Quality control
From WikiTextbook
Quality control ensures that the good or service reaches a standard that meets the customers needs. If goods are sold that do not meet the expectations of consumers they are unlikely to buy from that company again. This will result in low sales and possible bankruptcy.
The traditional method of quality control involved producing the good and then passing it on to the quality control department. They would then decide whether or not it is good enough to sell to customers. If it fails the good will more than likely have to be thrown away as individual parts may not be recoverable.
Total Quality Management (TQM) has been adopted by many companies in recent years. TQM expects all workers to check for quality at their stage of production. This prevents faulty goods reaching the end of the production line. If a problem is discovered in the production line TQM states that it should be fixed immediately to prevent further faulty items being produced.
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Wikipedia's page on Quality control
3.2 Quality control
Traditional Methods of Quality Control
In the middle ages guilds took the responsibility of quality control themselves. All practisers of a traditional trade in an area were required to join their guild, the guild dished out the punishments for members who turned out poor quality products.
Royal governments buying material were interested in quality control as customers. E.G King John of England got William Wrothom to supervise the construction and repair of his ships. A few hundred years later Samuel Pepys, who was the secretary to the Admiral, hired multiple men to oversee the building of structures.
The Industrial Revolution led to a system in which large groups of men performing a similar type of work were grouped together under the supervision of a foreman, the foreman also took on the responsibility of controlling the quality of product manufactured.
In World War 1 the manufacturing process became more complex, This period introduced mass production and piecework, which created quality problems as workmen could now earn more money by the production of extra products which then led to bad workmanship being passed onto the production chain. Because of this bad workmanship inspectors were introduced into the large-scale modern factories. This led to inspection of quality control and the beginning of the large inspection organizations of the 1920’s and 30’s, which were big enough to be headed by superintendents. (A person who has the authority to supervise or direct.)
After World War 2 the United States of America continued to apply the concepts of inspection and sampling to remove defective products from production lines. However there were many people who were trying to lead Americas’ industries to a more together approach to quality. Not including the USA many countries companies were destroyed in the war, this put many American businesses in the position were this collaborative approach was ignored.
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Why is quality important?
- In business, quality is always important, if you buy a product you expect it to have good quality and be up to a high standard. If the product or service is of a higher quality people will be willing to pay much more for the product compared to your competitors.
- If the product is low quality then people will not buy it, especially if they can find a similar product at a lower price and higher quality. In a business when you are offering a service E.G If you are a Builder, The quality of your finished product also along with the price will give you the edge over your competitors. If you ever want to be a big company you have to work on reputation, this is a key factor and just a few bad quality products can change things dramatically for the business.
- If the Business is known to provide products and services of a high quality then you will have a better reputation and people are more likely to use that particular brand. They will know that what they see is what they get. For example:
- McDonalds is continually providing high quality services all around the world; E.G their burgers, fries and shakes are made to the same standard in Shanghai, Qatar and England and if you walk into the restaurant you would not be able to tell what country you are in because they are all laid out the same.
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Quality management:
Total Quality Management is a set of management practices throughout the organization, geared to ensure the organization consistently meets or exceeds customer requirements. TQM places strong focus on process measurement and controls as means of continuous improvement. It’s also a management method relying on the cooperation of all members of an organisation. Companies who have used the TQM method include Ford, Motorola and Toyota.
- Total = Quality involves everyone and all activities in the company.
- Quality = Conformance to Requirements (Meeting Customer Requirements.
- Management = Quality can and must be managed.
- TQM = A process for managing quality; it must be a continuous way of life; a philosophy of perpetual improvement in everything we do.
TQM is the foundation for activities which include;
- Meeting and exceeding Customer Requirements - Customers want to get their money's worth from a product or service they purchase
- Reducing Development Cycle Times
- Just In Time/Demand Flow Manufacturing
- Improvement Teams
- Reducing Product and Service Costs
- Improving Administrative Systems Training
