Teaching Notes
This chapter is included to provide depth on quality management, while the usual
coverage on statistical quality control issues is contained in Chapter 9. Topics included in this
the supply chain, cost of quality, the approaches to quality as advocated by Deming and Juran,
failures. While these topics are treated in the general literature, they are sometimes not treated
In teaching this chapter, I start by developing a general framework for quality. I ask
students to write a definition of quality before reading the chapter. Most students find this a
to quality, ISO 9000, the cost of quality and the Baldrige approach, which the students often find
interesting.
The handbook by Juran and Godfrey (2000) is recommended as a source of background
material on quality. The book by Crosby (1979) gives a persuasive argument for “Quality is
Free”, the book by George and Weimerskirch (1998) describes a total approach to quality, and
Deming’s (1986) book and Garvin’s (1987) article make interesting reading. For more recent
articles and books that are useful see Naveh and Marcus (2005), Schroeder et al. (2005), Brown
(2007) on the Baldrige and Evans and Lindsay (2007), an excellent textbook.
Answers to Questions
1. Quality, defined as meeting or exceeding customer requirements, can be measured along
Conformance:
– Time between repair requests (MTBF)
Field Service:
– Speed of installation
– Number of service options and features
2. Quality of design is determined before the product is produced. Market research results
in a concept. Engineering (in manufacturing organizations) translates the concept into
specifications and together with operations is responsible for subsequent modifications of
the specifications.
Quality of conformance – conformance to specifications – is assured by operations during
3. a. Product B has the higher reliability on average due to a higher MTBF (40 > 30).
b. Product B has greater maintainability due to a lower MTTR (2 < 5).
c. Product A: 30 hrs./(30 hrs. + 5 hrs.) = 85.7%
Product B: 40 hrs./(40 hrs. + 2 hrs.) = 95.2%
4. Student answers will also vary to this question. Students might describe a recent
experience with pizza delivery, automobile repair, purchase of books at the bookstore and
many other examples.
5. The manufacturer’s first step in implementing a quality planning and control system
through the quality cycle is to determine quality attributes for wooden pencils. If strength
of lead, strength of the eraser, and ease of sharpening are characteristics desired by pencil
users, then the next step is deciding how to measure these three attributes.
Measurement techniques might be applying pressure to the pencil point and eraser and
6. a. Products with relatively poor (design) quality:
– Some U.S. manufactured economy cars
– Most frozen pizza
– Inexpensive cutlery and kitchen utensils
– Cheap cassette recorder
7. The customer is an important part in defining quality so they are an important factor to
the supply chain in driving quality performance for an organization. For many products
or services, 50% of the product is purchased from suppliers. Therefore it is important
suppliers maintain quality. Supplier certification means the supplier has control over its
processes and can pass an ISO 9000 type of audit or equivalent audit by the customer.
8. Student answers will vary.
9. Student answers will vary. Products are recalled because they are known to have defects
with these defects potentially causing serious harm to consumers.
10. Any of the four dimensions of quality can affect revenue depending on what customers
consider important in their buying decision. Design quality will generally increase costs,
unless new technology can be used to provide more product performance at lower cost.
The same can be said about improving maintainability, reliability and availability unless
improvements can be made by product simplification. Improving conformance quality
will generally decrease costs when a prevention approach and better process control is
11. 40,000 Training of personnel
15,000 Process planning
55,000 Total cost of prevention
20,000 Incoming materials inspection
30,000 Quality laboratory
50,000 Total cost of appraisal
13,000 Scrap
25,000 Rework
38,000 Total cost of internal failure
45,000 Warranty
10,000 Allowances
14,000 Complaints
69,000 Total cost of external failure
12. Student answers will vary.
13.
Deming
Juran
Continuous improvement
Breakthrough and continuous improvement
Constancy of purpose toward continuous
improvement and top management’s
commitment to quality and productivity
Careful management planning to solve “the vital
few” and continuous improvement
Management and worker training
Careful management planning and worker
training
Remove barriers to productivity and
worker’s right to pride of workmanship
Involvement of all employees
Eliminate work standards and numerical
quotas
Institute procedure and methods to insure
quality
14. ISO 9000 is considered a first step, or basic, approach to quality since it provides a
quality assurance system to produce consistent quality and continuous improvement but
does not provide a complete quality system. A company can be making a product that
the customers like, but be going out of business and still be ISO 9000 certified as long as
the company has a quality system for control and improvement in place. ISO 9000 does
not require a long run strategic plan and positive financial performance.
15. Student answers will vary.
16. The Baldrige Award categories might be used in a variety of ways in helping a company
improve quality. One way would be for a company to benchmark itself against its
competition, or against best oopractice, using the categories as guides for areas of
potential strength and weakness. A company may wish to adjust the weightings on the
various categories, since the value that a market segment places on the various categories
may differ from that used in the award criteria.
