Quality Control for Profit: Gaining the Competitive Edge PDF

Preface

Increasing concern for consumer protection and the emphasis on product reliability provide the impetus for management to create effective systems for the control of quality in industry. Initially, management may tend to view these needs as burdensome. However, this attitude will soon give way to approval, when it is shown that major cost savings, energy economies, and profit values accrue. This experience has emerged in program after program.

How are these gains attained? We may note two important factors:

• A cost-effective quality program sets up inspections and tests at strategic locations. These are points at which early detection and correction of product or processing deficiencies will forestall and avoid scrap rework, repair, as well as customer complaints.

• A quality-controlled product is a more saleable product. In the measure in which the manufacturer's reputation for conformance to specifications at reasonable prices increases, so will customer acceptance and product marketability grow.

Cost savings from avoidance of scrap, rework, repair, and returns have always been welcome. But it is particularly significant today that such savings also mean that scarce materials are not wasted, that labor is used productively rather than for repair and rework, and that energy is conserved when product is designed and produced on the principle of make it right the first time. Furthermore, as fewer quality problems are permitted to grow into major ones, delays for repair and rework are avoided, thus aiding production scheduling in meeting promiseddelivery dates. Manufacturers and customers will both benefit from smoother production flow and prompt deliveries.

It is from these viewpoints, supported by a wealth of practical illustrations, that this book has been developed. We emphasize the systems approach. Procedures are laid out in detail for the technical and managerial achievement of a well-integrated approach that involves the entire organization in working towards objectives of acceptable quality within a context of cost savings and profitability.

A large and important part of modern quality control and reliability assurance is concerned with statistical methods for the development of product sampling plans, process control charts and other analytical phases. We refer to these statistical techniques and give basic computational detail. Predominantly, however, we emphasize the technical/technological and operational procedures, the involvement of all management and staff functions, and the total systems approach in cost-effective, energy-economic and sales-building quality control.

The authors wish to extend their appreciation to Mr. Loren M. ("Chick") Walsh, editor of QUALITY (Hitchcock Publishing Company, Wheaton, Illinois) who reviewed the original manuscript. Relying on his vast experience and practical know-how in the quality control and editorial fields, he supplied numerous and significant recommendations-all of which helped shape the final form of this book. Responsibility for any deficiencies that may remain are those of the authors.

Authors: Ronald H. Lester, Norbert L. Enrick, Harry E.. Mottley, Jr