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10 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW “All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth” - Aristotle 2.1 INTRODUCTION There is a famous saying “Engineers drive the world”. Engineering education is the backbone of any society. It is the quality of engineering education that decides the quality of human resources in a country. As stated by Bordia (2001) for the general public in the developing country like India, any engineering degree is a passport to lifelong well being of an individual and his family members. Hence, there is fierce competition among engineering institutions, students and parents of students to get quality students and quality institution respectively. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the research reported in this thesis was initiated on observing the applicability of six sigma in the improvement of educational service. These developments in the application of six sigma in EEI, induced the author of this thesis to review the literature in three angles. Firstly, the literature was reviewed to study the development of engineering education in India, the employability of fresh engineering graduates and the problems associated with engineers. Secondly, various quality improvement models like TQM, Six Sigma, Lean, ISO 9001and Accreditation have been studied for their suitability in the quality
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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

“All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been

convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth”

- Aristotle

2.1 INTRODUCTION

There is a famous saying “Engineers drive the world”. Engineering

education is the backbone of any society. It is the quality of engineering

education that decides the quality of human resources in a country. As stated

by Bordia (2001) for the general public in the developing country like India,

any engineering degree is a passport to lifelong well being of an individual

and his family members. Hence, there is fierce competition among

engineering institutions, students and parents of students to get quality

students and quality institution respectively. As mentioned in the previous

chapter, the research reported in this thesis was initiated on observing the

applicability of six sigma in the improvement of educational service. These

developments in the application of six sigma in EEI, induced the author of

this thesis to review the literature in three angles.

Firstly, the literature was reviewed to study the development of

engineering education in India, the employability of fresh engineering

graduates and the problems associated with engineers. Secondly, various

quality improvement models like TQM, Six Sigma, Lean, ISO 9001and

Accreditation have been studied for their suitability in the quality

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improvement process of EEI. Finally, the literature was reviewed to study the

implementation of six sigma concept in the EEI as the quality improvement

strategy for improving the employability of the engineering graduates. The

details of all this work have been presented in this chapter.

2.2 LITERATURE REVIEW METHODOLOGY

The papers containing Six Sigma, engineering education, TQM,

Lean, FMEA, QFD and so on, in their titles, chapter headings, abstract and

key words were collected from Science direct (address: www.Scirus.com) and

the databases maintained by emeraldinsight (address: www.emerald

insight.com), Springer (address: www.Springer.com) and Interscience

(address: www.interscience.wiley.com) publishers. A few papers from

inderscience (address: www.inderscience.com), ASQ(address: www.asq.org),

EBSCO and Taylor & Francis publishers were also downloaded. The total

number of such papers collected was 147. The preliminary review of these

papers indicated that the following issues are dominantly addressed in those

papers. AICTE, NBA and the affiliating University, Anna University Chennai

websites have been viewed for collecting materials.

2.2.1. Search Terms

The following search-strings have been used for collecting the

journal articles from the above mentioned databases. They are

Six sigma + academia

Six sigma + higher education

DMAIC + higher education

DFSS + higher education

Service quality measurement + higher education

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Quality tools + higher education

Quality techniques + higher education

Quality assurance + higher education

Quality management + higher education

Quality technology + higher education

TQM + education

Lean + education

Accreditation + higher education

NBA + engineering education

NAAC + higher education

MBNQA + higher education

AQIP + higher education

ABET + higher education

Theory of constraints + higher education

Force field analysis + higher education

QFD + higher education

FMEA + higher education

Statistical tools and techniques + higher education

Regression analysis + higher education

Multiple regressions + higher education

Logistic regression + higher education

Chi Squared Independence test + higher education

Employee satisfaction + higher education

Customer satisfaction + higher education

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ANOVA + higher education

DOE + higher education

2.2.2 Search Techniques

The following techniques have been adopted for searching for the

articles. The articles having search-strings in their titles, the chapter headings,

abstract, and / or key words have been collected. In emerald insight database,

the articles were collected based on the search-string availability through all

except full text. In this search only peer reviewed journal papers have been

considered for further study with some exclusion. Editorials, news reports,

book reviews, view points, conference papers, proceedings, master and

doctoral dissertations, text books and unpublished papers were excluded in

this search. Some papers are not included as their accessibility is restricted.

Generally, the period of search is from the year 2000 to the year 2012. But

some of the important and relevant papers have been included even prior to

the year 2000.

2.2.3 List of Journals

As Six Sigma is a general quality improvement concept with the

possibility of being applied to many fields, it is spread over many articles.

The following journals have published at least one article related to Six

Sigma, engineering education or any other quality improvement models.

Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education

Benchmarking: An International Journal

Business Process Management Journal

European Journal of Engineering Education

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International Journal of Emerging Sciences

International Journal of Engineering Education

International Journal of Engineering Practical Education

International Journal of Lean Six Sigma

International Journal of Productivity And Performance

Management

International Journal of Productivity And Quality

Management

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management

International Journal of Six Sigma And Competitive

Advantage

Journal of Industrial Technology

Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) Working

Paper

Managing Service Quality

Quality and Reliability Engineering International

Quality Approaches in Higher Education

Quality Assurance in Education

Quality in Higher Education

The Indian Journal of Technical Education

The TQM Magazine / The TQM Journal

Total Quality Management / Total Quality Management and

Business Excellence

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2.2.4 Search Limitations

Even though extensive researches have been reported, the list is not

an exhaustive one. There are some limitations experienced in this literature

such as the inaccessibility of some journal articles restricting the search and

time besides the cost constraints which are also a limiting factor.

2.3 ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN INDIA

This section reviews the trend in the engineering education of

India, employability of engineering graduates, how the industries look upon

the outgoing engineering graduates and the problems associated with them.

