Methods of Ensuring Quality Flashcards

All 10 cards in this deck

What is quality control?

Inspectors checking products or services to find faults, often by testing finished products or samples, so that what customers receive meets the required standard.

What is quality assurance?

Carrying out quality checks at each stage of production, making every employee responsible for the quality of their own work.

Give one benefit of using quality assurance rather than quality control.

Every worker is responsible for checking their stage, so faults are spotted during production and faulty products are less likely to leave the production line.

Give one drawback of introducing quality assurance.

It requires a large amount of employee training because workers must check their own work, so business costs increase. (Also: it needs a change in culture and is time consuming.)

How can a business ensure quality when providing a service?

Train staff and employ highly skilled people, and build a culture where all employees focus on high-quality service — though this raises costs.

What is the main difference in aim between quality control and quality assurance?

Quality control aims to find faulty products after they have been made; quality assurance aims to prevent faults happening in the first place.

Give one advantage of quality control.

Any one of: it does not disrupt production, because inspectors check while workers keep producing; it stops faulty products reaching customers, protecting the business's reputation.

Give one disadvantage of quality control.

Any one of: it does not prevent faults, so materials and time are wasted on faulty products; inspectors' wages and testing add to costs; workers are not made responsible for quality.

Give one way a business can check the quality of a service it provides.

Any one of: a customer satisfaction survey; a mystery shopper, who poses as an ordinary customer and reports on the service received.

How can quality assurance motivate employees?

Workers are trusted with responsibility for the quality of their own work, so they feel valued and may work harder and better.