Operations management

Table of Contents

1. Topic pack - Operations management - introduction
2. Operations Management (OM) - Introduction
3. 5.1 Production methods notes
4. 5.1 Production methods - questions
5. 5.2 Costs and revenues - notes
6. 5.2 Costs and revenues - questions
7. 5.3 Break-even analysis - notes
8. 5.3 Break-even analysis - questions
9. 5.3 Break-even analysis - simulations and activities
10. 5.4 Quality assurance - notes
    1. Quality control and assurance
    2. The customer, the customer and the customer
    3. Case study - quality through your customer's eyes
    4. Case study - Portakabin
    5. Operations management and quality
    6. Quality control and quality assurance
    7. Classic quality control (QC)
    8. Quality Assurance (QA)
    9. Total quality culture (TQC)
    10. Total Quality Management (TQM)
    11. TQM planning process
    12. Case study - Six sigma
    13. Lean Production
    14. Continuous improvement
    15. Benchmarking
    16. Case study - Strategy: Benchmarking
    17. Case study - Cadillac benchmarks BMW
    18. Task - Benchmarking report
11. 5.4 Quality assurance - questions and activities
12. 5.5 Location - notes
13. Innovation - notes (HL only)
14. 5.6 Innovation - questions
15. 5.7 Production planning - notes
16. 5.7 Production planning - questions
17. 5.8 Project management - notes (HL only)
18. 5.8 Project management - questions (HL only)
19. Print View

Quality control and quality assurance

Quality Assurance is process oriented and focuses on defect prevention; while quality control is product oriented and focuses on defect identification

What are the key differences between Quality Control and Quality Assurance?

• Quality control is about adherence to requirements for a particular product. Quality assurance is generic and does not concern the specific requirements of the product being developed.
• Quality assurance activities are determined before production work begins and these activities are performed while the product is being developed. In contrast, quality control activities are performed after various stages of the production process, to detect substandard quality from the delivery of raw materials to the output of finished goods.

Quality control is the traditional approach to quality management:

• It is reactive because it may involve inspection and sampling after a good is manufactured or semi-manufactured.
• The process is normally 'controlled' by a single department (quality control department), which is part of the manufacturing process and therefore a line function.
• The controller is tasked to find defects or poor quality before the good is delivered to the customer.

Examples of quality control on finished products may include the testing of a sample of finished cars on 'test beds' where functions of the car, such as the efficiency and longevity of the braking system, can be assessed over a period of time. This process can be expensive as it may involve qualified professionals, such as engineers or chemists carrying out the checks.

A product that has been through a QC process may have a label attached indicating it has been tested, such as the Bureau Veritas c-mark. Displaying such a label can lead to increased consumer confidence and demonstrate a firm's commitment to providing high quality and health and safety protection. In the competitive marketplace, a commitment to standards beyond legislation through a certification program can help brands, retailers, and manufacturers to differentiate themselves form their competition.

Quality assurance is the process of the firm guaranteeing to its customer, the quality of the good or service to the consumer. To achieve this:

• Firms are proactive in setting up processes and developing standards before product is made or service provided.
• All employees in the firm are responsible for quality, not just those involved directly in production, so it is a staff function, rather than a line function.
• The purpose of quality assurance is to prevent defects by setting up the controls and mechanisms to check the quality at every stage of the process. Targets for quality are set, such as 'zero defects'.