Quality Control in
Production Management
Topic 6
Defining Quality
• The totality of features and characteristics of a
product or service that bears on its ability to
satisfy stated or implied needs.
American Society for Quality
• The act of going back to the shop and asking for
the same product bought yesterday.
Quality Control
• Quality control is a process through which a
business seeks to ensure that product quality is
maintained or improved with either reduced or
zero errors.
• Quality control requires the business to create an
environment in which both management and
employees strive for perfection. This is done by;
– training personnel
– creating benchmarks for product quality and
– testing products to check for statistically
significant variations.
• A major aspect of quality control is the
establishment of well-defined controls.
– These controls help standardize both production
and reactions to quality issues.
– Limiting room for error by specifying which
production activities are to be completed by
which personnel reduces the chance that
employees will be involved in tasks for which
they do not have adequate training.
BREAKING DOWN Quality Control
• Quality control involves testing of units and
determining if they are within the specifications
for the final product.
• The purpose of the testing is to determine any
needs for corrective actions in the manufacturing
process.
• Good quality control helps companies meet
consumer demands for better product.
Quality Control Measures
• Quality Control Measures Depend on the Product
– In food and drug manufacturing, quality control includes
ensuring the product does not make a consumer sick, so
the company performs chemical and microbiological
testing of samples from the production line. Because
the appearance of prepared food affects consumer
perception, the manufacturers may prepare the product
according to its package directions for visual inspection.
– In the automobile manufacturing, quality control
focuses on the way that parts fit together and interact
and ensuring engines operate smoothly and efficiently.
– In electronics, testing might involve using meters that
measure the flow of electricity.
The Role of Quality Control Inspectors
• Quality control inspectors protect the consumer
from defective products and the company from
damage to its reputation due to inferior
manufacturing processes.
• If the testing process reveals issues with the
product, the inspector has the option of fixing the
problem himself, returning the product for repairs
or tagging the product for rejection.
• When issues arise, the inspector notifies
supervisors and works with them to correct the
problem.
Objectives of Production
Management
• To satisfy customer needs
• To minimize waste and cost cutting
• To manage materials
• To utilize recourses
• To minimize cost of production
• To smooth production process
• To use new technology
• To get maximum output
Principles of Quality Control in
Production
• Derived from the ISO 9001:2000 standard, these
eight principles are;
1. Customer focus: Management should
understand (and anticipate) the customers'
needs and requirements, and strive to exceed
customer expectations in meeting them;
2. Leadership: Management should establish unity
of purpose and direction, and create and
maintain an environment in which everyone can
participate in achieving the organization's
3) Involvement of people: Management should
involve all people at all levels so that they willingly
contribute their abilities in achieving the
organization's goals.
4) Process approach: Management should recognize
that an objective is achieved more efficiently
when activities and associated resources are
managed together as a process.
5) Systems approach: Management should recognize
that identifying and understanding interrelated
processes, and managing them as a system, is
more efficient and effective in achieving the
organization's objectives.
6) Continual improvement: Management should aim
at steady, incremental improvement in the
organization's overall performance as a permanent
objective;
7) Factual approach to decision making:
Management should base its decisions solely on
the analysis of data and information;
8) Mutually beneficial supplier relationships:
Management should enhance the interdependent
relationship with its suppliers for mutual benefit
and in creation of value.
Importance of Quality Control in
Production
• Encourages quality consciousness
• Satisfaction of consumers
• Reduction in production cost
• Most effective utilization of resources
• Reduction in inspection costs
• Increased goodwill
• Higher morale of employees
• Improved employer-employee relations
• Improved techniques and methods of production
• Effective advertisement
• Facilitates price fixation
• Increased sales
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