Quality Management
Hershey’s Mint Kisses
Marc Cangemi
Regan Greco
Jaclyn Johns
Michael Williams
DIT 1141 TR 11:30
April 30, 2004
What Quality Control Processes are in Place?
Here at Hershey’s we use a quality control process that we like to call QTE or
Quality Through Excellence. QTE has been in place at Hershey since 1987 and is based
on the concept of Total Quality Management. A network of coordinators throughout the
corporation spearhead QTE efforts by encouraging employees to "think outside the box"
as they explore new methods to increase productivity and decrease costs. The QTE
Executive Award of Excellence, a company-wide Senior Management award, was
unveiled in March 1997 as a way to recognize outstanding QTE accomplishments.
Entries from around the corporation are judged on the TIP Behaviors (Teamwork,
Integrity and Personal Leadership) and the Wow Factor ... that something extra that sets
the nomination apart. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded in four categories –
Innovation and Creativity, Application of Technology, Communications/Best
Demonstrated Practices and Continuous Improvement. Each medal recipient group also
receives a check to donate to charity.1
The QTE approach to quality control for chocolate is great and has already saved
the company millions of dollars, but we at Hershey’s are also looking into cutting edge
technologies for chocolate quality assurance as well. Many of us are familiar with
ultrasound scans as a harmless way of monitoring unborn babies. But scientists at the
Institute of Food Research (IFR) on the Norwich Research Park are taking this
technology in a new direction, and are using ultrasound to help improve quality control
during chocolate manufacture.
Ultrasound scanning involves bombarding a material with sound waves, and
measuring the pitch, loudness and speed of waves that pass through, or are bounced back.
1
http://www.hersheys.com/hipp/index.shtml
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It very useful for measuring or monitoring things that you can't see through, or that are
inside something else. It has the added advantage that it's safe, quick to use and cheap.
The chocolate industry is one area where ultrasound scans can potentially help
improve product quality and reduce waste. This is because chocolate is much more
complicated than we might initially imagine. Chocolate contains sugar, cocoa powder
and fat. The fat molecules can arrange themselves in 6 different forms, but only one of
these has the properties we like. So chocolate manufacturers need a way of persuading
the chocolate to solidify in the form they want. This process of persuasion is called
"tempering." Tempering involves mixing all the ingredients together and heating them
up. The mixture is then rapidly cooled, then gently warmed up again. Each of the 6
different forms of chocolate melts at a slightly different temperature, so the mix is rewarmed to just below the melting point of the preferred form. At this stage, tiny crystals
start to develop in the mix; these are the starting point of the right form of chocolate. But
knowing exactly when this process has started is very difficult - the manufacturer has to
analyze a sample and see whether the crystals have started to form.2
This is where the IFR researchers think they can help. By building an ultrasound
scanner into the system, the process of melting and crystal formation could be constantly
monitored. As soon as the chocolate reaches the right stage, it can be passed onto the next
step. The system should also be able to regulate itself to ensure that the conditions are
kept just right for the tempering process to be right first time. Right now this method is
being tested in chocolate plants all over the UK, and if it is successful it will definitely be
a welcome addition to our quality control process.
2
http://www.ifr.bbsrc.ac.uk/public/FoodInfoSheets/EDPChoc.html
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Aspects that Affect Quality
Here at Hershey, we have many advantages and disadvantages in regards to the
path we have chose to take our products. On advantage is our age demographic. Everyone
loves Hershey from age 3 to 93, so in essence we have no age demographic. In a volatile
time in business where markets are shrinking day by day we can be confident that we will
continue to make a product for the entire household. If we were in the apparel business
for example, this would be nearly impossible. Look at Abercrombie and Fitch and Saks
for example. Both sell clothing, but to two completely different markets. Abercrombie
gears its advertising to predominantly teenagers and young adults between the ages of 14
and 28. Saks on the other hand must advertise in a completely different way to catch the
attention of mid to upper class women ages 20 and above.
As a leader in the food products industry, we are constantly at under the watchful
eye of the FDA. In all honesty, we are under the watchful eye of everyone who opens a
Hershey’s product. Health and safety are top priorities in every decision we make. Just
like we have an advantage of other industries in regards to having no demographic, other
industries certainly have the edge over us in this aspect. Let us go back to Abercrombie
and Fitch and Saks. Both may have niche markets but when deciding on the design of a
new pair of pants do they really have to think about the effects they will have on a
person’s health? Or how often do you read that thousands of people stopped buying an
$80 pants because it was unsafe (anyone who buys $80 pants on a regular basis should be
considered unsafe by whomever pays their credit card bill by the way). This may sound a
little ridiculous, but think about how much health and safety impact us at Hershey. The
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Mad Cow Disease caused people to stop eating meat for months. Businesses suffered
horribly, and fortunately for us this was not a catastrophe that hindered our product lines.
