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A
TERM PAPER
ON
QUALITY ASSURANCE
AS A PART OF FULFILLMENT OF MASTER OF
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
2008-2010
This is to certify that the term paper titled QUALITY ASSURANCE has been
completed by Mr.DEEPAK BHATI ,student of M.B.A.2nd semester in partial
fulfillment of Master of Business Administration Examination 2009. This is a record
of his own work carried out by him under my supervision and guidance.
I would take this opportunity to thank Dr. (Mrs.) MEETA NIHALANI, Head of
the Department, DMS for giving me the opportunity to explore and get acquainted
to the corporate world.
Lastly, I would sincerely like to thank all the staff members and friends for their
valuable suggestions and cooperation given in doing the work on this term paper.
DEEPAK BHATI
M.B.A. 2nd Semester
CHAPTER SCHEME
1. Introduction
2. Evolution of Quality
3. What is Quality Assurance
13.Recommendations
14.Conclusion
15.References
16.Bibliography
INTRODUCTION
Quality assurance is the main pillar of any business. Whatever is the business, either
finance or a storage facility or any service, quality is the most important aspect,
which affects the level of success of the business. Being an entrepreneur, one should
never ever compromise with the quality aspect. The popularity of your product or
service will enhance, only if you provide quality. Low price is also another way to
increase sales. But, if your product or service does not have standard quality, then a
customer will never use it in future, even if it has the lowest price. Thus, you have to
assure the quality of your product or service by conducting some scientific
measures.
Quality assurance, QA, refers to planned and systematic production processes that
provide confidence in a product's suitability for its intended purpose. It is a set of
activities intended to ensure that products (goods and/or services) satisfy customer
requirements in a systematic, reliable fashion. QA cannot absolutely guarantee the
production of quality products, unfortunately, but makes this more likely.
Two key principles characterize QA: "fit for purpose" (the product should be
suitable for the intended purpose) and "right first time" (mistakes should be
eliminated). QA includes regulation of the quality of raw materials, assemblies,
products and components; services related to production; and management,
production and inspection processes.
Why Quality
QualityUp
Processing
Image up
Time down
Service Rework &
cost down Inventory
Scrapcost
Down[assume -goods sold]
Sales down
Volume up Complaint &
Inspection &
test cost down Warranty cost
down
Price(?)
Scale Capital
Competition Productivity
Economies cost down -?
down Up --- meaning?
up
Revenue Operation
up Cost down
Profits up
Bad scrap
Poor evaluation
Management of Design & Quality of customer
Quality during design Manufacturing: ok Still not ok needs
Late 1930s Quality standard and approaches are introduced in France and Japan.
Beginning of SQC, reliability etc
1944 Dodge and Deming carried out seminal work on acceptance sampling
1961 The Martin Co. in USA introduced the zero-defect approach. Quality
motivation started in USA
The most popular tool used to determine quality assurance is the Shewhart Cycle,
developed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. This cycle for quality assurance consists of
four steps: Plan, Do, Check, and Act. These steps are commonly abbreviated as
PDCA.
The four quality assurance steps within the PDCA model stand for:
The term Product Quality Assurance has a very wide scope. Let us try to
understand it. During the entire product lifecycle from concept to
obsolescence, various activities are performed. It is important to assure the
quality at each stage in order to meet the customer requirements consistently.
Given below are the product quality assurance activities at each stage of
product lifecycle
Introduction
In this stage, the concept is developed and the product is designed and
introduced into the market. Product quality assurance plays a critical role
during this stage. It decides the customer requirements and based on that
decides the product requirements. During the design stage, quality control
evaluates and validates the product i.e. the quality control engineer will
compare the product designed with respect to the product and customer
requirements and confirm whether the design would meet them. Once the
product is validated, it is released for manufacturing. Quality control also has
to make sure that the processes being used to manufacture and inspect the
product are correct. They also have to create the standard inspection
procedures, which are used by quality control to do periodic inspection of
the products.
Growth
During this stage, the demand for a product increases and so the quantity of
production increases. At this stage, the role of quality control is to make sure
that in the race to manufacture more, the organization does not compromises
on quality. The processes for higher production have to be implemented.
Since during this stage the competition increases and the costs have to be
kept low, various low cost alternatives are explored. If some processes
involved in manufacturing the product are outsourced then product quality
control also has to ensure that the processes followed by the vendor are
capable of delivering the required quality.
