DAR ES SALAAM INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.

Module name: QUALITY ASSURANCE AND CONTROL.
Module code: MEU 08206.
Credit: 6.
1
 Defining Quality
• Quality is a subjective term for which each person has his or
her own definition.

• What’s your definition?

Definition of Quality
Various definitions have been given to term quality, in line with changes and
challenges in the industrial environment over time. Some of the definitions are
listed as follows:
• Quality means conformance to specifications and standards.
• Quality is conformance to the requirements.
• Quality means productivity, competitive cost, on time delivery and the
satisfaction of the customer.
• The quality of product is determined by the customer needs,
conformance to specifications, assured performance level, efficiency
technical services and caring for the customer’s feedback.
• Quality means everyone to do what they have accepted to do, for the first
time and every time.
• The degree to which inherent characteristics fulfill requirements. The
requirements are the needs and expectations that are stated, general
implied, or obligatory (ISO:9000-2000)
 The meaning for the term quality has developed over time.
Various interpretations are given below:
• ISO 9000: Degree to which a set of inherent characteristic fulfills
requirements
• Philip B. Crosby (1979): “Quality is conformance to requirements or
specifications”
• Joseph Juran (1974): “Quality is fitness for use” Fitness is defined by the
customer.
• Armand Feigenbaum (1951): “Quality begins by identifying the
customer’s requirements and ends with a product or service in the hands of
a satisfied customer.
• Gerald M. Weinberg: “Value to some persons”
• W. Edwards Deming: Quality and the required style of management.
Costs go down and productivity goes up as improvement of quality is
accomplished by better management of design, engineering, testing and by
improvement of processes. Better quality at lower price has a chance to
capture a market. Cutting costs without improvement of quality is futile.
• Genichi Taguchi: The loss a product imposes on society after it is shipped
Taguchi’s definition of quality is based on a more comprehensive view of
the production system.
 Quality can refer to:

• Technical interpretation: a specific characteristic of an object.

• Philosophical interpretation: The essence of an object.
• Practical interpretation: The achievement or excellence of an object
• Metaphysical interpretation: The meaning of excellence itself
• Scientific interpretation: In physics, the range of frequencies over which
something will characteristically respond
• A quality characteristic is said to be an attribute if it is classified as either
conformity or nonconformity to a stipulated specification. A conformity
is a quality characteristic that meet its stipulated specifications. While
nonconformity is a quality characteristic that does not meet its stipulated
specifications.
• A quality characteristic that cannot be measured on a numerical scale is
expressed as an attribute.
• Quality characteristics fall into two broad classes: variables and
attributes.
• Characteristics that are measurable and are expressed on a numerical scale
are called variables. Example; The waiting time in a bank before being
served, expressed in minutes, is a variable.
 The Attributes/Dimensions of Quality

