Why Are Quality Assurance Systems Needed?

Introduction:

A quality policy is meaningless if it is not accompanied by a quality system which in turns needs to rely on continuous improvement for the realization of set objectives.

Reasons:

1. If Zero Defects, Zero Risk, Zero Breakdown and Zero Defections are the goal, then quality systems are the means by which compliance to customer requirements and the achievement of customer satisfaction can be obtained by linking the internal part of the chain to the external part;

2. Modern competitiveness relies more and more on a TQM driving force to achieve a mix that the customer desires. It is therefore by NECESSITY that quality systems are implemented;

3. Quality management is its CONTROL. To control quality companywide, there has to be an implemented quality system;

4. Quality systems are necessary for auditing and measurement purposes;

5. More and more customers are demanding that their suppliers have quality systems implemented. There is therefore no excuse or justification in not having them;

6. The existence of various international standards and various government help offered to facilitate their implementation, makes it once again difficult for any organisation to avoid;

7. Widely published benefits resulting from the introduction of quality assurance systems makes them quite attractive to implement;

8. There is more and more evidence to suggest that TQM leads to organisational growth. It is therefore important for organisations to have mechanisms by which waste is identified and removed and errors are detected and eliminated before they can propagate;

9. TQM is people related. Company growth can only take place via continuous improvement and the encouragement of problem solving activity. Quality systems are the ‘torch’ which enables each worker to see what is required of them and where they are heading. Systems are documented procedures and techniques, they are not merely management instructions;

10. For any organisation to benchmark its own activities against the best competitors, it has to introduce various standards which help it aspire to world class competitiveness.