What is the best definition of quality?

Over the past few months, we’ve been helping many LNS program members with strategic planning for 2018, and underlying this planning is a common theme - “What is the perceived value of quality?”

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The higher the perceived value across the organization and in the C-suite, the easier it is to justify existing resources and expansion plans. Our research over the past several years has helped manufacturers revisit quality’s role in delivering success in operations and better position quality in corporate strategy. Refer to eBooks on “Executive Business case for EQMS,” “Quality 4.0,” and “Supplier Quality Management” for more details.

• Leverage compelling events
• Align quality with strategic objectives/success
• Pick the right metrics
• Set a maturity journey that underlines adoption of best practices

Our work with manufacturers in the industry has proven that this approach, backed with data, results in a strong executive commitment to quality, and translates into improved investment and culture.

Despite this robust foundation, we haven’t challenged one core area – the definition of quality. I have always liked Crosby’s definition, “Quality is conformance to customer requirements,” but frankly, the market has changed. Forces like social media, Internet marketplaces, and connected devices drive increased scrutiny from the outside. Quality has successfully moved upstream into new product introduction (NPI) at a growing number of companies, which shifts the competitive landscape. Maybe it’s time to revisit the definition.

Why make this shift? The new definition makes customers' satisfaction even more central to delivery of quality. As we expand the perception of quality’s value, this definition aligns us with revenue, and sales and marketing. With this definition, quality isn’t working to a market requirement list owned by others (R&D, marketing, sales), but rather has partial ownership at the fuzzy front end of the product lifecycle. It sets the internal expectation that we must correctly interpret customer expectations into requirements, and deliver on those requirements to meet expectations.

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  Do we see lots of "no defects found," or issues that don’t meet defined requirements and use cases?
• Do we receive negative customer feedback in social media?
• Do customers have new use cases based on their expectations with tangentially related products? For instance, customers’ experiences with technology like iPhones and Android devices shape general expectations of interfaces, usability, and intelligence.

We may not recognize these issues as "quality" issues today, but given its impact on the success of business and the increased scrutiny, maybe we should.

As a disclaimer, this definition is an aspirational target and not a contractual requirement. It is like “zero defect” initiatives, where manufacturers leverage machine learning (ML) and sensor data to identify products that pass inspections but are still likely to fail under warranty. Zero defect is still not truly possible, but leaders using advanced techniques anticipate substantial reductions in in-warranty failures.

The new definition is an excellent segue to another point. While the market has positioned total cost of quality (TCoQ) as the top metric for quality, that choice still makes quality a cost center and under-represents quality’s role in customer retention, brand, and revenue creation. There is no arguing that we need to do a good job at TCoQ, and LNS will continue to establish an explicit connection between quality and the top line.

The revised definition aligns quality with market success. We’ve pressure tested it with many leading manufacturers with positive feedback and hope you will find it useful. Whether or not this is the definition for you, reexamine how you define quality and understand its impact on your organization’s behaviors, resource allocations, and culture.

Quality means “Performance upon expectations” and “fit for functions.”

A product is said to be of good quality if it satisfies the customer requirements in terms of performance, grade, durability, appearance and intended use/purpose, etc.

Quality Definitions | Meaning

The word “Quality” has a variety of meanings and definitions which are mentioned below:

Fitness for use/purpose: The component is said to possess good quality if it works well in the equipment for which it is meant. In other words, the product should be suitable for the intended use/purpose. Thus it is defined as fitness for purpose.

For example, a gear utilized in a sugarcane juice extracting machine might not possess a good quality surface finish, tolerance, and accuracy as compared with the gear utilized in the top stock of a lathe.

But still, it may be considered of good quality if it works satisfactorily in the juice extracting machine. Therefore, quality is defined as “the fitness for use/purpose” at the foremost economical level.

Conformance to requirements: It is the ability of the material/component to perform satisfactorily in the application for which it is intended by the user. Quality of a product, thus, means conformance to customer’s requirements. This is a Manufacturing-based definition.

Grade: It is a distinguishing feature or grade of the product in appearance, performance, life, reliability, taste, and maintainability, etc. This is generally called quality characteristics.

