Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing

The Situation Saudi Mechanical Industries caters for a wide range of industries ranging from automotive industry, oil and gas to agriculture. In 1994, SMI had a quality problem related to poor fit for automotive shafts it manufactured.The problem went as far back as anyone could remember. On average, over a quarter of shafts delivered to automotive manufacturers were returned for re-grinding. The company did not receive enough data from the manufacturers to understand whether they were producing oversized shafts or the automotive manufacturers had variations in the casings that the shafts fitted. However based on their calculations SMI believed they were producing to the specification required by the automotive manufacturer. SMI management thought the poor fit was a quality problem in the customers plant (Saudi Mechanical Industries, 2017). Consequences of Poor Quality At one point, SMIs largest customer received an extraordinary order that required a large number of automotive shafts. Out of concern the customer reached out to Saudi Mechanical Industries if SMIwere unable to produce quality shafts with precise fit they would lose the business. This matter was of serious concern for SMI as the customer was worth 30 of the shaft sales volume. The thought that the company