Basic Concepts

of
Quality

How would you define Quality?

A Rolls Royce?

bad quality,
excellent quality,
poor quality

A VW Beetle?

It depends....
What the customer wants and is prepared
to pay for.
Fitness for use / customer satisfaction.
Degree of compliance to regulation and
specifications.

Quality Definitions
Q means conformance to specified requirements
Q means fitness for use
Q means value for money
Q means zero defects
Q means guarantee of confidence
Q means on time delivery
Q means customer satisfaction

Quality attributes of food

products.
Like
an
iceberg!

Visible and hidden attributes.

Visible attributes are those that
the consumer can readily judge for
themselves.
Hidden attributes include most
safety aspects and cannot be
assessed by the average consumer
at the time of purchase or
consumption.

Visible attributes.
Examples.
Sensory
properties
Physical
properties

Pleasure value, appearance, absence of impurities such as

insects & moulds, colour, taste, odour, texture, temperature,
consistency.
Solubility,
reconstitution.

Package

Appearance appealing, modern, intact, undamaged, unsoiled,

no signs of tampering, functional (microwavable), promotional
aspects, environmental aspects.

Convenience

Package functional (resealable), other uses of package, size of

portion, keeping quality, ease of preparation, availability.

Information

General, ID, origin, ingredient list, cooking instructions,

suggested recipes, nutritional value, net contents, price, unit
price, expiry date, advertising messages, claims, promotions.

Composition

Ingredients, additives, nutritional

reputation.

Hidden attributes.
Safety

Nutritional
value

Legal
compliance

Absence of pathogens, toxins, contaminants, and harmful

substances.

Content of specific constituents, absence of certain

constituents and energy value.

Composition, additives, labelling, net contents, registration, etc

etc..

The customer expectations are

Conformity (to Standards)

price
availability
safety
.
.

Service
There is direct feedback

Manufacturer
of goods

QUALITY
(Conformance to
Product specification)

Merchant
(Wholesaler,
Retailer)

if this gap is properly bridged

there will be customer satisfaction

Customer
(client)

Customer

QUALITY
Fitness for use

QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS
Technological characteristics
Eg. Length, breadth, weight, hardness

Psychological characteristics
Eg. Colour, odour, taste, texture

Time-oriented characteristics
Eg. Reliability, maintainability

Contractual
Eg. Guarantee provisions

Ethical (especially for services)

Eg. Courtesy, honesty

QUALITY PARAMETERS
In building the required quality characteristics into a
product so that the product will be fit for use by the
consumer, due thought has to be given to the
following quality parameters.
a) Quality of Design
b) Quality of Conformance
(or Quality of Manufacture)

Quality of
Design
a) Identification of what constitutes fitness for use to the consumer.
Because the identification is the result of market research the
effectiveness of this activity could be termed as Quality of market
research.
b) Choice of a concept of product or service to be responsive to the
identified needs of the user. The term quality of product concept could
be used to designate the extent to which the intended features of the
product (the product concept) respond to the actual market needs.

c)

Translation of the chosen product concept into a detailed set of

specifications which, if properly executed, will meet the users needs.
The term quality of specifications could be used to describe the extent
to which the actual design specifications conform to the needs of
fitness for use.

Quality of Conformance
What has been designed has to be
manufactured according to the design so that it
will be fit for use. Quality of conformance
depends on the following
a) quality of technology
b) quality of manpower
c) quality of management

FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY

*
*
*
*

Materials
Machines
Manpower
Methods

4Ms

Deming Cycle (PDCA)

for Controlling
PLAN

ACT

DO

CHECK

Steps involving CHECK and ACTION

can be depicted in detail as follows:

CHECK

Wrong
Firstly
Immediate remedial action
Secondly Action for prevention
against recurrence

Right
Repeat the cycle
i.e. Standardize

Quality Control and

Improvement
Sporadic
Problems
No of
Defective
Items

Chronic Problem

Time