Phases of quality

(1) Requirements quality (quality of transmitting the expectations of the

user from the market): It expresses the main lines of consumer
requirements which can be assessed from the market study. This phase
is considered the basis on which all the coming quality stages will be
built.
(2) Specifications quality (design quality): It expresses the main lines
of product specifications (work output) according to determining the
size and kind of required resources (inputs). Of course, design quality
should express the needs and requirements of work.
(3) Operations quality (quality of conformance with the design
during implementation): It means the ability of production
operations to be carried out and also their accuracy to obtain a final
product that is exactly conforming to the specifications of design
quality.
(4) Performance quality (quality of product performance in doing
its function): It means the ability of the product to satisfy the
requirements of the customer as compared to other competing
products in the market. It should be noticed in the case of the product
having multi-functions to be performed for the consumer, such
functions should be arranged according to its importance to the
customer. This arrangement should be taken into consideration when
implementing the quality of execution according to the design quality.
(5) Continuity of quality (reliability) : It means sustainability of the
product to perform its functions at the same quality along its life span
taking into consideration the operational circumstances and
maintenance requirements from the customers point of view. In
consequence:
Quality continuity = quality at the time of delivery + warrantee and
validity period
Quality control
I.

II.

Nature of quality control: Quality control concerns the specific

design of the product and the extent to which this design is
implemented during the production operations, and quality control on
the raw materials (production inputs), as well. Therefore, quality
control is one of the major objectives of the organization where it
represents its new philosophy. In addition, its program should
accredited on the basis that every functional department in the
organization plays its own role in achieving the anticipated quality of
the products (preventing defects or errors).
Defining quality control: Based on the previous concept, quality
control can be defined as the processes of controlling the specifications
and characteristics of production inputs and operations, and finally the
final product to make sure it conforms with the specified specifications.

Steps of quality control program: These steps can be

summarized as follows:
(1) Defining and revising the required specifications.

(2) Analyzing the production operations throughout identifying the

production approaches and the path for each material throughout that
operation.
(3) Inspection and examination: This can be throughout defining the
measuring approaches and how to run a test.
(4) Collecting and analyzing the data required for quality control charts.
(5) Comparing the obtained results with the specification and determining
the sources of deviations , if found.
(6) Implementing the appropriate corrective procedures that are capable
of treating deviations, if exists.
Barriers to success of total quality management programs
1. Overt disconnection of total quality management programs to the
organizations strategy, thus focusing on specific techniques and
neglecting the system as a whole. What
2. Trying to apply the program of total quality management once instead
of applying on narrow scale at the beginning and extending later.
What
3. Limiting programs to just training where organizations train their
workers only doing without evaluating the positive outcome after
training. Why
4. Doing without the contribution of the consumers to the design of the
new products which contradicts the overall objective of total quality
which is achieving quality as seen by the consumer himself. Who
5. The negative role played by the middle management workers owing to
their fear from releasing their authorities to the lower levels in the
organization. Where
6. Hurrying obtaining results, consequently stopping the programs owing
to not obtaining positive results after a short period especially with
high costs of such programs. How much, When
7. Dispensing with quality performance measures as the defect rate and
consumer satisfaction as determinants of wages and paid salaries to
main management workers. How
Entrance of the seven questions:
It is a standardized entrance that asks a group of questions relevant to
the field that is intended to be improved. This entrance relies on the following
interrogation words:
What [aims at knowing what is performed of tasks].
Why [aims at knowing the reason behind doing these works,
consequently excluding the unnecessary ones].
Where [aims at knowing the place where works are done then doing
the best to enhance that location].
When [aims at defining the time of doing works].
Who [aims at defining the appropriate person to do works].
How [aims at defining the most appropriate way to do works and how
to enhance the efficiency of doing them].

 How much [aims at defining the costs of performing works and decide
whether they are appropriate or not].
** Very important note: The above-mentioned questions declare all
the different aspects for improvement [the point of improvement
the reason the location the time the performers the method of
performance the cost]. Consequently, a work team is established
based on the field to be improved and not on all fields. This
represents the guidelines to the performers for quality.
Quality cost management
Quality cost management can be defined as being the cost of the production
that is not conforming to specifications (The costs of preparing and
developing). Quality costs can be classified into the following types:
1.
Protection costs: These are the costs connected with the efforts of
preventing mistakes, i.e. the costs relevant to guaranteeing the production of
the product or service at the required quality from the first trial.
Consequently, these costs take place prior to starting the production such as
the following:
Quality planning: These are the costs of setting the overall plan of
quality and also the specialized plans devoted to quality.
Revision of the new product: these include the costs of auditing and
controlling on quality specifications of the new product, evaluating the
new designs, evaluating the suppliers, the costs of preparing the
marketing studies to determine the quality requirements from the view
point of the customers.
Training: The costs of preparing, developing, and maintaining training
programs for those who implement quality programs.
Quality data: These refer to the costs of collecting, classifying, and
analyzing the quality data, then issuing quality reports.
Examination equipment: The cost of setting and developing the
equipments required for examination and selection.
Evaluation costs: These are the costs relevant to fixing the defects of the
product after production and before it reaches the customer. Examples to
these costs are:
Costs of examination and testing: These are the costs of operating
the quality laboratories in all the stages of production.
Costs of quality control: These are the costs accompanying the
quality system and checking whether they achieve the anticipated
target or not.
3.
Costs of internal failure: These are the costs related to the failure to
achieve the preplanned quality measures which can be discovered before the
product delivery to the consumer. Examples are:
Salvation costs: These are the costs of raw materials of the products
that were not sold out or being fixable.
Costs of reoperation: The costs devoted to reworking for fixing
product defects or errors.
Costs of reexamination: The costs of examining what was reoperated to make sure of its conformance.

 Costs of extra inventory: Where keeping some extra inventory may

take place to compensate for the internal failure, hence the
organization is taking the risk for extra storage cost for that inventory.
Costs of idle manpower: These are represented by the costs of nonworking human resources and also idle periods during the production
owing to the internal failure.
Costs of external failure: These are the carrying costs owing to the failure
of the product or the service to conform to the quality measures. Such failure
is not discovered before the product or service reaches the consumer.
Examples for that are the following:
Warrantee costs: Costs of mending, fixing, exchanging the product
or service or paying its price back to the consumer.
Costs of consumer complaints: This is resembled by the
organization taking the risk for the costs of receiving, analyzing, and
dealing with the problems facing the consumers.
Costs of legal commitments: This is resembled by the organization
taking the risk for the costs of breaking or changing the contracts.
A very important note:
It should be noticed that both costs of protection and evaluation are
just control costs that aim at preventing errors or defects either before or
after production or during production stages. By the time, the costs of both
internal and external failures are expressions of failure in meeting the quality
measures either before of after the delivery to the consumer.
So, total quality costs = control costs + failure costs
= [protection cost + evaluation cost] + [cost of internal failure + cost
of external failure]