What is the concept of quality

What is the concept of quality

Frank Heyworth

What do we mean by quality?

Try to define “quality” for yourself.
________ ”Quality is ____________________“

You probably found it difficult to get a satisfactory general definition which isn’t circular, such as “quality means good”. But you could certainly be more specific if you needed to define a quality car or restaurant. This book is about managing quality in language education, so we need to look at quality as a specific, operational concept. This means being able (1) to define “qual ity in lan guage education”; (2) to describe it in objective operational terms; (3) to identify the processes by which good language education can be produced; (4) to establish procedures for observing it and assessing it; and (5) to look at the issues involved in accrediting it.

What do you mean by:

To do this involves establishing criteria and setting standards which enable us to assess all of these in a reliable and principled way.

Quality issues in language education

“ Are we doing the right things?” and “Are we doing things right?” are key twin questions in the application of quality procedures in any domain of activity.

In the field of language education there is a need to have a clear and coherent idea of what are the “right things” that we are doing, and procedures for checking that we are “doing things right”. This means that among many issues, the following must be addressed:

In order to address issues of this kind we need to examine how quality assurance and control procedures are typically applied to teaching in general and to language education in particular, and to compare these with the approaches commonly used in other fields. This may suggest the application of different approaches to language learning and teaching activities.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control in general

It was realised that improved quality was not to be achieved through technical progress alone. Especially in Japan it was emphasised that the responsibility for the quality of the product should lie with those producing it, not with outside inspectors, and that people worked best if they formed teams able to organise their own work flexibly and intelligently. “Quality circles”, small teams who were encouraged to provide suggestions and to take quality initiatives were devised as a way of promoting the desired approach and attitude. It was stressed that correcting mistakes was expensive and time-consuming and that therefore the aim was to “get it right the first time, every time”.

The idea of “quality” as an important feature of the production of goods and the provision of services has led to its being an important factor in the management of companies and other organisations. The procedures are divided into “quality assurance”, the steps which need to be taken to produce goods or provide services of high quality; and “quality control”, the procedures devised to check that the aimed for or promised quality is achieved. The idea of quality has been introduced into the public domain, with governments promising specific standards in the provision of health services or education.

There have also been attempts to define all working relationships as being influenced by client satisfaction, with every person in an organisation having clients, either internal or external, whose needs s/he must satisfy, and providers, who provide services which enable people to carry out their tasks efficiently.

Think of every day transactions and activities you carry out.

What criteria do you apply to judging good quality and low quality in goods and services?

What standards do you set?

Quality Assurance and Quality Control in educational contexts

In state education the management of quality has not generally been explicit and it has often been unsystematic. In many countries the responsibility for quality control has lain with ministry of education inspectors whose jobs have involved both the inspection of schools and their accreditation; in some countries they have also inspected individual teachers, grading them in ways which influenced their salaries and careers. In recent years the emphasis of inspectors’ work has been more on advising schools and on promoting good practice than on control and sanctions.

The procedures for internal quality assurance have varied widely. Typically there has been relatively little close observation of the teaching activities and in many environments it has been possible for teachers to work alone in the classroom for years once they have gone through their probationary period. In some schools there is provision for observation of classes by heads of department or for peer observation, but this is far from being generalised and is more common in private education than in state systems.

In the field of private language schools, more concerned with the need to find and keep students in competition with other schools, there has been considerable development of inspection schemes to check and accredit good practice. The British Council administers the English in Britain accreditation system and has been carrying out inspections for both private and further education institutions. There are a number of national associations promoting quality through accreditation, granting “quality labels” for schools; SOUFFLE for French, CEELE for Spanish, the Hungarian Association of Language Schools, QUEST for schools in Romania are just a few examples of these initiatives. EAQUALS (the European Association for Quality Language Services) has an inspection system based on a code of practice with charters for learners, staff and for information and has accredited schools in 11 different countries and for a wide range of languages.

The Application of Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Language Teaching and Learning

Who are the “clients” in the educational institutions you work in?