In general, all the technical institutions in India can be categorized

into four types (Figure 2.1). They are

1. Central Government Technical Institutions

2. State Government Engineering Colleges

3. Government Aided Private Engineering Colleges

4. Self-Financed Private Engineering Colleges

The following are the central government funded institutions. The

list is given below

Indian Institutes of Technology, IITs =15

Indian Institutes of Information Technology, IIIT = 8

Indian Institute of Sciences, IISc, Bangalore = 1

Indian Institutes of Management, IIMs = 8

National Institutes of Technology, NITs = 20

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National Institutes of Technical Teachers' Training &

Research, NITTTR = 4

Universities = Central Universities, State Universities, Open

Universities, Deemed Universities, Private Universities

Autonomous Colleges, Institutes of National Importance

Board of Technical Education (Every Indian state is having

one Board)

Statutory Councils of India =19 (AICTE is one among them)

Research Councils of India =13

Figure 2.1 Technical Educational Systems in India

2.3.1 Quality Improvement in EEI

Quality has become a competitive weapon in both the

manufacturing and service sectors for the past few decades (Mahapatra and

Khan 2007). The quality of service has to be continually improved to survive

in the present highly competitive environment (Natarajan et al 2011a,b;

TechnicalEducational

Systems in India

Central GovernmentFunded Institutions

State GovernmentFunded Institutions

Government AidedPrivate Engineering

colleges

Self-financedInstitutions

DeemedUniversities

Private Non-autonomousEngineering

Colleges

Private AutonomousEngg Colleges

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Nakhai and Neves 2009) and therefore educational service quality has also

become vital. The past two decades have witnessed many researches stating

the importance of the Educational Service quality. A few of these vital works

are illustrated in the following paragraphs.

Owlia and Aspinwall (1998a) have suggested a revised framework

for service quality dimensions which consists of 19 quality characteristics

grouped into four attributes namely academic resources, competence, attitude

and content. This frame work could be used for measuring and improving

educational service quality. Mahapatra and Khan (2007) have demonstrated an

EduQUAL model for the measurement of the quality of education in engineering

institutions. Tan and Kek (2004) have provided SERVQUAL model and

Satisfaction Grid analysis to find an immediate action requirement for

improvement. Quality is very much essential today for the institutions,

programmes and teaching for the following reasons as mentioned by Mishra

(2007).

Competition

Customer satisfaction

Maintaining standards

Accountability

Improving employee morale and motivation

Credibility, Prestige and Status, and

Image and Visibility

It is necessary to identify the stakeholders in an Educational

Institution to determine their needs and satisfy them. Many authors have

identified stakeholders for an EEI. The stakeholders of the EEIs are the

students, parents of students, faculty and staff, alumni, recruiters, Government

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and society (Mahapatra and Khan 2007; Owlia and Aspinwall 1998a; Jenicke

et al 2008; Quinn2009). Some of the authors have expressed the difficulty in

defining customers for an EEI. Students are the most obvious customers

(Quinn 2009, Jenicke et al 2008), but a few authors differ that students should

be classified as raw material for education process (Helms and Key 1994).

2.3.2 Growth of Engineering Education in India

The growth of engineering education before independence in 1947

in India was very slow. Due to efforts and initiatives taken by the Indian

Government through successive Five Year Plans and particularly due to

policy changes in the eighties to allow the participation of Private and

Voluntary Organizations in the setting up of Technical Institutions on self-

financing basis, the growth of Technical Education has been phenomenal.

Table 2.1 shows the growth of engineering institutions in India since the

academic year 2006 – 07. There were 1511 engineering institutions in India in

2006 -07. It grew to 3495 engineering colleges in India in the academic year

2012-13. The trends in the growth of engineering institutions have been

shown in Figure 2.1.

Along with the increase in number of institutions, the student

intakes have also been increased tremendously as shown in Table 2.2. The

total students intake in India in the year 2006 -07 was 550986 and it grew to

1761976 in the academic year 2012 -13. Figure 2.2 shows the trends in the

growth of students intake in engineering institutions in India since 2006 -07 to

2012 -13.

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Table 2.1 Growth of Engineering Educational Institutions (EEI) in

India since 2006 - 07

YearNumber of Engineering

Institutions

2006-07 1511

2007-08 1668

2008-09 2388

2009-10 2972

2010-11 3222

2011-12 3393

2012-13 3495

0

2000

40001511 1668 2388 2972 3222 3393 3495

Growth of EngineeringInstitutions

Figure 2.2 Growth of Engineering Educational Institutions in India since

2006 -07

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Table 2.2 Growth of Students Intake in Engineering Educational

Institutions (EEI) in India since 2006

Year Students Intake

2006-07 550986

2007-08 653290

2008-09 841018

2009-10 1071896

2010-11 1314594

2011-12 1485894

2012-13 1761976

0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

Growth of Students Intake

Figure 2.3 Growth of students intake in engineering institutions in

India since 2006- 07

Source: All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi,

India - Approval Process Handbook (2013 -2014)

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2.3.3 Employability of Engineering Graduates

Employability means that the graduates should have the following

skills. They should have knowledge in mathematics, science and engineering

subjects besides application of modern tools, problem solving ability, system

design skill, experiment data analysis, written communication, verbal

communication, reading skills, communication in English, basic computer

skills, advanced computer skills, technical skills, customer service and

entrepreneurship skills. As per the report “ National Employability report –

Engineering graduates – Annual report 2011” conducted by Aspiring minds,

the employability of engineering graduates from Indian engineering

institutions is very alarming. Even though India is producing more than 17

lakh engineering graduates every year, only 17.45 % of them is employable in

IT service sector. Employability is as low as 2.68% in the IT product sector.The employability in BPO sector is 40.96%.

Further, it says that instead of increasing the quantity of

engineering institutions and engineering graduates, it is better to concentrate

on improving the quality of engineering graduates. Employment opportunities

are based on the world economy, country or regional economy, political and

governmental policies, technology development, industry requirement and

entrepreneurship skills present in the society but the employability of the

engineering graduates means the industry readiness of the graduates. As an

academician, every institution needs to improve the employability of the

engineering graduates in the immediate future but it is a long term goal.

Employment opportunities are not in the hands of engineering institutions

alone. Table 2.3 shows the employability of the engineering graduates in 2011

throughout India. This is only for Information Technology (IT) and

Information technology Enabled Services (ITES). Even though there is no

national level study on the employability in other engineering categories, it is

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well understood that only the top students have been selected for IT field.

Other students’ employability is still less than that of creamy students.

