Production & Quality Management

Production management

Deals with converting raw materials into finished goods/products, at a minimum cost for the business.

Production management - Purpose

Purpose is to monitor and control the production process to insure the inputs are organised, processes are operating effectively/efficiently and outputs meet quality standards and client needs.

Production management - Formula

Managing and seeking to optimise efficiency of: Inputs - Process - Outputs + Control = To develop a competitive advantage.

Product Development

Outlines the stages from when a product/service is conceived as a raw idea to when it is finally brought to market. May involve incremental and disruptive innovation. Often high risk with large investments needed where profits may not be realised for an extended period of time.

Product Development - Features

Ideation - Evaluation - Prototype - Testing - Launch - Commercialisation

Feature 1 - Ideation

Devising an idea for a product and conducting research into the needs to the market.

Feature 2 - Evaluation

Deciding if the idea is worth perusing further by continuing market research and testing with customers.

Feature 3 - Prototype

Creating a prototype of the product to determine functionality.

Feature 4 - Testing

Prototype is tested to examine issues, or make improvements.

Feature 5 - Launch

The product is released to the market, usually accompanied by a market campaign.

Feature 6 - Commercialisation

Customer feedback is gained to seek improvements and to ensure the product meets quality standards.

Quality management

A structured approach to overseeing and improving all aspects of an organisations processes and products to consistently meet customer expectations and ensure a high level of quality.

Quality Control

Refers to the process that involves checking and reviewing work processes to determine if the requirements of the business are being met. The purpose is to identify where the criteria are not being met (against established standards and specifications) so that corrective actions can be put into place.

Quality Assurance

Refers to a set of activities designed to make sure the development and maintenance process is adequate to meet objectives. The purpose is to seek to prevent issues rather than detect them through systematic processes throughout production. Done through ongoing analysis and adjustment to processes.

Quality Improvement

A systematic approach to continuously enhance the quality of services/processes to achieve measurable improvements in efficiency. It involves introducing small changes in order to improve overall quality, efficiency and waste.

Quality Improvement - Types

Benchmarking - Business comparing products/processes with competitors. Achieve best practice and competitive advantage.

Kaizen - All employees work together to achieve regular improvements in manufacturing (bottom up approach).

Benefits of quality management

- Easier to create customer loyalty

- Saves on costs associated with customer complaints

- Longer product life cycle

- Less advertising may be necessary as the brand will have an establish positive public image

- A premium price could be charged