Quality Flashcards
why is quality important?
- Poor quality goods can result in customer returns and complaints which can lead to a loss of sales and bad reviews.
- Extremely low quality can result in products not meeting safety standard.
- High quality products can result in high quality image and reputation being generated.
- Selling high quality products can attract high quality staff.
- High quality goods can be sold for premium prices.
what two methods can a business use to ensure quality?
A business can choose to use a quality control method or a quality assurance method within the business.
what is quality control?
where raw materials are inspected or finished goods are inspected to check that they are of an acceptable standard before sale.
what is quality assurance?
a method of prevention, where products are checked for quality at different stages in the production process.
using what s good way to ensure high quality outputs?
high quality inputs
what are the advantages to quality control?
- Ensures no faulty goods are sent to customers.
- Limited the potential for bad reputation as products are checked at the end of production.
- Cheap method of ensuring quality
what are the disadvantages to quality control?
- Can create a lot of waste as products are not checked until they are made.
- Faulty products are thrown away
- Products must be re-made from scratch – costs business time and money.
what are the advantage of quality assurance?
- Less wastage which reduces costs.
- Easy to identify where faults are occurring on the production line.
what are the disadvantages of quality assurance?
- Can slow down production process due to all the checks.
- Increases costs as usually a designated QA manager.
what is benchmarking?
- another method for ensuring quality
- A business compares its product with the best in the industry.
- The business will then aim for these standards with its own products.
- Difficult for smaller businesses who may not have the same technology.
what are the advantages of benchmarking?
- If successful, the product will be as good as the ‘best’ on the market.
- Saves the business time in developing their own quality approach.
what are the disadvantages of benchmarking?
- Can be difficult to gain competitors information.
- Will the ‘best’ improve, the business will be left behind… still a need to continually improve.
what is quality circles?
- a method of ensuring quality
- A group of employees meet to discuss problems in production process and how to solve them.
- Involves a wide variety of staff from different levels of hierarchy.
- Suggestions are then passed to management for discussion on implementing them.
what are the advantages of quality circles?
- Employees will be motivated as they have a say in the decision making.
- management receive well informed suggestions as they are from employees who produce the product.
what are the disadvantages of quality circles?
- employees meet during a working day – production time is lost.
- Suggestions are not always feasible therefore time is wasted.