Table 2.3 Employability of Engineering graduates in IT and ITES in

India

Sector Employability %

IT Services 17.45%

IT Product 2.68%

KPO 9.22%

Hardware Networking 36.57%

BPO 40.69% Source: Aspiring Minds’ National Employability Report – Engineering Graduates, 2011

As per the report, the employability of the graduates coming out

from engineering colleges in Tamilnadu state is very low compared to other

states in India. It is as low as 10% in IT services, less than 2% in IT product,

less than 5% in KPO, less than 30% in hardware networking, and less than

35% in BPO. But in Tamilnadu alone more than 2 lakh engineering graduates

are coming out every year. Despite the fact that they have spent a huge

amount on tuition fees and other expenses, their employability is very low

compared to other states and so it is becoming a critical issue for engineering

colleges in Tamilnadu.

This research focuses on improving the employability of the

engineering graduates coming out from the self-financing private non-

autonomous engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University Chennai in

Tamilnadu by the application of quality improvement models especially six

sigma methodology in EEIs. Figure 2.4 depicts the arrangement of

engineering educational institutions in Tamilnadu, India.

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2.3.4 Arrangement of EEI in Tamilnadu

Figure 2.4 Engineering Educational Institutions in Tamilnadu

2.3.5 Measuring Quality in Engineering Education

Owlia and Aspinwall (1996,1998a) have proposed a final

framework consisting of 19 items grouped into four dimensions namely the

academic resources, competence, attitude and content for measuring the

service quality of the engineering education.

2.4 QUALITY ASSURANCE MODELS IN ENGINEERING

EDUCATION

Many quality improvement models like ISO 9001:2008, AICTE

NBA accreditation, TQM, Lean and Six Sigma have been reported in the

quality improvement of EEI. Quality tools like QFD, FMEA and Force field

analysis have also been used for improving education services. This section

presents the literature found in various journals. Table 2.5 presents various

authors dealing with different quality models.

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Table 2.4 List of Articles on Quality Models

Quality Models Authors

Lean + Six Sigma + HigherEducation Institutions (HEI)

Antony et al (2012),Antony ( 2008)

TQM+ Higher Education Quinn et al (2009), Sayeda et al (2010),Sakthivel et al (2005), Sakthivel (2007),Burli et al (2012), Hwarng and Teo (2001),Thakkaret al (2006), Ardi et al (2012)

QFD+ Higher Education Quinn et al (2009), Thakkar et al (2006),Hwarng and Teo ( 2001),Aytac and Deniz (2005)

ISO 9001:2008 + Higher Education Quinn et al (2009), Burli et al (2012)

Six Sigma + Higher education Quinn et al (2009),Prasad et al (2012),Antony (2008), Yu and Ueng ( 2011),Jenicke et al (2008), Sreenarayanan et al (2011),Ramasubramanian (2012), Chaudhuri et al(2011)

FMEA + Higher Education Kenchakkanavar and Joshi

Accreditation + Quality Assurance +Higher Education

Bordia ( 2001), Natarajan (2000),Patil and Codner (2007)

Accreditation + Quality Assurance +Engineering Education

Natarajan ( 2000)

Service Quality + Higher Education Quinn et al (2009), Chen et al (2006),Tan and Kek (2004)

Mahapatra and Khan (2007)

MBNQA Quinn et al (2009)

AQIP Quinn et al (2009)

Six Sigma + Service Quality Nakhai and Neves (2009),Hensley and Dobie(2005)

Virtual Learning Environment +Higher Education

Limniou and Smith (2010)

Quality Cost + Education Green (2007)

Literature Review + Six Sigma Goffnett (2004), Aboelmaged (2010),Thandapani et al (2012), Tjahjono et al (2010),Hendry and Nonthaleerak (2005), Brady andAllen (2006), Sahu et al (2013), Natarajan et al(2011a,b), Karthi et al (2012), Chakrabarty andTan (2007)

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Thandapani et al (2012) have discussed various quality models like

ISO9001:2000, MBNQA, Deming Prize, European Quality Award, ABET in

engineering educational scenario. Sreenarayanan et al (2011) have identified

the dependent and independent variables involved in teaching learning

process and proposed six sigma organisation structures for technical

institutions. Jenicke et al (2008) have reviewed the six sigma in academia,

found out the possibility of implementing six sigma in academia, identified

challenges like difficulty in defining customers, difficulty in measuring

educational service quality, stressed the importance of commitment from top

management and employees as the role model by taking six sigma course, and

proposed a framework for applying six sigma in academia for the successful

implementation of six sigma in education

Sakthivel et al (2005) have proposed 5C’s TQM model. 5C’s are

Commitment of top management, course delivery, campus facilities,

Courtesy, and customer feed back and improvement. Students’ satisfaction

survey was conducted through questionnaire consisting of 5 quality

dimensions with 60 operating items. Survey was also conducted at ISO

certified and Non ISO institutions. He reports that the study has been

conducted in self financing engineering college for measuring students’

satisfaction

Ardi et al ( 2012) have developed a survey model with 7 quality

dimensions like faculty’s commitment, department’s commitment, course

delivery, campus facilities, courtesy, and feedback and improvement and with

40 operating variables. He has reported the implementation of TQM model in

Indonesian State University Engineering College for measuring students’

satisfaction.

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Patil and Codner (2007) discussed accreditation and assessment,

and the development of a global accreditation. Burli et al (2012) have

developed a survey questionnaire and analysed using SPSS software for

implementing TQM and ISO in the Engineering Institutions in India. He has

developed European Foundation for Quality management excellence model -

EFQM. Limniou and Smith (2010) studied virtual learning environments

(VLE), Teachers and students’ perception using questionnaire method and

used t-test analysis independent group in an engineering school in UK.

Chen et al (2006) developed Importance-Satisfaction(I-S) model

for studying employee’s satisfaction and degrees of importance in deciding

the improvement strategy in higher education. Chaudhuri et al (2011) have

done an assessment of engineering college in West Bengal, India. They have

calculated six sigma metric and yield analysis using a survey questionnaire

with 8 enablers and 75 drivers.

Mahapatra and Khan (2007) proposed EduQUAL model for the

measurement of educational quality in technical educations based on 43 items

reduced to 28 items under 5 dimensions using SERVQUAL model. This

model is developed for customer evaluation of service quality in technical

institutions. Four network models based on Back propagation algorithm is

analysed. QFD is used to prioritise improvement policies. Antony et al (2012)

discussed the challenges and barriers in the use of lean Six Sigma in HEI,

listed critical success factors, appropriate tools and techniques of LSS and

concluded that LSS can be implemented in HEI for improving effectiveness.