Distinguish between “primary clients” (usually those who pay) and “secondary clients” (other stakeholders in the educational process).

Language learning and teaching are complex matters and cannot be reduced to a single, simplistic model of quality. They are influenced by the personalities of learners and teachers and by the relationships between them. The content is also defined by what is happening in the world around them and the topics they choose to discuss. Nevertheless it is important to aim for high standards and to set criteria by which the quality of teaching/learning operations will be judged. Factors which might be taken into account in setting quality criteria include:

North, Lasnier, Morfeld, Borneto & Spаth in the “Quality Guide for the evaluation and design of language programmes” (A Guide for the Evaluation and Design of Quality Language learning and teaching Programmes and Materials, European Commission 2000) etc. propose a number of quality principles, shown in the table below:

What is quality? Definition and examples

Quality refers to how good something is compared to other similar things. In other words, its degree of excellence. When used to describe people, it refers to a distinctive characteristic or attribute that they possess. In this sense, we can also use the term for things. If I think that Mary’s best attribute is her honesty, I can say “Mary’s best quality is her honesty.”

When we refer to ‘people of quality’ we usually mean people of high social standing. However, the term, with this meaning, is less common today than in the past.

In business, especially manufacturing, it is a measure of excellence. In this context, it can also refer to a state of being defect-free.

The ISO 8402-1986 standard defines quality as:

“The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.”

The term contrasts with the word ‘quantity.’ When somebody says ‘how much,’ we think about quantity. If they say ‘how good,’ on the other hand, we think about quality.

Quality in business

In business, manufacturing, and engineering, the term has a pragmatic interpretation as the superiority or non-inferiority of something. It also refers to a product as ‘fit for purpose,’ while at the same time satisfying consumer expectations.

Quality is mostly a subjective and perceptual attribute. Different people may not have the same understanding of the meaning of the term.

In a SlideShare presentation, Arpan Garg says: “The Importance of product quality can be seen through two sides: 1. For companies: This is because, bad quality products will affect the consumer’s confidence, image and sales of the company. It may even affect the survival of the company. 2. For consumers: They are ready to pay high prices, but in return, they expect best-quality products. If they are not satisfied, they will purchase from the competitors.” (Image data: slideshare.net/gargarpan/)

Customer’s and producer’s interpretation

“Consumers may focus on the specification quality of a product/service, or how it compares to competitors in the marketplace.”

“Producers might measure the conformance quality, or degree to which the product/service was produced correctly. Support personnel may measure quality in the degree that a product is reliable, maintainable, or sustainable.”

In this context, the word ‘consumer‘ means the same as ‘customer‘ (this is not always the case).

Quality management

In business, there are many aspects to quality. It may refer either to goods or services. The key aspects of how good or ‘fit for purpose’ goods are, are rooted in the concept of quality management, which covers four areas:

1. Quality planning

This is a means of developing the goods, systems, and processes required to meet consumer expectations. In many cases, the producer tries to exceed them.

2. Quality assurance or QA

QA is a program for the systematic monitoring of all aspects of production, a project, or a service. The aim is to make sure that the producer and what the producer makes meet the required standards.

Quality control or QA

QC is a system in manufacturing of maintaining standards. Here, the focus is on the finished product, i.e., making sure it is defect-free and meets specifications and standards.

While QC focuses on what happens after the producer makes the product, QC focuses on what happens before completion.

Quality improvement or QI

QI is the systematic approach to the elimination of waste and losses in the production process. Sometimes, it also includes the reduction of waste and losses. QI involves weeding out what is not working properly, and either improving it or getting rid of it.

The Concept of Quality and Quality Definitions

by Dominic Parry | Nov 11, 2018

This article will consider the concept of “quality” and looks at how a range of experts in this field have arrived at various quality definitions.

Note: This article is based on Chapter 2 of the first Unit of our QP Quality Management Systems course and can also be viewed as a video by clicking here.

