Introduction to Quality
Lecture 4
Dr. Rehman Akhtar
Definitions of Quality
What is Quality?
❑ Degree of excellence, or general excellence
(…has quality)
❑ Attribute (…Has many good qualities)
❑ character, or property
Quality
•When the term quality is used, we usually think of an
excellent product or service that fulfills or exceeds our
expectations.
•These expectations are based on the intended use and the
selling price.
For example, a customer expects a different performance from a
plain steel washer than from a chrome-plated steel washer because they
are different grades. When a product surpasses our expectations, we
consider that quality.
•Thus, it is somewhat of an intangible based on perception.
Quality
Quality can be quantified as follows:
Q = P/E
where Q = quality
P = performance
E = expectations
If Q is greater than 1.0, then the customer has a good feeling
about the product or service.
Of course, the determination of P and E will most likely be based
on perception, with the organization determining performance and
the customer determining expectations.
Customer expectations are continually becoming more
demanding.
Defining Quality
The totality of features and
characteristics of a product or service
that bears on its ability to satisfy
stated or implied needs of the
customers
American Society for Quality
Definitions of Quality-Continued
What is Quality?
❑ Quality is conformance to requirements or specifications
(Crosby 1979)
❑ Fitness for use (Juran 1988)
❑ Degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills
requirements (ISO 9000-2000)
• Quality control is the use of techniques and activities to
achieve and sustain the quality of a product or service.
• Quality improvement is the use of tools and techniques to
continually make the product or service better and better.
Dimensions of Quality-Continued
❑ Transcendent (better) definition: excellence
❑ Product-based definition: specific and measurable
attributes of the product (i.e., octane level in
gasoline can be viewed as the variable, the higher
the octane level the higher the quality)
❑ User-based definition: fitness for intended use. –
better performance, more features
❑ Value-based definition: quality vs. price
❑ Manufacturing-based definition: conformance to
specifications/standards, making it right the first
time
Meaning of Quality and Quality Improvement
The Eight Dimensions of Quality
1. Performance
2. Reliability
3. Durability
4. Serviceability
5. Aesthetics
6. Features
7. Perceived Quality
8. Conformance to Standards
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• Performance (Will the product do the intended
job?) Potential customers usually evaluate
• a product to determine if it will perform certain
specific functions and determine how well it
performs them.
• For example, you could evaluate spreadsheet
software packages for a PC to determine which data
manipulation operations they perform.
• You may discover that one outperforms another with
respect to the execution speed (i.e., simulation speed
of softwares/PC).
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• Reliability (How often does the product fail?)
• Complex products, such as many appliances,
automobiles, or airplanes, will usually require some
repair over their service life.
• For example, you should expect that an automobile
will require occasional repair, but if the car requires
frequent repair, we say that it is unreliable.
• There are many industries in which the customer’s
view of quality is greatly impacted by the reliability
dimension of quality.
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• Durability (How long does the product last?)
• This is the effective service life of the product.
• Customers obviously want products that perform
satisfactorily over a long period of time.
• The automobile and major appliance industries are
examples of businesses where this dimension of
quality is very important to most customers.
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• Serviceability (How easy is it to repair the product?)
• There are many industries in which the customer’s
view of quality is directly influenced by how quickly
and economically a repair or routine maintenance
activity can be accomplished.
• Examples include the appliance and automobile
industries and many types of service industries (how
long did it take a credit card company to correct an
error in your bill?).
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• Aesthetics (What does the product look like?)
• This is the visual appeal of the product, often taking
into account factors such as style, color, shape,
packaging alternatives, tactile (connected with sense
of touch) characteristics, and other sensory features.
• For example, soft-drink beverage manufacturers rely
on the visual appeal of their packaging to
differentiate their product from other competitors.
• Tactile: car interior using soft foam padding.
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• Features (What does the product do?)
• Usually, customers associate high quality with
products that have added features—that is, those
that have features beyond the basic performance of
the competition.
• For example, you might consider a spreadsheet
software package to be of superior quality if it had
built-in statistical analysis features while its
competitors did not.
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• Perceived Quality (What is the reputation of the
company or its product?)
• In many cases, customers rely on the past reputation of the
company concerning quality of its products.
• This reputation is directly influenced by failures of the product
that are highly visible to the public or that require product
recalls, and by how the customer is treated when a
quality-related problem with the product is reported.
• Perceived quality, customer loyalty, and repeated business are
closely interconnected.
• For example, if you make regular business trips using a
particular airline, and the flight almost always arrives on time
and the airline company does not lose or damage your luggage,
you will probably prefer to fly on that carrier instead of its
competitors.
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Implications of Quality
1. Company reputation
Perception of new products
Employment practices
Supplier relations
2. Product liability
Reduce risk
3. Global implications
Improved ability to compete
•This is a traditional definition
•Quality of design
•Quality of conformance
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This is a modern definition of quality
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The Transmission Example
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• The transmission example illustrates the utility of this definition
• An equivalent definition is that quality improvement is the
elimination of waste. This is useful in service or transactional
businesses.