Bordia (2001) discussed funding, management, quality assurance

and problems in the accreditation of engineering colleges in developed and

developing countries. He studied the effect of privatization, and

commercialization. Natarajan (2000) discussed various accreditation models

like NBA, ABET, MBNQA for quality assurance of technical institutions.

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Sayeda et al (2010) applied TQM, identified the critical dimensions of TQM

applicable to EEI, developed a questionnaire instrument using identified

critical dimensions, and proposed a conceptual model. Prasad et al (2012)

used six sigma DMAIC approach to perform case study, business case,

problem statement, goal statement, SIPOC chart, Pareto diagram, C&E

diagram, FMEA used, SS organisation structure, project charter used in EEI

in India.

Quality assurance in engineering education is carried out by many

process models. They are

AICTE approval process

University affiliation process

ISO 9001:2008 QMS certification process

AICTE – NBA accreditation process

2.4.1 AICTE Approval Process

In India it is mandatory to get AICTE approval before starting an

engineering institution. During this approval process, the management has to

provide sufficient land, building, and financial sources for running the

institution successfully. A Trust, Society or Government can start an

institution. No individual is allowed to start an institution in India without a

trust or society. During this approval process, it is ensured that the

Management has sufficient land, building and other infrastructure and

financial support to run a college smoothly and efficiently. College

management has to assure the appointment of Principal, required number of

qualified faculty, lab facilities, class rooms, necessary equipments and other

infrastructure facilities. This process of approval by AICTE assures the

minimum quality of engineering education in India.

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2.4.2 University Affiliation Process

In India it is mandatory to get University affiliation after getting

AICTE approval while starting a new college or introducing a new course in

the already existing college. In the affiliation process, a college management

has to satisfy the affiliating University norms, regulations, and procedures in

terms of faculty strength, qualification of faculty, quality and quantity of lab

equipments and machinery, sufficient class rooms, tutorial rooms, and other

infrastructure facilities in accordance with syllabus and curriculum framed by

the University. The process of affiliation with University and AICTE

approval both together assure the quality of engineering education in India.

2.4.3 ISO 9001:2008 QMS Certification Process

ISO 9001 certification have been applied in many manufacturing

industries and service sector industries as quality assurance model. Most of

the engineering colleges in India would like to get ISO 9001:2008

certification for quality improvement in engineering education. The general

public is also aware of it and believes that ISO 9001:2008 certification assures

the quality of the engineering education. A few papers have reported the

application of ISO 9001 QMS in education (Bayo-Moriones et al (2011),

Garratt (2007), Kostagiolas and Kitsiou (2008), Balaque(2009), Balague and

Saarti (2009) and Karthi et al (2012). ISO 9001 certification has been

producing valuable results in the quality improvement process (Karthi et al

2012). A few of them are listed below

Higher customer satisfaction and improved loyalty

Improved market share

Competitive advantage

Increased profitability

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Reduced number of rework, rejections

Acting as status symbol

Though it has got many advantages, some of the major drawbacks

are also reported in the literatures. They are

It involves a huge amount of documentation

It requires significant additional resources like cost and time

It is viewed just as a documentation system and it may not

improve the standards

Management is willing to satisfy the audit team rather than

improving the quality of product or process

It is acquired only for status improvement and not for

improving quality.

In spite of several advantages and limitations of ISO 9001:2008

QMS, it is being implemented as quality assurance model in industries and

educational sectors.

2.4.4 Key Ingredients for Successful Implementation of ISO 9001

QMS

The success of ISO 9001:2008 QMS in engineering education

depends on some key ingredients. They are

Top management commitment

Employees( Faculty) cooperation and involvement

Customers(students) cooperation, involvement and dedication

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Infrastructure facilities like computers, lab equipments and so

on.

Infrastructure for teaching learning facility

2.4.5 AICTE – NBA Accreditation Process

National Board of Accreditation (NBA) was established in the year

1994 by AICTE. NBA is the only accreditation body authorised by the

Government of India to undertake accreditation of technical education

programmes in India. This has networked with international accreditation

bodies for up-gradation of quality assurance procedures. NBA evaluates

institution, department and activities. It assesses the exam results, research

input and output and placement record. Many engineering colleges in India

prefer to get NBA accreditation for the following benefits.

Only accredited institutions can get financial grant from

AICTE for the research programmes, modernisation of

laboratories and conduct of short term courses.

The students intake can be increased beyond certain limit only

after getting accreditation and

Accreditation gives an international recognition to institutions.

2.4.6 Key Ingredients for Successful Implementation of NBA

Accreditation Process

The success of the quality assurance models like NBA process inengineering education depends on some of the key ingredients. They are

Top management commitment, support, dedication is required

The involvement of Principal, Heads of the Departments,

Dean, and Directors is required

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Employees( Faculty) cooperation and involvement

Customers(students) cooperation, involvement and dedication

Infrastructure facilities like computers, lab equipments and so

on.

Infrastructure for teaching learning facility

NBA certification authorities’ involvement and straight

forwardness is essential.

2.5 SIX SIGMA IN SERVICE SECTOR

Six sigma is being implemented successfully in many service sector

industries namely healthcare, financial services, banking sector and utility

services as reported by Antony et al (2007). Hensley and Dobie (2005) have

suggested that for the successful implementation of six sigma in service

setting requires assessing the readiness of such organisations by identifying

experience with quality programs.

2.5.1 Overview of Six Sigma

The symbol “ ” is a Greek alphabet called sigma used to designate

the distribution spread (variation) about the mean (average) of any process or

procedure or product.

Six sigma is a metric that indicates how well a process is

performing. It is a relentless, ruthless pursuit of the reduction of variation in

all critical processes to achieve continuous and breakthrough improvement

through elimination of waste, rework, scrap, non-value added effort, defects

and opportunities for defects. The higher the sigma value, the better the

process. It measures the capability of the process to perform defect-free-work.

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Six sigma can be implemented in three levels (Ramasamy 2005)

viz: Business level, operational level and process level. Business level

improvements are carried out by senior level management persons. It took a

few years to implement SS at business level. Process level improvements are

done by Black Belts and at the operational level; improvements are carried

out through senior people.

