Quality Management and International Standards

Question 1

Quality

Answer 1

The ability of a product or service to meet customer needs

Question 2

Cost of quality (COQ)

Answer 2

The cost of doing things wrong – that is, the price of nonconformance

Question 3

ISO 9000

Answer 3

A set of quality standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization

Question 4

ISO 14000

Answer 4

A series of environmental management standards established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

Question 5

Total quality management (TQM)

Answer 5

Management of an entire organization so that it excels in all aspects of products and services that are important to the customer

Question 6

PDCA

Answer 6

A continuous improvement model of plan, do, check, act

Question 7

Six Sigma

Answer 7

A program to save time, improve quality, and lower costs

Question 8

Employee empowerment

Answer 8

Enlarging employee jobs so that the added responsibility and authority is moved to the lowest level possible in the organization

Question 9

Quality circle

Answer 9

A group of employees meeting regularly with a facilitator to solve work-related problems in their work area

Question 10

Benchmarking

Answer 10

Selecting a demonstrated standard of performance that represents the very best performance for a process or an activity

Question 11

Quality robust

Answer 11

Products that are consistently built to meet customer needs in spite of adverse conditions in the production process

Question 12

Quality loss function

Answer 12

A mathematical function that identifies all costs connected with poor quality and shows how these costs increase as product quality moves from what the customer wants

Question 13

Target-oriented quality

Answer 13

A philosophy of continuous improvement to bring a product exactly on target

Question 14

Cause-and-effect diagram

Answer 14

A schematic technique used to discover possible locations of quality problems

Question 15

Pareto charts

Answer 15

Graphics that identify the few critical items as opposed to many less important ones

Question 16

Flowcharts

Answer 16

Block diagrams that graphically describe a process or system

Question 17

Statistical process control (SPC)

Answer 17

A process used to monitor standards, make measurements, and take corrective action as a product or service is being produced

Question 18

Control charts

Answer 18

Graphic presentations of process data over time, with predetermined control limits

Question 19

Inspection

Answer 19

A means of ensuring that an operation is producing at the quality level expected

Question 20

Source inspection

Answer 20

Controlling or monitoring at the point of production or purchase–at the source

Question 21

Poka-yoke

Answer 21

Literally translated, “foolproof”; it has come to mean a device or technique that ensures the production of a good unit every time

Question 22

Attribute inspection

Answer 22

An inspection that classifies items as being either good or defective

Question 23

Variable inspection

Answer 23

Classifications of inspected items as falling on a continuum scale, such as dimension, or strength

Question 24

Service recovery

Answer 24

Training and empowering frontline workers to solve a problem immediately