What is quality?

 What is quality?

This is undoubtedly one of the main questions that we should be interested in answering to all of us who work on the implementation of Management Systems. We must be clear about this concept because it is the main pillar where our Management System will be sustained. Remember that if you want, you can also see the video on YouTube where I explain about it, I leave you the link so you can access it:

At the end of this Blog I will also leave you the DOWNLOADABLE file of this topic.

What does the ISO Standard tell us about this concept? Well, the ISO 9000 standard tells us the following:

·         Quality:

Degree (*) to which a set of inherent characteristics (**) of an object meets the requirements (***).

(*) In this definition, when the ISO standard mentions the Grade, it is the qualification that is given to quality. This rating can be quantitative, a number, a scale from 1 to 10, a percentage of satisfaction or it can also be qualitative, that is, perceptible, good-bad-regular -excellent.

(**) In this concept he also mentions the “inherent characteristics”. What is an inherent characteristic? When is a characteristic Inherent? Let's explain it with an example: For saying A pencil, what would its inherent characteristic be? That which must be included in the product, that feature that this pen cannot miss The answer to this feature would obviously be: “Paint” “let the pen paint”. A pencil that does not paint does not meet its main quality characteristic.

(***) In the final part of this concept he mentions meeting the requirements; But: Who sets the requirements? Going back to the example of the pencil. It's not just about the pen writing correctly. Quality also depends on the requirements that the standards mention to you. If there is any regulation in the country of destination that requires the pen to be ergonomic then the pen must comply with those standards. If the sector or the population to which this pen is directed is a business sector, they may want a more sophisticated pen than the one that would be used for a pen directed to a student population. The economic sectors will also define the characteristics that customers ask us for.

In order to understand this concept a little better, the ISO Standard gives us two additional notes:

Note 1: The term “quality can be used accompanied by adjectives such as poor, good or excellent.

Note 2: “Inherent”, as opposed to “assigned”, means that it exists in the object ”.

Let us also remember that the ISO standard expands the meaning of a characteristic, object and requirement:

·         Characteristic

Differentiating feature

Note 1: A characteristic can be inherent or assigned

Note 2: A characteristic can be qualitative or quantitative.

Note 3: There are several classes of features, such as the following:

a) physical (for example: mechanical, electrical, chemical or biological characteristics);

b) sensory (for example, related to smell, touch, taste, sight and hearing)

c) behavioral (for example: courtesy, honesty, truthfulness);

d) time (for example: punctuality, reliability, availability, continuity);

e) ergonomic (for example: physiological characteristics, or related to the safety of people);

f) functional (for example: maximum speed of an airplane).

 

Object:

Entity.

Anything that can be perceived or imagined (conceived)

Example: Product, service, process, person, organization, system, resource.

 

Note 1: Objects can be material (for example, a motor, a sheet of paper, a diamond), non-materials (for example, a conversion rate, a project plan), or imaginary (for example, the future state of an organization).

 

Requirement

Necessity or expectation estabilished, mandatory or implicit generally.

 

Note 1: "Generally implied" means that it is customary or common practice for the organization and interested parties that the need or expectation under consideration is implied.

Note 2: A specified requirement is one that is stated, for example, in documented information.

Note 3: Qualifiers can be used to identify a specific type of requirement (eg product requirement), quality management requirement, customer requirement, quality requirement.

Note 4: Requirements can be generated by different stakeholders or by the organization itself.

Note 5: To achieve high customer satisfaction it may be necessary to meet a customer expectation even if it is neither stated nor generally implied, nor is it mandatory.

Note 6: This term is one of the common terms and essential definitions for management system standards given in Annex SL of the Consolidated ISO Supplement to Part 1 of the ISO / IEC Directives. The original definition has been modified by adding notes 3 to 5 to the entry.

As you can see, the concept of Quality shown in this presentation and based on the ISO standard is closely linked to compliance with the requirements that are requested from us. Compliance with these requirements will largely determine whether our product or service provided is qualified or not as a Quality product or service.

 As I promised at the beginning of this Blog, I leave you the document of this topic for your review:

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Kind regards,

Gestor Quality - HSE