|
|
 |
On Quality |
 |
 |
|
|
What is quality? Quality is a major concern in every aspect of life today. Quality of life, quality of the environment, quality of service, quality of product. Everyone wants it, everyone demands it and absolutely no one will accept anything less. Ironically, when you ask individuals to define quality, it becomes abundantly clear that the word "quality" means different things to different people. Even the experts differ in their interpretation of the word as shown below:
Crosby: "Quality is defined as conformance to requirements, not as goodness."
Deming: "Quality means the effective production of the quality that the market expects, it does not mean achieving perfection."
Feigenbaum: "Quality is the total composite product and service characteristics of marketing, engineering, manufacturing and maintenance through which the product and service in use will meet the expectation of the customer."
Juran: "Quality is fitness for use."
What quality is or should be is viewed differently depending on your vantage point, yet it is rare to find any advertisement that doesn't use the word quality to describe the product or service it is promoting. The reason for this is simple. Quality sells. And since every manufacturer or service organization is continuously battling with local and foreign competition for its share of the market, quality has become the primary focus.
Three conditions, therefore, are absolutely mandatory for any organization marketing a product or service:
North American manufacturers and service organizations must also meet two other all-important requirements in doing business: on-time delivery; and competitive pricing. As any company executive will tell you, this is often easier said than done.
Until about ten years ago, the answer seemed simple enough. Just inspect the parts produced at various stages of manufacturing to ensure that no defects are delivered to the customer. A quality system, right? And, of course, if you implement a quality system, you'll always produce an acceptable product, right? Wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Who is responsible for quality? Everyone. A major misconception of many managers is that only quality department or inspection personnel are responsible for quality. Wrong. These individuals can only verify compliance. What they are responsible for is to identify and document quality problems, and prevent nonconforming products from being further processed until the problem or deficiency has been corrected. Remember, you can't inspect quality into a product or service.
So who is responsible for quality? The answer is simple, you are.
What is a quality system? There are many definitions established which define a quality system. The standard established by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) is considered to be one of the better ones:
"The system of activities established to provide a quality product or service that meets the needs of users"
Essentially, a quality system involves establishing a number of control mechanisms and techniques which, when properly performed, should dramatically reduce the possibility of your customers receiving anything other than exactly what they ordered. This is not to say that implementing a quality system ensures that only quality products or services will be produced by your organization. In fact, this is perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions in industry today.
Many managers and corporate executives have the impression that once a quality system is in place, everything produced from that time forward will be good. Don't you believe it. A quality system is an effective management tool, but implementing a quality system does not ensure quality. People do.
Inspection, QC, QA: What's the difference? Although these terms are often used interchangeably, there are specific differences between them as outlined below:
Inspection is: The process of measuring, examining, testing, gauging, or otherwise comparing one or more units of product with the applicable requirements. This is an acceptance function involving receiving; in-process and final inspection and test; controlling of nonconformances; day-to-day monitoring; etc.
Quality Control is: The regulatory process through which we measure actual quality performance, compare it to standards, and act on the difference. This is a preventive function involving equipment calibration; design of statistical techniques; process capability studies; etc.
Quality Assurance is: A management discipline consisting of a planned and systematic program to ensure that the end item or service will perform satisfactorily in actual operation, and assure customer satisfaction. This is an assurance function involving the creation of quality system documentation; performing auditing and data analysis; addressing customer complaints and so on.
Quality Management is: The coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard to quality. This is a management function involving the establishment of the quality policy and quality objectives, quality planning, quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement.
FOR SERVICE CALL: 1-877-650-0565
|
