quality Flashcards
- Define quality management
Quality management refers to ensuring that processes and systems result in a consistently high quality output and therefore enabling the business to meet the expectations of consumers. A quality product will attract customers and build a positive public image and customer loyalty, ensuring customers will return to the business to buy again. Quality management is concerned with detecting and removing flaws in systems to prevent products that fall below set quality standards.
E.g. In response to car faults and recalls, Toyota increased their quality control measures using additional engineers called chief quality officers.
Explain the following features of quality management:
Quality control, quality assurance, quality improvement
a. Quality control – is the traditional way of quality management that involves inspecting, testing and sampling the quality of work. Products must be made to the required specifications. This approach to managing quality is mainly based on detecting faulty or poor quality output, from the delivery of raw materials to the output of finished products. It helps to identify problems such as substandard quality before the product is sold to consumers.
Quality assurance – Quality assurance establishes a set of procedures or a process so errors are less likely to happen. It is the overall process of managing quality: not just procedures and technology, but also building a culture within the workplace so that every employee works to quality targets and standards. In designing websites there are quality standards that must be met to ensure the design is right. These standards can be applied to all website projects as part of quality assurance. For example, the websites must work with a variety of web browsers, computers and mobile devices, provide adequate colour contrasts for people with vision difficulties and contain correct spelling and grammar. These standards form the quality criteria that are then applied through quality control. Quality assurance is undertaken at the beginning of a project or manufacturing process. The typical outcomes of the QA planning activities are quality plans, inspection and test plans, the selection of defect tracking tools and the training of people in the selected methods and processes. Undertaking QA at the beginning of a project can reduce the risks that have been identified during the specifications stage.
a. Quality improvement –
Businesses look to continuous improvement in their production processes as this will result in products and service of higher quality, customer loyalty and attracting new customers through word of mouth and company reputation. Improvements are aimed at streamlining processes so that waste is eliminated, improving product quality and maximising the skills of the workforce. A company must have a baseline to compare against. This includes the level of quality that was produced in the past. Improvements are made if the quality is increased compared to past production. Professor W. Edwards Deming (American engineer, statistician, professor, author, lecturer, and management consultant) argued that QC methods are ineffective and costly. He suggested that quality comes from a system that improves, rather than inspects, the production process. Deeming’s philosophy for quality improvement is based around four key phases:
i. Plan – improve quality by designing or revising operations and processes.
ii. Do – execute the plan
iii. Check – monitor and measure the performance and assess the results.
iv. Act – decide on any necessary changes that are needed to further improve the process.
Outline the four stages that quality control can occur in a production system
a. Specifications – if the criteria and requirements for a product are clear and agreed to, it will be easier to meet them. It may involve meetings with clients or relevant staff, making designs and developing a clear design brief that covers all aspects of a product or service. Quality specifications include appearance, packaging, size, weight, colours and other aspects such as power source, battery life and durability.
b. Raw materials – high quality raw materials must be used to produce high quality products. This can be difficult to manage, because there are cost pressures. High quality raw materials are also more expensive so there must be a balance between quality and profitability. Companies often have quality criteria for raw materials and a preferred supplier list. A company may have trusted suppliers that have their own strict quality controls in place. The company knows that raw materials from these suppliers will meet their own quality specifications. A basic check is to compare the materials delivered to the purchaser. For example, are the materials what was ordered, are the quantities correct, are they in good condition, have they been damaged in transit? Once the delivery has been accepted the materials can be checked for quality before entering the production process. QC of raw materials before going into the production process can be difficult to manage. Defects or substandard materials may be found. To return the materials to the supplier and organise replacements or to find a new supplier involves time, delaying production, and may lead to increased costs. There may be pressure to just use the substandard materials to avoid missing deadlines and profit margins. This involves an argument between quality and efficiency. If the substandard materials are used, it might mean production can continue, but the final product will not meet quality specifications which can have an impact on sales and company reputation. Feedforward controls involve careful planning before production begins. In this way any problems can be anticipated and the solutions prepared. An example of this is a bakery using a recipe and making sure that all ingredients and equipment are clean, suitable and of high quality before making the bread.
