Quality Control Introduction Deming, W. Edwards (1900-1993), was an American management consultant. His teachings were considered a leading influence in the revival of the Japanese economy after Japan's defeat in World War II (1939-1945). In the 1980's, major corporations in the United States and other countries began to adopt his principles. Deming developed quality control and management systems that emphasized solving problems through cooperation between workers and management. He said that quality should be stressed at each step of the manufacturing process. He also maintained that most product defects and service problems result from faults in management rather than from the carelessness of workers. William Edwards Deming was born in Sioux City, Iowa. He received a doctor's degree in mathematical physics from Yale University in 1928. He was a mathematical physicist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1927 to 1939. During World War II, he taught engineers how to use statistics to increase the production of war supplies. 1
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Quality Control
Introduction
Deming, W. Edwards (1900-1993), was an American management consultant. His
teachings were considered a leading influence in the revival of the Japanese economy
after Japan's defeat in World War II (1939-1945). In the 1980's, major corporations in
the United States and other countries began to adopt his principles.
Deming developed quality control and management systems that emphasized solving
problems through cooperation between workers and management. He said that quality
should be stressed at each step of the manufacturing process. He also maintained that
most product defects and service problems result from faults in management rather than
from the carelessness of workers.
William Edwards Deming was born in Sioux City, Iowa. He received a doctor's degree
in mathematical physics from Yale University in 1928. He was a mathematical physicist
at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1927 to 1939. During World War II, he
taught engineers how to use statistics to increase the production of war supplies.
In 1950, a group of Japanese scientists and engineers invited Deming to Japan to lecture
on principles of quality control. Some Japanese companies that applied his methods
increased their productivity and earned large profits, and his ideas spread. In addition to
his work as a management consultant, Deming was a professor of statistics at New York
University from 1946 to 1993.
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Quality Control
Concept of Quality Control
What is control?
Control, as an essential aspect of management, arises from the inherent imperfections of
things and people, both within a particular plant and outside of it in the form of suppliers
and customers.
What is Quality?
According to Professors Westing, Fine and Zenz, “Quality is an expression of the
measured properties, conditions or characteristics of a product or process, usually stated
in terms of grades, classes or specifications and determined by the application that is
involved.
Quality of a product, object or process refers to its
I. Characteristics
II. Attributes
III. Properties, and
IV. Conditions
Which are stated either in terms of certain specification or gradation and is determined by
the user by its application who ultimately determine the
I. Demand
II. Utility, and
III. Price of the product, object or process in terms of the quality which he
receives for his use.
What is quality control?The examination of output data to ensure that it has been properly processed and meets
established accuracy standards.
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Quality Control
Why Quality Control?
Quality conveys different meanings to different people. But for everyone, one thing is
common i.e. the quality must be such which may satisfy the purchaser and may,
therefore, be helpful in fulfilling the need for which the purchaser has gone for the
purchaser is interested in going for a standard material but the standard should conform to
his specifications.
The purchaser- whether industrial, commercial or ultimate consumer, today they are more
conscious to realize his money’s worth. What he spends, he must get back in terms of
utility gained (and satisfaction too). While buying, a purchaser wants to be sure that what
he is buying is worth the money he is going to spend. The industries, there fore, are today
faced with the problem of satisfying their ultimate consumer and hence they are required
to make sure that whatever they are sending to the market will be gladly accepted and is a
quality product which is able to stand the competition in the market.
Quality control is an area wherein imperfections of a product, object or process are
detected and correctives applied. Imperfections in a product, object or process are usually
inborn. Perfection neither possible nor expected. Quality never refers to perfection in all
respects. Quality is not absolute in value but it is relative. This does not mean that quality
control is not necessary. It is necessary to guard against inherent imperfections. Everyone
in the organization, therefore, has to exert his maximum to see that these imperfections
are reduced to the minimum and control is tightened at all points so that the quality of the
product, object or process may at least be maintained, if not improved.
