Understanding Quality Dimensions and Assurance Systems
Understanding Quality
Defining Quality
Comparative Sense (Degree of Excellence): Products are ranked or graded on a relative basis.
Quantitative Sense (Manufacturing/Production): Refers to specific quality levels.
Fitness for Purpose Sense: Evaluates a product’s ability to meet a given need.
Gap Between Perception and Expectation
Customer expectations are shaped by various factors, leading to potential gaps between what is expected and what is perceived.
Factors Influencing Expectations:
- Word of mouth
- Personal needs
- Past experiences
Potential Gaps:
- Management/Expected: Lack of awareness of necessary features.
- Management/Specified: Resource or technical limitations.
- Specified/Delivered: Production defects.
- Delivered/External Communication: Overpromising and under-delivering.
- Expected/Perceived: Unwillingness or inability to realize actual quality.
Dimensions of Quality
Several key dimensions contribute to overall quality:
- Performance: Primary operating characteristics (e.g., speed, sound quality).
- Features: Secondary aspects that supplement basic functions (e.g., additional options).
- Reliability: Probability of malfunction or failure over time.
- Conformance: Adherence to established standards and specifications.
- Durability: Amount of use before breakdown or replacement.
- Serviceability: Ease and speed of repair and maintenance.
- Aesthetics: Appearance, feel, taste, or smell.
- Perceived Quality: Customer’s subjective impression of quality.
Quality Cycle
The quality cycle involves various stages, from customer needs to production and feedback:
- Customer: Specifies quality needs.
- Marketing: Interprets needs and works with customers on product design.
- Engineering: Defines design concepts, specifications, and quality characteristics.
- Operations: Produces products or services.
- Quality Control: Plans and monitors quality.
Why Quality Assurance Systems?
Organizational-wide quality assurance systems ensure quality delivery processes across various departments.
Evolution of Quality Assurance
Quality assurance has evolved from inspection-oriented approaches to process control and system-focused methods.
Inspection-Oriented Assurance:
- Reliance on inspections to achieve quality.
- Limitations: Increased costs, limited effectiveness, delayed feedback.
Process Control-Oriented Assurance:
- Emphasis on controlling and improving manufacturing processes.
- Limitations: May not address issues arising from design, development, or communication.
Key Quality Dimensions
Performance
Performance refers to a product’s primary operating characteristics, which can be objectively or subjectively measured and compared across brands.
Examples:
- Automobiles: Acceleration, cruising speed, noise levels.
- Television Sets: Sound quality, picture quality, color, reception.
Features
Features are secondary aspects that enhance a product’s basic functions and cater to individual needs.
Examples:
- Automobiles: Tinted glasses, lighting, child door locks.
- Television Sets: Multi-system compatibility, recording function, karaoke.
Reliability
Reliability measures the probability of a product malfunctioning or failing within a specific timeframe. It is crucial for products where maintenance and downtime costs are significant.
Conformance
Conformance assesses how well a product’s design and operation meet established standards and specifications.
Durability
Durability refers to the amount of use a product can withstand before requiring replacement. It is closely linked to reliability.
Serviceability
Serviceability encompasses the ease and speed of repair and maintenance, including factors like service personnel competence and response time.
Aesthetics
Aesthetics relate to a product’s appearance, feel, taste, or smell, which are subjective and based on personal preferences.
Perceived Quality
Perceived quality is the customer’s subjective impression of a product’s quality, often influenced by factors like brand reputation and personal experiences.