Strategies to improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of operations related to quality Flashcards
including quality control, quality assurance and Total Quality Management
Quality
The degree of excellence in a product and its ability to satisfy the customer. This can refer to durability, design, speed of service, features, reliability, etc.
Quality Control:
> Involves inspections at various points in the production process to check for problems and defects.
Specifications or benchmarks are set and then actual performance is compared to expected performance.
Uses physical checks as the products are being produced/ as the services are being provided.
Procedure is to establish benchmarks, carry out inspections, compare actual with benchmark, take corrective action.
Quality Control in manufacturing and service
Manufacturing: Important to check along the various stages of a production line. If the business only checks at the end of the process=waste.
Service: Could use a mystery shopper to check on quality of service/wait times
Advantage of Quality Control:
> Prevents poor quality goods or services reaching the consumer
Disadvantages of Quality Control:
> Very wasteful as the rejected products are not sold
Doesn’t always isolate the cause of the problem
Unless quality control is performed on every product some inferior goods may slip through
Using Quality Control for making a Business More Effective:
> Defects are identified early in the production process. This helps to reduce wastage and improve productivity.
Although it can slow down production, ultimately, by reducing
mistakes, this will help to reduce wastage,
This will help to reduce costs. By reducing costs this will help a business compete.
Also by improving quality, this will help the reputation of a business
Quality Assurance:
> Using a system where an organisation achieves set standards in production.
These standards are set and assessed by an EXTERNAL organisation, who then certifies the business as being “quality assured.”
Once these standards have been achieved, the business gets certification which reassures potential customers they are a quality product.
Advantages of Quality Assurance:
> Great for marketing
Gives competitive advantage in domestic and global markets
Reduces wastage as the proactive focus aims to stop errors occurring before the good or service is produced
Disadvantages of Quality Assurance:
> Can be expensive to have the certification
Can take additional time preparing documents and processes prior to the inspection
How business uses quality assurance:
> A business aims to meet international quality standards which allows them to be locally and internationally competitive.
Aims to build quality into work practices and therefore avoid errors.
A proactive approach where an external body audits against set industry standards.
The ‘stamp’ given is recognised globally and allows good opportunity to export, showing a huge competitive advantage over non-certified competitors.
Procedure is to employ a consultant to advise on standards, adjust processes, be checked and given certification, right to use the ‘stamp/logo’ of certification.
Total Quality Management (TQM):
A commitment to excellence that emphasis continual improvement in all aspects of an organisations operation by sharing responsibility among all members of the organisation. It is an approach that the WHOLE organisation undertakes.
> TQM aims to have a defect free production process. If employees produce a product/ service the right way the first time, the expenses of waste and inspection time are reduced.
TQM three key aspects:
- Employee participation/empowerment – involving employees in decision making about the performance of operations.
- Continuous improvement (Kaizen) – a process that involves constant evaluation of, and improvement in, the ways things are done.
- Customer focus – a good operations system always considers what the customer would want.
TQM - Three aspects - extra info:
- Employee participation - Quality circles (small work groups of employees who meet regularly to share problems and ideas about quality) are used by businesses.
- Kaizen - Higher and higher standards are set, for EVERYONE from factory worker to CEO.
- Customer focus - Applies to both external customers who purchase and internal customers (employees passing work on to other staff).
Advantages of Total Quality Management:
> Zero defects
Greatly reduced wastage - “prevention better than cure”
Higher customer satisfaction
Disadvantages of Total Quality Management:
> Requires a whole business cultural shift which can be time consuming and expensive to implement