John Ruskin, the Victorian art critic, suggested that “Quality is never an accident, it is always the result of intelligent effort”. In other words, “quality” doesn’t just happen – we have to work at it!

Across the Atlantic Ralph Waldo Emerson, the 19th Century American poet, essayist and philosopher proposed that a “quality product”, even if only a mousetrap, was something worth seeking out!

“If a man should paint a better picture, preach a better sermon or even build a better mousetrap, then even though he builds his house in the middle of a forest, people will make a path to his door”.

People will make a path to your door! And that is what an aspect of “quality” is about perhaps, getting people to make a path to your corporate door!

Ask any group of people what “quality” is and what it is about and you will get a myriad of answers. Quality is undoubtedly a moveable feast – and what is “quality” for one person is not necessarily “quality” to another.

Generally though, such answers will centre on well-rehearsed clichés such as “meeting specification” or “the right product, at the right time and at the right price”.

“Getting it right first time, every time” and “making goods which do not come back for customers who do” would also surface in any discussion.

We may even have definitions of quality thrown in – Dr Juran’s “Fitness for purpose” and Philip Crosby’s “Conformance to requirements”.

The important thing to note is that quality thinking has evolved over time.

Principles associated with business needs, environmental needs, design and development needs, customer needs (both internal and external), stakeholder needs and the operational needs of effectiveness and efficiency have all been “embraced” into contemporary quality-thought.

This evolution in quality thinking is perhaps best seen through the changes evident in quality-related definitions.

Both Juran and Crosby crystallised their thought processes, through their definitions in the 1970’s. The focus being very much on product quality, the product will be “fit for purpose”, the product will “conform to requirements”.

In the 1980’s WE Deming, our management guru, introduced a temporal aspect to our “quality thinking” suggesting that we should be concerned about “fitness for purpose” not only today but also in thinking about the future and future consumer needs “quality should be aimed at the needs of the consumer, present and future”.

Armand Feigenbaum, the Total Quality Control expert, suggested a much more embracing view of quality. He said that quality was “the total composite product and service characteristics of marketing, engineering, manufacture and maintenance through which the product and service in use will meet the expectation of the customer”. In including elements such as “marketing”, “engineering” and “maintenance” he was suggesting that we should not only consider the product quality, but also those elements that may impact on the achievement of product quality; such as “marketing” – in promising the earth but not delivering and “engineering and maintenance” – with down-times and equipment malfunctions.

ISO, the International Standards Organisation, in “ISO 9000:2005 – Fundamentals & Vocabulary”, defines quality as “the degree to which a set of characteristics fulfils requirements”.

Whilst at first ephemeral the definition allows scope for us to embrace a whole set of “characteristics” (such as achievement of product specification, delivery on time and in-full, achievement in an effective and efficient manner) and a range of “requirements” (such as those of internal and external customers, shareholders, society, employees and regulatory bodies).

As with Feigenbaum – a more embracing view of quality.

Driving this thought process forward have been saleability models that, whilst maintaining the pre-eminence of product quality, also highlight the importance of delivery and cost as “quality considerations”. Whilst delivery and cost are important factors when choosing something, it is normally quality that has the sustained impact.

Other quality models have suggested that attention now needs to be paid to all quality parameters, not only conformance to specification, but also the quality of design andquality of use (that is the actual cost of ownership). In other words you can have a great product, but it’s no good if it breaks down shortly after use.

Additionally, attention now needs to be paid to all quality dimensions – not only product quality, but also business quality (including our environmental and ethical stance) and organisational quality (including our effective and efficient operation).

Such thinking has prompted us to view “quality” as a much more embracing concept and not something solely concerned with “product conformance”.

And so, in this introductory chapter we can see that quality is an evolving notion – it has evolved and continues to evolve. It has become a more embracing entity, more holistic as it embraces not just product quality, but also those elements/ factors that can impact on quality. The development in thought process has been evident, over time, in the various attempts made to define quality and is seen through the evolution of definitions.