2.5.2 Many Facets of Six Sigma

Six sigma is defined in many terms and meanings. The following

are the many facets of six sigma reported in various literatures.

In simple statistical terms it is used to

Eliminate defects

Eliminate the opportunity for defects

Eliminate waste, rework, scrap, non value added effort and

Process capability improvement

In Complex terms (As six sigma is a new way of doing business as

breakthrough strategy)

Vision

Metric (Standard of Measurement)

Benchmark

Philosophy

Method

Tools for

Customer improvement

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Break through improvement

Continuous Improvement

People involvement

Goals

Value

Symbol

2.5.3 Benefits of Six Sigma Implementation

Many authors (Antony 2007) have reported a lot of benefits of

implementing six sigma in organisations. Service organisations like Banking,

Healthcare, Accounting and finance, Public utilities, shipping and

transportation, Airline Industry, Insurance companies, Railways and

education institutions can have the following benefits by adopting six sigma.

They are

Cost reduction

Defect reduction

Productivity improvement

Customer satisfaction improvement

Increase in market share

Cycle time reduction

Cultural change

Product development

Better service

Improved efficiency

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Improved profitability

Improved capability in the process

Bottom line improvement

2.5.4 Goals of Six Sigma in Educational Institutions

It is but natural for an educational institution to be willing to

improve the pass percentage of the students in University examinations

because the result percentage will have influence on the institutions’

reputation, students’ admission and employability of students. So, the goal of

six sigma in an educational system for achieving academic excellence can be

as follows

Reduce defects: reducing number of failures of students.

i.e.,100 % pass percentage in each semester in all subjects

(i.e., first attempt pass of all students in all subjects)

Reduce variation. i.e., Class average mark for every subject

should be more than say 75% (i.e., improvement in average

mark)

Reduce the students absenteeism for University examinations

to target zero

Reduce the application for revaluation by reducing the failures

Improve customer( i.e., Students) satisfaction by first attempt

pass and high average mark

Improve end users satisfaction ( i.e., employers for students

satisfaction)

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2.5.5 Focus of Six Sigma

The focus of six sigma has been depicted in Figure 2.5. The process

input variables ‘Xs’ are independent variables. These variables are controlled

by the process and converted into the process output variables Y, which is a

dependent variable. This POV are the Voices of process (VOP) that are used

to satisfy the customer needs and expectations.

Figure 2.5 Focus of Six Sigma

Y = f(X1, X2, X3, X4, X5…)

X1 = Number of theory classes attended by students

X2 = Number of tutorial classes attended by students

X3 = Internal Assessment Marks

X4 = Number of times Faculty handled this subject (Faculty

experience in particular subject handling)

X5 = Knowledge, ability, skill level of students.

2.5.6 Six Sigma Methodologies

This project has applied DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze,

Improve, and Control) approach for process improvement as a six sigma

methodology. DMAIC approach has been used for improving the existing

Y

(VOP)

Customer Needs &Expectations

(VOC)

Process InputVariables (PIV)

Process OutputVariables (POV)

Critical To Satisfaction(CTS)

Xs

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product / process performance improvement. DMAIC methodology is a

rigorous and proven problem solving approach that includes both a set of

appropriate tools and a sequence of applying those tools for the remarkable

improvement of process. It is a data driven approach for improving processes

in a logical and methodical way. Its five phases – define, measure, analyze,

improve, control are designed to take a team through a process improvement

project from inception to completion.

Table 2.5 Six Sigma DMAIC phases and its activities

PHASES ACTIVITIES

DEFINE Define the problem: Identity several projects, select suitable project, setgoal and targets, identify COPQ, setup team, develop process maps,develop SIPOC diagram, use graphic techniques.

MEASURE Measure what we care about, develop measurement tools, standards andcollect data

ANALYZE Find root causes: cause & effect diagram, critical thinking, use statisticaltools such as scatter plots, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, regressionanalysis

IMPROVE Seek optimal solutions: Brainstorming, Benchmarking, Gemba analysis,cause & effect diagram

CONTROL Sustain improvements: implement the new initiative and put appropriatecontrol in place using control plan to give signal to variation andstandardised work

2.5.7 Key Ingredients of Successful Implementation of Six Sigma

A number of authors (Antony and Banuelas, 2002, Eckes, 2000,

Breyfogle et al 2001, Pande et al 2000, Henderson and Evans, 2000) have

enumerated the key ingredients for the successful implementation of six

sigma. The identification of the key ingredients can help the management for

developing an appropriate plan of action for the successful implementation of

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six sigma in their organisation. They have identified the following as the

ingredients for the successful implementation of six sigma.

Top management involvement , commitment and support

Six sigma organisation structure to define roles and

responsibilities of key position

Six sigma training and development of entire organisation

Applying appropriate tools and techniques for quality

improvement

Selection for projects for improvement

Linking six sigma to customers

Accountability

Empowerment , reward and cooperation

2.5.8 Six Sigma Tools and Techniques for Process Performance

Improvement

Six sigma is a systematic methodology applying appropriate tools

and techniques for solving a specific problem. As is it evolved from TQM

concept, it has many tools and techniques as in TQM methodology. A

numerous tools and techniques are being applied while carrying out six sigma

projects as reported by Chakrovorty (2009) and Natarajan et al (2011). Such

tools and techniques indicated in these papers are listed in Table 2.6.

