QUALITY SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT
LECTURE NOTES
, CONTENTS
Chapter Title Page No.
I QUALITY CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION 5
II QUALITY CONTROL AND INSPECTION 19
III TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT 30
IV BENCHMARKING 38
V QUALITY CIRCLES 50
VI ISO 9000 & 14000 QUALITY STANDARDS 74
VII CE MARKING 95
VIII SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSURANCE 101
, CHAPTER - I
QUALITY CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION
OBJECTIVE
Quality can refer to:
1. A specific characteristic of an object
2. The essence of an object
3. The achievement or excellence of an object The meaning of excellence itself
So the quality of something depends on the criteria being applied to it. Something might be
good because it is useful, because it is beautiful, or simply because it exists. Determining or finding
quality therefore involves an understanding of use, beauty and existence - what is useful, what is beau-
tiful and what exists.
Learning objectives: - This chapter mainly deals with (1) Definition of “quality” and its
importance (2) Quality Characteristics etc.
Introduction
Every manufacturing organization is concerned with the quality of its product. As quantum
of production is met by planned production schedule, it is also essential that the products meet the
specifications. Customer is always interested in quality products.
“Quality” has been generally defined as “fitness for use”. This means that the product or
service meets the customer’s needs, i.e., the product is fit for the customer’s use. Fitness for use is
related to the value received by the customer and his satisfaction. Only the customer and not the
producer can determine the value of the product.
Fitness for use is a relative concept, which varies from one customer to another. For example,
while one customer may consider a Ford automobile perfectly fit for use, another may not. Each person
defines quality in relation to his or her own needs.
From the producer’s view point, variation in quality cannot be tolerated. The producer must
specify quality as concretely as possible and then strive to meet those specifications. Whether the
resulting product is fit for use or not will then be judged by the customer.
Quality is generally more difficult to define for services than for manufactured products.
Whether the product is a service or goods, however, the following dimensions of quality may be taken
into consideration.
Quality of design
Quality of conformance
The “abilities”
Field service.
5
, Quality of design is determined before the product is produced. In a manufacturing company,
this determination is usually the primary responsibility of the engineering department, along with marketing
and operations. In service organisations, quality of design is handled by the personnel responsible for
designing services.
Quality of design is determined by market research, design concept and specifications. Market
research is ordinarily aimed at determining the customer’s needs. Since there are different ways to
meet these needs, a particular design concept must be developed. For example, the customer may
need inexpensive and energy – efficient transportation – a need that can be met by a large number of
different automobiles, each representing a different design concept. The design concept then results
in a set of specification for the product, e.g., blueprint, bill of materials, or service specification.
Quality of conformance means producing a product to meet the specifications. When the
product conforms to specifications, it is considered by operations as a quality product even though
the quality of design may be low. For example, an inexpensive pair of shoes will have high “quality” if
they are made according to specifications, and they will have low “quality” if they do not meet
specifications. Quality of design and quality of conformance thus represent two different uses of the
term “quality”.
Another aspect of quality involves the so-called abilities: availability, reliability and
maintainability. Each of these terms has a time dimension and thus extends the meaning of “quality”
beyond the beginning or starting quality level. The addition of time to the definition of quality is, of
course, necessary to reflect the fitness for continued use by the customer.
“Availability” defines the continuity of service to the customer. A product is available if it is
in an operational state and not in disuse due to repairs or maintenance. In the army, availability is
equated with operational readiness. Availability can be measured quantitatively as follows:
Uptime
Availability =
Uptime + Downtime
“Reliability” refers to the length of time that a product can be used before it fails. Formally
speaking, reliability is the probability that a product will function for a specified period of time without
failure. The reliability of a light bulb for 1000 hours might, for example, be 80 percent. In this case, if
many light bulbs are tested for 1000 hours, 80 percent of them will burn the entire time and 20 percent
will fail. The reliability of a product is also related to Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), which is
just the average time that the product functions from one failure to the next. The longer the MTBF,
the more reliable the product.
“Maintainability” refers to the restoration of a product to service once it has failed. All
customers consider maintenance or repairs a nuisance. Thus a high degree of maintainability is desired
so that a product can be restored to use quickly. Maintainability can be measured by the Mean Time
To Repair (MTTR) the product.
