8.2 A Generic Approach to Quality
315
Cha raCleristics of entity
Expeditiousness ~--II--~ Cost-effectiveness
Personnel safety/comfort
If the body concerned decides that expeditiousness should be the most substantial
feature of its production or service, then some other characteristics of the entity will suffer,
the cost wil l be higher and the personnel will be more deeply involved.
Characteristics of entity
Expeditiousness - -
- t -oo} Cost-effectiveness
Personnel safety/comfort
The case may also be that more than one characteristic (e. g. expeditiousness and some
property of the entity) need be enhanced. As a result, a side rather than an edge of the tetrahedron of Fig. 8.3 will have to be expanded.
8.2.4 Structure of Quality
No doubt, a body that commits itself to achieving quality, whether internal or
external, must organize itself in a structured manner. Figure 8.4 shows the cyclic
cascade of decisions and actions that materialize in the policy-managementquality system-quality assurance sequence. Although a detailed description of
this structure is beyond the scope of this textbook, its first and last elements
warrant some comment.
The existence of a quality policy, reflected in a document passed by the body's
top management, is the unavoidable starting point for the body's quality
structure. Without a quality policy, the quality ship will sail courseless and any
- occasionally heroic - swerve will be senseless. In practice, the quality policy
translates into managerial elements and operating systems that materialize in
so-called "Quality Assurance"; this can be defined as "the framework for the
series of activities intended to assure the quality level planned for an entity".
Assuring quality entails examining the entity (products, systems and/or
services) and applying corrective actions if needed.
Quality assurance involves three well-defined types of activities that are often
confused, namely: quality control, which is exerted by directly examining the
entity via comparisons with essentially quantitative indicators; quality assess-
315
Cha raCleristics of entity
Expeditiousness ~--II--~ Cost-effectiveness
Personnel safety/comfort
If the body concerned decides that expeditiousness should be the most substantial
feature of its production or service, then some other characteristics of the entity will suffer,
the cost wil l be higher and the personnel will be more deeply involved.
Characteristics of entity
Expeditiousness - -
- t -oo} Cost-effectiveness
Personnel safety/comfort
The case may also be that more than one characteristic (e. g. expeditiousness and some
property of the entity) need be enhanced. As a result, a side rather than an edge of the tetrahedron of Fig. 8.3 will have to be expanded.
8.2.4 Structure of Quality
No doubt, a body that commits itself to achieving quality, whether internal or
external, must organize itself in a structured manner. Figure 8.4 shows the cyclic
cascade of decisions and actions that materialize in the policy-managementquality system-quality assurance sequence. Although a detailed description of
this structure is beyond the scope of this textbook, its first and last elements
warrant some comment.
The existence of a quality policy, reflected in a document passed by the body's
top management, is the unavoidable starting point for the body's quality
structure. Without a quality policy, the quality ship will sail courseless and any
- occasionally heroic - swerve will be senseless. In practice, the quality policy
translates into managerial elements and operating systems that materialize in
so-called "Quality Assurance"; this can be defined as "the framework for the
series of activities intended to assure the quality level planned for an entity".
Assuring quality entails examining the entity (products, systems and/or
services) and applying corrective actions if needed.
Quality assurance involves three well-defined types of activities that are often
confused, namely: quality control, which is exerted by directly examining the
entity via comparisons with essentially quantitative indicators; quality assess-