Chapter 3

QUALITY SPE CIFICAT ION AND INSPE CT ION

LEARNING OUTCOMES
With reference to procurement and supply management this chapter aims to provide an
understanding of:
■ concepts of quality and reliability and the role of procurement
■ total quality management (TQM)
■ specifications, their use and abuse
■ principles of specification writing
■ standardisation
■ the ISO 10000 portfolio of quality management standards
■ variety reduction
■ quality assurance and controls
■ tools for quality control and reliability
■ the business-added value of quality management
■ value management, engineering and analysis
CONTENT:
What is quality,
Reliability,
quality system,
The importance of TQM,
TQM principles,
The benefits of TQM,
Specifications: Specifications and procurement, The purpose of specification, Types
of specification, Statistical quality control.
WHAT IS QUALITY
Garvin, for example, has identified five approaches to defining
quality and eight dimensions of quality. The five approaches are
as follows:
■ The transcendent approach
■ The product-based approach
■ The use-based approach
■ The manufacturing-based approach
■ The value-based approach
 GARVIN’S EIGHT DIMENSIONS
OF QUALITY ARE:
1 performance
2 reliability
3 serviceability
4 conformance
5 durability
6 features
7 aesthetics
8 perceived quality
QUALITY DIMENSIONS OF
GOODS AND SERVICES
RELIABILITY

reliability is an attribute of quality. It is, however, so important that the terms

‘quality and reliability’ are often used together. Reliability has been defined as:
‘A measure of the ability of a product to function
successfully when required, for the period required,
under specified conditions.’
WHAT IS A QUALITY SYSTEM?

A quality system is defined

as:
The organizational
structure,
responsibilities,
procedures, processes
and resources for
implementing quality
management.
CONTINUED………..
The advantages of a properly documented system, are that it:
■ ensures all aspects of quality are controlled
■ ensures consistent, efficient work practices
■ indicates best practice
■ provides objective evidence for determining and correcting the
causes of poor quality
■ increases customer confidence
■ gives competitive advantage
■ focuses attention on the management of risks.
TOTAL QUALITY
MANAGEMENT (TQM)
A way of managing an organization so that every job,
every process, is carried out right, first time and every
time.
An integrative management concept of continually
improving the quality of delivered goods
and services through the participation of all levels and
functions of the organisation.
TQM PRINCIPLES

TQM is based on three important principles:

A focus on product improvement from the customer’s viewpoint
A recognition that personnel at all levels share responsibility for product quality
Recognition of the importance of implementing a system to provide information to
managers about quality processes that enable them to plan, control and evaluate
performance.
THE BENEFITS OF TQM
Some benefits claimed for TQM include:
■ improved customer satisfaction
■ enhanced quality of goods and services
■ reduced waste and inventory with consequential reduced costs
■ improved productivity
■ reduced product development time
■ increased flexibility in meeting market demands
■ reduced work-in-progress
■ improved customer service and delivery times
■ better utilization of human resources.
CRITICISMS OF TQM
Some objections include:
■ that overly zealous advocates of TQM may focus attention on quality even though
other priorities may be important, such as changes in the market – exemplified by
the manager who said:
Before we invested in TQM, we churned out poorly made products that customers
didn’t want. We now churn out well-made products that customers don’t want.
■ that it creates a cumbersome bureaucracy of working parties, committees and
documentation relating to quality
■ that it delegates the determination of quality to quality experts because TQM is a
complicated entity beyond the comprehension of the average employee
■ that some workers and unions regard TQM as management-by-stress and a way of
de-unionising workplaces
SPECIFICATIONS

