QUALITY

WHAT IS QUALITY?

Quality is ensuring that a good of service meets the needs and requirements of the customers, it can also be described as the features of a product or service that satisfy customer wants.

WHY IS QUALITY IMPORTANT?

A quality product needs to be fit for purpose. If a product is of good quality , it helps raise customers confidence regarding a business and its products , thus helping to gain a competitive advantage over rivals. It also encourages repeat purchase as quality products help retain customers , which will increase the businesses market share overtime.

Quality control : the process of making sure that the quality of a product meets specified quality performance criterias.

WHAT IS QUALITY ASSURANCE?

Quality assurance is a system of setting agreed standards for every stage of production. It is essentially a commitment by a business to maintain quality throughout the organisation. the basic idea is to stop problems before they occur in order to prevent the production of faulty products.

SHORT OVERVIEW :

• Quality issues are identified early so products may be reworked rather than rejected

• The cause of defects is the focus so future quality issues may be prevented ; if the business knows of possible errors that can occur during production , it can be prevented in the future

• can help improve brand image as products will be of good quality

However ,

• Staff training and a skilled workforce is required so labour costs may be increased ; time is going to be spent on training the workforce to identify problems during production so less time might be spent on increasing output

• Reworking may lengthen the production process ; lead time may increase

WHAT ARE QUALITY CIRCLES?

Quality circles is a small group of employees who voluntarily meet up on a regular basis to identify , examine and solve problems related to their work to improve the quality of output.

SHORT OVERVIEW:

• it helps to motivate workers as they think their opinions are considered by the business and they feel more involved in decision making

• Relevant and focused solutions are likely as workers are familiar with processes ; suggestions from workers who are directly involved in the production process , since they are familiar with the process they may have better ideas regarding how to improve the quality or reduce issues

• the idea is to prevent defects from arising in the first place by looking for possible problems before production

• can help lower costs as no resources will go to waste

However,

• members must receive appropriate training in problem solving and identification of problems

• management must be supportive of the teams and fund them appropriately , quality circles will not work where managers are resistant to change

• taking opinions from workers can be time consuming

• output is lost since time is spent on meetings instead

WHAT IS TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT ( TQM )

Total quality management is a quality management approach that aims to involve every employee in the quality assurance process. it involves organisation wise approaches to quality improvements in people , products , process and philosophy.

the business is designed so that the manufacturing process is organised to be investigated at every stage.

SHORT OVERVIEW:

• it improves the motivation of employees since they are involved in decision making ; Empowerment & Delegation – Employees are given authority to make decisions regarding quality improvements in their tasks.

• A culture of constant improvement exists within the business

• competitive advantage as it puts customers needs at the centre of the production process

• cost effective as TQM eliminates the need for inspections and the cost of reworking mistakes and defective outputs

• in the long term , quality is higher and costs are reduced

However,

• It requires a change in attitude and commitment from all staff members , which can be difficult to achieve

• staff training , management training and development costs are involved

• Risk of Bureaucracy – Excessive focus on procedures and documentation can slow down operations.

WHAT IS KAIZEN?

Kaizen is a continuous improvement philosophy that focuses on making small, incremental changes to processes, products, or services to enhance efficiency, quality, and productivity rather than making dramatic changes.

SHORT OVERVIEW :

• Continuous Improvement – Encourages ongoing small changes that lead to significant long-term improvements.

• as the changes arent too great , employees are less resistant to change

• Changes are small and ongoing rather than significant one-off’s and are constantly reviewed to ensure that the desired positive impact on productivity is achieved

• Uses Existing Resources – Employees identify inefficiencies and suggest improvements using current tools and processes, reducing the need for new investments ; more cost effective than investing in huge amounts of capital to get better technology to improve quality

However,

• Slow Results – Small, incremental changes take time to show significant impact. So while quality will improve, it will take a considerable amount of time

• Requires Full Commitment – Success depends on the involvement of all employees and management.

• Time-Consuming Approval Processes – If every small change needs managerial approval, it can delay implementation and frustrate employees.

  Elements of Kaizen commonly include

  • Total Quality Management

  • Just in Time stock management

  • Teamwork and quality circles

  • Zero defects  in manufacturing

  • High levels of automation

  • High levels of cooperation between workers and management

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT : PDCA

• Plan : business must identify where the improvement is needed. data must be gathered and used to develop a plan that will aid in improvement

• Do : once the plan has been finalised it needs to be carried out

• Check : check if there as been any improvements after the implementation

• Action : if the plan is successful it needs to be introduced to every aspect of the business

WHAT IS LEAN PRODUCTION?

Lean production is a manufacturing and management approach that focuses on minimizing waste by getting things right the first time whilst maximizing quality.

The seven sources of waste are :

• defective products

• overproduction

• excessive inventories

• unnecessary transportation

• over proessing

• waiting time

• excess movement by workings

Methods of waste minimization include : JIT , kaizen , benchmarking and TQM