17. The IS0 9000 is considered a first step to quality as it focuses on the quality system
within organizations to assure the product or service they offer is what the company says
it is going to be. It describes how a company should go about assuring quality regardless
of the size of the company. It requires all companies to have procedures and policies as
well as a manual available to all which describe them. It focuses on the importance of
record keeping and documentation. These are building blocks that any organization that
9000/2000 approach. The additional quality requirements addressed are strategic
planning and business results. A company must not only satisfy its customers and be
improving, but must have positive financial results and a strategy for long-term business
success to win the Baldrige Award.
18. Success can be defined in terms of the degree of customer satisfaction and profitability.
Then a successful quality improvement implementation effort is one that increases both
customer satisfaction and profitability over time. Many other measures of success could
also be used such as customer loyalty, reduction in quality costs, ROI, and discounted
cash flow.
2. Quality of design is determined before the product is produced. Market research results
in a concept. Engineering (in manufacturing organizations) translates the concept into
specifications and together with operations is responsible for subsequent modifications of
the specifications.
Quality of conformance – conformance to specifications – is assured by operations during
3. a. Product B has the higher reliability on average due to a higher MTBF (40 > 30).
b. Product B has greater maintainability due to a lower MTTR (2 < 5).
c. Product A: 30 hrs./(30 hrs. + 5 hrs.) = 85.7%
Product B: 40 hrs./(40 hrs. + 2 hrs.) = 95.2%
4. Student answers will also vary to this question. Students might describe a recent
experience with pizza delivery, automobile repair, purchase of books at the bookstore and
many other examples.
5. The manufacturer’s first step in implementing a quality planning and control system
through the quality cycle is to determine quality attributes for wooden pencils. If strength
of lead, strength of the eraser, and ease of sharpening are characteristics desired by pencil
users, then the next step is deciding how to measure these three attributes.
Measurement techniques might be applying pressure to the pencil point and eraser and
6. a. Products with relatively poor (design) quality:
– Some U.S. manufactured economy cars
– Most frozen pizza
– Inexpensive cutlery and kitchen utensils
– Cheap cassette recorder
7. The customer is an important part in defining quality so they are an important factor to
the supply chain in driving quality performance for an organization. For many products
or services, 50% of the product is purchased from suppliers. Therefore it is important
suppliers maintain quality. Supplier certification means the supplier has control over its
processes and can pass an ISO 9000 type of audit or equivalent audit by the customer.
8. Student answers will vary.
9. Student answers will vary. Products are recalled because they are known to have defects
with these defects potentially causing serious harm to consumers.
10. Any of the four dimensions of quality can affect revenue depending on what customers
consider important in their buying decision. Design quality will generally increase costs,
unless new technology can be used to provide more product performance at lower cost.
The same can be said about improving maintainability, reliability and availability unless
improvements can be made by product simplification. Improving conformance quality
will generally decrease costs when a prevention approach and better process control is
11. 40,000 Training of personnel
15,000 Process planning
55,000 Total cost of prevention
20,000 Incoming materials inspection
30,000 Quality laboratory
50,000 Total cost of appraisal
13,000 Scrap
25,000 Rework
38,000 Total cost of internal failure
45,000 Warranty
10,000 Allowances
14,000 Complaints
69,000 Total cost of external failure
12. Student answers will vary.
13.
Deming
Juran
Continuous improvement
Breakthrough and continuous improvement
Constancy of purpose toward continuous
improvement and top management’s
commitment to quality and productivity
Careful management planning to solve “the vital
few” and continuous improvement
Management and worker training
Careful management planning and worker
training
Remove barriers to productivity and
worker’s right to pride of workmanship
Involvement of all employees
Eliminate work standards and numerical
quotas
Institute procedure and methods to insure
quality
14. ISO 9000 is considered a first step, or basic, approach to quality since it provides a
quality assurance system to produce consistent quality and continuous improvement but
does not provide a complete quality system. A company can be making a product that
the customers like, but be going out of business and still be ISO 9000 certified as long as
the company has a quality system for control and improvement in place. ISO 9000 does
not require a long run strategic plan and positive financial performance.
15. Student answers will vary.
16. The Baldrige Award categories might be used in a variety of ways in helping a company
improve quality. One way would be for a company to benchmark itself against its
competition, or against best oopractice, using the categories as guides for areas of
potential strength and weakness. A company may wish to adjust the weightings on the
various categories, since the value that a market segment places on the various categories
may differ from that used in the award criteria.
17. The IS0 9000 is considered a first step to quality as it focuses on the quality system
within organizations to assure the product or service they offer is what the company says
it is going to be. It describes how a company should go about assuring quality regardless
of the size of the company. It requires all companies to have procedures and policies as
well as a manual available to all which describe them. It focuses on the importance of
record keeping and documentation. These are building blocks that any organization that
9000/2000 approach. The additional quality requirements addressed are strategic
planning and business results. A company must not only satisfy its customers and be
improving, but must have positive financial results and a strategy for long-term business
success to win the Baldrige Award.
18. Success can be defined in terms of the degree of customer satisfaction and profitability.
Then a successful quality improvement implementation effort is one that increases both
customer satisfaction and profitability over time. Many other measures of success could
also be used such as customer loyalty, reduction in quality costs, ROI, and discounted
cash flow.