• Performance
Measures the degree to which the product or service satisfies the customer.
• Design
Deals with the stringent conditions that a product or service must minimally
possess to satisfy the requirements of the customer.
• Features
Secondary characteristics, added features, such as remote control
• Conformance
Meet specifications or industry standards, meet the standards selected in the
design phase.
• Reliability
Consistency of performance over time, average time for the unit to fail
• Durability
Useful life, includes repair
• Service
Resolution of problems and complaints, ease of repair
• Response
Human-to-human interface, such as the courtesy of the dealer
• Aesthetics
Sensory characteristics, such as exterior finish, look, feel, smell and
sound.
• Reputation
Past performance and other intangibles, such as being ranked first
• Perceived quality
Resulting from advertisement, image, brand name, early use.
• Standard and Specification
Since the definition of quality involves meeting the requirements of the
customer. Definitions given by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS,
2005) are as follows:
• Specification: a set of conditions and requirements, of specific and limited
application, that provide a detailed description of the procedure, process,
material, product, or service for use primarily in procurement and
manufacturing. Standards may be referenced or included in a specification.
• Standard: a prescribed set of conditions and requirements, of general or
broad application, established by authority or agreement, to be satisfied by a
material, product, process, procedure, convention, test method; and/or the
physical, functional, performance, or conformance characteristic thereof.
 Fundamental Factors Affecting Quality
The nine fundamental factors (9 M’s), which are affecting the quality of
products and services, are:
i. Market: Because of technology advancement, we could see many new
products to satisfy customer wants. At the same time, the customer
wants are also changing dynamically. So, it is the role of companies to
identify needs and then meet it with existing technologies or by
developing new technologies.
ii. Money: The increased global competition necessitates huge outlays for
new equipment and process. This should be rewarded by improved
productivity. This is possible by minimizing quality costs associated
with the maintenance and improvements of quality level.
iii. Management: Because of the increased complex structure of business
organization, the quality related responsibilities lie with persons at
different levels in the organization.
iv. Men: The rapid growth in technical knowledge leads to development of
human resource with different specialization. This necessitates some
groups like, system engineering group to integrate the idea of full
specialization.
v. Motivation: If we fix the responsibility of achieving quality with each
individual in the organization with proper motivation techniques, there
will not be any problem in producing the designed quality products.
vi.Materials: Selection of proper materials to meet the desired tolerance
limit is also an important consideration. Quality attributes like, surface
finish, strength, diameter etc., can be obtained by proper selection of
material.
vii.Machines and mechanization: In order to have quality products which
will lead to higher productivity of any organization, we need to use
advanced machines and mechanize various operations.
viii.Modern information methods: The modern information methods help
in storing and retrieving needed data for manufacturing, marketing and
servicing.
ix.Mounting product requirements: Product diversification to meet
customers taste leads to intricacy in design, manufacturing and quality
standards. Hence, companies should plan adequate system to tackle all
these requirements.
 QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES.
EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT:

• Customer focus: Organization should understand current and

future customer needs, should meet customer requirement and
strive to exceed customer expectation.
• Leadership: Top management establishes unit of purpose and
direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the
internal environment, wherein, people become fully involved in
achieving the objectives.
• Involvement of people: Their abilities are used for the full benefit
of organization
• Process approach: The desired result is achieved efficiently when
activities and related resources are managed as a process.
• System approach to management: Identify, understand and managing
interrelated process as a system, help in organizations effectiveness and
efficiency in realizing its objectives.
• Continual improvement: It is the permanent objective of organization
• Factual approach to decision making: The effective decisions are based
on the logical and intuitive analysis of data and information rather than
pure feeling, past experience etc.
• Mutual beneficial supplier relationships: This enhances the ability and
creates value to customer simultaneously improving reputation for
company and supplier.
 ISO QUALITY MODEL
The ISO model of a process based quality management system is shown in the
Figure below, illustrates the process linkage. This illustration shows, that
customer plays a significant role in defining requirement as inputs.
Monitoring of customer satisfaction requires the evaluation of information
obtained through feedback from customer relating to quality perception, as
whether the organization has met the customer requirements. The model
shown covers all requirements of this standard, but does not show processes at
a detailed level.
The model is formulated from the eight management principles. They act as the
basis for developing the model which is expressed by four major elements.

• Management responsibility: Requires top management commitment to

create and maintain awareness of the importance of fulfilling customer
requirement.
• Resource management: Requires top management commitment to
create and maintain awareness of the importance of fulfilling customer
requirements, Provide the needed resources to establish and maintain the
quality management system.
• Product realization: Requires an organization to use output from
quality planning and see that other processes are consistent to
realize the required product and/or service. Their sequences and
interaction must then be determined, planned and implemented.
• Measurement, analysis and improvement, analysis and
improvement requires an organization to define, plan and
implement measurement, monitoring and analysis processes to
ensure that quality management system processes, and products
and/ or services conform to requirement and continually improve
the effectiveness of quality management system.
ISO 9001-2000 Quality Management Principles