quality

• ways to improve labour productivity

  measure performance and set targets, invest in equipment, train employees, improve working conditions
• potential issues of labour productivity

  potential loss of quality, employees may demand higher pay for their improved efficiency
• what is TQM

  time based management which focuses on reducing wasted time in production
• benefits of TQM

  • faster response to market changes

  • reduction in waste
• what is simultaneous engineering

  a project management approach that helps businesses develop and launch products quickly. everything is considered “simultaneously” rather than separately
• benefits of simultaneous engineering

  • new products brought to market quickly

  • charge a more premium price

  • greater sense of involvement across business

  • can be competitive advantage
• what is cell production

  for of team-working where production processes are split into cells, each responsible for a complete unit of work
• benefits of cell production

  • improves communication between members

  • workers become multi skilled

  • greater worker motivation

  • quality improvements
• what is Kaizen

  an approach of constantly introducing small changes in a business to improve quality and efficiency
• what is time based management

  aims to reduce time wasted in operations through faster product development and shorter lead times
• 2 drawbacks of lean production

  • low margin for errors eg JIT

  • worker frustration and less motivation
• what is quality

  meeting the needs and expectations of customers
• key factors of quality

  • good functionality

  • matching design to description

  • value for money

  • consistency

  • durability
• why is quality important

  quality can determine business success in several ways; customer loyalty, strong brand, retailers want to stock the product, fewer returns
• impacts of poor quality

  • products are returned; waste

  • product breakdowns

  • bad reputation
• examples of tangible quality

  reliability, functions and features, support levels, standards
• examples of intangible quality

  brand image, exclusiveness, market reputation
• what is quality control

  the process of inspecting products to make sure they meet the required standards. checks quality of complicated products for faults.
• an advantage and disadvantage of quality control

  • inspection is intended to prevent faulty products reaching the customer

  • wastes rejected products that dont meet standard, increasing costs
• what is quality assurance

  an approach that aims to achieve quality by organising every process to get the product right the first time.
• advantages of quality assurance

  reduced costs, less waste, improve worker motivation, helps break down ‘us and them ‘ barriers in the workplace
• what is automation

  the use of technology applications that perform repetitive tasks freeing up employees for higher value work
• what is computer aided manufacturing

  the use of software and computer controlled machinery to automate the manufacturing process
• What is quality assurance defined as

  the maintenance of quality at every stage of the process.
• What does labour cost mean

  the cost of productiong one singular unit
• what is an advantage of JIT stock control

  it reduces the cost of holding stock