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What is the exact meaning of quality of a product?

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Question added by Nihala Mahroof , Receptionist cum administrator , Cannanore Concord Travels
Date Posted: 2013/07/10
Lubna Al-Sharif
by Lubna Al-Sharif , Medical Laboratory Technician , Nablus Specailized Hospital

=== The main concept of Product quality can be primarily described as the collection of features and characteristics of a product that contribute to its ability to meet given requirements and satisfy the customer's wants and needs in exchange for monetary considerations.
Those features of a saleable good, which determine its desirability, can be controlled by a manufacturer to meet certain basic requirements.
=== So, Product quality is worked on the product's ability to fulfill the expectations and needs set by the end user, and the product must work reliably and perform all of its functions.
Product quality can be the sum of two viewpoints, and more.
=== The control of Product Quality was defined over decades of creating standards for producing acceptable products: From evolving mature methods to control quality by statistical approaches and sampling techniques by the mid-1950s, and extended their use to the service industry during the1960s.
While during1960 –1980, Consumers became more conscious of the cost and quality of products and services, and Firms began to focus on total production systems for achieving quality at minimum cost.
=== Till now, that trend of1980s has continued, and today the goals of quality control are largely driven by consumer concerns and preferences.
Most businesses that produce goods for sale have a product quality or assurance department that monitors outgoing products for consumer acceptability.
=== To describe the overall Quality of a product, we have to consider THREE points of view: The manufacturer, The Consumer and The Quality itself: =1-The view of Manufacturer: concerning with the design, engineering, and manufacturing processes involved in fabricating the product.
Quality is measured by the degree of conformance to pre-determined specifications and standards, and deviations from these standards can lead to poor quality and low reliability.
Eliminating defects as well as the need for scrap and rework, and hence overall reductions in production costs, are essentials in quality improvement.
=2-The view of Customers: who define the high-quality product is one that well satisfies their preferences and expectations.
This consideration can include a number of characteristics, some of which contribute little or nothing to the functionality of the product but are significant in providing customer satisfaction.
=3-While the view of Quality: is to consider the product itself as a system and to incorporate those characteristics that pertain directly to the operation and functionality of the product.
This approach should include overlap of the manufacturer and customer views.
=== When we think about the basic elements of product quality, EIGHT dimensions can be identified as Product Quality Framework: -1-Performance, -
2- Features (product characteristics), -
3- Reliability (the probability of a product’s failing within a specified period of time), -
4- Conformance (the degree to which a product’s design and operating characteristics match pre-established standards), -
5- Durability (a measure of product life, has both economic and technical dimensions), -
6- Serviceability (the speed, courtesy, and competence of repair), -
7- Aesthetics (how a product looks, feels, sounds, tastes, or smells — is clearly matters of personal judgment, and reflections of individual preferences), -
8- Perceived Quality (Evaluation of product's objective characteristics on their images, advertising, or brand names).
=== Product quality is rapidly becoming an important competitive issue.
Companies need to actively shift one’s approach to quality as products move from design to market, and to cultivate such differing perspectives, for they are essential to the successful introduction of high-quality products.
Reliance on a single definition of quality is a frequent source of problems like: = When such manufacturer discovers that its newly released product failed to satisfy customers even though it met the Industrial Standard.
Conformance was excellent, reflecting a manufacturing-based approach to quality, but acceptance was poor.
= While other newly released products generated no customer complaints even though they failed to meet the standard.
= Other manufacturers' products may be well received by customers, and highly rated by Consumer Reports.
Besides, reject, scrap, and warranty costs are so high, however, that large losses are incurred.
While the product’s design matched customers’ needs, the failure to follow through with tight conformance in manufacturing cost the company dearly.
=== All three views are necessary and must be consciously cultivated.
A process that ignores anyone of the following steps in Characterizing quality will not result in a quality product: =1) - Identified through market research (a user-based approach to quality), next =2) - Translated into identifiable product attributes (a product-based approach to quality), and followed by =3) - Organization of manufacturing process to ensure that products are made precisely to these specifications (a manufacturing-based approach to quality).

Zohaib Akhter
by Zohaib Akhter , SURGE LABORATORIES PVT LTD as CHEMIST , Surge Laboratories

Product quality is rapidly becoming an important competitive issue. 

Five Approaches to Defining Quality

Five major approaches to the definition of quality can be identified: (1) thetranscendent approach of philosophy; (2) the product-based approach of economics; (3) the user-based approach of economics, marketing, and operations management; and (4) the manufacturing-based and (5) value-based approaches of operations management.