Maturity
During the maturity stage, the competition further increases and the pressure
on margins is felt. Moreover, with various options available, the customers
become more demanding. Value for money is the theme. Role of quality
control almost remains similar to the one during the growth stage.
Decline
During this stage, the alternate products start eating up the market share and
hence sales start declining. Product quality control has a little role to play
during this stage. The most important role to be played during this stage is
planning for the obsolescence of the existing product.
Apart from these roles, some product quality control roles remain active
throughout the life of the product. Product quality audit is one such role
wherein the quality control team does random audits of the products ready to
be dispatched to the customers. This is generally done in order to keep a
check on the entire process of procurement, production, and inspection.
Another such role is handling customer complaint. During the entire life of
the product, there will be customer complaints because of some errors during
the process or due to component quality or due to the misuse of the product.
The product quality control has to find out the root cause of the complaints
and put processes in place to ensure that such occurrences do not get
repeated.
The product should be designed keeping in view the quality goals and needs
of the customers defined in step 1 and step 2 respectively. The cost benefit
analysis also has to be done in order to ensure that the product will be
manufactured at low cost with high quality in order to be successful in the
market.
Once the product design is ready, the next step of QA process is product
testing. The pilot batch of the product is manufactured. The product is tested
for various attributes in accordance with the standards, customer
requirements, and regulatory requirements. This is to ensure that the product
meets the set goals. Once everything is found satisfactory, the product is
approved.
Process Development
Once the product design has been approved, the entire lists of tasks and
activities that will be required for manufacturing the product are listed. The
workflow plan is developed. The teams are formed and given specific
responsibilities. The timelines for each and every task are specified. Process
capability is also measured during this stage of QA process to ensure that the
processes are capable of meeting design requirements.
Start Manufacturing
Once the processes are developed, the required process controls are put in
place. Tools like process failure mode and effects analysis are used to
identify the likely modes of failures of the process and the effect of those
failures on the product performance. Actions are initiated for high-risk items.
Audits are planned to periodically measure the performance and give
feedback to the manufacturing and design department.
During the life of the product, the quality will be periodically monitored
through inspections and audits. These inputs will result in improvements of
the processes or the product design. Customer complaints, if any, will also
act as inputs for product and process corrections and improvements.
Hence, the product quality assurance process plays an important role during
the entire life of the product to ensure that the customer gets a quality
product.
QUALITY ASSURANCES
Quality assurances are very important for the service industry in order to
deliver services in accordance to the expectation of the customers. With so
much competition in the market today, the importance of delivering quality
service cannot be overlooked. However, maintaining and delivering quality
services is not very easy as the expectations and needs of customers are
different and ever-changing. Also, it is difficult to measure quality
parameters in the service industry.
The organization should find the cause of the gap. The entire workforce
should be encouraged to participate in the process so that they can help to
find the root cause of customer complaints and dissatisfaction. The various
departments of the organizations should work proactively to analyze the
present situation.
Plan
Depending upon the gap and the problems, the organization should plan to
achieve its set quality goals. Various teams can be formed in order to address
different areas identified in the gap. These teams should be given a time
target to bridge that gap.
Control
Once the organization achieves its set quality goals, the final step should be
to maintain it consistently. This can only be possible if the changes made to
achieve the target have been made part of the quality systems and are
reviewed periodically.
This type of approach used in service industry for quality assurances is also
known as DMAIC approach, which means Define, Measure, Analyze,
Improve, and Control. The organization can implement these systems on its
own, if it has trained and experienced QA staff. Else, the organization can
hire the QA management services. These services help the organizations to
improve their quality, increase customer satisfaction, train employees, ensure
compliance with standards, market surveys etc. The organizations that have
successfully implemented QA systems benefit from the increased margins,
customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, expansion, and satisfied workforce.
2) Importance of Quality Assurance in Manufacturing
o Improve Quality
It reduces the overall costs to the organization. When the product is right the
first time, there are no rework costs, no wastage of material, no wastage of
manpower, and no disruptions in the production process. There are fewer
claims for warranties and guaranties. In short, the cost of poor quality goes
down. All this reduces the operating costs of the organizations and hence
results in increased operating profits.
o Reputation
Since the organizations are able to manufacture good quality products that
are made according to the requirements of the customers, the market
reputation of those organizations improves. This helps the organizations to
retain the existing customers and get more business from them. At the same
time this also helps them in attracting new customers. These in turn increase
the revenue and profit of the organizations.
