The concept of quality

Question 1

Define quality

Answer 1

A quality product is one that meets the customer’s requirements.

Question 2

How can a business measure quality?

Answer 2

• Customers - customer surveys, feedback (review)
• Mystery visitors - secretly test the product or service
• Staff - can be asked to check the quality of the work at each stage of the process or the end

Question 3

What are the consequences of poor quality?

Answer 3

• Customer dissatisfaction
• Cost of recalling faulty products
• Cost of replacing goods
• Cost of waste
• The cost of goods produced that no one wants
• The cost of legal action is the business is sued for poor quality

Question 4

How can a business maintain quality?

Answer 4

• Reliable and good quality suppliers
• Train staff so they know how to their jobs properly and to the right quality
• Invest in equipment
• Inspect the products at each stage of production - quality assurance
• Involve staff in improving the process to find ways of doing things better and/or removing errors

Question 5

What is quality control?

Answer 5

Quality control is inspecting to find a fault to fix it, done at the end of the process.

Question 6

What is meant by TQM?

Answer 6

TQM looking to prevent mistakes during the process therefore ensuring quality throughout.