Whilst many systems, and indeed, many standards, continue to focus on product conformance – and this element is core to quality – contemporary quality thinking suggests that this is not enough.

Attention now needs to be paid to all quality parameters and all quality dimensions – we ignore their potential impact on product conformance at our peril. We can be effective and be making product that wholly conforms one week, and if this is not achieved efficiently, be out of business the next week.

And in line with this evolution in quality thinking our thoughts regarding the constitution, role and workings of a Quality Management System have also evolved and we will look at this evolution in the next chapter – see earlier article.

Lots more articles on Quality Management Systems can be found on the QMS news page.

Note: This article is based on Chapter 2 of the first Unit of our QP Quality Management Systems course and can also be viewed as a video by clicking here.

What is Product Quality? 7 Steps of Products Quality Management

February 16, 2020 By Hitesh Bhasin Tagged With: Marketing

In simple terms, you can understand product quality as a characteristic that is a further conglomeration of different features for fulfilling the customer needs and maintaining the industry standards, so the product does not include any deficiency.

There are different factors such as raw materials, implementations of product technologies, workforce expertise, and production-related overheads, etc. to decide the quality of a product. In this article, we will be diving deep into the world of Product Quality and try to understand its classifications and how you can maintain good quality for your products. So, let us get started right away-

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Product Quality

In recent years, the companies reached out to their consumers to get to know even if the customers are happy with the product or not. As a result of this process, they concluded that some of the consumers are dissatisfied with their products.

So taking those feedbacks into account, the companies started to improve the quality of their product to meet the consumer’s expectations. This whole process is known as products quality.

It consists of two different types of characteristics- Measured Characteristics & Attributes Characteristics

Let us have a look upon the both here and now-

1) Measured Characteristics of Products Quality

Such sorts of aspects comprise size, shape, color, appearance, strength, weight, height, diameter, thickness, volume, diameter, consumption, fuel, and sorts of traits of a product.

2) Attributes Characteristics of Products Quality

It deals with the checking and controlling of deficiencies per item, defective units per item, cracks in ceramic, number of a mistake on avg. Basis, discoloring of garments, and sorts of feature sets of any product.

Paying heed upon these characteristics and making sure that the product has the adept inclusion of such features based upon the consumer needs, their past feedbacks, and Industry standards are the products quality management.

How these qualities are incorporated into a product decide if the product is of good quality or bad quality.

Let us now go more in-depth and understand the concept in a more comprehensive manner-

What is Products Quality?

The definition of products quality is complicated.

Products quality is making a product flawless and useful, thereby meeting all the requirements/expectations of the consumers.

Also, if any complication is raised in the future about the usage of that product, rectifying it for the better and make it the best again.

So, the products quality is not a static term; it is always dynamic as it evolves to meet the consumer’s requirement of the product.

Products Quality decides the overall goodness of a product and maintaining it is very important for businesses. Let us understand why-

Why is Products Quality crucial to a company?

Products quality is essential to a company, as any business functions because of the consumer’s inclinations, preferences, and loyalties their product.

Hence, without the satisfaction of the customer, there is nearly no future for the company.

It is the customer who decides the business of the company. If the consumers are not happy with the product they are getting, then it won’t turn up well for the company.

So, that is the reason why products quality is vital to a company.

In today’s time and age, consumers are even ready to pay any price to get top-quality products. You must have noticed the recent increase in the selling and consumption of organic foods.

All this is happening because consumers are looking for untouched items in their purest form without any compromise with the quality. Businesses who USP has first-rate products quality always enjoy a more trusted market presence with better loyalty, customer retention, lead generations and conversions.

7 Steps of Products Quality Management

There are lots of factors involved in deciding the products quality.

These factors will explain to you how the products quality of a product is decided and how it plays a role in improving a product.

Below mentioned are seven different factors that are relevant in determining products quality.

1) Checking for the Conformance

When a product is designed and executed, the manufacturer of that product will ensure that the product has met all the requirements. The product will be checked under different circumstances to ensure that the product has absolute dimensions and durability.