The systems implemented to improve quality reduce the cycle time i.e. time
taken for the execution of the orders. If the quality of products is bad then
there will be more customer complaints and more production downtime.
This results in huge loss of time and resources. Hence, if QA systems are
implemented properly in the organization, the order execution time
automatically gets reduced.
o Compliance To Standards
It ensures that the organizations meet all the standards and guidelines
required for different quality management systems like ISO and other quality
certifications awarded to it.In short, to meet customer requirements
effectively and consistently, it is very important for every manufacturing
industry to have a QA department. This will ensure that the efforts and
processes are moving in right direction so that the end product not only
meets but exceeds the customers expectations.
QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE
This involves the inspection of the processes and products or services of the
contractor by representatives of the government. The entire technical and
managerial processes are reviewed to know how the quality systems are
implemented in organizations and how effective they are in delivering good
quality.
Adherence to Contract
Once the entire systems, products or services are reviewed, the next step in
QA surveillance plan is to check whether the products or services conform to
the quality levels and requirements of the contract. If any non-conformance
is observed, the same is reported with the help of non-conformance report.
The cause of low quality is determined. It is determined whether the problem
is due to the negligence of the contractor or due to miscommunication from
the government.
Corrective Action
Based on the results of the inspection, various discussions are held to find
the solution i.e. how the products or services can match to the required
standards. All the shortcomings in the products or services are then corrected
through proper rework as decided so that they conform to the standards of
the government.
Random Inspections
Planned Inspections
Some inspections are planned with the contractor beforehand while chalking
out the quality assurance surveillance plan. What kind of inspection will be
conducted and how it will be done, is also conveyed to the contractor, well in
advance. The outcome of the surveillance is measured against the standard
set in performance worksheet.
Customer Inputs
Sometimes, customer inputs are also treated as method of surveillance. In
this case, the government takes inputs from customers on the quality of
service provided by the contractor and based on that the performance of the
contractor is judged. Properly documented customer complaints become
performance indicator of the contractors work.
100 percent inspection of any work is very rarely done, since it is a very
costly affair. However, in cases of health and safety, it may be unavoidable.
Quality assurance audit is performed in order to ensure that the systems are
in place and being followed religiously to provide good quality to the
customers. It also highlights the need for any improvement in the systems in
order to consistently deliver good quality products or services. The audits are
also performed to make sure that the organization is following the legal and
regulatory requirements. Some audits are conducted by internal auditors
whereas some are performed by external ones.
System Audit
The organization has various systems which when put together make a
whole system. A system audit is an audit performed on any of these systems.
Any non-conformity during a system audit is critical, since if the system
itself is wrong, the output is likely to be wrong.
Department Audit
Process Audit
Conformance Audit
Compliance Audit
The output of the audit is an audit report that is circulated to all the
concerned people. The purpose of any type of QA audit is not to find
mistakes, but to find the areas for improvements. If it is taken by the auditor
and the audited party in this spirit, the organization can be sure that it is on
the path to improvement and will be able to consistently meet all customers,
system, legal or regulatory requirements.
QUALITY CONTROL V/S QUALITY ASSURANCE
Given here are main points of quality control v/s quality assurance
Approach
Sequence
One of the major points of quality control vs. QA is that assurance of quality
is done before starting a project whereas the quality control begins once the
product has been manufactured. During assurance of quality or monitoring
process, the requirements of the customers are defined. Based on those
requirements, the processes and systems are established and documented. All
this is done to ensure that the requirements of the customers are met
stringently. After manufacturing the product, the quality control process
begins. Based on the customer requirements and standards developed during
the quality guarantee process, the quality control personal check whether the
manufactured product meets all those requirements or not. So, assurance of
quality is a proactive or preventive process to avoid defects whereas quality
control is a corrective process to identify the defects in order to correct them.
Activities
Interdependence
Both, quality control and assurance of quality are largely interdependent.
The quality guarantee department relies mostly on the feedback provided by
the quality control department. For example, if there are recurrent problem
with the quality of the products, then the quality control department provides
feedback to the quality monitoring and assurance personnel that there is a
problem in the process or system that is causing product quality problems.
Then the assurance of quality department determines the root cause of the
problem and then brings changes to the process to ensure that there are no
quality issues in future. Similarly, the quality control department follows the
guidelines and standards established by assurance of quality department to
check whether deliverables meet the quality requirements or not. Hence,
both these departments are essential to maintain good quality of the
deliverables.
