1. QUALITY
Learning Intentions:
Define the term ‘quality’
 Identify methods of improving quality
 Evaluate these techniques and assess their
usefulness


2. Definition
Quality
The
is ………….
ability to satisfy the expectations
of the consumer
Fit for the purpose it was designed for
Conformance to specification
The degree of excellence of
something

3. Factors linked to Quality
 Good
function
 Durability
 Reliability
 Image
 After-sales service
 Value for money

4. Advantages of producing quality
goods
 Higher
prices
 Reduction in waste
 Less need to advertise
 Reduction in customer complaints
 Increased guarantee periods
 Reduces returned goods

5. Techniques to Improve Quality
Quality assurance – built-in quality techniques
 Quality circles
 Jidoka – anyone can stop production process if a
defect is found
 Kaizan - continuous improvement
 Benchmarking
 Standards – Investors in People (IIP),
ISO standards
 Just-in-time (JIT) & Kanban
 Total Quality Management (TQM)


6. Quality Circles
Regular short meetings set up to help
improve production issues
 Advantages:
 Increase
motivation of staff – job enrichment
 Improve communication – across departments
 Unlock worker potential - lots of ideas
 Focus on improving quality
 Disadvantages:
 cost
and time of meetings and training

7. Quality control vs quality assurance
A
Quality control usually takes place
at end of production process
PRODUCTION PROCESS
B
Quality assurance focuses on prevention
where small samples of part finished
goods are checked at different times in
production process
X
INSPECTION
by an inspection
team
It’s about prevention
rather than just
detection
PRODUCTION PROCESS
Check quality
Quality is seen as
EVERYONE’S job,
not just a small team
of inspectors!

8. QUALITY ASSURANCE

ADVANTAGES:





Workers take more care as they have to check it
Increased motivation – sense of responsibility & involvement
from this extra task - thus job becomes more meaningful.
Reduced costs – no inspection team to pay
Less scrap and reworking - defects picked up as soon as they
happen, not when good is finished and may need to be
scrapped or redone.
DISADVANTAGES:


Costs - of training and changing to a quality assurance
system
Workers may not like it - if they are paid on piece rate (per
product made) they may lose wages due to the checking they
now need to do slowing down their work rate

9. KAIZEN – ‘continuous improvement’
 All
workers are involved in making
regular, ongoing improvements to the
production process. The changes tend to
be small, but they occur regularly.
 ADVANTAGES:
increase productivity,
reduce waste, reduce costs
 DISADVANTAGES: staff may not want to
be involved, costs of setting it up.

10. BENCHMARKING
 This
involves comparing yourself (e.g.
costs, quality, productivity) with other
firms in your area of business and
identifying where you can make further
improvements to the production process.
 Implementing ‘best practice’ in your
industry to improve your company.

11. QUALITY STANDARDS
 Investors
in People (IIP) is the national
standard set to achieve a good level of training
and development of staff.
 Customer Service Excellence is awarded by
the government to those organisations with
high standards for customer satisfaction
 Kitemark: awarded by BSI to show that it
conforms to British Standards

12. Total Quality Management (TQM)
 Extends
the idea of quality
assurance. Basically it is
about ensuring that
everything the organisation
and its people do is
focussed on creating high
quality goods & services.
 Also about getting things
right first time (zero
defects) – aim for defect
prevention rather than
detection
A cycle of Plan, Do,
Check, Action
becomes part of
every employee’s
thinking.

13. JUST-IN-TIME
 Aims
to reduce all types of stock so that,
at all stages of the production process,
stock is only ordered to ensure its arrival
exactly when it is needed.
 Production should only commence when
there is a specific customer order production is driven by demand not
supply.

14. Advantages of JIT
 Reduced
costs of holding stock reduced
 More factory space available for
productive use
 Avoids overproduction of goods
 Reduction in waste, obsolete (old) and
damaged stock
 Improves cash flow since money is not
tied up in stock
 Cost savings from all of the above

15. Problems with JIT
 Rely
on suppliers to deliver when agreed but
what happens if:






Supplier goes out of business?
Bad weather?
Road congestion?
Strike by workers?
Machine break down?
Advantages of bulk buying may be lost – also extra
cost of ordering more often

16. Waste Management
 Waste
is anything which creates
inefficiency in the production process:
 Overproduction
– only produce what is
needed
 Stocking too much raw materials and
components – use JIT
 Reworking defective products – need zero
defects
 Scrap – that has to be thrown out
 Movement around factory – keep things close
together – optimise factory layout