They also will check the product for different usage circumstances to ensure that the usage of the product will meet the requirement of the consumers. The design and outcome of a product are seriously viewed because this is the first and foremost factor in creating high products quality.

2) Checking if the product is fit for the purpose

All the products that are manufactured in a company mainly intend to solve an environmental problem that is faced by the people daily.

So, the products quality also comes into the consideration of the fit of the purpose of that product. If there isn’t any requirement for that product in the world, then the product is an utter waste, and there will not be a future either for the product or the company.

3) Paying heed to the feedbacks

The success of a product is mainly based on customer satisfaction. So satisfying all the stream of customers with one product is also a more significant challenge for a company. To find the fulfillment of the customers, the company needs feedback from the customer to improve their product.

It is one of the crucial factors which decide the products quality. The negative feedback from the customers can help the company to improve its product, and reload it with the missing features that are asked by the customer. By doing this process, the company and the product will evolve as per the changing needs of new generations.

4) Checking the Reliability of the product

If the customer can’t rely on the product due to any reason, then the products quality of the product is low. That is the reason why the feedbacks and conformance are helping the company to understand the requirement of the customers, so the company can make an improved and reliable product that will allow the customers to rely on them at every use of it.

Establishing an authentic product is also a challenging factor for every company. For example, take the iPad pro-2019, it had lots of missing features in it, but after hearing the feedbacks of the customers, the company made a new OS separately for the iPad which satisfied every customer’s need and requirement.

5) Analyzing Safety and Security of the product

It is crucial to create a product safe and secure. If the product is neither safe nor secure, it can damage the whole repetition of a company. The product that is created by a company should have all the safety measures and security, so that, the customer can rely on the product without any unease.

These are continuously checked in the conformance session from the start of selecting the raw material to the end of the end product. Even if single gone wrong, the whole repetition of that company will be lost. For example, take Samsung note 9, it had blasted while using the mobile, it somehow made the repetition of the company to low.

6) Analyzing the Efficiency of the product

It is the first and foremost consideration of a product. The quality of a product is mainly decided on its effectiveness. If a product is not efficient, the customers can rely on them every time.

That can slowly spoil the repetition of the product and the company low. So creating a product with maximum efficiency is the first and foremost consideration. The companies all streams always try to create the product with maximum efficiency.

7) Ensuring better user experience with the product management

The user experience of a product is also essential. If the consumers find difficulties to use your product because of your complicated interface, there is a chance for that product to become a failure. The companies always face many challenges to create a user-friendly interface for their products.

But there are numerous challenges in creating interfaces like making the creative and different interface for their product which will make their product distinctive from other company’s products.

These are the factors that decide the product quality of a product. All the companies always follow these factors to make their products in high product quality. But the explanation and usage of these factors vary depending on the product.

How is the quality of a product decided?

The quality of a product is decided depending on various factors. If you need to understand how the quality of a product you should choose, you need to understand the definition of quality.

To define quality is not straightforward because the definition of quality is defined by many terms and many concepts by many philosophers and economists. The description of quality is confusing, but there are some facts by which you can clearly understand the same.

These facts are the collections of explanations and thoughts of quality which is explained by many people.

These are facts that explain the quality of the products. This explanation varies depending on the product and the company.

Maintaining Products Quality

Creating a product within a safe and secure circumstance is essential. Maintaining product quality throughout production is a crucial factor.

Considering this factor, the companies have differentiated the maintaining process of product quality into three sections. They are-

1) Before production

Before the production process, companies will try to find the problems that are faced by people daily. After seeing the problem, the companies will define the problem and give a name to it.

By naming it, the companies will gather information about the identified problem and categorize it based on the preference. The company will try to find a solution during this phase.

2) During production

In this section, the company will design and ideate the answer to the problem that they found previously. They will make a prototype and test it for its compatibility and durability.

If the prototype becomes a success, they will proceed that to the production, and they will plan all the administration and financial report to that product. They will manufacture the complete product in this section.