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Table 2.6 Tools and techniques employed in six sigma

Affinity diagramKoning and Mast (2006), Antony (2006),Antony (2008b), Antony and Desai (2009),Aboelmaged (2010), Cook et al (2005)

Analytical hierarchy process Kumar et al (2007)ANOVA Kumar et al (2008)Balanced scorecard Antony and Desai (2009)Bar chart Koning and Mast (2006)Benchmarking Cheng (2008), Koning and Mast (2006), Antony

(2006), Antony et al (2007),Antony and Desai (2009)

Box plot Koning and Mast (2006)Brainstorming Antony et al (2007), Antony (2006),

Antony and Desai (2009), Aboelmaged (2010)Capability analysis Cook et al (2005), Raisinghani et al (2005),

Maleyeff and Kaminsky (2002)Cause and effect diagram Snee (2004), Banuelas and Antony (2003),

Kumar et al (2006), Taner et al (2007),Kumi and Morrow (2006), Cook et al (2005) andBasu (2004), Kumar et al (2008), Schroeder et al(2008)

Cause and effect matrix Koning and Mast (2006),Kumi and Morrow (2006), Banuelas et al (2005)

Check list Koning and Mast (2006),Kumi and Morrow (2006)

Control charts Koning and Mast (2006), Coronado and Antony(2002), Antony (2006), Raisinghani et al (2005),Antony and Desai (2009), Aboelmaged (2010),Maleyeff and Kaminsky (2002)

Correlation studies Coronado and Antony (2002), Antony (2006)Cost benefit analysis Antony et al (2007), Antony (2006)CTQ tree, tree diagram and CTQflow down

Koning and Mast (2006)

Data collection, plan and form sheet Koning and Mast (2006)Descriptive statistics Koning and Mast (2006)Design of Experiments Raisinghani et al (2005)

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Table 2.6 (Continued)

DoE Koning and Mast (2006), Goh and Xie (2004),Coronado and Antony (2002),Antony et al (2007), Thomas and Barton (2006),Cheng (2008), Antony (2008b),Antony and Desai (2009)

Five whys Koning and Mast (2006)Flow charts Antony and Desai (2009)FMEA Koning and Mast (2006), Henderson and Evans

(2000), Coronado and Antony (2002),Goh and Xie (2004), Cheng (2008),Antony (2008), Antony and Desai (2009),Kumi and Morrow (2006), Cook et al (2005),Schroeder et al (2008), Raisinghani et al (2005)and Banuelas and Antony (2003)

Gantt chart, schedule Koning and Mast (2006), Kumi and Morrow(2006)

Gap analysis Banuelas et al (2005)Histogram Koning and Mast (2006),

Antony and Desai (2009), Aboelmaged (2010)House keeping 5S practice/JIT Cheng (2008), Antony and Desai (2009)Hypothesis testing Coronado and Antony (2002), Antony (2006),

Antony and Desai (2009)Inter-relationship diagraph Koning and Mast (2006), Goh and Xie (2004)Kaizen Antony and Desai (2009)Kano model Antony et al (2007), Koning and Mast (2006),

Antony (2006)Lean Koning and Mast (2006), Kumi and Morrow

(2006), Comm and Mathaisel, (2005a), Command Mathaisel, (2005b), Doman, M.S., (2011).

Line chart/graphs Koning and Mast (2006)Measurement system analysis,Process control, Quality controlcharts

Raisinghani et al (2005)

Monto Carlo simulation Koch et al (2004)Pareto analysis Snee (2004), McAdam and Evans (2004),

Miles (2006), Banuelas and Antony (2003),Ehie and Sheu (2005), Pandey (2007), Cook et al(2005) and Banuelas et al (2005),Coronado and Antony (2002), Koning and Mast(2006), Antony et al.(2007), Antony and Desai(2009), Aboelmaged (2010)

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Table 2.6 (Continued)

PDCA (plan, do, check, act) Schroeder et al (2008), Antony and Desai (2009)Pie chart Koning and Mast (2006)Poka-yoke Antony et al (2007), Koning and Mast (2006),

Goh and Xie (2004), Coronado and Antony(2002), Antony and Desai (2009)

Process capability analysis Koning and Mast (2006), Antony et al (2007),Chen and Cheng (2007), Antony (2006),Antony and Desai (2009)

Process management Cheng (2008)Process map Banuelas and Antony (2003)Process mapping, flow chart, SIPOCmodel

Antony et al (2007), Henderson and Evan(2000), Koning and Mast (2006),Coronado and Antony (2002), Antony (2006),Antony and Desai (2009), Aboelmaged (2010)

Project selection matrix Kumar et al (2007)Project team charter Antony (2006), Antony and Desai (2009)QFD Goh and Xie (2004), Kumar et al (2007),

Coronado and Antony (2002), Antony et al(2007), Cheng (2008), Koning and Mast (2006),Antony (2008b), Antony (2006), Antony andDesai (2009), Aboelmaged (2010)

Quality circles Kumar et al (2008)Quality costing/cost of poor quality Kumar et al (2007), Coronado and Antony

(2002), Antony (2006), Antony and Desai (2009)Regression analysis Coronado and Antony (2002), Antony (2006),

Raisinghani et al (2005), Antony and Desai(2009), Kumar et al (2006), Akdag (2007)

Reliability engineering Koning and Mast (2006), Kumi and Morrow(2006)

Robust design Goh and Xie (2004), Koning and Mast (2006),Kumi and Morrow (2006)

Root cause analysis Antony et al (2007), Antony (2006),Aboelmaged (2010)

Run chart Antony et al (2007), Kumar et al (2007),Coronado and Antony (2002), Antony and Desai(2009), Aboelmaged (2010), Banuelas andAntony (2003), Snee (2004) and Kumar et al(2006)

Sampling Koning and Mast (2006)Scatter diagram Antony and Desai (2009)Service FMECA Antony (2006)

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Table 2.6 (Continued)

SERVQUAL Antony (2006), Aboelmaged (2010)Seven QC tools Antony (2008a)SIPOC Henderson and Evans (2000), Antony (2006),

Antony and Desai (2009), Aboelmaged (2010)SPC Antony et al (2007), Pinto et al (2008), Antony

(2006), Antony (2008b), Koning and Mast(2006), Kumi and Morrow (2006), Goh and Xie(2004), Aboelmaged (2010)

Statistical analysis Banuelas and Antony (2003), Henderson andEvans (2000)

Statistical process control Schroeder et al (2008), Cook et al (2005)Taguchi methods Antony (2008b), Coronado and Antony (2002),

Antony and Desai (2009)Theory of constraints Ingle and Roe (2001)Tolerance design Koning and Mast (2006), Kumi and Morrow

(2006)T-test, Chi-square test, Scatter plot Henderson and Evans (2000)Value analysis / value engineering Cheng (2008)Value stream map Koning and Mast (2006)Zero defects Kumar et al (2007)

2.6 APPLICATION OF SIX SIGMA IN EDUCATIONAL

SERVICE

Many authors have reported the success of Six Sigma

implementation in educational service improvement (Karthi et al 2012;

Ozcelik, 2010; Prasad et al 2012; Ramasubramanian 2012; Sreenarayanan et

al 2011). Chaudhuri et al (2011) have applied the Six Sigma metrics for the

Engineering college rankings in West Bengal, India. Six Sigma’s DMAIC

(Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control) methodology (Singh and

Khanduja 2012; Karthi et al 2011a; Senthilkumar et al 2012) has been applied

for enhancing teaching effectiveness (Yu and Ueng 2011). A framework for

the application of Six Sigma in educational environment has been proposed

by Jenicke et al (2008). Antony (2008) have suggested that Six Sigma should

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be included in college curriculum as they are required to solve real world

problems and cases.