Eight Dimensions of Quality

Eight dimensions can be identified as a framework for thinking about the basic elements of product quality:

1.       Performance,

2.      Features,

3.      Reliability,

4.      Conformance,

5.      Durability,

6.      Serviceability,

7.      Aesthetics,

8.     Perceived Quality.

 

 

minhaj uddin khan
by minhaj uddin khan , QA/QC Electrical Engineer , Bureau Veritas

Speaking my own mind. Quality Product is the delivery of that good or service which meets the customer satisfaction on a consistent basis. The same principle applies to tangible, non tangible, non profit and for profit products.

Bhavin Mehta CCP(CCE), PMP
by Bhavin Mehta CCP(CCE), PMP , Assistant Manager , Larsen and Toubro Ltd

One line simple definition about quality: "Any outcome which improves customer-supplier (& his stakeholders) relationship is called quality."

Joefil C. Jocson
by Joefil C. Jocson , CEO/President , Dyas Construction and Management Consultants

quality of a product meaning the usefulness, free of defect, durability. it is the acceptance criteria of the customer for a product that he / she wants to be which he /she found it beneficial for usage for human, animals,  things and the environment.

Ramy Zakher
by Ramy Zakher , Executive director , EEP

Quality Product is :

The delivery of that product or service which meets the customer satisfaction, requirements and needs of the customer under specified standards and specifications.

Mai El-Kadri
by Mai El-Kadri , QA Technical Manager , Integrated Technology Group, ITG

When the product meets the requirements AND needs of the client, it is called a Quality product.

Sam Lund
by Sam Lund , Management consultant , Stella Polaris

Juran: compliance to requirements Feigenbaum: fittness for use ISO9000: ability to meet (or exceed) customer expectations ...
That much the exact meaning - there are many exact meanings...
I tend to go with the ISO style.
Products have customer perceivable characteristics, for which customers have expectations.
How much the product meets (or exceeds) these expectations (for given characteristics) gives an idea of the quality.
But quality is more than that.
It is also dependent on the supplier's ability to sustain that level of the quality in the produced and delivered products.
There are ranged of factors creating variations in the products.
This leads us to Six Sigma (Motorola) which focuses on its definition of quality efforts for minimizing variations.
I.e.
that the supplier can deliver to the specification over and over again, and control that process.
But quality is more than that.
Thing is, before the product can be manufactured, it needs to be designed.
That may entail a complex set of processes, which in each step transform the initial customer perceived characteristics and expectations - to something different.
Thus, yet another meaning for quality, is the supplier's ability to have not only the processes, but also various assurance practices in place, which focus in overseeing that the transformations would lead into a product design, which intends to fulfill the initial inputs - the customer expectations.
But quality is more than that.
...
ISO gives an "exact" terms of references for various aspects for all of this.
But, how this translates into actionable processes and instructions is always dependent on how the supplier defines quality.
So, if the supplier is unable to characterize its product and define concept of quality, then all the above is futile.
So, everything starts and ends with supplier defining how it intends to understand quality.
Needless to say, many mission statements for quality are all words and high spirits, but very little actual understanding of the necessary elements/factors, and how to enable them.
Thus leaving the rest of the organisation in a vacuum (still no idea what to understand with "quality") - and thus each and every project and product gives their own variation and interpretation on the meaning of quality.
Exact meaning then would be: quality is in the eye of the beholder...

Mohammad Faizan Saeed
by Mohammad Faizan Saeed , Manager Business Excellence , Espire Infolabs Pvt. Ltd

The simple and easy way to understand the quality of product is Q=P/E.
Where Q stands for Quality, P for Performance and E for Expectation.
Now if Q=1 means customer is satisfied and if its 1 means customer is delighted.
Now in today's competitive world by just satisfying your customer you will not stand in market for long, if you have to stand for long compete the market leaders then u have to delight your customer by providing quality product.
Its the most and simple way of understanding product quality or quality.

Ahmed Abdelrasheed Elsagheer
by Ahmed Abdelrasheed Elsagheer , Training Operations & Consultation Manager , Guidance Training Institute - GTI (A CQI-IRCA Approved Training Partner)

product in high quality is the product which in compliance with ISO standards & make the customer satisfaction

mohamed sabeen
by mohamed sabeen , QHSE Manager , Novus catering service

The group of features and characteristics of a saleable good which determine its desirability and which can be controlled by a manufacturer to meet certain basic requirements. Most businesses that produce goods for sale have a product quality or assurance department that monitors outgoing products for consumer acceptability.

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