Lean Production and Quality Management

Lean Production and Quality Management

• Lean production and quality management are interconnected aspects of operations management
• Quality goods and services are vital for operations management
• A quality product satisfies predetermined specifications and customer needs
• Quality isn't judged by manufacturing difficulty or cost; it's about customer value

The Importance of Quality

• Quality, in a product or service, is defined by what the customer gets, not what the producer puts in.
• Quality is determined by customer needs and views
• Managers need to set quality targets based on customer needs
• Quality targets vary according to business type

Quality Targets

• Examples of quality targets for a hotel include:
  • Customer satisfaction levels
  • Accurate billing
  • Speed of response (reception and restaurant)

Why Quality Matters

• Poor quality leads to errors requiring correction
• Defective goods can be discarded and/or require replacement
• Failing to meet customer product expectations can lead to legal action
• Poor quality damages customer loyalty and creates significant, costly issues.

Dimensions of Quality

• David A. Garvin developed the eight dimensions of quality in the late 1980s
• Dimensions include:

Performance

• Evaluates the primary operating characteristics of a product

Features

• Incorporates secondary features that enhance a product's usage

Reliability

• Measures a product's capacity to perform consistently without failure during a period of time. Average time until first failure, average time between failures, and failure rate are common measurement methods.

Conformance

• Assesses product's adherence to established design and operating standards. Measured by defect rates in factories and service call frequency after sale.

Durability

• Measures a product's expected lifespan in terms of technical and economic considerations. Technical durability is the amount of use a customer receives before the item deteriorates

Serviceability

• Measures speed, courtesy, repair capability and ease of repair for the product. Includes the quality of service personnel, method for processing service requests, and whether service corrects issues.

Aesthetics

• Subjective dimension related to a product's appearance: look, feel, sound, taste or smell

Perceived Quality

• Consumer's perception during initial contact with the product. Quality is often inferred based on tangible and intangible aspects.