Many authors have contributed to the application of six sigma in

educational services. Maleyeff and Kaminsky (2002) have dealt with the

introduction of six sigma concept in teaching the introductory statistics

education in management schools. They have introduced the process thinking

approach to data analysis in teaching statistics. Little (2003) has dealt with the

application of six sigma techniques for improving the quality of e-learning.

He has cited the case of implementing six sigma concept in TATA

Interactive Systems (TIS), which is one of the largest teams for the design of

e-learning solutions belong to TATA group, India. Mitra (2004) has pointed

out that the students in business and engineering must learn statistics and six

sigma concepts to satisfy the need of today’s business and industry

requirements. He has also suggested the curriculum for the design of six

sigma course.

Cook et al (2005) described that a course has been introduced at the

Department of Statistics at Virginia Tech in order to give initial exposure to

six sigma methods. Montgomery et al (2005) have reported that six sigma

education has been introduced in Arizona State University.

2.7 APPLICATION OF LEAN IN EDUCATION

Lean concepts have been applied in education as reported by

Comm and Mathaisel,(2005a), Comm and Mathaisel, (2005b), Doman, M.S.,

(2011). Koning and Mast (2006), Kumi and Morrow (2006).

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2.8 APPLICATION OF TQM IN EDUCATION

The principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) have been

successfully adopted and applied in the field of higher education by

developed countries such as Japan, USA and UK. In India, especially like

Indian Institute of Technology and leading technical institutions are practicing

TQM philosophy. TQM has become the most important concept because the

quality of the student makes the difference between success and failure of any

institution. TQM has been used successfully in variety of organizations,

including manufacturing and service organizations. TQM was first applied in

industries. Colleges and universities have later gradually started applying

TQM principles. Some researchers have documented the experience of ISO

9001:2000 certification and TQM implementation in some higher educational

institutions.

TQM is for achieving excellence and TQM is for continuous quest for

excellence. TQM can be defined as a holistic management philosophy aimed

at continuous improvement in all functions of an organization to deliver

goods and services in line with customers’ needs or requirements.

Management Leadership is a key factor in the success of TQM in higher

education institutions (Tari, 2006). When top management is committed to

quality, adequate resources will be allocated to quality improvement efforts.

The learning environment that includes lecture rooms, laboratories, and social

space can become a surrogate indicator of the institution’s capacity to offer

service in an organized and professional manner.

Sahney et al (2004) explores that the quality of education is becoming

important, particularly so in higher education, where the quality of process is

the quality of output in the form of enlightened students who move out of the

system. Kaushik and Khanduja (2006) and Sarda et al (2006) have explained

the role of six-sigma in technical institutions for the continual improvement of

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the student results. Sakthivel et al., (2005) have concluded from the

perceptions of students’ that the ISO 9001:2000 certified engineering

institutions are moving towards the path of TQM offering better quality of

service than the non-ISO certified institutions.

2.9 QUALITY TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES APPLIED IN

EDUCATION

Few authors have applied some of the six sigma quality tools like

QFD, FMEA, TOC, Forced field analysis, Kano model and Importance-

satisfaction model for improving quality in education. Some of them have

been discussed in the following section.

2.9.1 Application of QFD

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a management technique

for translating customer requirements into product characteristics by using

House of Quality (HOQ). This technique was applied for the development of

curriculum of tyre technology (Aytac and Deniz 2005 ). Further, QFD can be

used to improve University educational activity at all levels said by Aytac and

Deniz (2005). Thakkar et al (2006) have identified technical requirement and

students’ requirement and constructed QFD model and implemented TQM.

They have used force field analysis tool in self financing technical institutions

in India.

Hwarng and Teo (2001) developed QFD for higher education for

implementing TQM. In their work voices of customers translated into

operations requirement by three phased service –based QFD for course

delivery design, course registration and research grant application. Owlia and

Aspinwal 1998a have applied QFD for the improvement of quality in

engineering education

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2.9.2 Application of FMEA

Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is one of the primary

quality tools being widely used in manufacturing and service sectors

(Ebenezer et al 2011). The recent works in literature arena have been evident

in showing the usage of FMEA as tool in Six Sigma (Karthi et al 2011b;

Aboelmaged 2010). The tool is utilised in the Analyse and Improve phases of

Six Sigma (Karthi et al 2011b). The complications in the usage of FMEA

have led to the emergence of the simplified version of FMEA by name “Total

Failure Modes and Effect Analysis” (TFMEA) (Devadasan et al 2003;

Sivakumar et al 2008). The application of TFMEA has been so far reported

in Tea industry, Foundry Industry and Knowledge Sharing (Ebenezer et al

2011; Krishnaraj and Mohanasundram 2012a,b and Sudhahar et al 2008;

Sivakumar et al 2008). Even though these research papers have perceived the

success stories of TFMEA, the usage of TFMEA as tool of Six Sigma in

engineering colleges is eluding in the literature arena. In order to fill this gap,

a research work has been reported in this thesis.

The application of TFMEA in Six Sigma in Engineering

Educational Institutions (EEIs) has been dealt with in this research. The

reason for having chosen EEI as the application area is that the literature has

witnessed quality as the hallmark of excellence in EEIs (Natarajan 2000).

