1) What is Quality?
Quality means the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils requirements.
Quality do not mean luxury, but rather such concepts as
Conformance to requirements---does the product meet my requirements?
Fitness for use ---is it suitable, or fit for my purpose?
Customer satisfaction-- Will the service delight me?
Value for money --Will the service, or product, of value? (a function of both quality and price)
The late Dr W Edwards Deming said:
“Good quality does not necessarily mean high quality, it means a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability with a quality suited to the market”
2) What is inspection?
Inspection is examination of a product design, product, service, process or plant, and determination of their conformity with specific requirements or, on the basis of professional judgment, general requirements.
Note 1: Inspection of processes includes personnel, facilities, technology and methodology.
Note 2: The results of inspection may be used to support certification.
3) What are the difference between Quality Control(QC) and Quality Assurance(QA)?
Quality control focuses on the amount of work:
Places emphasis on inspection and checking
Take out the scrap
The role of the inspector if to check the work of others
Quality assurance focuses on the way work is done:
Work to systems and procedures
Design quality in where possible and follow a particular method
This helps consistency and conformance
4) What are the costs of poor quality?
Most experts on the costs of poor quality estimate losses in range of 20 to 30 percent of gross sales for defective or unsatisfactory products. There are 4 major categories of costs are associated with quality management:
Prevention costs- Costs associated with preventing defects before they happen. They include
a:Consultant fees
b:The cost of redesigning the process to remove the causes of poor quality.
c:The cost of redesigning the product to make it simpler to produce
d:The cost of training the employees in the methods of continuous improvement
e:The cost of working with the suppliers to increase the quality of purchased items or contracted services. And so on.
Inspection costs—Costs incurred in assessing the level of quality, including system assessment/audit, products or services inspection, testing and so on.
Internal failure costs- The costs resulting from defects that are discovered during the production of a product or service. Include yield losses (Scrapped), rework costs,
External failure costs—the cost that arises when a defect is discovered after the customer received the product or service.
5) Will improved quality cost more?
It has been said that “Quality is Free” (Philip Crosby). The implication being that quality improvements arise from:
Waste reduction
Eliminating rework and repair
Eliminating non value-added activities
Hence in the long term quality should not cost the organization more.
6) What is critical defect, major defect and minor defect?
Defects found in inspection are usually classified into three categories: critical defects, major defects and minor defects:
Critical non-conformity (defect):
Non-conformity(defect) which experience and the judgment indicates is likely to result in a hazardous and injurious situation to the user, or makes the product subject to legal seizure, or not comply with any mandatory regulations(standards) or as per the customer's requirements
Major non-conformity (defect):
Non-conformity (defect) other than Critical is like to result in failure, or to reduce materially the usability of the unit for its intended purpose, or having an obvious aesthetic non-conformity (defect) which affect the salability of the products and lessens the value or as per the customer's requirements. A major problem will in all probability result in the customer returning the product for exchange or refund thus affecting the customer or product reputation.
Minor non-conformity (defect)
Non-conformity (defect) is that not likely to reduce the usability of the product for its intended purpose or is departure from established standards, having little bearing on the effective use of the products. or as per the customer's requirements. A minor problem may give a degree of consumer dissatisfaction. Several Minor problems together may lead to the customer returning the item.
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7) What is the most widely accepted inspection standard
The most widely accepted inspection standard is MIL-STD-105E which equivalents in all nationals and international standardization organizations such as BS 6001, ABC 105, ANSI/ASQ Z1.4, NFX 06-022, ISO 2859, DIN 40.080.
These standards are developed based on mathematical theories of probability and offer the advantage of clearly defining the number of samples to be drawn for inspection from a given lot or consignment. Specify the maximum number of defective items allowed in the sample size
8) How to assess the performance of suppliers / subcontractors?
In principle and in practice, there is no difference between a "supplier" and a "subcontractor". ISO 9001:2000 uses the term "supplier" to mean a person or an organization that provides a product (this includes the provision of services). In contractual situations (for example in the construction industry), these suppliers are often referred to as "contractors" or "subcontractors" depending on their position in the supply chain.
Supplier evaluation should always be planned based on a risk assessment approach that is specific to each organization:
To what extent do the goods and/or services being provided by the supplier affect the organization's own ability to provide conforming product?
What is important for one organization may be irrelevant to another.Evaluating the performance of the supplier of plastic cups may be totally irrelevant for a construction company, but for a fast-food chain it could be critical in determining customer satisfaction!
What is the historical and actual performance of the supplier?
a: It may be possible to consider traditional suppliers as "qualified" based on their past performance, but re-evaluation still has to be carried out at appropriate intervals, depending on the ongoing performance, and adjustments made accordingly. Remember that this is not just "because ISO 9001 requires it" - it is sound business sense.
b: In the case of good performance by the supplier, it may be possible to reduce or even eliminate the need for incoming inspection of purchased goods.
c: Conversely, in the case of poor or deteriorating performance, it may be necessary to increase inspections of incoming product, monitor supplier processes on-site, or carry out specific supplier audits, until the situation is resolved
To what extent can the goods and/or services be inspected prior to use?
Situations may arise where the organization has little confidence in its supplier's ability to meet the purchase requirements, but circumstances dictate that no other alternative suppliers are available. In these cases, it might be necessary to conduct 100% inspection of the supplier's work, or even monitor the supplier's processes by in-house inspectors or on-site monitoring.
The following aspects could be considered in assessing the performance and control of suppliers and sub-contractors:
evaluation of supplier's experience relative to the scope of supply
evidence of performance compared with that of competitors
review of historical performance in terms of purchased product,service quality, price, delivery performance and response to problems,
audit of supplier's management system and evaluation of their technical capability to provide the required products
This could include a review of third-party certifications (check that the scope is relevant!), or may necessitate a second-party audit to be carried out.
checking supplier references and available data on customer satisfaction,
financial assessment to assure the viability of the supplier throughout the intended period of supply and cooperation, supplier response to queries, quotations and tendering
supplier awareness of and compliance with relevant statutory and regulatory requirements
supplier's logistic capability including locations and resources
9) How to measure customer satisfaction effectively?
Although ISO 9001:2000 does not explicitly require the measurement of customer satisfaction, feedback from the customer is one of the primary performance indicators that can be used to judge the overall effectiveness of the QMS.
It is important, therefore, for the organization to ensure that:
a: inputs to this process include relevant, representative and reliable data
b: the data is analyzed effectively, and
c: the output from this process provides useful information to the management review and other QMS processes, to enhance customer satisfaction and drive continual improvement.
Planning of the customer feedback process should define and implement data- collection methods, including information sources, frequency of collection and data analysis reviews. There are many ways for an organization to monitor its customers' perceptions, depending on the nature of its business. Some examples of techniques the organization can use include:
face-to-face evaluations, which may be appropriate in many service organizations such as hotels - "How was your stay with us?" or restaurants - "I hope you enjoyed your dinner..."
telephone calls or visits made periodically or after delivery of products and services
questionnaires or surveys carried out by the organization itself, or by independent market researchers
other contacts with customers, for example by service or installation personnel
internal enquiries among the organization's personnel who are in contact with customers
evaluation of repeat business
monitoring accounts receivable, warranty claims, etc.
customer complaints analysis
Often complaints are the only spontaneous feedback received from customers, and these should be analysed for any trends, key concerns, impacts etc.. It must be stressed, however, that customer complaints cannot be the only input for monitoring customer perceptions. |