Statistically, quality control is a set of formulae, exercises and tests, which help the
controller to examine the products, etc., to know whether they conform to the standards
prescribed for them. To a scientist, quality control is a laboratory analysis, which helps in
determining the properties of the product, etc., and in giving a generalized view regarding
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the quality to which he has arrived at after conduction vigorous laboratory tests. But to an
ordinary and practical common man quality control is simply a conceptual expression,
which certainly goes a long way in assuring him about the product’s utility, want-
satisfying capacity and the price.
A producer, on the other hand, is interested in increasing his turnover and maximizing his
profits. He is the man who has to measure the quality of his product in terms of the
economic value of his product, which he is pumping in the pipeline. His measurement
relates to:
1. Utility of the product vis-à-vis its price;
2. Cost of production of the product vis-à-vis the price received; and
3. The product pumped into the market vis-à-vis the competitive product in relation
to its utility, price, and cost of production and market acceptability.
The above economic and competitive factors give rise to quality management of the
product, object or process. The market is important so far as the producer is concerned.
To a producer, therefore, quality control means not only formulae, exercise, simple and
laboratory tests utility or wants-satisfying capacity of his product but it means to him a
composite value of quality which should be in conformity to the requirements of the
market in respect of:
1. Design,
2. Functional use, and
3. Acceptability.
In short, today quality has become crucial hinge for business success or failure. So
quality control must be structured explicitly and measurably so as to contribute to
business profitability and positive cash flow.
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Quality Control
STAGES OF QUALITY CONTROL
The quality control can be divided into five stages:
1. Receiving stage.
2. Inspection stage.
3. Main stores stage.
4. Production stage.
5. Design and Development stage.
1. Receiving stage:
Quality control at receiving stage signifies visual inspection of materials received
with a view to early detection of some major defects apparently visible in the
incoming materials. Such a procedure keeps the receiving section vigilant and saves a
great amount of extra labour and money, which might be spent while going for the
detailed inspection.
2. Inspection stage:
Quality control by inspection of incoming materials before they are stocked is one of
the most important controlling stages, which obviously goes a long way in
maintaining the quality of the product stored and pumped in the production pipeline.
Inspection refers to the critical examination of materials bought and later stored and
then used in the production process. It is the inspection stage at which the goods are
accepted if they are suitable for the purpose. Hence, in the inspection the incoming
materials are accepted if they are of proper quality and vice- versa.
3. Main stores stage:
Storage preserves and maintains the quality of materials stored and keeps the quality
intact till materials are issued to the user departments. A vigilant, responsible and
dynamic storekeeper helps in keeping the stored materials in serviceable condition.
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He, therefore, is responsible for controlling the quality of materials till they are in his
custody. A vigilant storekeeper may not allow the materials to deteriorate and take
appropriate action whenever it is needed. He will also not allow the issue clerk to
issue the materials, which have developed some defects during storage. Thus he will
save the organisation’s valuable time and money by sopping the supply of the
materials deteriorated resulting in production of sub-standard items. At this stage too
he, thus, contributes his mite to control the quality. For effective quality control at
this stage the management of the organization must help his stores personnel in the
following way:
By assisting them in identifying key quality tasks within the stores.
By giving them proper training.
By helping them in checking that the space is adequate for effective
internal transportation and storage of materials.
By assisting them in finding and overcoming bottlenecks, which restrict
operation.
By assisting them in spotting to what extent the techniques are likely to
produce results.
By assisting them in creating a climate of gaining enthusiastic co-
operation from all concerned at all levels.
And lastly, they should feel that they are part of the organization and their
involvement is necessary for the organization.
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Quality Control
4. Production stage:
Though controlling the quality at the production stage is not the direct responsibility
of the purchase department or stores department but it is equally necessary that at
production stage too the quality of the materials being used is controlled so that the
end-product’s quality is ensured. For this a method and special skill is required to
ensure a proper examination of the products in process and to get the quality
inspected, examined and correctives, if required, applied at the process stage itself.
