Showing posts with label Mercedes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mercedes. Show all posts

Monday, July 16, 2007

What is QUALITY and GRADE?

Every time QUALITY is very often confused with GRADE.

It is because people very often confuse QUALITY with such aspects as expensiveness, luxury etc. If you compare an expensive, top of the range "MONT BLANC PEN" and the disposable "BIC PEN", many people would say that the "MONT BLANC PEN" is of a better quality. It is a firm belief of many people that "MERCEDES" is a high quality vehicle, which is probably true, but in many countries such belief is so wrong, that people, without thinking say: "MERCEDES IS HIGHER QUALITY THAN TOYOTA".

If you look critically, ask yourself the question "What is the purpose of these two pens or these two cars?" Pens are for writing and cars are there to take you from X to Y. So the functional use is the same. Now, is an expensive "MONT BLANC PEN" suitable for foreman or a lead hand in a heavy production environment? Certainly not, it can easily get damaged, You can drop a BIC PEN on a concrete floor and nothing will happen, it will most likely still be fit for the same. The result may be disastrous. "MONT BLANC" is probably better suited for office staff, especially those, who want to impress their customers with how well off the company is. You may now see that, although these two products top of the range "MERCEDES" will be suitable for those, who look for luxury and a "STATUS" car. Most people cannot however afford such a car and therefore it is unable to meet their needs. On the contrary the "TOYOTA COROLLA" is an affordable means of transportation, offering a reasonable level of safety and comfort. You may know that in the statistics run by specialized, "GERMAN MOTOR JOURNALS", the COROLLA is ranked at the top of the list as far as reliability is concerned.

A similar comparison may be made when considering HOTELS. FIVE STAR HOTELS are often considered to be of the highest quality, but those, who have travelled a lot, know better than that. It is very often the case that you receive a superior quality or service in small countryside establishments ranked as TWO or THREE STAR, where the service will often have that special personal touch. Stars, if you know the system, are awarded for the services and facilities available (like laundry, beauty parlour, barber, gymnasium, sauna, jacuzzi, swimming pool, number of restaurants, bars, etc.), but do not tell you the quality of service really. You can get lousy service in a FIVE STAR HOTEL on occasions.

What differs between these two PENS, CARS and HOTELS is the grade?

ISO 9001:2000 defines GRADE as :

"category or rank given to different quality requirements for products, processes or systems having the same functional use"

Grade reflects a planned or international difference in the requirements for quality. It emphasizes the functional use and cost relationship.

GRADE is inherent in the product, whereas QUALITY is dependent upon how well the product satisfies the needs.

GRADE can be altered by changes in specification.

QUALITY is now often defined as TOTAL CONFORMANCE TO THE REQUIREMENTS; these requirements are total customer requirements and organization requirements, not just conformance to product specification. This far-reaching application of quality to every activity has taken many years to develop and is no long way from where it begun.


Related Links :

01. Do You Know About QCFI?
02. QCFI and its Contribution to Quality Circle Movement In INDIA
03. Dr. K. Ishikawa : Founder of Quality Circle
04. History of Early 1950's
05. Services Offered By QCFI
06. Tips to Deal With Interruptions
07. Tips to give Good Feedback
08. Benefits of ISO 9001 : 2000 Quality Management System
09. Debatable Points Related to ISO 9001 : 2000 Quality Management System
10. Re-Defined : Quality
11. Job Titles in Quality Field
12. Four Absolutes of Quality Management
13. Crosby's 14 steps to quality improvement
14. Tips to Create Your Own Luck
15. Cost of Poor Quality
16. ISO 9001 : 2000 - List of Records
17. Quality Tips for Winning in Interview
18. Quality Maintenance
19. Overall Equipment Efficiency
20. Quality Terms Related to ISO 9001 : 2000 Quality Management System
21. What are the AUDIT OBJECTIVES?
22. What is AUDIT PLAN?
23. What is AUDIT TEAM?
24. What are the Responsibilities of LEAD AUDITOR?
25. What are the Responsibilities of AUDITOR?
26. What are the Lead Auditor's Activities in ISO 9001 : 2000 Quality Management System?
27. What are the Auditor's Activities in ISO 9001 : 2000 Quailty Management System?
28. What is Role of Auditee in ISO 9001 : 2000 Audit?
29. What are the Desirable Characteristics of the Documentation in ISO 9001 : 2000 Quailty Management System?
30. What are the Working Documents in ISO 9001 : 2000 Quality Management System?
31. What is the Purpose of an OPENING MEETING in ISO 9001 : 2000 Quality Management System?
32. What is the Glamour behind COLLECTING EVIDENCE?
33. How Become the Top : Think Differently
34. What are the AUDIT OBSERVATIONS ?
35. What it mean by the CLOSING MEETING with AUDITEE ?
36. What are AUDIT DOCUMENTS ?
37. What is the CORRECTIVE ACTION FOLLOW-UP ?
38. What are the DESIRABLE ATTRIBUTES of an AUDITOR ?
39. What are the DESIRABLE ABILITIES of an AUDITOR ?
40. Types of Questions to be asked in ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System
41. What are MINOR and MAJOR NONCONFORMITIES?
42. Examples of NONCONFORMITIES
43. What are the CONTENTS of NONCOMPLIANCE REPORT?
44. Useful tips for an AUDITOR
45. What is RELATION DIAGRAM in ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System ?
46. A sample check-list for an ADEQUACY AUDIT


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