Quality Management

• Quality control — inspection, measurement and intervention

• Quality assurance — application of international quality standards

• Quality improvement — Total quality management (TQM) AND continuous improvement

Quality control (QC) involves the use of inspections at various points in the production process to check for problems and defects

Inspection and quality control

To ensure output meets required standards, many businesses carry out inspections of all or part of the total volume of production. When an inspection is conducted, the goods or services under inspection can be passed as ‘okay’ or ‘defective’. 

For example

 Does a 'Coca Cola' container have any leaks? Does the Boeing plane for QANTAS have any mechanical issues? Are McDonald's workers asking the right questions and saying thank you?

In service businesses, an inspection of employee performance may be conducted. A bank may inspect teller accuracy, courtesy, speed and efficiency; and a supermarket may check operator scanning rates

Quality assurance (QA) involves the use of a system to ensure that set standards are achieved in production

• The notion of ‘fitness for purpose’ or how well a product does what it is designed to do

• The desire to achieve ‘right first time’ so that products do not need to be reworked, which wastes time, energy and other resources.

A series of quality assurance standards has been developed in response to the impact of globalisation and the international emphasis on quality. Such standards can be applied universally, which means that a component from Korea that meets the accepted international standard is theoretically of the same quality as a similar component from an Australian manufacturer. Given that several different manufacturers in different countries could produce components for a plasma television, such standards are an important quality control mechanism for ‘global’ companies.

A widely used international standard is the ISO 9000 series of quality certifications.  ‘ISO’ stands for International Organization for Standardization. ISO standards are voluntary but many businesses comply with their requirements to enhance their domestic and international competitiveness.

a) Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is the belief that over time processes will be made more efficient and effective. Improvement may be a monumental breakthrough achieved through innovation all at once or it may be incremental and gradual over time. The basis of successful improvements in quality is the inclusion of staff into improvement processes.

b) Total Quality Management (TQM)

The total quality management (TQM) concept focuses on managing the total business to deliver quality to customers

Emphasis on employee involvement in the prevention of quality problems. Build the product right in the first place and you avoid the expense of inspection and the waste of rejected products. Improving quality can also help businesses increase their market share (as a result of better quality and lower priced products).

2017

Q2 In which aspect of a business does continuous improvement occur?

A. Quality assurance

B. Legal compliance

C. Just-in-time management

D. Total quality management

2021

A building company has been contracted to build a new home for a customer. The contract requires the home to be completed within six months and within budget. 

The operations manager will need to outsource certain elements of the construction process. 

21 (c) Explain TWO quality management strategies that could be used to ensure the quality of the outsourced work.  4 marks