This study identifies the concepts of reliability, cost of downtime, cost of spare parts, and procurement lead time as the four key moderators of spare parts availability. These concepts are used to establish a model to manage spare parts inventories. Reliability was assessed in terms of developing failure predictions for major component categories. Cost of downtime was evaluated by identifying various methods for determining costs associated with downtime. Cost of spare parts was examined to find correlations with economic indicators. These correlations were used to predict future price movements. Yearly changes in lead time were identified and correlated with economic indexes to develop movement predictability.

The purpose of this study is three-fold. First, based on the synthesis of literature on quality concepts, critical factors that must be practiced to achieve effective quality management in an organization were identified. A framework to be used by organizations to evaluate their quality assurance practices were developed. Second, a field survey was conducted to identify the degree to which quality assurance is being practiced in Indian Manufacturing organizations and to locate the organizational areas where better management control can make the quality assurance system more effective. Finally, an attempt was made to develop models that could be used to forecast the level of quality achieved.

This paper reports a study of the behavioral changes perceived by managerial and non-managerial personnel in a firm transforming from traditional manufacturing methods to the procedures of Just-In-Time manufacturing (JIT).