Degree of Excellence: It is a measure of a degree of excellence at a suitable price and control of variability at a suitable cost. this is often a Value-based definition.

Degree of preference: It is the degree to which a particular product is preferred over competing products of similar grade, supported comparative test by customers, normally called as customer’s preference.

Measure of the fulfillment of promises: The Quality of a product may be a measure of the fulfillment of the guarantees made to the purchasers/users.

British Defence Industries Quality Assurance Panel : Quality is conformance to specifications.

Definition by ISO: The totality of features and characteristics of product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs revolving around the customer.

Quality Definitions by “QUALITY GURUS”

For better clarity of “Quality” term, we must learn and understand the concept/ meaning of the following topics:

Quality Assurance

QA contains all those planned and systematic actions necessary to supply adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy/fulfill given requirements for Quality.

QA includes QC, but it emphasizes quality in the design of products and processes.

Quality Control

QC is the process through which we measure the actual quality performance and compare it with the set standards.

And if there is a deviation then we take corrective actions.

The typically quality control program is based on the periodic inspection, followed by feedback of the results and change or adjustment whenever required.

Quality System

A Quality System is the company-wide and plant-wide operating work structure, responsibilities, procedures, and processes for guiding the coordinated actions of the workforce, the machines, and the information of the organization in the best and most practical ways to assure customer satisfaction. Quality Assurance and Quality Control both are part of the quality system.

Total Quality Management – TQM

It basically aims to involve every person from every function or department of an organization working together to eliminate defects/errors and prevent 3M Waste from the manufacturing process.

Six Sigma Quality

Six Sigma is a quality management concept/philosophy and a methodology that emphasizes on variation reduction, defects elimination, and improving the process and product quality, and services. Six Sigma is also defined as a methodology for quality problem solving. A product is said to be of 6sigma (6σ) quality if there are no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities(DPMO) at the part and process step level.

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Quality Management System Standards

The quality system standards define the method of managing quality in a company to ensure that products conform to the set quality level.

A company is free to set the quality standard or level for its products on the basis of marketing considerations and customer requirements.

Also known as 7 QC Tools of problem-solving. These are graphical and statistical tools that are widely used to analyze and solve work-related problems.

Quality Circle

Originally known as Quality Control Circle. QCC’s objective is to get associates involved in the improvement process and problem-solving.

QCC is a group of employees whose assignment is to identify problems, formulate solutions, and present their results to management with suggestions for implementation.

Statistical Quality Control-SQC

Use of statistical techniques (like SPC, MSA, Gage R &R, Quality Control tools, Control Charts etc.) in controlling product and process quality.

Statistical Process Control-SPC

SPC technique is used to measure the Process Capability of the production process. This technique is widely applied in the Automotive, Engineering, and Manufacturing industries to monitor and control the manufacturing process and eliminate the Common cause and Special cause of variations.

Quality Audit

A systematic and independent examination to determine whether quality activities and related results comply with planned arrangements or defined standard operating procedures.

> Explore System Audit, Process and Product Audit

Quality Characteristics

An element that makes the product fit for use is the quality characteristics.

A physical or chemical property, a dimension, appearance, temperature, pressure, taste, smell, or any other requirements used to define the nature of the product or service is a Quality Characteristic.

Cost of Quality

COQ is a measure of the cost to the firm for a lack of quality.

COQ is divided into two main categories – Cost of conformance and Cost of Non-conformance.

Cost of conformance is that the cost of providing products or services as per the specified standards. This can be termed as a good amount spent and is categorize into Prevention & Appraisal costs.

On the other hand, the Cost of non-conformance is the failure cost associated with a process not being operated as per the requirements. This can be termed as the unnecessary amount spent and is categorized into Internal & External failure costs.

Quality Function Deployment

Helps to ensure that customer needs are translated into both the design of the product and the design of the process. QFD is a systematic strategy that employs seven management and planning tools to rapidly and efficiently identify and prioritize customer expectations.

Quality Policy

It refers to the basic principles which are used to guide the actions of the organization, in order to meet the quality objectives and to achieve the company’s goals or mission.

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