SCI S319 Quality Management For Science And Technology (Free Courseware)

The concepts and history of quality management

We will first define and discuss some common definitions and measures of quality that have been put forward by quality philosophers. Next we will provide an overview of the historical development of quality management. In the third major section of this module we describe the eight different dimensions of quality used for analysing quality characteristics. An important measure of the effectiveness of quality management activities is the cost associated with the achievement and nonachievement of product or service quality as a result of these activities. The following section presents the prevention-appraisal-failure (PAF) model of costs of quality which has been widely adopted in different industries. To give a historical perspective to all these quality definitions, we will also discuss how different quality paradigms have emerged over the years due to changes in customer demands, technology and social environments. Let’s move on!

Fundamentals of quality management

Quality is an important element in our daily lives as consumers both as individuals and as industrial organizations. It is one of the elements that determines where to procure a product or service. Most of us have a conceptual understanding of quality as relating to one or more desirable characteristics that a product or service should possess. We make our own judgment regarding the quality of purchased goods or services when we are satisfied or dissatisfied with them. If these goods or services satisfy us, we judge them to be something of quality. If we are not satisfied, we judge them to be lacking of quality. In other cases, we judge the quality of a product or service by comparing it explicitly or implicitly to something else in the context of our life experiences. While this conceptual understanding is certainly a useful starting point, we will give a more precise and useful definition of quality later in this unit as understanding and improving quality is essential to compete effectively in today’s global market. We begin this section with a brief discussion of the differences between goods and services.

Differences between goods and services

Before we move to the definitions of quality, let’s first undertake a brief review on the differences between goods and services. The difference is fairly easy to understand. For example, when we go to an appliance shop, we will look for goods such as a television, or a washing machine. On the other hand, when we are not feeling well, we go to see doctor and this is a service.