Although both quality control and quality guarantee are different processes,
but because of their strong interdependence, it becomes difficult to pin point
the differences between the two. In fact, there is a very thin line that
separates the two functions. Moreover in some organizations, one
department performs the functions of both. All this leads to confusion
between quality assurance and quality control.
QUALITY ASSURANCE STANDARDS
The ISO 9001 standard was first published in 1987. The latest edition of the
standard is ISO 90012008, which was released in December 2008. This
edition has minor changes as compared to the earlier one i.e., ISO 90012000.
Systematic Approach
Improved Quality
The systems are integrated in the whole organization to deliver good quality
products or services. This leads to improved quality and less rework. All this
helps the organization to reduce wastage and increase margins.
Customer Satisfaction
The customers trust the organizations that are ISO 9001 certified because
this QA standard certification offers a sort or a assurance of the good
practices and systems in organizations. When customers get good products
or services in accordance to their requirements, their loyalty towards the
organization increases. This results in more business for the organization.
The profits of the organization also increase.
Increased Margins
ISO9001 (Quality)
The quality management system standard that aims to enhance the level of customer
satisfaction through products or services. If you obtain the certification of ISO 9001,
it will help you to enhance not only the level of your quality assurance and customer
satisfaction but also the value of your organization, because it is effective also for
the improvement in your work efficiency and for the reinforcement of your
organizational structure.
ISO14001 (Environment)
ISO 14001 is an environmental management system standard that aims to enable the
simultaneous pursuit of business achievements and contribution to the reduction of
environmental risks and the environment. The certification to this standard will
contribute to the enhancement of confidence by a wide range of stakeholders
(interested parties) and to the enhancement of the value of the organization aspiring
to realize sustainable development.
ISO/TS16949 (Automotive)
The quality management system standard for the automotive industry for evaluating
the organization's management system to see if it is in satisfaction of the
requirements of the standard and the customer specific requirements of each
manufacturer, as well as the regulatory requirements and others. This standard is
such that answers to the requirements of almost all automotive manufacturers in the
world.
OHSAS18001 (Occupational Health and Safety)
This is a standard for occupational health and safety management systems for the
purpose of reducing the number of reduction of occupational accidents and
associated management risks and is adopted by the largest number of organizations
in the world. The introduction of OHSAS 18001 enables the enhancement of the
level of satisfaction by employees and to create a good work environment, to win
the social confidence in the organization.
TL9000 (Telecommunications)
This standard was established by QuEST Forum that was established for the
improvement of quality of telecommunication by the telecommunications industry
mainly of the USA.
The two most important factors for quality assurance of strawberries are temperature
and rapid marketing. Fresh strawberries are one of the most popular items in the
produce case; however, strawberries are also one of the most perishable of fresh
commodities. The berries are very fragile and susceptible to mechanical injury,
their thin skin results in rapid loss of Water in low humidity environments and
strawberries has one of the highest respiration rates of all fresh commodities. For
these reasons, establishment of a successful quality assurance program is essential to
a profitable marketing program for strawberries.
Will quality assurance cost me money? Actually, quality assurance should save you
money. Estimates of losses at wholesale, retail and consumer levels range from 28
to 41% with 9 to 11% at the wholesale and retail levels. The major cause of loss
was grey mold which was associated with bruising and soft or leaky berries. If a
shipper sells 100,000 strawberry trays per month at $6.50 per tray and was able to
cut product losses by 3% (from 7% to 4%) by implementing a successful quality
assurance program, he would save$19,500 per month or $234,000 per year.
Assuming extra costs are incurred with a quality assurance
program of $60,000/year associated with salaries
and$8,000/year, associated with equipment and supplies, the
net increase would be $166,000. Quality assurance can really
pay for itself and also improve product quality to the
customer.
What are the quality factors for strawberries? The factors which are important for
strawberry quality include:
degree of ripeness, generally judged by percentage of pink or red color
gloss, an indication of freshness and absence of water loss
absence of defects such as decay, bruising, and shriveling
flavor, determined by sugars, acidity and flavor volatiles (see Table 1)
berry size and uniformity
firmness, absence of soft, overripe or leaky berries
price and availability
Cooling of berries.
