Assessing quality management within a selected South African manufacturer

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether employees believe that increasing quality assurance rather than quality control would benefit the South African manufacturer. The primary objective was therefore to get a clear understanding of how employees perceive these quality-related terms and how quality assurance can assist in improving product quality and customer satisfaction. A literature study was conducted on the history, differences between quality assurance and quality control (as illustrated in The distinction between QC, QA and TQM is powerfully illustrated in figure 2.4, Figure 2-4), training, quality culture, people and systems. During the empirical study it was found that there is no clear understanding of the distinction between the terms "quality assurance", "quality control" and "total quality management". A factor analysis identified seven factors that can be regarded as significant. These were: quality culture, ownership, non-conformance, increase (in quality), management, assurance and training. The responses indicated the existence of a strong quality culture, a high degree of personal ownership towards quality; and significant differences between groups on definition of non-conformances, on the need to increase quality measures, on management's role in quality achievement, on quality assurance measures to be implemented and on the need for training. Conclusions are presented and recommendations are made based on the empirical analyses. The conclusions were validated against the research objectives and it was found that the primary and secondary objectives were achieved.