Paper Example on Quality Control: The Foundation for Achieving Consumer Satisfaction

Introduction

To practice quality control is to design and produce a quality product that is always useful, most economical and satisfactory to the consumer. To achieve this goal, every individual including the executives as well as all departments of the corporation must participate in promoting quality control. Quality control entails making total quality control (TQC) the foundation of the business, focusing all efforts on the control of price, profits and costs and controlling the amounts of stock and production. TQC also means the implementation of quality management principles to all areas of operations from production to delivery. It is therefore closely related to total quality management (TQM) which refers to the continual process of eradicating waste and non-value adding undertakings from the system in order to achieve quality. In the perspective of the organization, a quality product instigates from a quality process. It embraces elements such as process management, customer focus, managing supplier quality and use of quality tools, continuous improvement, employee empowerment and product design (Obeidat et al., 2016).

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Total quality control is a continuous process whereby at the end of designing, producing, sales and marketing and conducting market research, the cycle could be repeated by redesigning the products based on the experience of the previous cycle (Pristavka, Kotorova & Savov, 2016). This requires the manufacturer to set his own standards but always keep keen attention to consumer requirements and opinions as well as changes in their tastes and preferences. TQC comprises various Japanese techniques related to quality management such as Kakushin, Kaikaku, Genbashugi, Kaizen and the 5Ss. Genbashugi is considered an operation centered principle. The engineers and managers should, therefore, see the machine or the piece of work and commune with the workers who may know how the problem occurred and even have some hints on the solution. These factors are crucial in determining the outcome of the product and therefore the organization's productivity.

The 5Ss is an important improvement program whereby Seiri refers to the sorting the items at the workplace and discarding the inactive elements. Seiton refers to the organization of items in a good order that enhances selection for use as the work progresses. Shitsuke describes the process of training workers to observe rules and acquire good work habits. Seiketsu refers to the maintenance of the place of work to advance comfort and productivity while Seiso is cleaning up to remove dust from equipment and machines. By implementing these programs, there are fewer delays, reworks and snags which reduces costs and the quality of production is increased ultimately.

The Quality Control Process

PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)

Plan: the business develops processes and objectives necessary to deliver results depending on the output expected.

Do: involves implementation of the plan, execution of the process and making of the product. Also, data for actual and expected results are collected.

Check: comparison of the actual results with the expected outcomes (Matsuo & Nakahara, 2013).

Act/Adjust: Corrective actions are taken on any significant deviation of the actual outcomes from the expected results. The diversities in outcomes are analyzed to identify their root causes and find out where to apply the changes in order to improve the process or product.

Current Developments

Expansion of the boundaries of TQM: Earlier on, TQM was only applied in manufacturing operations but this has changed as it is currently applied in a range of non-manufacturing corporations such as education, healthcare, and finance which have adopted concepts based on quality management. This due to the swiftly growing demand for top quality goods and services in all industries, hence organizations that do not adopt quality management principles can lose their competitive edge over time (Kumar, Maiti & Gunasekaran, 2018).

Accountability: companies have learned the importance of actively involving employees in the effort to advance quality. New technologies and tools are emerging that track employee performance thus increasing accountability. Approaches such as occasional seminars are being replaced by tactics that enhance assessment and performance benchmarks, leading to genuine improvement in the same.

TQM backed by Six Sigma: Six Sigma is a process that improves quality by recognizing and eliminating the causes of defects and minimalizing variability in business and manufacturing processes (Hill et al., 2018). While TQM focuses on the functioning of the departments of the organization and customer satisfaction, six sigma pays attention to the reduction of defects. Corporations are beginning to adopt both concepts as six sigma can help meet the quality improvement goal of TQM.

Organizational Benefits of TQM over Six Sigma

Less complicated: TQM does not require extensive training whereas six sigma entails specifically trained persons for successful implementation. It creates different levels of employees where they are certified depending on their competence.

TQM focuses on the improvement of the existing policies and making changes where necessary to enhance the quality of the products and services offered. Six Sigma, on the other hand, identifies and eradicates obstacles and defects which could include some useful principles that only need polishing.

As opposed to six sigma, TQM offers an opportunity for employees to continually improve themselves and for the formation of systems and processes that enhance coordination among organizational departments. This consequently leads to the development of a good organizational culture and increased teamwork (Obeidat et al., 2016).

References

Hill, J., Thomas, A. J., Mason-Jones, R. K., & El-Kateb, S. (2018). The implementation of a Lean Six Sigma framework to enhance operational performance in an MRO facility. Production & Manufacturing Research, 6(1), 26-48. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21693277.2017.1417179

Kumar, P., Maiti, J., & Gunasekaran, A. (2018). Impact of quality management systems on firm performance. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 35(5), 1034-1059. Retrieved from https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/IJQRM-02-2017-0030

Matsuo, M., & Nakahara, J. (2013). The effects of the PDCA cycle and OJT on workplace learning. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(1), 195-207. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/61ba/914b65125336e8f8d6e530f0bf4a4ecc36de.pdf

Obeidat, B. Y., Hashem, L., Alansari, I., Tarhini, A., & Al-Salti, Z. (2016). The effect of knowledge management uses on total quality management practices: a theoretical perspective. Journal of Management and strategy, 7(4), 18-29. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/41c8/342a55690eba26dd27e5c9a44ad6548e2e7a.pdf

Pristavka, M., Kotorova, M., & Savov, R. (2016). Quality control in production processes. Acta Technologica Agriculturae, 19(3), 77-83. Retrieved from https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/ata/19/3/article-p77.xml