Upon arrival at the cooling facility, pallets should be transported immediately to the
forced-air cooler. Cooler temperature should be maintained at-1 to 0C (30 to 32F)
and 90 to 95% relative humidity. Fruit should be cooled to 0 to 1C (32 to 34F)
before movement to the cold storage room. Separate cooler and cold storage rooms
can allow for more efficient cooling. If the refrigeration system cannot keep cooler
air temperatures near 0C (32F), additional refrigeration capability may be
necessary, requiring a capital investment in quality. Cooler air temperature and pulp
temperatures of the warmest berries upon removal from the cooler should be
monitored regularly. Cold storage air temperatures should also be monitored and
records maintained.
Truck loading.
Careful attention to the transport vehicle at product loading is essential. Trucks
should be cooled to near 0C (32F) prior to product loading. The condition of the
insulation, doors, refrigeration system and air delivery shoot should be checked on
each load. Strawberries should be center loaded, to prevent warming or freezing of
product during transit, and well secured. If the truck condition fails to meet the
criteria established to maintain fruit quality during shipment, the buyer should be
notified that the seller cannot guarantee the arrival condition of the fruit due to truck
conditions.
Understanding the mechanism and the emotional energies required to make the
change needed to become a QUALITY ASSURANCE organization is critical, but
part of the difficulties inherent in making the move to QUALITY ASSURANCE is
a result of the potential conflicts with the culture of the organization. Culture is the
common behaviors and internalized codes of conduct that guide peoples daily
actions. Organizational behaviors are shaped by the way people internalize the
assumptions and values that define, either explicitly or not, the culture of the
organization.
It would be recall that the objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of
QUALITY ASSURANCE on corporate performance and productivity. A thorough
review has been carried out on all available opportunities and other factors that
would boost productivity and enhance performance generally since quality is
regarded as a key element of competitiveness. Similarly, repeated studies have
shown the central role quality plays in improving market shares and raising
profitability. Based on the analysis of the data collected, and revelation from
interactions with employees in the cause of research, the following findings
emerged:
The study revealed that there are ample opportunities for training of staff on
QUALITY ASSURANCE to enhance corporate performance and productivity in
the company.
The study also revealed that quality is regarded or taken as a way of life,
hence every one in the company is quality conscious.
It was also further observed that high level of cross functional co-operation
in the company with the top level executives leading the way to total quality
management exist.
The study further revealed that the company based its high level of
performance and productivity on positive determination of its staff through
cooperation and high level of motivation.
Also revealed in the study is the fact that the company has continued to
promote the concept of continuous improvement towards error free output.
In spite of the above positive findings, there were also some areas of weakness still
requiring attention from the management. The following weaknesses were observed
in the cause the study:
The study revealed that the company is yet to put in place, strong cultural
commitment to QUALITY ASSURANCE;
The study also revealed that traditional management style still dominate the
companys operations which equally affects its decisions;
The analysis also reveals that the company needs to do more in areas of
employees participation or involvement in areas of policy formulation,
implementation and evaluation.
The study further reveals that the company needs to improve on creating
QUALITY ASSURANCE awareness among its staff.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the research findings and the above conclusion, on the impact of
QUALITY ASSURANCE on corporate performance and productivity, the following
are highly recommended towards improving QUALITY ASSURANCEin the sector:
The company should intensify efforts on cost reduction exercise. This can be
done by providing regular staff training programmes for the staffs as this will
help increase their knowledge, skills and prepare them for future challenges.
In evaluating data gathered and systematic analysis of the reports in the course of
the study regarding the impact of QUALITY ASSURANCEon corporate
performance and productivity in the brewery sectors in Nigeria, the following
conclusion can be drawn:
REFERENCES
The Man Who Discovered Quality (1990) by Andrea Gabor. Times Books
(a division of Random House, N.Y.) ... a comprehensive review of the
influence Deming has had to date in America and Japan, [and] an acute
assessment of how his theories might be implemented in the future.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITES
www.totalqualityassuranceservices.com/some-basic-quality-assurance-testing-
concepts
http://www.iso.org/iso/en/iso9000-
14000/understand/selection_use/selection_use.html
www.quality-assurance-solution.com
www.qualityassurancemag.com
http://www.asq.org/
http://www.wfl.fha.dot.gov/ql-pay/index.htm
http://www.deming.org/deminghtml/wedi.html
http://www.juran.com/main.html
BOOKS
Godfrey, A. B., "Juran's Quality Handbook", 1999