This will save the production department form unnecessary embarrassment after the
end-product is finally examined by the quality controller. This will also enable the
production department to detect the faults timely and take corrective actions the
moment they are detected. This surely will reduce the scrap and thus affect
favourably the cost of production.
5. Design and Development stage:
The responsibility of design and development department is:
To develop the product,
To design the product,
To prescribe the standard of the product, and
To prescribe specifications.
It is the standard, design and specifications, which form the manufacturing of a product.
Final products coming out of the manufacturing unit conform to such specification
standards and design. Thus need of quality control at design and development stage
cannot be overemphasized since it is at this stage that the quality of the product to be
manufactured is prescribed and then often checked according to predetermined
prescriptions. This checking goes a long way in maintaining the quality of the product
coming in the market for the use of commercial industrial or ultimate consumer.
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Quality Control
Advantages of Quality Control
Both buyers and sellers are benefited by a good quality control. The following are the
principle advantages of a good quality system:
Suppliers quality control system reduces the buyer’s inspection cost and his
confidence in the reliability of the supplier increases.
Minimum possible refection and wider acceptance of the supply is made possible
by the supplier’s good and effective quality control system. This again helps in
establishing good buyer-seller relations.
Minimum inspection time and effort help the vendor as well as purchaser in
delivering and receiving the supply at a lower cost.
Prospects of zero defects increase. Zero defects prevent defects “by developing a
deep concern and personal awareness on the part of each employee in most cases
by employee identification with each unit produced.
Scraps are minimized and wastages are reduced due to quality control. As a result
cost gets reduced and profit goes up.
Goodwill of both vendor and purchaser goes high, as there are fewer difficulties
and problems in the market for the quality product.
Quality consciousness is developed resulting in benefit to all concerned- the
vendor, the purchase and the ultimate consumer.
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Quality Control
It results in reduction of locked up capital due to decrease in inventory.
Accumulation of absolute materials is reduced to the minimum.
Over and under-stocking seldom comes to the fore resulting in rapidity of
turnover of materials.
Sometimes inspection at purchaser’s end is eliminated if with each consignment
the vendor’s certificate and statistical data regarding the quality of supply is
enclosed. In western countries the practice of certified quality control, quality
certification or vendor’s certification is followed. This helps in elimination of
inspection if, of course, the buyer believes in such certification; he has no reason
to disbelieve unless he has an experience which has shattered his faith and trust in
the suppliers certification.
In today’s competitive environment, all organizational activities are directed
toward the satisfaction of customer requirements, since satisfied customers fuel
revenue, growth, and prosperity. Customers define the quality of the products and
services that they receive, and the organizations can meet those expectations
through quality control programme.
Quality control is particularly important to multi-national Fast Moving Consumer
Goods (FMCG) companies due to their global presence, large array of important
brands to protest and complex supply chain.
Quality can influence a company’s culture and its image as perceived by
consumers and customers, and can be a tool for value creation.
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Quality Control
The 9 M’s: Fundamental Factors Affecting Quality
The quality of products and services is directly influenced in nine basic areas i.e. markets,
money, management, men, motivation, materials, machines and mechanization, modern
information methods and mounting product requirements.
1. Market:
The number of new and improved products offered in the marketplace continues
to grow at an explosive rate. Many of these products are an outgrowth of new
technologies involving not only the product itself but the materials and methods
by which it is manufactured. As market broaden in scope, the scope of goods and
services become more and more specialized. Therefore it is necessary for the
businesses to be highly flexible and be able to respond rapidly and appropriately
in different markets worldwide.
2. Money:
As competition has increased, profit margins have decreased. Automation forced
companies to spend heavily on new equipment's and processes. To absorb these
costs productivity has to the increased, which means loss production, reworks,
and scrap has to be kept to the minimum. Quality costs have to keep low which
mean cost saving due to quality improvement has to be kept in prime focus.
