Quality is
vital in all aspects of life. In business, quality is an important factor when
it comes to any product or service. With high market competition, quality has
become the market differentiator for almost all products and services because
of the negative consequences of poor quality.
Poor quality
can have several customer-related consequences:
·
Poor
quality increases defects found by customers therefore increasing labor
costs on identifying and correcting these defects. Defects are expensive to
fix, and the later in the process they are detected, the more costly they are
to fix.
- Poor quality increases your
baseline costs. If an organization releases poor quality, it will likely
need a large number of support staff to help with customer issues. These
dedicated expenses cut into time and money spent on new development.
- Releasing poor quality causes
delays with customers and lost revenue. Once doubt creeps into the minds
of customers, they may delay purchasing new releases, allowing others to
gain the business.
- Poor quality diminishes your
reputation and market share. Your brand and its reputation is your most
valuable asset. In today’s highly connected environment, it is easy for a
few dissatisfied customers to spread negative reviews.
"Quality"
means different things to different people. The objective of “Quality" is
to satisfy the ever-changing needs of our customers, suppliers and employees,
with value added products and services emphasizing a continuous commitment to
satisfaction through an ongoing process of education, communication, evaluation
and constant improvement.
There are 5 elements of a Quality Management System comprising:
- Customer Quality – Customer
satisfaction/feedback, more than making a good product
- Product Quality – Performance meets
customers’ expectations, zero defect culture
- Process Quality – Disciplined
adherence to process ensure quality assurance
- Supplier Quality – Proactive and
collaborative systems assure supply chain
- Development Quality – Assessment of
product reliability through NPI cycle, reduce risk
This is built
on a base of engaged employees and an innovative problem-solving culture.
The customer’s
view of quality is an ever-evolving perception of the value provided by a
product. It is not a static perception that never changes but a fluid process
that changes as a product matures (innovation) and other alternatives
(competition) are made available as a basis of comparison.
Quality must go
beyond our product or service. We cannot add it at the end of the line or
inspect it into the product. At best that is only a false sense of security. If
we want a quality product it must be made with quality processes by quality
minded people.
Quality is not
a program or a project; it isn’t the responsibility of one individual or group
to perform. The responsibility of delivering quality products and services to
customers lies on the shoulders of every employee in Mirion. We will only make
meaningful and sustainable quality improvement when employees at every level of
the organization feel a shared desire to make processes and outcomes better
every day, in a bold and continuous manner.
Successful
implementation of a quality focused organization requires commitment and patience,
but the rewards are substantial. Beyond the obvious practical benefits,
organizations become empowered to solve persistent process and performance
challenges while raising the expectations they set for themselves.
A focus on
quality must be intrinsic to the company culture and practices for the customer
to take notice. Excellence in quality improves customer loyalty, elevates brand
position, reduces cost, attracts new customers, and draws the best and
brightest talent. A strong orientation for quality helps to achieve business
goals. Achieving excellence in quality provides significant momentum for the
business and is a source of pride for all employees. A comprehensive quality
management system is a key attribute to the longevity and success of an
organization.
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