- Practice · 8 marks
QC, QA, TQC and TQM compared
Short answer
Quality is fitness for use. QC inspects and tests products to detect defects (reactive). QA sets up system procedures to prevent defects (proactive). TQC and TQM are company-wide quality approaches. The main difference: QC detects, QA prevents. TQM principles: customer focus, leadership, employee involvement, process approach, continuous improvement (PDCA), facts-based decisions, and supplier partnership.
Define quality, quality control, quality assurance, total quality control and total quality management. Differentiate between quality control and quality assurance, and state the main principles of TQM.
Quality is the degree to which a product or service meets its specification and the needs of the customer ("fitness for use"): performance, reliability, durability, safety, conformance and appearance.
- Quality control (QC): the operational techniques and activities that check that products conform to specification, and take action on defects (inspection, testing, control charts). It is product oriented.
- Quality assurance (QA): all the planned and systematic activities (procedures, audits, training, documentation) that give confidence that the quality requirements will be met. It is process oriented.
- Total quality control (TQC): Feigenbaum's concept in which quality is built into every function of the organisation (design, purchasing, production, sales, service) and the aim is to give customer satisfaction at the lowest cost.
- Total quality management (TQM): a management philosophy where all employees are involved in continuous improvement of the quality of all products, processes and services to meet or exceed customer expectations.
| Point | Quality control | Quality assurance |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | Find and correct defects | Prevent defects |
| Approach | Reactive (detection) | Proactive (prevention) |
| Focus | The product | The process and system |
| Activity | Inspection, testing, SQC | Audits, procedures, training, documentation |
| Responsibility | Quality control department | Everybody, led by management |
| Timing | After or during production | Before and during production |
Principles of TQM
- Customer focus (internal and external customers).
- Leadership and commitment of top management.
- Involvement of all employees and teamwork.
- Process approach and continuous improvement (Kaizen, PDCA cycle).
- Decisions based on facts and data (SQC).
- Supplier partnership.
- Education and training.
✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)
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