c. Production – Operation checks ensure that production machinery and equipment are working as it should. This may involve automated technology such as temperature, speed and defect measurements. Employees may also monitor how plant and equipment is operating and make adjustments as needed. In addition to operation checks, there are quality checks during production. Again, these are a combination of automation and human checks. Quality control involves checking the quality of the product at different stages of the production process. Control employs feedforward, concurrent and feedback controls to monitor the production process. Concurrent controls are used during the production process. An example is the baker checking on the bread during the baking to see if the bread is rising. A production line may scan products with magnets to detect metal in products, or samples may be taken for testing. There may be automated cameras or employees visually inspecting products as they pass through a production line. If problems or defects are found, defective products can be discarded or improvements made to the production process to fix the problem.
d. Final testing – this involves checking the finished product to make sure it meets customer and quality specifications. Feedback controls occur after the production process. It can involve testing the final product, a final quality checklist before delivery or collecting customer feedback. In an IT business quality control involves verifying the output conforms to the required specifications. The IT product (database, software, animation, etc.) is checked against customer requirements, with testing and code inspections to ensure that it meets the agreed requirements. Before handover it will be tested to ensure it runs smoothly under different conditions. There may also be conflict between quality and efficiency at this stage. Rejected products are costly because money has been spent to make them, but they cannot be sold.
Evaluate quality control compared to quality assurance (advantages and disadvantages of each system)
Advantages of QC-
¥ used to prevent faulty products reaching the customer, thereby safeguarding the firm’s reputation.
¥ It is cheaper to have trained QC inspectors than to have every individual being trained to be responsible for quality assurance.
¥ QC inspectors can find widespread issues and problems across the organisation.
Disadvantages of quality control –
¥ QC does not prevent mistakes being made and therefore can be expensive. Hence, quality assurance might be a better alternative.
¥ Individuals are not held accountable for the quality of their own work, so this could encourage slack.
¥ The root cause of the problem is not dealt with as there is a lack of a quality culture. This means that substandard output is rejected or reworked. Either way, this increases costs.
Advantages of Quality Assurance –
¥ QA programmes involves employee participation s workers have more ownership and recognition for their work, thereby improving staff morale as they feel more valued.
¥ Employee participation can also help to generate new ideas for improving the quality of products, operations and processes.
¥ QA can help break down a ‘them and us’ culture between employees and managers because there is no formal inspection of the work by quality controllers.
¥ There is less wastage and reworking as products and processes are checked at every stage of output.
Disadvantages –
¥ The main drawback of QA is the time, energy and training needed to nurture a total quality culture.
Explain how quality management can lead to a business gaining competitive advantage
With increasing competition, rivalry has meant that firms that provide higher quality products may be able to establish brand loyalty and a larger customer base. Quality, as a form of product differentiation, can give a firm a competitive advantage, i.e. a distinctive selling point.
A company can build competitive advantage if they improve their quality, to be better than their competitors. There may be conflict between improving quality and making profit. Improving quality may involve the costs of replacing or upgrading equipment, training staff or bringing in new technology such as automated detection and inspection. The costs in the short term must result in long-term advantage. A business case should be made to demonstrate the benefits from making improvements and the risks if the improvements are not made. Growing numbers of organisations use quality management as a strategic foundation for generating a competitive advantage and improving firm performance. Firms that have won quality awards generally outperform other firms with respect to income measures and stock market value. By developing high quality products, firms will attract greater public image, as well as knowledgeable and skilled staff that work towards achieving the firm’s objectives. This consequently results in greater revenue. It is important that these firms engage all members of the organisation and consumers in the improvement process.
Portakabin has positioned its products at the top end of the market: it looks to provide high levels of quality at premium prices. Quality is associated with consistency. A customer who is happy with the first buying experience needs and wants to be equally happy on each further occasion. Portakabin has the motto ‘Quality - this time - next time - every time’. The company believes that clients who really care about quality are willing to pay that bit more to obtain it and see ‘the extras’ as worth the additional expense. Today the company operates in a range of European countries as well as the UK.