Specifications must be distinguished from standards and

codes of practice. A specification has been defined as:
■ A statement of the attributes of a product or service.
■ A statement of requirements.
■ A statement of needs to be satisfied by the procurement
of external resources.
THE PURPOSE OF
SPECIFICATIONS
Both specifications and standards aim to:
■ indicate fitness for purpose or use – as indicated in Table 8.1, fitness for
purpose or use was the definition of quality given by Joseph Juran, who also
stated that quality is linked to product satisfaction and dissatisfaction, with
satisfaction relating to superior performance or features and dissatisfaction to
deficiencies or defects in a product or service
■ communicate the requirements of a user or purchaser to the supplier
■ compare what is actually supplied with the requirements in terms of
purpose, quality and performance stated in the specification
■ provide evidence, in the event of a dispute, of what the purchaser required
and what the supplier agreed to provide.
TYPES OF SPECIFICATION
THE CONTENTS OF A
SPECIFICATION
1 identification – title, designation, number, authority
2 issue number – publication history and state of issue, earlier related specifications
3 contents list – guide to layout
4 foreword – the reason for writing the specification
5 introduction – description of the content in general and technical aspects of objectives
6 scope – range of objectives/content
7 definitions – terms used with meanings special to the text
8 requirements/guidance/methods/elements – the main body of the specification
9 index – cross-references
10 references to national, European or international standards or other internal company
specifications.
SOME PRINCIPLES OF
SPECIFICATION WRITING
■ If something is not specified it is unlikely to be provided
■ Every requirement increases the
■ The shorter the specification, the less time it takes to prepare it
■ The specification is equally binding on both the purchaser and the vendor
■ Specifications, should, so far as possible, be presented in performance terms rather than as a
detailed design
■ Specifications should, whenever possible be ‘open’, not closed
■ Specifications must not conflict with national or international standards or health,
safety or environmental laws and regulations
QUALITY CONTROL

The operational techniques and activities that are used to fulfil

requirements for quality. Quality control is concerned with defect
detection and correction and relates to such activities as
determining where, how and at what intervals inspection should
take place, the collection and analysis of data relating to defects
and determining what corrective action should be taken.
WHAT IS STATISTICAL QUALITY
CONTROL?

SQC is not just a collection of techniques. It is a strategy

for reducing variability, the root cause of many quality
problems. SQC refers to the use of statistical methods to
improve and enhance quality and through it customer
satisfaction.
RATIONALE OF STATISTICAL
QUALITY CONTROL
RATIONALE OF STATISTICAL
QUALITY CONTROL

a theoretical quality control model y

= f(x) relating the final output
responses (y1, y2, y3, …) and the
input parameters (x1, x2, x3, …)
SQC METHODOLOGIES

1. Acceptance Sampling
2. Statistical Process Control (SPC)
3. Design of Experiments
ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING
This method is also called "sampling inspection." When products
are required to be inspected but it is not feasible to inspect 100%
of the products, samples of the product may be taken for
inspection and conclusions drawn using the results of inspecting
the samples. This technique specifies how to draw samples from a
population and what rules to use to determine the acceptability of
the product being inspected.
STATISTICAL PROCESS
CONTROL CHART
SPC aims at controlling the variability
of process output using a device
called the control chart. On a control
chart, a certain characteristic of the
product is plotted. Under normal
conditions these plotted points are
expected to vary in a "usual way" on
the chart. When abnormal points or
patterns appear on the chart, it is a
statistical indication that the process
parameters or production conditions
might have changed undesirably.
STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL CHART

Basic Procedure

Choose the appropriate control chart for your data.

Determine the appropriate time period for collecting and plotting data.

Collect data, construct your chart and analyze the data.

Look for "out-of-control signals" on the control chart. When one is

identified, mark it on the chart and investigate the cause. Document how
you investigated, what you learned, the cause and how it was corrected.

Out-of-control signals
 A single point outside the control limits. In Figure 1, point sixteen is
above the UCL (upper control limit).
 Two out of three successive points are on the same side of the
centerline and farther than 2 σ from it. In Figure 1, point 4 sends that
signal.
 Four out of five successive points are on the same side of the centerline
and farther than 1 σ from it. In Figure 1, point 11 sends that signal.
 A run of eight in a row are on the same side of the centerline. Or 10
out of 11, 12 out of 14, or 16 out of 20. In Figure 1, point 21 is eighth in
a row above the centerline.
 Obvious consistent or persistent patterns that suggest something
unusual about your data and your process.
DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS
Design of experiments (DOE) is a systematic method to determine the relationship
between factors affecting a process and the output of that process. In other words, it
is used to find cause-and-effect relationships. This information is needed to manage
process inputs in order to optimize the output.
THE CORRECT USE OF STATISTICAL
QUALITY CONTROL METHODS