quality Flashcards
quality
Quality is often defined simply as ‘fitness for purpose’.
benefits to a business of achieving quality
increased sales
reduced costs
reduced waste
market orientation
customer satisfaction.
functional departments within an organisation. These departments typically include:
Purchasing – ensuring that the right quantity and quality of raw materials or components are available for the production process.
Operations – structuring and managing the manufacturing process.
Finance – ensuring that capital is available for appropriate investment.
Human resources – ensuring that the factor of production labour is available in the right quantities with the right skills.
Marketing – providing market research information so customer wants can be satisfied.
There are a number of different methods used for quality assurance, these include:
recognised standards
benchmarking
product design checking
production control
team working.
quality assurance
Inspection is carried out during the production process. The emphasis is placed on preventing the production of poor-quality products
team working
A team is responsible for a production process, such as the installation of a conservatory. The team is empowered to check the quality of raw materials, interact during the installation process and check the quality of the finished product. This implies that responsibility lies with the team – they know exactly where the ‘buck stops’.
Teamwork can build trust and morale, whilst improving communication between members. It is regarded as a key element in achieving quality.
product design
In addition to monitoring raw materials and components, the total design of the product must also be checked for quality.
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is the process of setting standards of quality and output which are based on the best that competitors can offer.
Application of recognised standards
The use of recognised standards such as ISO 9000 is widespread amongst businesses. Achievement of these standards by businesses is often an indication of achievement and maintenance of quality.
ISO 9000 is supposed to guarantee quality of management of the whole organisation. Achievement of this standard depends on proving that quality targets for all parts of the organisation have been met.
Production control
This is the method of ensuring that standards set, and processes designed to meet these targets, are actually being used in the workplace.
Production control involves
monitoring of costs through use of budgeting and variance analysis
control of operations through use of critical path analysis and monitoring of individual processes
supervision of output (now largely replaced by cell and teamwork)
feedback methods, involving the monitoring of customer satisfaction, and the feedback of problems to the relevant department.
Quality control
The process of inspecting products to ensure that they meet the required quality standard’s at the end of the process
TQM
Total quality management is an operations management system that creates structures within an organisation that satisfy internal and external customers and suppliers.
It creates quality through continuous improvement, development of systems and products, and by creating an organisational culture of quality.
T stands for
stands for total – it is the integration of the staff, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders.
These are all seen as part of a single system, an unbroken chain of production – a chain of quality.
Q stands for
quality can be the speed in which a service is delivered. It can be:
consistency
innovation
reflected in low maintenance or favourable repair history.
According to W. Edwards Deming (one of the founders of the TQM system), ‘a product or service possesses quality if it helps somebody and enjoys a good and sustainable market.’