Regulatory mechanisms from different parts of the world have also defined

the necessary standards of quality in EEI. Despite the availability of several

quality assurance models like ISO 9001:2008 and AICTE-NBA accreditation

in an Indian EEI, the quality of engineering graduates are decreasing because

of the poor infrastructure, diluted admission policy, liberal examination

system (Thandapani et al , 2010; Prasad et al 2012). The various stakeholders

have a direct impact on assuring the quality of engineering graduates. The

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potential failure modes from the perception of TFMEA are discussed in this

paper. Even though TFMEA could be used very well as a replacement for

FMEA, the usage of TFMEA in the Define phase of Six Sigma is reported in

this research thesis.

2.9.3 Forced Field Analysis

Force field analysis is a management technique developed by Kurt

Lewin, a pioneer in the field of social sciences, for diagnosing situations. It

will be useful when looking at the variables involved in planning and

implementing a change program and will undoubtedly be of use in team

building projects, when attempting to overcome resistance to change. Lewin

assumes that in any situation there are both driving and restraining forces that

influence any change that may occur.

Driving Forces

Driving forces are those forces affecting a situation that are pushing

in a particular direction; they tend to initiate a change and keep it going. In

terms of improving productivity in a work group, pressure from a supervisor,

incentive earnings, and competition may be examples of driving forces.

Restraining Forces

Restraining forces are forces acting to restrain or decrease the driving

forces. Apathy, hostility, and poor maintenance of equipment may be

examples of restraining forces against increased production. Equilibrium is

reached when the sum of the driving forces equals the sum of the restraining

forces and represents the present level of productivity.

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2.9.4 Importance –Satisfaction Model

Since the evaluation of customers’ satisfaction is so critical, it is

necessary to understand how industries assess customers’ satisfaction. The

proper aim of the customer satisfaction survey is that the company or

organization can take further improvement actions in order to raise the level

of customers’ satisfaction based on the analytic results of the survey.

Importance –Satisfaction model has been used to find the requirement of

customers.The four areas indicated in Fig. 2.6 construct Importance–

Satisfaction (I–S) model (Yang 2003). It is simple and practical for

management to make decisions on improvement. The focus is to find the

quality attributes or quality elements that are located in Area II.

Area I. Excellent area

It shows all the quality attributed in this area is those having higher

importance degree and higher satisfaction level.

Area II. To be improved area

This is the area where quality attributes have the higher importance

degree, but lower satisfaction level. The customer has a perceived

dissatisfaction on these attributes, which will also reduce the evaluation of

CSI. So the firms need to take improvement actions to better the performance

of these items.

Area III. Careless area

The quality attributes located in this area are those that are less

important and satisfactory to customers. The firms do not need to pay much

attention to these attributes, since customers pay less concern to these items.

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Figure 2.6 Importance –Satisfaction Model ( Source: Yang 2003)

Area IV. Surplus area

The quality attributes in this area are less important but more

satisfactory to customers. It means that customers have less concern for these

attributes, but the performances the firms provide can exceed customers’

expectations

2.10 APPLICATION OF TFMEA FOR QUALITY

IMPROVEMENT

Devadasan et al (2003) have developed a simplified model of

FMEA namely Total Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (TFMEA). This

TFMEA model has been developed to overcome the complicated Risk

Priority Number (RPN) calculation. Instead of RPN, a rating factor is used

that has a Likert-type scale ranging from 0 to 10. The TFMEA table makes

use of certain terminologies namely ‘Failure Mode’, ‘Cause of Failure’,

‘Effects of Failure’, ‘Present Control’, ‘Rating’, ‘Concerned

Satisfaction

HighLow

High

Mean

Mean

Low

Area IExcellent Area

Area IITo be Improved AreaArea III

Careless Area

Area IVSurplus Area

Importance

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Department/Process/Product’, ‘Remarks’ and ‘Approval’. TFMEA has been

so far applied in tea industry, foundry industry and knowledge sharing

(Sivakumar et al 2008; Ebenezer et al 2011; Krishnaraj and Mohanasundram

2012a,b). In this research, TFMEA has been identified as a suitable model for

improving the quality of the service in engineering colleges as a Six Sigma

methodology tool. Considering the above conducted literature review, this

research has further applied TFMEA as a tool of Six Sigma methodology,

TFMEA model for engineering colleges and application of TFMEA as tool in

Six Sigma methodology for the research area of EEIs.

2.11 CONCLUSION

Among many quality improvement models and methodologies

studied, six sigma implementation in education service quality improvement

is found to be a good methodology. The literature review revealed that six

sigma methodology can very well be implemented in EEI. Moreover, TQM is

fundamental for six sigma quality. Total Quality Management is one of the

core engineering subjects for all branches of study in every engineering

educational institute in Tamilnadu, India. Every student is studying this core

paper in their 7th or 8th semester. Every fresh engineering faculty has studied

this subject in their UG course.

They also have studied statistics, probability, and probability

distributions in their undergraduate course. As many management of EEI in

India are keen in implementing ISO 9001:2008 QMS, AICTE –NBA

accreditation process, faculty in these institutions have adequate knowledge in

implementing these concepts. In some institutions they use TQM, six sigma

and lean tools for the quality improvement. In TQM subject , they study

about, seven basic quality tools, new seven management tools, Juran Trilogy,

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PDSA cycle, Continuous process improvement models, FMEA, QFD, quality

loss function concepts, ISO 9001 QMS, ISO 14000 EMS, six sigma, DOE and

so on. Many institutions are practising ISO 9001 QMS system, AICTE –NBA

accreditation process and so on. The above said factors make the

implementation of six sigma in engineering education very much suitable and

easy to adopt. Even though every one knows about quality, very little effort is

taken to implement what they have studied in their UG course. This research

is aiming at utilizing the knowledge they have gained in UG studies for the

betterment of quality in education.

No research has been reported so far on the application of six sigma

in engineering educational institutions as a break through quality

improvement methodology for the whole institution. Even though six sigma is

a project specific approach, it could be applied very well in engineering

educational institutions as a whole. The systematic literature review reveals

that very few authors have published articles mentioning six sigma

implementation in engineering colleges. Only in very few areas like library

system improvement, assessment of engineering colleges and evaluation of

teaching effectiveness, papers have been published. Based on the literature

review, the following projects have been identified for improvement of

quality in non-autonomous self financing private engineering colleges in

India. They are faculty recruitment, training and development, students’

attendance improvement, internal assessment mark improvement, academic

performance improvement in university examinations and employability

improvement.