3) After production

After production, the company will check the product under different possible situations and circumference to test its durability and particle applications.

If the quality of the product clears the entire test and comes within the limits the company fixed, then the product will proceed for the launch.

Products Quality Wrap Up!

Product quality is one of the basic terms in industries and companies. The product quality is the factor that will make a company or an industry to sustain. Without product quality, no product can be said as the right product.

So, if you come across any product from pencil to airplane, all have their product quality, and they are consistently tested and improve by the feedbacks of the consumers continuously.

Paying attention to the product quality and maintaining it as per the feedbacks of the consumers is one of the inevitable functions upon which the success of every business depends.

It is one of the most significant factors behind trust-building, credibility and sustainable existence for any business. So, what are your thoughts about the significance of product quality in running a business?

Product Quality: Definition, Characteristics and Importance

After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Definition of Quality 2. Quality Characteristics 3. Costs 4. Impact of Poor Quality 5. Importance 6. Management.

Definition of Quality:

Generally, it can be said that product is of satisfactory quality, if it satisfiers the consumers/user. The consumer will buy a product or service only if it suits his requirements.

Therefore, consumers’ requirements are first assessed by marketing department and then the quality decision is taken on the basis of the information collected. Although we have described the virtues of quality one basic question needs be answered: What is quality and who decided what quality?

According to C.D. Lewis quality is “an asset which may be offered to the potential consumer of a product or service”.

The following are other more explanatory definitions of quality:

(1) Quality is the performance of the product as per the commitment made by the producer to the consumer. Such commitment may be explicit or implicit i.e. in terms of written contract or in terms to the QUALITY MANAGEMENT expectation of the average consumer of the product. The performance of the product is concerned with the ultimate function and service which the product must provide to the final; consumer.

A product is known as a quality product only when it satisfies various criteria for its functioning for the consumer. In addition to the physical criteria, there is also a service and time factor to quality. The same quality of physical performance should be available over a reasonable length of time. Hence time is also unnecessary aspect of quality.

(2) Quality is either a written or non-written promise/commitment to a consumer, known or unknown in the market, because the market is decided by the plant/company, that to which type of consumer/customer to cater to quality is a strategic marketing decision taken by the company itself.

Thus it can be said that the quality decision is based on various marketing considerations production constraints, manpower constraints and equipment or technology constraints. In this way the decision concerning quality are not in the hands of one functional manager, since this involves overall strategic decision for the running business of a corporation.

(3) Once such a strategic policy regarding the quality is followed, it becomes the job of all functional managers such as the Production and Operations.

Manager, to see that such strategic aims/objectives and goals are achieved. In this case all departments such as purchasing, production; warehousing and transport have made contribution so as to achieve the quality of products. So quality implementation is also a ‘total organization effort’.

The essential need of the products/services is that they must fulfil the requirements of those who will actually use them. Now because the use of the product differs from situation to situation, the requirement is viewed in different manners by various users.

Simple definitions evolved for quality are (i) Fitness for use (ii) Consistent, Conformance to consumer’s needs, or poor/inferior quality of raw material entering into the plant/enterprise or improper techniques/ method and processes being followed in the plant.

A more comprehensive definition of quality as adopted by International Standards Organization is “the totality of features and characteristics of product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs revolving around customer”.

It may be concluded that quality is a key attribute that consumers use to evaluate products or services. Thus it is everything to everyone involved in a business, to satisfy the total needs of every consumer/user whoever that customer may be, and is driven by the market conditions, i.e., by the competition and especially by the consumer.

In the end, quality is the capability of a product or service to satisfy “knowingly” those preconceived composite needs of the consumers/user(s) that are intelligibly related to characteristics of performance, and do not lead to major overt or covert action or reactions by other people.

To manufacturer (in industry), it means ‘best for certain customer conditions’.

The important customer conditions are:

(i) Selling price of the final product, and

(ii) Actual end use of the product.

