Managing Quality: Tabreed Cooling Company - Case Study Example

Tabreed

• Introduction to the industry

The air conditioning industry in UAE is one of the most lucrative industries given the level of technological development the place possesses. Dubai, for example, has some of the most popular buildings in the world and is known to be a techno-city ranking with places like London and Berlin in Germany. Currently, the UAE ha engaged into multiple construction projects, setting up hospitals, schools and general infrastructure through the Abu Dhabi vision 2030, the Dubai national Expo in 2020 and the 2021 national agenda (Low, 2012). All these projects have seen the construction of world trade centers in UAE, hotels and hospitals and expansion of the transport system through the rail network and the airports. That has, therefore, provided an avenue for the demand of cooling refrigerant flow systems, and centralized air conditioning in the schools, hospitals, homes, trade centers, business organizations, hotels and much more. A region is a prime place for a holiday, racking up the highest number of tourists every year, therefore air conditioning industry has remained buoyant. However, fall in oil prices affected the industry greatly but it continues to be a very lucrative industry in UAE.

• Introduction about the company

Tabreed (National central cooling company PJSC) is a leading district cooling company based in Abu Dhabi. The company provides sustainable energy efficient and cost-effective air conditioning and cooling solutions to commercial, residential, private and government entities (Venkatachalam, 2017). The company specializes in custom-built cooling solutions that meet the requirements and preferences of consumers. The company was commissioned in 1998 by the government to construct a district cooling plant and since it has not looked back. Currently, Tabreed delivers more than one million refrigeration tons across 72 plants, throughout the region and it is undoubtedly the preferred air conditioning company in the GCC region, with countries such as Qatar, Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Some of Tabreed’s high profile projects include the Dubai Metro, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Dubai Parks and Resorts, the Jabal Omar project in the Holy City of Mecca, and the Pearl in Qatar.

• Importance of quality management to the company

Despite the enormous success of the company, the industry is competitive with examples of KAD Air Conditioning and Fzc among others. Nevertheless, quality is important to the overall success of the company. Quality management is the satisfaction of customer preferences and meeting their expectations (Bergman & Klefsjö, 2010). In the area of air conditioning, quality has a direct impact on the operations of the organization. Managing quality helps Tabreed maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty. High-quality cooling systems meet customer expectations while reducing the high risk of fixing faulty cooling systems. Therefore, it reduces overall costs while creating a good reputation for the company.

• Objective of the study and data collection

The objective of the study is to analyze the quality systems in Tabreed’s supply chain of cooling equipment while also review areas of weakness that may need improvement for the company to remain the market leader in the industry. The study will revolve around quality management tools and processes already implemented at Tabreed while providing recommendations for better quality products. The data collection involved both qualitative and quantitative methods in the supply chain to see the strengths and weakness that affect quality.

• Tabreed Quality Process

Tabreed’s operations model

The company uses a peculiar business model to achieve cost and operational efficiencies for its customers. The models range from designing, owning, building, and operating cooling plants on behalf of their customers who are mostly other organizations. The other activities include connecting the cooling plants to Tabreed. The company’s operations model is said to be very effective and is the source of unrivaled quality to the organization. The organization prefers a centralized model within a supply chain and operates with a set of engineers and equipment, which convert the traditional air conditioning system to district cooling. The supply chain may look simple but it is complex. The company process begins with inputs, which are investments into the purchase of raw materials. The next step is operations by installing cooling plants to their clients. The human resource is very fundamental in the whole process and the company must ensure the district cooling plant meet the customer’s expectations and get value for their clients. Servicing the installed equipment is usually the last step while this is continuous because they are operated by the organization. However, in the analysis of the quality process, quality must be managed better and placed around the employees. Being a manufacturing company, highly into production, the company depends on a lean approach production model. The technique is to be flexible enough to get the right things at the right place at the right time. It eliminates wastes and emphasizes on continuous improvement on quality (Melton, 2005).

• Quality tools used to identify and analyze the problem

The Tabreed Company applies total quality management system throughout its operations (Dale, 2015). The aim is to maximize value and continuously improve quality at every stage of operations. The total quality management emphasizes for the organization to get it right the first time. All organizational employees are supposed to be customer focused while ensuring continuous improvement in quality. There are several quality management tools, which comprise of simple graphical and statistical analysis, which are helpful in identification and solution of quality problems within an organization.

Process Flowchart looks at the workflow of the organization's activities. The process flow chat is important for separation of roles while ensuring all the activities flow in a smooth manner.

Checksheet is a form used to collect data in real time as the organization keeps on with the activities. Checksheet can collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The model was developed by Kaoru Ishikawa and helps to check the shape of the probability distribution (Ho, 1995). It also helps Tabreed to quantify defects by type, quantify the defects by the location of the air conditioners to know the business unit that is not up to the quality standards set up by the company. Lastly, the check sheet marks the contribution of employees to the installation, service, and operation of clients cooling plants.

Histograms are usually frequency distribution tables that show how regularly different events are observed against a particular problem (Montgommery, 2007). Histograms are used to check for continuous data and for example in its application to quality; the Tabreed Company uses histograms to analyze the level of consumer satisfaction in every cooling plant they install for a client. The data will be used for continuous improvement of the plants.

Figure 1

The Pareto analysis uses either graph with lines or Pareto chart to analyze a particular phenomenon in the organization (Karuppusami & Gandhinathan, 2006). Pareto chart analyzes the problems facing the company and may include poor customer, poor communication channels, and mismanagement.

Figure 2

Cause and effect diagram is a problem-solving tool used to come up with various causes of the problem. For example, Tabreed Company made losses in the 2009 financial year it was imperative to construct a cause and effect diagram to unravel the underlying problems facing the company. The CED identifies the problem; works out the major factors involved and identify the possible causes (Kenett, 2014). The last step is analysis.

Control chart is a graph used to study how processes and procedures change over time. The chart helps to define how much variability is present in random events and the uniqueness of the events (Montgomery, 2007). Normally, it is a visual data representation to monitor the progress of events and ascertain if the long range is changing.

Figure 3

• Recommendation

The organization is among the leading in air conditioning programs, while their management is based on total quality and lean models. However, it is seen that they have not been able to stick to the fundamental principles of those approaches. It is recommended that the management should focus more on putting the employees at the center of the model. That will entail training and development programs, and eventually, employees will be motivated. The lean approach has not worked well for the organization and the leadership should integrate it with continuous improvement by:

• Set priorities.
• Communicate expectations.
• Offer rewards.

• Summary and Conclusion

The study investigated the total quality system using an example of Tabreed (National Central Cooling Company PJSC), a leading district cooling company based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The company operates in the air conditioning industry and its business model ranges from designing, owning, building, to operating cooling plants on behalf of their customers. The quality tools used include a histogram, Pareto analysis, process flow chart, control activities, cause and effect diagrams, and check sheet. In conclusion, to remain the best provider of cooling plants, the company must motivate its workforce.