Synopsis on quality

Synopsis on Quality

What is quality?

Quality has many meanings, ranging from luxury and merit to excellence, good value for money or convenience and even practicality. It is often defined simply as 'fitness for purpose'. Quality is a multi-faceted concept; different dimensions of quality will be important to different users.

How to define Quality?

It would be difficult to find a realistic definition of quality that did not have, implicit within the definition. Here we see various Experts’ opinions on Quality.

According to TQM measurements, Quality is...

® Those factors that influence customer satisfaction

® The product designed to satisfy customer needs

Deming: Nonfaulty systems

Juran: Fitness for use; freedom from trouble

P.Crosby: conformance to requirements

Garvin: Competitive opportunity

A.V.Felgenbaum: What customer says it is

G.Taguchi: Customer's performance requirements.

How to Manage Quality?

Quality management is a method for ensuring that all the activities necessary to design, develop and implement a product or service are effective and efficient with respect to the system and its performance.

Quality management can be considered to have three main components:

QUALITY CONTROL, QUALITY ASSURANCE and QUALITY IMPROVEMENT.

Quality management is focused not only on product quality, but also the means to achieve it. Quality management therefore uses quality assurance and control of processes as well as products to achieve more consistent quality.

Quality Management System (QMS) can be defined as a set of policies, processes and procedures required for planning and execution (production / development / service) in the core business area of an organization. QMS integrates the various internal processes within the organization and intends to provide a process approach for project execution. QMS enables the organizations to identify measure, control and improve the various core business processes that will ultimately lead to improved business performance.

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

As defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO):

"TQM is a management approach for an organization, centered on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long-term success through customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the organization and to society.”

TQM is composed of three paradigms:

• Total: Involving the entire organization, supply chain, and/or product life cycle
• Quality: With its usual Definitions, with all its complexities
• Management: The system of managing with steps like Plan, Organize, Control, Lead, Staff, provisioning and the likes

In Japan, TQM comprises four process steps, namely:

1. Kaizen – Focuses on "Continuous Process Improvement", to make processes visible, repeatable and measurable.
2. Atarimae Hinshitsu – The idea that "things will work as they are supposed to" (for example, a pen will write).
3. Kansei – Examining the way the user applies the product leads to improvement in the product itself.
4. Miryokuteki Hinshitsu – The idea that "things should have an aesthetic quality" (for example, a pen will write in a way that is pleasing to the writer).

TQM requires that the company maintain this quality standard in all aspects of its business. This requires ensuring that things are done right the first time and that defects and waste are eliminated from operations.

Quality control

Quality control (QC) is a procedure or set of procedures intended to ensure that a manufactured product or performed service adheres to a defined set of quality criteria or meets the requirements of the client or customer.

The basic goal of quality control is to ensure that the products, services, or processes provided meet specific requirements and are dependable, satisfactory, and fiscally sound.

Essentially, quality control involves the examination of a product, service, or process for certain minimum levels of quality. The goal of a quality control team is to identify products or services that do not meet a company’s specified standards of quality. If a problem is identified, the job of a quality control team or professional may involve stopping production temporarily. Depending on the particular service or product, as well as the type of problem identified, production or implementation may not cease entirely.

Quality assurance

Often, quality control is confused with quality assurance. Though the two are very similar, there are some basic differences. Quality control is concerned with the product, while quality assurance is process–oriented.

Quality assurance is the process of verifying or determining whether products or services meet or exceed customer expectations. Quality assurance is a process-driven approach with specific steps to help define and attain goals. This process considers design, development, production, and service.

The most popular tool used to determine quality assurance is the Shewhart Cycle, developed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. This cycle for quality assurance consists of four steps: Plan, Do, Check, and Act. These steps are commonly abbreviated as PDCA.

Quality control on International Trade

Quality control is Key factor in International business. When purchasing volume goods internationally, there are many areas in the process where you should conduct checks on your prospective suppliers.

• The first one is during the finding and negotiation process when you are deciding which supplier to go with. More often than not, the prospective supplier will indicate whether the company achieved ISO accreditation for their products.
• The other very important stage in quality checking is prior to shipment. You need to engage the services of an inspection officer or to be in person to go through the shipment to check and see if what you are about to receive is what you paid for.

Quality control and pre-shipment inspections are prerequisite for exporting goods. Sometimes overseas buyers lay their own standards/specifications which may or may not be in consonance with the manufacturer’s standards. These issues should be sorted out before confirmation of order.

Discussion on Quality Control and pre shipment inspection will be incomplete without saying a few words about ISO 9000.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the specialized International Agency in formulating the norms of Standardization, Presently 91 Countries are members of the national Standard Body Various Technical Committees were formed who looked into and considered the different areas of specialization and formulated the International Standard.

Suppliers are partners in Quality

Quality management serves as the backbone of the Products. Taking all this into consideration, work with your suppliers to encourage them to think in terms of continual improvement whenever they talk about customer satisfaction. This will help them shift away from the traditional approach and move toward organizational development, monitoring and improvement.

Suggestions for supplier development for better Quality

Create partnerships. This is important and must be emphasized. Look at a supplier as a part of your process. This will encourage total-supply-chain or value-adding stream thinking. It seems that far too many organizations still treat their suppliers and subcontractors as “hired help,” emphasizing improvement only on matters of delivery and price.

Ensure that suppliers become customer-focused using the process approach. This will improve the product-realization process.

Ensure that top management understands your Product specifications. Remember confusion exists because of international markets are vary country wide, especially outside the United States and Europe, are often contracted to medium quality products.

Help your suppliers focus on continual improvement on quality.

Foot notes

Quality is an important step on the journey toward excellence in business and industry. With the help of suppliers, your organization can develop a process of learning and continual improvement throughout its entire business and manufacturing systems. Those who embrace Quality management’s requirements will create customers satisfaction, achieve financial rewards and, most important, stay in business long lasting.