Any business, big or small, has advantages and disadvantages that are directly
related to the product they make and nothing else. Now while every business is unique in
this manner, all have at least one item they all must weigh heavily into their product,
because without it no business can succeed. Quality is an item that any business, from
shoes to salads to space stations, has to consider. Here at Hershey quality means a wide
array of things. We all know how a Hershey product is supposed to taste, feel, look, and
even smell. I would wager that I could go to an elementary school and have an eight year
old successfully identify a Hershey product. Hershey has succeeded because it is a
consistent brand. One can open a Hershey bar in Edison, New Jersey or Sydney,
Australia and it would taste exactly the same, look exactly the same, feel exactly the
same, and smell exactly the same.
New Measures of Quality
We are not content with our current quality requirements. A Hershey product
already has to pass strict requirements in order to enter the market, but today we have
decided to add two brand new quality criteria. Our first new criteria is the weight of our
Hershey Kiss products. In order to successfully produce a quality Hershey Kiss they must
all not only look the same, but also weight the same in a person’s hand. The last thing we
want to do is undercut our chocolate lovers, the second to last thing we want to do is
undercut our business. If a Kiss is too small, we will not be giving the customers as
satisfying an experience as we could be giving them. If the Kiss is too large, we will be
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spending more per Kiss than necessary. To put this into perspective, look at this example
of a hypothetical situation involving kisses that weigh more than they are supposed to.
Mitch, a Hershey chocolate mixing manager, did not get enough sleep last night.
When he was pouring the ingredients into the large mixing vat, he unintentionally poured
cocoa than milk, causing the mixture to be somewhat thicker(and heavier) than normal.
As the chocolate liquid went through the machine and became Hershey’s Kisses, each
kiss weighed more than normal, costing Hershey’s $.0003 more per Kiss.
Now this may seem like a very nominal amount but consider the amount of Kisses
we make each day; 33,000,000. That is not a hypothetical number that is proudly posted
on our website as our daily output capabilities. The calculation is simple, but horrifying;
33,000,000 x .0003 = $9,900
That would be $9900 per day. Hershey’s produces 12,000,000,000 Kisses a year.
If this error in the weight of the Kiss was not fixed that would cost Hershey’s about
$3,600,000 for the entire year.
Our desired weight for every Hershey’s Kiss is .16 ounces (unwrapped), with an
acceptable range between .13000 and .19000. We will test for this weight requirement at
our Quality Control Lab located directly inside the factory. This will allow us to get the
most exact measurements. If the lab were on the other side of our facilities the weight of
the kiss may be affected by outside forces such as temperature. Samples of five Kisses
will be every half hour the first five days. The sample frequency will then decrease by
every hour and then to every other hour each day. These samples will be taken to the
Quality Control Lab where we will use a highly sensitive scale (accurate to .000002
ounces) to measure the weight of each kiss individually. In total, 125 Kisses will be
examined.
Second Measure of Quality
The second new quality measure that we will implement is the length of the
plume extending out from the Kisses top. I believe that our Kisses are one of the most
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unique candy items on the market today. The reason for this is the signature design that
Milton S. Hershey created back in 1924. Part of Hershey’s design was the “plume”
extending out of the top of the Kiss. We at Hershey believe that the plume is as important
today as it was when originally designed in 1924. Some may think this is just nitpicking
too much, or that the plume is a minor attribute to the Kiss, but let’s consider the plume
and why it is so important to the Hershey Kiss.
It’s another great Halloween. The October air is warm, the sun is just creeping
away to let the night in, and little Johnny is coming home from four hours of nonstop
Trick or Treating. As he leaves his friends, his mother greets him at the base of their
driveway. “Did you get lots of candy Johnny?”, she asks. “I am not Johnny, I am
Mortimus the Terrible Werewolf grrrrrrr” he replies. His mother laughs and takes him
inside. Once they are inside his mother begins to sort through his candy. Suddenly
Johnny’s mom comes across a Hershey’s Kiss “Oh looks like this one has to go, look at
the plume, there is only a small piece sticking out of the wrapping, it looks like it has
been pushed in, I don’t trust this” she says as she throws the Kiss in the garbage. After a
while she comes across another Kiss “Look at this one, the plume almost entirely out of
the wrapping. Someone may have opened this up and tampered with this Kiss and then
tried to put it back together.” Johnny’s mom then threw the second Kiss away.
What Johnny’s mom doesn’t know is that both of those Kisses were 100% normal
in every way except for their plumes. This is why the plume is so important on a Hershey
Kiss. The plume is a very visible signal for a quality Hershey Kiss. A good plume
signifies that the Kiss is well made and reassures a chocolate lover that they are eating a
fresh, delicious Hershey Kiss. A bad plume on the other hand signifies tampering, old
candy, candy that was handled a lot, or poorly made product. It is because of this that we
have decided to implement a required length of plume for Hershey Kisses. Our goal is
that every plume measure 4.1cm with an acceptable range between 3.22cm and 5.28cm.
