4.3 – Achieving Quality Production

• Quality: a good or service which meets customer expectations.
• Quality control: the checking for quality at the end of the production process, whether a good or a service.
• Quality assurance: the checking for quality throughout the production process of a good or service
• Total Quality Management (TQM): the continuous improvement of products and processes by focusing on quality at each and every stage of production
• Importance of quality to business:

  • establishes a brand image
  • builds brand loyalty
  • maintains a good reputation
  • helos to increase sales
  • attracts new customers
• Quality control benefits:

  • identify faults before the customers receive the product or service
  • less workforce training required

  Quality control drawbacks:

  • expensive as need to pay someone to check product or service
  • identifies fault but not why it has occurred; problem not removed
  • increased costs to scrap
• Quality assurance benefits:

  • eliminate faults before customer receives the product or service
  • fewer customer complaints
  • reduced costs if product is not scrapped or service repeated

  Quality assurance drawbacks:

  • expensive to train employees
  • relies on employees strictly following the set standards
• Total Quality Management (TQM) benefits:

  • quality built into every part of the production
  • eliminates all faults and errors (right first time)
  • no customer complaints
  • waste removed and efficiency improved
  • products don’t have to be scrapped or reworked => lesser costs

  Total Quality Management (TQM) drawbacks:

  • expensive to train employees

  • relies on employees following TQM ideology