Please indicate the source for the original reprint of Yunzhi QMS
Author: Wang Hongshi
The introduction reveals only the tip of the iceberg
Note: () is the number of ISO9000:2015 quality management system basis and terms
Quality management (3.3.4) of an organization may include the development of quality policy (3.5.9) and quality objectives (3.7.2), as well as quality control (3.3.5) through quality planning (3.3.5), quality assurance (3.3.6) 3.3.7), and quality improvement (3.3.8) the process to achieve these quality objectives.
Quality management means not only producing a part or product that is free from defects, but also the constant pursuit of excellence, ensuring that organizations continue to improve while maintaining their status quo.
Quality management is about making an organization work for its stakeholders, from improving products, services, systems and processes, to ensuring the fitness and effectiveness of the entire organization.
For most companies, investors, employees, and suppliers are stakeholders, and customers are the most important stakeholders. Organizations must not only understand the needs of stakeholders, but also meet these needs and even exceed the expectations of stakeholders.
The incident of Zhang Xiaoquan snapping garlic and breaking the knife provided business operators and consumers with after-dinner conversation, but it also needs to reflect on the sidelines of the sinking boat. Kitchen knife manufacturers should not blindly pursue profits, but should continue to collect and understand customer needs, assume responsibility for product quality, and learn lessons from it.
A manufacturing enterprise may suffer from quality problems every day. However, the exposed quality problems are just the tip of the iceberg. Under the water, more hidden problems have yet to be discovered and resolved.
Starting from the actual situation of the enterprise, avoiding high expectations, step by step, practice real skills in quality, and solve problems one by one. Over time, the value of quality management will be gradually reflected.
2.1 Definition of quality
Zhang Xiaoquan's "lost garlic" turmoil was caused by a customer complaint that the knife was broken when he snapped the garlic, that is, the product of the kitchen knife had quality problems.
Many people understand the word quality more subjectively and emotionally, and there may be great deviations in the understanding of different people.
The quality that everyone usually understands may be one of the following scenarios:
Although the managers of enterprises struggle with quality problems in their daily work (even in their dreams), they do not necessarily fully understand the connotation of quality, and even many business owners or high-level executives do not know the definition of quality.
So what is quality?
The evolution of the definition of quality
The word "quality", also called "quality" by many quality colleagues, is one of the most basic concepts in quality management. From the perspective of philosophical development, with the continuous development of society, economy and science and technology, the definition of quality is constantly enriched, perfected and deepened.
From the dimension of chronicle, we intercept the definitions of quality in different versions of ISO 8402 and ISO 9000 standards (the Chinese translation is intercepted here, interested readers can refer to the original English version), and trace the evolution of quality definitions in ISO standards.
As you can see, from the ISO 8402:1986 version to the current version of ISO 9000:2015, the definition of quality has changed drastically. The only thing that has not changed is the 2005 version of ISO 9000, which is exactly the same as the 2000 version.
From 1986 to 2015, for nearly 30 years, the cognition of the word "quality" has been continuously refreshed and reflected in the standards.
Definition of quality in ISO 9000:2015 standard
Let's first look at the definition of quality in standard 3.6.2 of ISO 9000:2015 "Quality Management System Basis and Terminology" [Fourth Edition]:
quality , degree to which a set of inherent properties (3.10.1) of an object ( 3.6.1) satisfies a requirement (3.6.4)
" Quality " can be modified by adjectives such as: poor, good or excellent, that is, quantitative " characteristics " to express.
"Inherent" (the opposite of which is "endowed") means existing in the object (3.6.1), which is also a new attributive adjective in the ISO 9000:2000 version.
Let's look back at the definition of quality in standard 3.1.1 of ISO 9000:2005 "Quality Management System Basis and Terminology" [Third Edition]:
quality , degree to which a set of inherent characteristics (3.5.1) fulfills a requirement (3.1.2).
The definition of quality in the 2015 version of the standard has three words "of an object" more than the 2005 version. It is clear that the characteristics are inherent in the object itself. Only when the determined inherent characteristics of the object meet the requirements, then the quality is good. or qualified, otherwise it is bad or unqualified.
Although the definition of " quality " in the 2015 version of the standard is only a short sentence, it contains a lot of content. There are three words in bold that require our special attention, namely "object", "characteristics " and " requirements " .
Let's still take a girl's blind date as an example. A girl's " requirements " for a blind date are:
The object of the blind date - the boy is the " object ", the height and age are the inherent " characteristics " of the boy, the extent to which the boy's height and age meet the requirements is the " quality "; and the other three requirements, namely luxury cars, Housing and Savings are given attributes.
2.2 What is an object
" object " (object; entity; item), anything that can be perceived or imagined (3.6.1).
" Object " is the carrier of " characteristics ", that is, the object described by the concept of quality. Examples of objects are given in 3.6.1 of ISO 9000:2015 "Basics and terminology of quality management systems": products, services, processes, people, organizations, systems, resources.