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Historical Review
❑ Skilled craftsmanship during Middle Ages
❑ Industrial Revolution: rise of inspection and
separate quality departments
❑ Statistical methods at Bell System (1924)
❑ The American Society for Quality (1946)
❑ Deming (1950)
❑ Juran (1954
Historical Review-Continued
❑ First Quality Control Circles (1960)
❑ 1980s
❑ TQM
❑ Statistical Process Control, SPC
❑ Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
❑ Taguchi
❑ ISO (1990)
❑ Via Internet (2000)
1.2. History of Quality Improvement
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International Quality Standards
ISO 9000 series (Europe/EC)
Common quality standards for products
sold in Europe (even if made in U.S.)
2000 update places greater emphasis
on leadership and customer satisfaction
ISO 14000
Environmental Standard
Core Elements:
Environmental management
Auditing
Performance evaluation
Labeling
Life cycle assessment
ISO 9001-2008
Responsibility for Quality
Customer
Service Marketing
Quality
Packaging and Product Design
Storage Or Engineering
Service
Inspection
and Test Procurement
Process
Production Design
Responsibility for Quality
Marketing
❑ Help to evaluate the level of product quality that a customer
wants, needs..
Design Engineering
❑ Translate the customer’s requirements into operating
characteristics, exact specifications, and appropriate
tolerances
Procurement (finding)
❑ Responsible for procuring (finding) quality materials and
components
Responsibility for Quality
Process Design
❑ Develops processes and procedures that will produce a
quality product/service
Production
❑ Produce quality products and services
Responsibility for Quality
Packaging and Storage
❑ Preserve and protect the quality of the product
Inspection and Test
❑ Appraise the quality of purchased and
manufactured items and to report the results
Service
❑ Fully realizing the intended function of the
product during its expected life
Chief Executive Officer
The highest-ranking executive officer within
a company or corporation, who has
responsibility for overall management of its
day-to-day affairs under the supervision of
the board of directors
Chief Executive Officer
❑ Ultimate responsibility for quality
❑ 35% of the time is spent on quality
❑ Quality performances
Computers & Quality Control
Can be programmed to perform complex
calculations, to control a process or test,
to analyze data, to write reports, and to
recall information on command.
Computers & Quality Control
Benefits:
❑ Information is stored in the computer and
transmitted efficiently to remote
terminals
❑ Information is provided to employee at
the same time the work assignment is
given
❑ Ability to quickly update or change the
information
❑ The probability of fewer errors
Computers & Quality Control
Benefits:
❑ Powerful tool to help in the improvement of
quality
❑ The use of computers in quality is as effective
as the people who create the total system
Computers & Quality Control
Quality functions needs:
❑ Data collection
❑ Data analysis and reporting
❑ Statistical analysis
❑ Process control
❑ Test and inspection
❑ System design
Computers & Quality Control
Data collection:
❑ The decision as to how much data to
collect and analyze is based on the reports
to be issued, the processes to be
controlled, the records to be retained, and
the nature of the quality improvement
program
Computer & Quality Control
Data collection cont’d.:
❑ Computers are well suited for the collection of
data
❑ Faster data transmission, fewer errors, and
lower collection costs can be achieved
❑ Multiple sources of data can be used
❑ Identifiers (database object name) are
necessary for data analysis, report preparation,
and record traceability
Computers & Quality Control
Data analysis and reporting:
❑ Quality info is stored in the computer for
retrieval at a future time, analyzed, reduced,
and disseminated in the form of a report
❑ The analysis, reduction, and reporting are
programmed to occur automatically in the
system
Computers & Quality Control
Data analysis and reporting cont’d.:
❑ Data can be easily summarized
❑ Data can be analyzed as they are being
accumulated and corrective actions are
taken
❑ Analysis of data using tools such as: Pareto,
Histogram, Software programs (Excel),
Charts are made easier
Computers & Quality Control
Statistical analysis:
❑ Use of Statistical packages
❑ The quality engineer can specify a particular
sequence of statistical calculation to use for a
given set of conditions
❑ Time is saved and the calculations are
error-free
Computers & Quality Control
Statistical analysis
❑ Benefits:
❑ No more time-consuming manual calculations
❑ Timely and accurate analysis
Computers & Quality Control
Process control:
❑ Computer programs control the sequence of
events performed during a process cycle
❑ Keep the measurement and control of critical
variables on target with minimum variation
and within acceptable control limits
Computers & Quality Control
Process control cont’d.:
❑ Computer numerically controlled (CNC)
machines, robots, and automatic storage and
retrieval systems (ASRS)
Benefits:
• High productivity (less employees)
• Safer operation for personnel and equipment
Computers & Quality Control
Test and Inspection:
❑ Automated test systems can be programmed
to perform a complete quality audit of a
product
❑ Disadvantage:
● High cost of the equipment
Computers & Quality Control
Test and Inspection:
❑ Advantages offered by computer-controlled
test and inspection System:
❑ Improve test quality
❑ Lower operating cost
❑ Better report preparation
❑ Improve precision
❑ Automatic calibration
❑ Malfunction diagnostics
Computers & Quality Control
System Design (Reading Assignment, Page #33:
❑ The integration of the diverse quality function
with other activities requires an extremely
sophisticated system design
❑ Expert systems are computer programs that
capture the knowledge of experts as a set of
rules and relationships used for such
applications as problem diagnosis