6
MANAGEMENT
LECTURE NOTES
, CONTENTS
Chapter Title Page No.
I QUALITY CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION 5
II QUALITY CONTROL AND INSPECTION 19
III TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT 30
IV BENCHMARKING 38
V QUALITY CIRCLES 50
VI ISO 9000 & 14000 QUALITY STANDARDS 74
VII CE MARKING 95
VIII SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSURANCE 101
, CHAPTER - I
QUALITY CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION
OBJECTIVE
Quality can refer to:
1. A specific characteristic of an object
2. The essence of an object
3. The achievement or excellence of an object The meaning of excellence itself
So the quality of something depends on the criteria being applied to it. Something might be
good because it is useful, because it is beautiful, or simply because it exists. Determining or finding
quality therefore involves an understanding of use, beauty and existence - what is useful, what is beau-
tiful and what exists.
Learning objectives: - This chapter mainly deals with (1) Definition of “quality” and its
importance (2) Quality Characteristics etc.
Introduction
Every manufacturing organization is concerned with the quality of its product. As quantum
of production is met by planned production schedule, it is also essential that the products meet the
specifications. Customer is always interested in quality products.
“Quality” has been generally defined as “fitness for use”. This means that the product or
service meets the customer’s needs, i.e., the product is fit for the customer’s use. Fitness for use is
related to the value received by the customer and his satisfaction. Only the customer and not the
producer can determine the value of the product.
Fitness for use is a relative concept, which varies from one customer to another. For example,
while one customer may consider a Ford automobile perfectly fit for use, another may not. Each person
defines quality in relation to his or her own needs.
From the producer’s view point, variation in quality cannot be tolerated. The producer must
specify quality as concretely as possible and then strive to meet those specifications. Whether the
resulting product is fit for use or not will then be judged by the customer.
Quality is generally more difficult to define for services than for manufactured products.
Whether the product is a service or goods, however, the following dimensions of quality may be taken
into consideration.
Quality of design
Quality of conformance
The “abilities”
Field service.
5
, Quality of design is determined before the product is produced. In a manufacturing company,
this determination is usually the primary responsibility of the engineering department, along with marketing
and operations. In service organisations, quality of design is handled by the personnel responsible for
designing services.
Quality of design is determined by market research, design concept and specifications. Market
research is ordinarily aimed at determining the customer’s needs. Since there are different ways to
meet these needs, a particular design concept must be developed. For example, the customer may
need inexpensive and energy – efficient transportation – a need that can be met by a large number of
different automobiles, each representing a different design concept. The design concept then results
in a set of specification for the product, e.g., blueprint, bill of materials, or service specification.
Quality of conformance means producing a product to meet the specifications. When the
product conforms to specifications, it is considered by operations as a quality product even though
the quality of design may be low. For example, an inexpensive pair of shoes will have high “quality” if
they are made according to specifications, and they will have low “quality” if they do not meet
specifications. Quality of design and quality of conformance thus represent two different uses of the
term “quality”.
Another aspect of quality involves the so-called abilities: availability, reliability and
maintainability. Each of these terms has a time dimension and thus extends the meaning of “quality”
beyond the beginning or starting quality level. The addition of time to the definition of quality is, of
course, necessary to reflect the fitness for continued use by the customer.
“Availability” defines the continuity of service to the customer. A product is available if it is
in an operational state and not in disuse due to repairs or maintenance. In the army, availability is
equated with operational readiness. Availability can be measured quantitatively as follows:
Uptime
Availability =
Uptime + Downtime
“Reliability” refers to the length of time that a product can be used before it fails. Formally
speaking, reliability is the probability that a product will function for a specified period of time without
failure. The reliability of a light bulb for 1000 hours might, for example, be 80 percent. In this case, if
many light bulbs are tested for 1000 hours, 80 percent of them will burn the entire time and 20 percent
will fail. The reliability of a product is also related to Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), which is
just the average time that the product functions from one failure to the next. The longer the MTBF,
the more reliable the product.
“Maintainability” refers to the restoration of a product to service once it has failed. All
customers consider maintenance or repairs a nuisance. Thus a high degree of maintainability is desired
so that a product can be restored to use quickly. Maintainability can be measured by the Mean Time
To Repair (MTTR) the product.
6
