An introduction to Quality

Introduction to Quality

Expanding the quality myth

Author:
Dr Rhys Rowland-Jones

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An introduction to Quality

Session Plan
• Different views of quality
• General definitions of quality
• Some issues facing the quality profession
• Views of quality
• Costs of quality
• Dimensions of quality

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An introduction to Quality

The first question to ask–

What is Quality?

How would you describe what

“Quality” means?

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An introduction to Quality

QUALITY
• Degree to which a set of inherent
characteristics fulfils requirements

ISO 9000:2000
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An introduction to Quality

Phases of Quality Assurance

Inspection and
Inspection corrective Quality built
before/after action during into the
production production process

Acceptance Process Continuous

sampling control improvement

The least The most

progressive progressive

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An introduction to Quality

QUALITY DOES NOT

OCCUR BY ACCIDENT

• What does the customer actually want?

– Identify, understand and agree
customer requirements

• How are you going to meet those requirements?

– Plan to achieve them

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An introduction to Quality

The Demming Cycle W.Edwards Demming

Plan

Control
Act & Do
Improvement

Check

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An introduction to Quality

Some issues facing the quality profession

 How to define quality from the customer’s perspective?
 Keeping up with the constant increases in the level of quality of
today’s goods and services.
 The particular difficulties encountered in managing service
quality.
 How does the organization identify the quality dimensions that
are most important to its customers?

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An introduction to Quality

Some issues facing the quality profession

 Being able to avoid the costs of poor quality products and services.
 Being able to deal with the shift in balance of power to consumers
from producers through globalization.
 Recognizing that customer loyalty is increasingly based on quality.
 Getting ‘leaner’ by achieving higher levels of productivity.

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An introduction to Quality

Expressing Dissatisfaction
Public action
can be
Seeking redress directly from
Takes the firm
action
Taking legal action
A dissatisfied
A complaint to business, private,
customer or governmental agencies

Private action
Stop buying the product or
boycott the seller
Takes Warn friends about the product
no action and/or seller

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An introduction to Quality

Customer Feedback and Word-of-Mouth

• The average business only hears from 4% of its customers who are dissatisfied with
its products or services. Of the 96% who do not bother to complain, 25% of them
have serious problems.

• The 4% complainers are more likely to stay with the supplier than are the 96% non-
complainers.

• About 60% of the complainers would stay as customers if their problem was
resolved and 95% would stay if the problem was resolved quickly.

• A dissatisfied customer will tell between 10 and 20 other people about their
problem.

• A customer who has had a problem resolved by a company will tell about 5 people
about the situation.

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An introduction to Quality

An Approach to Viewing Quality.

Slack et al 2004

• The transcendent approach views quality as synonymous with innate excellence

e.g. Rolls Royce, Rolex, The Hilton.

• The manufacturing-based approach assumes quality is all about making or providing error-free
products or services e.g. Audi’s ‘vorsprung durch technik’.

• The user-based approach assumes quality is all about providing products or services that are fit
for their purpose e.g. it does what it says on the tin!

• The product-based approach views quality as a precise and measurable set of characteristics
e.g. 0-60 in 4.3 seconds.

• The value-based approach defines quality in terms of value’ e.g. supermarket ‘value’ ranges.

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 An introduction to Quality

Quality Characteristics of Goods and Services

nality - how well the product or service does the job for which
it was intended.
ance - aesthetic appeal, look, feel, sound and smell of
the product or service.

Reliability - consistency of product or service’s performance over time.

Durability - the total useful life of the product or service.

overy - the ease with which problems with the product or service
can be rectified or resolved.

Contact - the nature of the person-to-person contacts that take place.

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An introduction to Quality

Internal and External Benefits of Quality

Internal Benefits External Benefits

Customer gets correct
Reduces costs product or service
Increases dependability
Increases speed Correct specifications
Boosts moral
Appropriate intangibles
Increases customer retention
Increases profit Customer satisfaction
Customer retention

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An introduction to Quality

The ‘Iceberg’ theory – how much is immediately visible?

Scrap, waste
er
Custom ts
ing ain
r k compl
wo
Re fects Increas
e
de stock le d
our Reduced vels
lab
Increased productivity
costs
fai lur es
Resched ry
uling Delive

Loss of
customers

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An introduction to Quality

British Standards on Quality Costs

• BS 6143 Part 1
• BS 6143 Part 2

• Prevention Appraisal Failure Model (PAF)

• Process Cost Model (PCM)

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An introduction to Quality

Costs of Quality Failure

“Defects are not free, someone makes them and gets paid for the privilege”

• COST OF INTERNAL FAILURE

– Scrapped materials, goods and services
– Rework/ retest
– Reduced capacity/ yield/ increased downtime
– Rescheduling
– Service delays
– Disruption to the service process.
– Focus is on troubleshooting not improvement

• COST OF EXTERNAL FAILURE

– Warranty and servicing costs
– Product liability / Litigation
– Complaints and their administration
– Loss of customer goodwill
– Inconvenience to other customers

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An introduction to Quality

The Economic Costs of Quality

• COST OF PREVENTION
• Quality planning
• Design of quality system
• Staff quality training and development
• Preventative maintenance
• Supplier development training
• Administering quality procedures (e.g. ISO 9001)
• Time spent problem - solving, improving process
• Measurement of customer satisfaction during process

• COST OF APPRAISAL
• Testing and Inspection of supplier goods and services
• Testing and Inspection of internal service processes
• Measurement of customer satisfaction after process
• Quality Audits

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An introduction to Quality

The Ferdows and DeMayer Sandcone Model of Operational Improvement:

Cost

Flexibility

Speed
Dependability

Quality

Quality
Quality + Dependability
Quality + Dependability + Speed
Quality + Dependability + Speed + Flexibility
Quality + Dependability + Speed + Flexibility + Cost
(FERDOWS & DeMAYER Adapted from Slack et al 2004)
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An introduction to Quality

A QUICK THINKING:
Quality Characteristics

Consider how the quality characteristics (functionality,

reliability, appearance, durability, recovery and contact)
relate to your organisation’s (UMT) main products /
services? (one example)
Note your answers – now ask your friends the same
question and compare your answers.
Are they similar? – you can share your finding in the next lecture

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 An introduction to Quality

The Dimensions of Quality.

The meaning of Quality

Producer’s perspective Consumer’s perspective

Quality of conformance Quality of design

Production •Conformance to •Quality Marketing

specifications characteristics
•Cost •Price

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consumer use
An introduction to Quality

QUALITY MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
Management system to direct and control an
organisation with regard to quality

ISO 9000:2000

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An introduction to Quality

PURPOSE OF ISO 9001:2000

“ISO 9001 specifies the requirements for a quality

management system that may be used for
internal application by organizations,
certification, or contractual purposes.”

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An introduction to Quality

Summary
• Quality has several dimensions
• Quality is not only a system
• There are costs to poor quality
• Quality is a continuous journey

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