From these examples, we can see that " object " is a very good abstract summary, but it is not limited to products and services, but generally refers to all perceivable or imaginable things, which may be material (such as: An engine, a piece of paper, a diamond), immaterial (e.g. conversion rate, a project plan), or imaginary (e.g. future state of the organization).
In Zhang Xiaoquan’s case of shooting garlic and cutting knife, there are different objects from different dimensions, such as Zhang Xiaoquan (organization), quality management (system), customer complaint or customer service (process), Zhang Xiaoquan JD’s channel merchant customer service and Zhang Xiaoquan’s general manager Manager (personnel), Longque cutting dual-purpose knife (product), customer complaint rate (quality target), etc. Of course, you can also imagine where Zhang Xiaoquan will go in the future.
2.3 What is a feature
" characteristic " means a distinguishing feature (3.10.1).
A " property " can be inherent or imparted to an object; a " property " can be qualitative or quantitative.
Starting from the ISO 9000:2000 version standard, it is clear that it is an inherent characteristic, that is, it is distinguished from an endowed characteristic.
The dimensions of the classification are different, and there can be various categories of characteristics, such as:
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Physical (e.g. mechanical, electrical, chemical or biological properties);
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Sensory (e.g. smell, touch, taste, sight, hearing);
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behavioral (e.g. politeness, honesty, integrity);
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Temporal (e.g. punctuality, reliability, availability, continuity);
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Ergonomic (e.g. physiological characteristics or characteristics related to personal safety);
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Functional (eg: aircraft top speed).
Zhang Xiaoquan can completely "imagine" Zhang Xiaoquan's organization, quality management system, customer complaint or customer service process, general manager, dragon bird cutting dual-purpose knife, customer complaint rate, etc. within the organization through the incident of garlic and knife breaking , what are the inherent properties and evaluate whether they meet the requirements. If not, you've discovered an opportunity for improvement below the surface.
Especially for the broken knife, in order to give the public a public statement in the future, it is necessary to clarify its inherent characteristics, and then evaluate whether it meets the requirements based on these identified inherent characteristics.
2.4 What are the requirements
" requirement " is an expressed, usually implied or obligatory need or expectation (3.6.4).
A " requirement " can be raised by different interested parties or the organization itself, and it may be both an input and an output of a " characteristic " .
A " requirement " may be stated or implied. If it is a prescribed requirement, the organization and relevant parties will formulate a document to clarify it. If it is an implicit requirement, it is the practice or general practice of the organization and relevant parties. The considered requirements or expectations are self-evident. It is important to note that in order to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction it may be necessary to meet customer expectations that are neither expressed nor generally implied or obligatory.
Specific requirements of interested parties or organizations may have various qualifiers, such as product requirements, quality management requirements, customer requirements, quality requirements, etc.
In the previous article, several examples of "customary practices equal to customer requirements" were cited. The following examples are also typical of invisible requirements.
When planning product quality standards, there are many invisible standards that are not explicitly stated, but do exist. for example:
1) The civilian voltage in China is 220V, and its maximum fluctuation range is ±10%; the voltage in Italy is also 220V, but if the electrical appliances suitable for the Chinese voltage are directly moved to Italy, the customer complaint rate may increase greatly, because The voltage in the Italian mountains is unstable, with a fluctuation range of more than ±20%, which may cause electrical appliances to fail to start due to low voltage.
2) When home appliance companies develop the Indonesian market, in addition to highlighting the functional advantages of the products in the R&D process, they must also consider the characteristics of the local power supply load. They should not design the electrical power too large, otherwise they will often trip.
3) For products exported to Japan, pay attention to the outer packaging. If the tape on the packing box is crooked, the Japanese will think that the product is not made seriously and the quality is not good.
In the previous article, we quoted the national standard GB/T 40356-2021. Chapter 5 puts forward multiple clear requirements for kitchen knives, which are expressly stipulated requirements; request, but the request was "a louse on a bald head - plainly".
This fits right in with the statement in the standard "It is important to note that in order to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction it may be necessary to meet expectations of customers that are neither expressed nor generally implied or obligatory."
Postscript Quality improvement starts from demining
After talking about the definition of quality, let's look back and ask ourselves, what is the quality of the kitchen knife that broke when the garlic was smashed? Does it meet the requirements?
If an enterprise does not have a sense of crisis in quality management, and does not really face and solve problems, it will cause its barbaric growth. Although there is a lot of money, but like Sanlu milk powder, Takata airbags, Mitsubishi Electric and other well-known companies, the quality problems hidden under the water are like mines, and they may explode at any time.
The shock wave of the explosion will have a very wide range of influence, and even the brand reputation, profit, stock price and market value of the company will be affected. If you don't deal with it properly, you may shoot yourself in the foot.
Quality problems, whether they are visible or invisible, will eventually become mines if left unchecked; corporate management improvement, quality management improvement, and start from mine clearance.
Please indicate the source for the original reprint of Yunzhi QMS