4.3 Achieving Quality Production Flashcards
Define a quality product.
A quality product meets customers’ expectations, and is ‘fit for purpose’.
What does quality meeting customer demands mean?
Quality meeting customers expectations means the product has been designed and produced effectively so will satisfy consumers.
If you buy a new smartphone you expect it to be designed so it is easy to use, and performs all of its functions.
But you will also expect that it has been produced to a high quality, so after months of use the battery continues to have a long life and apps still load quickly.
Explain quality standards.
Businesses conduct market research to find out what customer expectations are. These expectations become quality standards.
Why is quality important?
if consumers have a positive experience with a high quality product, they are much more likely to buy again and may not take the risk of switching to another brand.
Furthermore, satisfied customers will recommend high quality products to others, and further develop a businesses reputation for quality products.
This reputation for quality is also central to brand image.
Consumers choose high quality brands they feel they can trust, but businesses have to build this trust and customer loyalty through positive experiences of quality products.
Consumers are willing to pay more for a business with a brand image and reputation for quality products.
Toyota and Honda have a high reputation for building reliable cars that won’t break down.
So customers will pay a higher price than they will for competitor products, with an inferior brand image.
well designed products that are produced to a high quality have a longer product life cycle, so stay on the market longer.
This reduces product development costs. The original Volkswagen Beetle was in production for 65 years until 2003, as it’s innovative design still satisfied customers years after it’s launch.
Explain what a quality problem is.
If there is a quality problem where products are defective
What is the impact of a quality problem for a business?
faulty goods have to be returned this can be a huge cost to businesses.
Ford in 2020 had to recall many of their cars because they had defective door handles which opened while driving.
Defective or low quality products will also discourage retailers and wholesalers from selling products from a business.
Explain the concept of quality control?
Quality control is checking the quality of products at the end of the production line when manufacture is complete.
How do businesses implement quality control?
It is difficult to check all products so quality inspectors will take a sample. It may involve having to dismantle the product, for example taking a bicycle apart to check the strength of the different components.
List the disadvantages of quality control.
As it is carried only out at the end of production it doesn’t stop errors as they occur. A defective component which is added to a product at the start of production won’t be noticed until products are inspected at the end of the production line. This means businesses may be slow to react to quality problems, and many defective products will be made before the defect is discovered. These defective products may have to be thrown away, or taken apart which means resources are wasted and lower labour productivity.
As it is carried out by specialist quality control inspectors it means employees have less responsibility for control over quality. Workers may see product quality as someone else’s job and aren’t motivated to solve quality problems when they arise.
Define quality assurance.
Quality Assurance takes a radically different approach to quality control. The core belief is that everyone involved in production has a responsibility to get it “right first time every time”.
How is quality assurance implemented?
Suppliers of raw materials and components must reach the required quality standards for every input into the production process.
Every step in the production process has to reach minimum quality standards.
Products are designed with a focus on high quality and reducing defects.
All employees are empowered to take responsibility for product quality.
As a result, quality assurance reduces defects in products, and finds errors where the quality problem occurs rather than at the end of the production line. This means any issue with product quality can be fixed quickly.
What are the advantages of quality assurance?
It encourages teamwork and higher motivation in workers, who take responsibility for quality and can take pride in the results. Higher quality products manufactured with quality assurance can apply for the award of International Quality Standards. This will increase sales as customers will have greater trust in the quality of the products, especially for less well-known brands.