These may be reflected in the following features of the product:

(i) The dimensional specification and operating characteristics of the product.

(ii) Reliability and life of the product.

(iii) The cost of production of the production.

(iv) The production conditions required for the manufacture of product,

(v) Installation and maintenance objectives and related costs.

Quality Characteristics:

An element which makes a product/item fit for use is the quality characteristics. The quality characteristics also mean a process by which the fitness for use can be translated into the technologists’ language for managing the quality. The quality characteristics are also classified into categories called ‘parameters’ of fitness for use.

Two such major parameters are known as:

(i) Quality of design and

(ii) Quality of conformance.

The quality of design is concerned with consumers’ satisfaction by variation in quality of products popularly called “grades”. In contrast the quality of conformance is the extent to which the products/ items and services conform to the intent of design.

The process capability, inspection and process control is involved in achieving this conformance so that product/goods produced meet the pre-decided specifications. The end of both these parameters is the quality as shown in Fig. 33.10.

Costs of Quality:

Quality management is not only concerned with maintaining the quality characteristics of a product but also with achieving the same at least cost.

There are basically three categories of cost of quality:

(i) Costs of Appraisal.

(ii) Costs of Prevention.

(iii) Costs of Failure.

The relationship between these costs and total quality cost is shown in Fig. 33.1.

(i) Costs of Appraisal:

These are the costs of inspection, testing and such checking operations which are essential to maintain the product quality the costs of the implementation of quality as well as the costs of monitoring and control are included in this cost.

(ii) Costs of Prevention:

These are the costs to prevent the manufacturing of poor quality products. These include costs of activity such as quality planning which tries to ensure that proper precautions have been taken to avoid wrong sampling plans being made or poor/inferior quality of raw material entering into the plant/enterprise or improper techniques/method and processes being followed in the plant.

(iii) Costs of Failure:

Inspire of prevention and appraisal, there will still be losses by virtue of rejections, rework and spoilage etc. to some extent. These costs as well as the costs of attending to consumer complaints and providing product service are included in the category of costs of failures.

The costs of quality can be analysed in two different ways:

1. Category to Category Comparison:

Comparing the relative costs involved on each of the above mentioned cost categories i.e., how much is spent on planning? How much on appraisal? and How much on failure?

2. Time to time Comparison:

For instance, comparing one quarter’s operation with the previous quarter’s operation.

Impact of Poor Quality:

Poor quality of products results in the extra cost of production. A manufacturer sometimes has to bear losses due to poor product quality.

This can be explained as follows:

(1) Reduction in sales is the result of poor quality of product which leads to lower production volume and hence reduced profitability. Such losses may prove detrimental to the existence of those manufacturing plants.

(2) Poor product quality also affects goodwill of manufacturer in the market. Goodwill is created as a result of good performance over a long period and goodwill once lost is very difficult to re-establish.

(3) A manufacturer or a supplier may be required to replace a product, if it proves to be of inferior quality during the guarantee period and replace the parts/components during warranty period.

(4) A manufacturer is liable to indemnify the customer for any loss sustained by him by virtue of poor product quality.

(5) A manufacturer may be compelled to sell the sub-stand products at reduced price.

(6) Defective products may lead to stoppages in production processes thus leading to higher cost of production.

(7) Sometimes, a manufacturer has to pay for rework on defective items/goods.

(8) Sometimes extra money is to be spent by producer for repair and servicing of defective products.

(9) A rejected/substandard product represents a loss to a manufacturer equivalent to material as well as labour cost plus other overhead costs.

(10) In case the proportion of defectives increases it makes essential for the industrial plant to invest extra amount for vigorous inspection and testing at various stages of production.

(11) The high proportion of production of defective/substandard products affects the morale of the work force badly.

(12) Sometimes it becomes necessary to identify the causes of failures or high rate of defective production. The manufacturer has to waste money on such investigations.

Importance of Quality:

Quality is an important dimension of production and operations management. It is not sufficient to produce products/goods or services in the right quantity and at right time; it is important to ensure that the goods/items and services produced/provided are of the right quality.

