---
title: "Quality costs more, lack costs even more"
subject: "Project Engineering"
chapter: 4
key: "semester_7/project_engineering:total-quality-cost-justify"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/project_engineering/total-quality-cost-justify
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Quality costs more, lack costs even more

Project Engineering · Chapter 4: Project Implementation and Controlling

- Asked in: 2082 Baisakh, 1+5 marks; 2070 Chaitra, 6 marks (asked 2 times)
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/project_engineering/total-quality-cost-justify
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/project_engineering/chapter-4

## Question

Define quality. Justify the statement "quality costs more but lack of quality costs even more", explaining the total quality cost included to achieve good quality.

## Short answer

Quality is fitness for use or conformance to requirements. Quality costs more due to prevention and appraisal spending, but lack of quality incurs even higher internal and external failure costs like rework, repairs, and loss of goodwill. As prevention/appraisal increase, total quality cost falls to an optimum, proving that failure costs outweigh the cost of achieving quality.

## Answer

#### Quality

**Quality** is the degree to which the project deliverable satisfies the specified requirements and the needs of the client; in simple words, "fitness for use" or "conformance to requirements".

#### Quality costs more, but lack of quality costs even more

Good quality needs money for planning, training, better materials, inspection and testing. But poor quality is far more expensive: rework, rejection, delay, repair, claims, loss of goodwill and, in construction, structural failure and loss of life. The total cost of quality is:

$$
\text{Total quality cost} = \text{Prevention} + \text{Appraisal} + \text{Internal failure} + \text{External failure}
$$

| Cost | Examples |
|---|---|
| Prevention | Quality plan, training, procedures, skilled supervision |
| Appraisal | Inspection, material and lab tests, audits |
| Internal failure | Rework of faulty concrete, scrap, re-testing, delay |
| External failure | Repair after handover, warranty, compensation, legal costs |

Illustration (Rs thousand, for one slab-casting package):

| Spending on prevention and appraisal | Failure cost (rework, repair) | Total cost of quality |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 80 | 90 |
| 20 | 40 | 60 |
| 30 | 20 | 50 |
| 40 | 15 | 55 |

As spending on prevention and appraisal increases, the failure cost at first falls much faster, so the total cost falls until it reaches an optimum (Rs 50 thousand here); beyond that point, extra spending saves less than it costs. For example, spending Rs 20,000 on testing and supervision of a slab can avoid demolition and recasting costing lakhs. Hence the statement is justified: the cost of a lack of quality (failure costs) is greater than the cost of achieving quality.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. How is quality defined in the answer?
   A. Completing in minimum time
   B. The most expensive finish
   C. Using only imported material
   D. Fitness for use or conformance to requirements and client needs
   Answer: D. Quality is the degree to which deliverables satisfy specified requirements and client needs. (Key point: Definition of quality)

2. Which expression gives the total cost of quality?
   A. Appraisal - Prevention
   B. Prevention + Appraisal only
   C. Prevention + Appraisal + Internal failure + External failure
   D. Failure cost only
   Answer: C. Total includes both conformance and non-conformance costs. (Key point: Total quality cost)

3. In the illustration, at what prevention and appraisal spending is the total cost of quality lowest?
   A. Rs 30 thousand (total 50)
   B. Rs 10 thousand (total 90)
   C. Rs 40 thousand (total 55)
   D. Rs 20 thousand (total 60)
   Answer: A. The total falls to 50 at 30 thousand and rises again to 55 at 40 thousand, so 30 is optimal. (Key point: Optimum point)

4. Why is 'lack of quality costs even more' justified?
   A. Failure costs such as demolition and recasting fall more slowly than prevention costs rise
   B. Failure costs never occur
   C. As prevention and appraisal spending rises, failure cost falls much faster, so total cost falls up to an optimum
   D. Prevention is always free
   Answer: C. A small spend on testing and supervision can avoid failure costs of lakhs. (Key point: Justification)

## Related in Project Engineering

- [Closed and open control; quality cost](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Aclosed-open-control-quality-cost) — Project Engineering, chapter 4
- [QA vs QC; types of cost of quality](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Aqa-vs-qc-cost-of-quality) — Project Engineering, chapter 4, asked 2×
- [Monitoring and quality, cost, schedule control](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Amonitoring-quality-cost-schedule-control) — Project Engineering, chapter 4
- [Quality; cost of quality; assuring quality](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Aquality-cost-of-quality-assured) — Project Engineering, chapter 4

## Related in other subjects

- [Justify higher voltage/more circuits for more power](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Ftransmission_and_distribution_system_design%3Ajustify-higher-voltage-more-circuits) — Transmission and Distribution System Design, chapter 2
- [Break-even cost comparison of three sites](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Findustrial_engineering_and_management%3Abreak-even-analysis-plant-location) — Industrial Engineering and Management, chapter 2
- [Total quality management](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fict_project_management%3Atqm) — ICT Project Management, chapter 10
- [How CM helps with delay, quality and cost](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fconstruction_management%3Acm-course-delay-cost) — Construction Management, chapter 1