- Quality considers the characteristics and features of a product that satisfy the needs of customers
- Businesses need to maintain a level of quality that continues to attract and retain customers
- There are a number of approaches to managing quality in the production process
Methods of Quality Control
Method
|
Explanation
|
Benefits
|
Drawbacks
|
Quality Control
|
- Inspecting the quality of output at the end of the production process
|
- Quality specialists are employed to check standards
- An inexpensive and simple way to check that output is fit for purpose
|
- The rejection of finished goods is a significant waste of resources
- There is little focus on the cause of defects
|
Quality Assurance
|
- Inspecting the quality of production throughout the process
|
- Quality issues are identified early so products may be reworked rather than rejected
- The cause of defects is the focus so future quality issues may be prevented
- Controlling quality throughout the production process can be expensive,
but it could ultimately reduce costs because defects do not then have to be dealt with
|
- Staff training and a skilled workforce is required so labour costs may be increased
- Reworking may lengthen the production process
|