de sólidos solúveis em etanol, índice de oxidação, f1avonóides totais e fenólicos totais. O trabalho foi complementado com análise polínica e determinação da atividade antioxidante Amostras de própolis foram obtidas de apicultores e entrepostos totalizando 33 amostras procedentes das regiões Nordeste, Centro-Oeste, Sudeste e Sul do Brasil, no período de 2003 a 2005. As amostras de própolis analisadas apresentaram resultados, na quase totalidade, de acordo com os limites estabelecidos pelo Ministério da Agricultura. A maioria das amostras apresentou alta atividade antioxidante inibindo a oxidação da reação acoplada de β-caroteno a ácido linoléico em torno de 86,0%. O método de análise de Artepillin C atendeu a todos os parâmetros preconizados para a validação do método cromatográfico (linearidade, precisão, exatidão, limite de detecção e limite de quantificação) podendo ser recomendado para análise de rotina em laboratórios de controle de qualidade. A análise estatística mostrou uma forte correlação entre os seguintes parâmetros: cinzas e massa mecânica; compostos fenólicos e solúveis em etanol assim como os compostos fenólicos e atividade antioxidante. Também foi constatada uma variação nos valores dos outros parâmetros analisados em função da procedência das amostras de própolis. / Propolis is a resin of varied color and consistency collected by honeybee, Apis Mellifera, from several parts of the plant such as sprouts, f10wer buds and resinous exsudatos, being transported to the hive with the intent of defending and it has become really popular for its therapeutic properties, such as antimicrobial, anti inflammatory, healing anti-carcinogenic and anti-cancerigenous properties. Studies performed with the Brazilian propolis showed the presence of several phenolic compounds, as the most recent brings the identification of prenyl derivative of coumaric acid. Among them, the most studied one is 3,5-diprenyl-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (Artepillin-C), isolated from the propolis produced in areas which flora is rich in Baccharis species. Its quantification has become an important factor as indicator of Brazilian propolis quality. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a method to determine Artepillin-C, as well the identification and quantification of main parameters related to quality control of propolis forecasted in the current Brazilian regulation (moisture, ashes wax content, mechanic matter, content of solid soluble in ethanol, oxidation rate, total f1avonoid and total phenolic).The polinic studies and antioxidant activity determination were also performed to complement this work. Propolis samples were obtained from beekeepers and warehouses summing up 33 samples from the Northeast, Southeast, Mid-West and South of Brazil from 2003 to 2005. The propolis samples studied presented results which were almost all in accordance to the set limits by the Brazilian Agriculture Department. Most samples presented high antioxidant activity preventing oxidation from the coupled reaction of βcarotene to linoleic acid around 86,0%. The analysis method for Artepillin C addressed all the forecasted parameters for the validation o f the chromatographic method (linearity, precision, accuracy, detection limit and quantification limit) as it can be recommended for the routine analysis in labs to control quality. The statistics showed a strong relationship between the following parameters: ashes and mechanic matter; phenolic compounds and soluble in ethanol as well as phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. It was also observed a variation in the figures for other studied parameters due to the origin of propolis samples.

by Hsia Sih-ming, Chang Chi-yuan. / Bibliography: leaves 93-97 / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1982