3. Management:
Today responsibility for product quality has to be distributed among various
functions. Eg: Design for quality of product design. Manufacturing for process
quality, service for after sales quality and marketing for establishing the quality of
the new product required. This means that top management must ensure proper
allocation of responsibilities to all to achieve the organization goals.
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Quality Control
4. Men:
The rapid growth of technology and opening of new fields have created a great
demand for workers with specialized knowledge. This specialization of people
has created a need for persons who can bring together this knowledge to plan and
create operating systems that will bring the desired results.
5. Motivation:
The increased complexity of the product means that every employee has to give
his best if quality is to be maintained. This requires that Quality consciousnesses
among employees are high. This can be achieved only through continuous
education and motivation of the work force. Motivation therefore needs to be on
the top of the-agenda for any management team of an organization.
6. Materials:
Due to high material costs engineers have to constantly come up with ways to
bring down the cost of material used. They also need to come up with new
alternate materials that can replace costlier older material. In this way the cost of
the product will go down and quality product can be made available to the
consumer at reasonable price.
7. Machines and Mechanization:
The demand to cut costs is forcing companies to use newer machines, which will
deliver better quality and product using lesser cycle times. Further the machines
need to deliver higher quantities also to keep production costs low. This means
maintaining of these machines also becomes critical as any and only down time of
these machines leads to increased costs.
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8. Modern Information Methods:
With the spread of computers, data collection, storage retrieval and transmission
of information have become easy. This also means that the right information can
be given to the right person at his workplace. In addition, the new and constantly
improving methods of data processing have helped the management to acquire
useful, accurate, timely, and predictive information. Such useful, accurate, timely
information will help the management to take right decisions.
9. Mounting Product Requirements:
Increased complexity and higher performance requirements for products have
emphasized the importance of product safety and reliability. Constant attention
must be given to make certain that no factors, known or unknown, enter the
process to decrease the reliability of components or systems.
From the above, it can be seen that there are many factors affecting Quality and
organizations must continually change to keep pace with these requirements.
As responsible citizens it is our duty to demand Quality from our suppliers and deliver
Quality to our customers.
Quality is an endless journey. It is like walking towards the horizon. No matter how
much far you walk, it does not change where the horizon is.
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Principles- To Enhance Quality
Successful businesses inevitably place great emphasis on managing quality control. For
this careful and planned steps are taken to ensure that the products and services offered to
their customers are consistent and reliable and truly meet their customers' needs.
Multinational corporations and other business organization have entire departments of
highly trained specialists to design and implement their quality control programs. In order
to develop or improve a quality control program, it is necessary to quality
management principles.
The principles are as follows:
1. Customer-Focused Organization:
Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current
and future customer needs, meet customer requirements, and strive to exceed
customer expectations.
2. Leadership:
Leaders are needed to establish unity of purpose, direction, and the internal
environment of an organization. They must try to create such environment in
which people can become fully involved in achieving the objectives of the
organization.
3. Involvement of People:
People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement
enables their abilities to be used for the benefit of the organization.
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4. Process Approach:
A desired result is achieved more efficiently when related resources and activities
are managed as a process.
5. System Approach to Management:
Identifying, understanding, and managing a system of interrelated processes for a
given objective contributes to the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization.
6. Improvement as regular practice:
Continual improvement is a permanent objective.
7. Factual Approach to Decision Making:
Effective decisions and actions are based on the logical and intuitive analysis of
data and information.
8. Supplier Relationship:
Relationship between the organization and its suppliers has to be mutually
beneficial that will enhance the ability of both organizations to add value.
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QC Tool’s
Checksheet:
The function of a checksheet is to present information in an efficient, graphical format.
This may be accomplished with a simple listing of items. However, the utility of the
checksheet may be significantly enhanced in some instances, by incorporating a depiction
of the system under analysis into the form.
Pareto Chart:
Pareto charts are extremely useful because they can be used to identify those factors that
have the greatest cumulative effect on the system, and thus screen out the less significant
factors in an analysis. Ideally, this allows the user to focus attention on a few important