The Quality Processes

Introduction:

There are three levels of quality. These include organization quality, process quality and individual quality.

Various quality processes:

(i) Organization quality:Looking at the organization strategy (vertical definition) and whether it is doing the right things; and looking at operational systems (horizontal definition) and whether they are doing things right.

(ii) Process quality:Sets of inputs and outputs, inter-functional activities which are geared towards producing the goods and services that the customer wants.

(iii) Individual quality: Human performance system.

Quality of design - conformance – performance

This process considers quality as a ‘never ending improvement of a firm’s extended processes. This process starts with the customer and ends with the customer as follows:

Communication of customer needs the continuing process to convert needs into ' products/services determining how products/services are performing finding out what new characteristics can increase customer satisfaction.

(i) Quality of design:This is the degree of achievement of purpose by the design itself. It starts with market research, sales input analysis and continues to the development of a product/service concept which would satisfy the customer.

(ii) Quality of conformance:This takes the agreed standards as a basis for measurement and control. It therefore ensures that all the inputs, conversion and outputs at each stage of the development of products and services are in compliance with customer specification:

'Quality of conformance is the extent to which a firm and its suppliers are able to surpass the design specifications required to serve the needs of the customer.

(iii) Quality of performance:

• This is the task that each organization conducts in the market place to identify levels of performance of product/services.
• The investigative task relies on using customer opinions, market research input, feedback from sales representatives, the use of after-sales service, warranty claims, services such as support and back up, emergency calls for maintenance and repairs, etc.
• Quality of performance is the link in the extended process and information generated can be fed back to re-examine the other two stages (i.e. design, conformance). This process is dynamic and therefore can be continually improved.