Industrial and Commercial Practices

Question 1

What is quality control?

Answer 1

The process of ensuring the production is accurate and the quality is maintained.

Quality control happens during the making process to make sure it is to standard.

Question 2

What is quality assurance?

Answer 2

Quality assurance is making sure that the product is the best quality it can be throughout all stages of designing in order to prevent defects in the final product.

This creates a good customer perception of the company.

Question 3

What is the difference between quality control and assurance?

Answer 3

Quality assurance is process oriented and focuses on defect prevention but quality control is product oriented and focuses on identifying defects in the product.

Question 4

What are the two main institutions which ensure quality in the marketplace?

Answer 4

British Standards Institute (BSI)

International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)

Question 5

What is JIT and its advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 5

Just in time manufacturing is when materials, parts and components are ordered so they arrive just when they will be needed.

Advantages
- Reduces storage space needed
- No wastage of components or materials as exact amount is ordered
- Prevents over production of goods

Disadvantages
- Difficult to produce enough volume if demand increases
- Price of resources ordered could increase meaning you are worse off than buying when prices are low
- Need a dedicated logistics team to manage shipments and prices timings

Question 6

What is cell/ modular product

Answer 6

A form of manufacturing where the production line is split into a series of self constrained cells which teams in these cells work together to create one unit of output (one component).

Question 7

What are the advantages and disadvantages of cell production?

Answer 7

Advantages
- Workers become multi-skilled and more adapted for future need of the company
- Closeness improves communication and teamwork spirit

Disadvantages
- Volume of output can be lower as machinery is not used as intensively as in other production methods
- If one worker is missing, production can be halted
- Workers need good training to co-operate effectively.