TECHNICAL ENGLISH 1

MODULE 2

TOPIC 1
References
 Technical English:
QUALITY
Vocabulary and Grammar LEARNING OBJECTIVES
by Summertown
Publishing Under this topic students will cover:
 Oxford English for
Mechanical Engineering by ▪ use of proper vocabulary related to quality and defect prevention
OUP ▪ description of defect prevention and quality
▪ types and use of graphs

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1. READ & COMPLETE
Read the text about ‘Quality’ and place the words provided in the spaces in blank. Check with your partner.

customer exceeded improvement prevention sampling requirements

defective inspection monitor process specification delighted

meeting
Quality means ____________ the minimum set of Quality ____________ concepts have developed over
improvement

____________
requirements in a product's ____________
specification and then several decades. They began simply as a method for
delighted
being ____________ that the customer's expectations defective
detecting ____________ inspection
products by ____________
exceeded
have been met and ____________. Therefore, the at the end of the production line. In recent years the
goal of a business should be to find out emphasis has changed from inspection to
customer
____________ needs and then fine tune prevention sampling
____________. Today ____________
the ____________
process to ensure that they are methods ____________
monitor processes and
met. keep them under control. The ultimate
zero
aim, of course, is ____________ defects.

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2. VOCABULARY
In recent years different approaches to quality improvement have been developed. The overall aim is to prevent
error:error
defects through continuous process improvement and customer focus. failure:falla
inspect:inspeccionar
prevent:prevenir
process control:control de procesos
DEFECT PREVENTION
reapair:reparar
error / failure / inspect / prevent / process control / repair / scrap:desechar
rework / scrap rework:rehacer/reelaborar

add value valor agregado

CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT analysis analisis causa efecto
cause effect analysis
add value / analysis / cause-effect analysis / check / check
commitment / control / define / facilitate / monitor / prioritize commitment
/ inventory control / system failure analysis / variability control
define
facilitate
monitor
prioritize
CUSTOMER FOCUS inventory control
accurate / comply with / needs / rectify system failure analysis
variability

accurate
comply with
needs
rectify

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 A. Check the meaning of the terms in the boxes above. Use an online dictionary if necessary.
B. Choose some words from the three boxes above and build one paragraph or two. Do not make sentences.

firstly, an inspection should be carried out to investigate the failure,

prioritize and facilitate commitment to prevent it
monitor system failure analysis

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3. SPEAK
GROUP WORK. Go to this site on ‘Defect Prevention Methods and Techniques’ 1 in a software development
context. Your teacher will assign you one of these topics:
▪ Effective defect prevention approach and the critical views
▪ Defect prevention
▪ Defect prevention methods and techniques
▪ TMM level and defect handling by Test Organization
▪ Team roles and responsibilities
 Build a presentation (PPT, Prezi, Canva or other) with images of the section assigned. Do not add much
text to it.
 All participants must speak and present to class.
 Altogether, your teacher and classmates, will come to conclusions based on the article.

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Web address: https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/defect-prevention-methods/
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4. OBSERVE

A Pareto chart is a type of bar chart typically used to improve quality, process capability or to conserve materials
and energy. A bar graph uses either horizontal or vertical bars to show comparisons among categories. A pie chart
helps you visualize the relative importance of a variable.

In engineering, graphs and charts are a common way of giving information. They allow a great deal of data to be
presented easily in visual form.

Label the following displays with the correct term: graph, bar chart, pie chart, column chart.

pie chart
__________________ column chart
__________________ bar chart
__________________ graph
__________________

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5. OBSERVE & STUDY
Look at the period 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. We can describe the change in
load in two ways:
1 The load rises.
2 There is a rise in load.

We can make a more specific description:

3 The load rises sharply.
4 There is a sharp rise in load.

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Study this table of verbs (the past form of irregular verbs are in brackets), nouns of change, and
adjectives/adverbs to describe the rate of change.

Direction Verb Noun Adjective Adverb

Up climb slight slightly
go up (went up) gradual gradually
increase increase steady steadily
rise (rose) rise steep steeply
Down decline decline sharp sharply
decrease decrease sudden suddenly
dip dip fast fast
drop drop
fall (fell) fall
go down (went down)
Level not change no change
remain constant

Find the meaning of the words in the table. Work with a partner or on your own. Use an online dictionary if
necessary.
verbs nouns

climb:escalar increase aumento

go up:subir rice
increase: aumentar subida
decline incremento
decrease disminucion
dip descenso
drop bajada
fall caida
caida

adverbs
slightly
gradually gradualmnte
steadily constantemente
steeply conjuntamente
sharply bruscamnete
suddenly repentinamnete
fast bajo

adjectives
slight ligero
gradual gradual
steady constante
steep
sharp
sudden
fast rapido

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6. INTO PRACTICE
A. Choose the correct word in the following sentences.

1 We must check/control the temperature regularly to make sure it doesn't rise.

2 To compare the number of defects over the last ten years, it would be best to use a Pareto/bar chart.

3 We try to detect/define faulty products before they are sent to our customers.

4 But it's a better idea to protect/prevent faulty products in the first place.

S Making sure that materials are stored correctly is part of process/inventory control.

6 We're sending our engineer who will repair/remake the faulty motor.

7 We have had problems with the electronic equipment due to power errors/failures.

8 This process is very inefficient because of the volume of scrap/error left over.

9 Here is a list of things we could do to improve quality, and now we must define/prioritize them.

10 Improving the design quality of these cars will add value/variability.

B. Choose the correct ending from B to complete each of the following sentences in A and then
produce a short article about Japanese cars.

A B
Let us consider what happened when  as often as British or American cars.
Japanese cars 

Local manufacturers thought they were  which exceeded their expectations.

cheap 

But soon people noticed that they didn't  were first imported into the UK and
break down  America.

At the same time, Japanese manufacturers

started trying to   and of low quality.

Customers were delighted with the new

cars   meet customer needs in terms of style
and design.
The cars did more than simply satisfy
customers' requirements,   They provided value for money.
let us consider what happened when japanese cars were fist imported into the UK and America
local manufacturers thought they were and of low quality
but soon people noticed that they didnt break down as often as British or American cars
at the same time ,Japanese manufacturers started trying to meet customer needs in terms of style and design
customers were delighted with the new cars which exceeded their expectations
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The cars did more than simply satisfy customers requirement they provided value for money
C. Here is a memo from the head of quality control to the managing director. Complete the box from
(a) to (k).

( ) improvement ( ) sampling ( ) defects ( ) zero ( ) prevent ( ) analysis

( ) monitor ( ) continuous ( ) cause/effect ( ) defective ( ) Pareto

cause and effect

improvement defective
pareto

sampling monitor
analysis
prevent defects
continuous zero

D. Observe this graph which shows the load at weekends. Write sentences to describe the load during
these periods.

1 Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon

2 Saturday, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

3 Saturday, noon to 5 p.m.

4 Sunday, 2 a.m. to 8 a.m.

5 Sunday, noon to 3 p.m.

6 Sunday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.