Write down if you (or someone you know ) have ever bought something that has broken quickly or not worked at all. What did you/they do? What could be the implications for business of this happening? How could a business to prevent this from happening?

Cutesy Cards Simulation Quality Control Cutesy Cards Simulation

Aims Understand the methods of quality control Understand the implications of quality control for the business

Scenario: you all work for Cutesy Cards: a company at the cheaper end of the greetings card market Cutesy Cards are experimenting with methods of improving the quality of their product.

Your task: to create a simple greetings card with shapes and greeting on the front and Cutesy Cards logo (a star) on the back (no message inside).

Quality Control. Method 1: Quality Control Inspection Groups of 6/7. One quality control inspector and 5-6 workers. Worker 1: folds paper Worker 2: sticks on first shape Worker 3: sticks on second shape (Steps 2 and 3 combined if only 6 in group) Worker 4: sticks on third shape Worker 5: does lettering Worker 6: Sticks star on reverse

Quality inspector: assesses quality of card and accepts or rejects final product. It is your responsibility to ensure that no sub-standard cards are allowed out of the factory.

Quality Criteria: Folding accurate Shapes positioned correctly on page Shapes firmly stuck down Lettering neat Logo positioned correctly on back of card

Aim: make as much money for the business as possible in 5 minutes

Feedback How many products were rejected? What costs were involved for the business if each card cost £0.10 to make? Did you have an incentive to produce good work? How would you feel about your job if that was what you did every day?

Method 2: Total Quality Management No quality inspector. Each worker is now responsible for the quality of her own work. Quality Inspectors from round one now observe a different group If the quality of the work from the person before you in the production line is not good enough, do no further work on that card. Politely give the work back to the person before you and wait for the next card.

Feedback Look at total number of good quality cards produced – was it more or less than before? How have the costs for the business changed? As workers, how has your job changed?

Summary Quality Inspection checks quality of finished product Total Quality Management makes each worker responsible for quality TQM saves money on Inspectors’ salaries saves money on wasted products motivates workers leads to better quality products and more satisfied customers – more profit

Methods of Quality control & reasons for implementation Testing External standards Inspection Reduce Risk of failure Methods Reduce costs Increase competitiveness Improve reliability Improve reputation

Methods of Quality control Testing This method checks the quality of completed products for faults. Quality inspectors measure or test every product, samples from each batch, or random samples – as appropriate to the kind of product produced.