We will measure the plumes in our Quality Control Lab (the same lab we will be
measuring the weight of the Kisses in). The Kisses used for the plume tests will be taken
from the finished goods of the product line. We must use great caution when handling the
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Kisses since any time we pick one up from the plume we might extend the plume or tear
it off. We will use pointed tongs to grab Kisses off of the conveyor belt grabbing each
individual Kiss by the body. For our testing we will use the sample size of 5 Kisses per
sample, 2 samples per hour, 16 samples per day, and 80 samples per week. In our Quality
Control Lab we will measure the length of the plumes by cutting them off at the tip of the
Kisses. This will give us the exact length of the plume outside of the Kisses’ wrapping.
By cutting it off we no longer have to worry about handling the plume gently for fear of
extending it out of the wrapping any more than it was when we first removed it from the
conveyor belt.
Plumes
(Please see Exhibits 1, 2, and 3 for details)
With the plumes of Hershey being such a signature trade mark of the Kiss, we
want the mint Kisses to reflect the same high quality that Hershey products do. In order
to determine the quality of the plumes, tolerances are expected to be a length out of the
top of the kiss at +/- 1.5 cm. Our goal length to have is 4.1 cm. The tolerances that are
set for the product fit reasonably well within the controls. The control limits are 5.28 and
3.22. This is a variation of 2.06. This is a slightly larger variation than we would prefer
to have but it is not as drastic that it is something that cannot be changed by a slight
alteration to our process. For our testing we will use the sample size of 5 Kisses per
sample, 2 samples per hour, 16 samples per day, and 80 samples per week.
New Quality Initiatives
Due to the fact that there are seven consecutive points below the average range,
there is a problem in our plume process. We should change our quality process in order
to fit within these quality tolerances that we would like to achieve. Hershey could make
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sure that the paper is all pre-cut. A quality inspector could be used to inspect the process
to make sure that pieces that exceed the tolerance level would not make it to the next
level of production. This extra level of quality management would help to keep the
lengths within the control limits. Reducing the amount of papers that are too short would
help to reduce the amount of defective Hershey Kisses that make it into packages bought
by consumers.
The Weight of a Kiss (Please see Exhibits 4, 5, and 6 for details)
The process average of a Hershey’s Kiss is 0.16 ounces. Tolerances for the
weight of Hershey’s Kisses are +/- .03 ounces. This was determined based on the fact
that with a fluctuation of +/- 0.03 in weight, the Hershey’s Kiss does not cause a
noticeable difference in weight or appearance of shape. With 25 samples of five kisses
each, a total of 125 kisses were actually taken off the conveyer belt. Samples were taken
every half hour the first five days during an eight hour work day. The sample frequency
was then decreased by just every hour and then every other hour each day. Control limits
were set three standard deviations above and below the mean of 0.16. Based on the
current system, we should guess that the average weight of Hershey’s Kisses is between
0.20 and 0.12 ounces and a range between 0.14 and 0. These are the control limits. In
comparison, the tolerances are in a smaller range than the control limits for the process
average. The tolerances are also in a smaller range for the range than the control limits.
The UCL for the range is 0.14 while the tolerance is only 0.10. Having tolerances that
are +/- 0.03 means that weight is an issue that is very detrimental to Hershey’s Kisses
total quality. A Kiss that is too big could mean that there is possibly not enough foil to
cover the entire Kiss. A Kiss that is too small could mean that there is possibly too much
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foil covering the Kiss. The size of the Kiss then affects the placement of the wrapper
which then affects the length of the paper coming out of the Kiss. A Kiss being too big
or too small does not due harm to anyone and might not even be noticed. The size will
affect the packaging which the consumer will notice. Hershey’s wants to produce a
uniform product. A paper that is too long or has too little foil shows that Hershey does
not take pride in its work and presents a bad representation of the company.
By looking at the x-bar chart, there is no one point that is above the UCL or below
the LCL. There are also no consecutive points near the UCL or LCL. There are also no
five consecutive points increasing or decreasing. There are also no seven consecutive
points on one side of the process average. No abnormalities have been noticed in this
chart.
By looking at the R-chart, there is no one point that is above the UCL or below
the LCL. There are also no consecutive points near the UCL or LCL. There is a problem
when it is noticed that there are five consecutive points increasing. This means that there
is some form of abnormal behavior and the system needs to be investigated.
New Quality Initiatives
The machine could possibly need to be replaced or there could be a part loose
which is preventing the incorrect amount of chocolate to dispense from the machine.
There could be a clog forming and the machine just needs to be cleaned. Maybe a new
machine needs to be purchased all together. These are all possibilities that could be
looked into once this problem has been discovered. Another option is also the materials.
If the ingredients were changed during this time of the process, that could explain the
inconsistency of the weight. We understand that Hershey produces a wide variety of
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candies, but the Hershey Kiss is the trademark that many people use to associate with
Hershey. We find it imperative that Hershey take all aspects of quality of the Kisses into
consideration when making the product that makes millions smile each day.
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