The consumer of the final product of company/organization requires a certain quantity of products of requisite quantity as per his requirements. Without quality, the other dimensions of quality and time have little rather no relevance.

Quality management, which includes ensuring proper quality for a organization’s/plant’s output product, is important not only for its survival in the market, but also to expand its market if new product line is to be introduced and various other marketing ventures.

The lives of human beings are effected to a great extent by the quality of products and services. Quality failures may and would result in serious human inconveniences, wastage of money and sometimes loss of life.

In the early twentieth century, consumers/users were expected to pay extra for quality. However in the present day competitive business market quality is no longer an option. In other words, it is a positive need without which the survival of an organization is not possible.

Hence, a organisation/ company which designs, produces and sells its products in today’s market, must take into consideration the following trends related with quality:

(a) Consumers, ‘industrial and defence personnel’ have been increasing their quality requirement very sharply.

(b) The stringent consumers demand on quality compels for the review of in plant practices and techniques.

Taken together these trends to following two quality challenges i.e.:

(i) Considerable improvement in the quality of many products/goods and quality practices

(ii) Substantial minimization in the overall cost of maintaining quality.

In order to fulfil the quality requirements of the consumers, a thorough, understanding is required regarding the interacting role of all major activities of an organization. These activities performed anywhere, put together substitute the “Quality function”. So quality function may be defined as that set of activities, without mattering where performed, through which quality level can be achieved by the company.

Thus it can be concluded that the management of quality function requires the utilization of managerial, technical and analytical inferences, usually based on observations, including statistical concepts, concerning major functions of an organization.

When properly managed with factors/ understanding mentioned above the following benefits can be achieved:

(1) Improved productivity of the system.

(2) Reduced costs of products/services.

(3) Improved image of the organization.

(4) Committed Consumers/Customers.

(5) Dedicated management of the unit/plant.

(6) Increased involvement of employees at various levels.

Quality Management:

Quality management is related with quality assessment. Quality assessment is a probe of the level of quality being achieved. This assessment of quality leads to quality control and it includes action taken to do away with unacceptable quality products.

A typical quality control programme is based upon the periodic inspection at various stages of production, later followed by feedback on results and the adjustments made where found essential. The term quality assurance is quality control but with an emphasis on quality at the design stage of the products, processes and jobs and in the selection of manpower and their training.

Another term Total Quality Control (TQC) refers to a total commitment to quality in all its aspects, to commitment of quality in all functional areas of work and utilizes behavioural techniques such as quality circles (QC,S) and zero defect programmes etc.

The biggest misconception among people regarding TQC is that it is restricted to product quality and it is not about the quality of all business processes. The concept of TQM is that, it takes quality from the shop floor to every conceivable activity in an organisation. Keeping the consumer at the centre of all thoughts, decisions and processes.

To Improve a industry’s/company’s operations effectiveness (TQM) is one of the techniques along with others such as supply chain management, reengineering, cellular manufacturing and bench marking etc.

Thus operational effectiveness techniques and TQM can elevate a company’s operation to such a level which cannot be surpassed unless there is some alternative superior technology. This could be a short term competitive benefit. It is essential to appreciate that rival plants/industries can also adopt the same operational effectiveness techniques.

Quality management is also defined as “the system of establishing defect prevention actions and attitudes with a industrial unit/company or a organization on a permanent basis for the purpose of assuring conforming products or services directed at customer satisfaction.”

The TQM provides a entirely different way of looking at the management style. It develops and provides a participative culture where each employee can directly participate in areas concerning his work as well as decisions relating to his work. So it is an approach to improve the effectiveness and flexibility of the organization as a whole.

The basic aim is to involve every person of every department of the organization to work together so as to eliminate errors and prevent waste. The cross functional goals such as quality cost, manpower development, quality of work life are satisfied by this improved performance. Thus all these activities ultimately provide customer and employee satisfaction.