INFORMATION SHEET 1.

1-1
Apply Quality Standards

Learning Objective:

After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, YOU MUST be able to engage

in quality improvement.

Workplace Procedure

Workplace Procedure is a set of written instructions that identifies the

health and safety issues that may arise from the jobs and tasks that make up a
system of work.

A safe working procedure should be written when:

 designing a new job or task

 changing a job or task
 introducing new equipment
 reviewing a procedure when problems have been identified, example from
an accident or incident investigation

The safe working procedure should identify:

 the teacher for the task or job and the students who will undertake the
task
 the tasks that are to be undertaken that pose risks
 the equipment to be used in these tasks
 the control measures that have been formulated for these tasks
 any training or qualification needed to undertake the task
 the personal protective equipment to be worn
 action to be undertaken to address safety issues that may arise while
undertaking the task
Following certain procedures is very important to perform a given
operation. The table below shows different elements and their corresponding
performance criteria to be able to identify occupational health and safety
hazards, and assess risk, as well as follow instructions and procedure in the
workplace with minimal supervision. The students will also be capable of
participating and contributing to OHS management issues.
TYPES AND WORK-RELATED ERRORS

A. Quantity of work (untimely completion, limited production)

1. Poor prioritizing, timing, scheduling

2. Lost time
 Tardiness, absenteeism, leaving without permission
 Excessive visiting, phone use, break time, use of the Internet
 Misuse of sick leave
3. Slow response to work requests, untimely completion of assignments
4. Preventable accidents

B. Quality of work (failure to meet quality standards)

1. Inaccuracies, errors
2. Failure to meet expectations for product quality, cost or service
3. Customer/client dissatisfaction
4. Spoilage and/or waste of materials
5. Inappropriate or poor work methods
Work Behavior Which Result in Performance Problems

A. Inappropriate behavior (often referred to as "poor attitude")

 Negativism, lack of cooperation, hostility

 Failure or refusal to follow instructions
 Unwillingness to take responsibility ("passing the buck")
 Insubordination
 Power games

B. Resistance to change

 Unwillingness, refusal or inability to update skills

 Resistance to policy, procedure, work method changes
 Lack of flexibility in response to problems

C. Inappropriate interpersonal relations

 Inappropriate communication style: over-aggressive, passive

  Impatient, inconsiderate, argumentative
 Destructive humor, sarcasm, horseplay, fighting
 Inappropriate conflict with others, customers, co-workers, supervisors

D. Inappropriate physical behavior

 Smoking, eating, drinking in inappropriate places

 Sleeping on the job
 Alcohol or drug use
 Problems with personal hygiene
 Threatening, hostile, or intimidating behavior

Fault Identification and Reporting

These are the things to be considered when:

A. Receiving Materials:

1. Match the packing slip to the items received and ensures that the materials
are destined on tour department.

2. That you are receiving the materials indicated on the purchase order with
regard to quantity and discount.

3. That the materials are in acceptable condition.

4. That terms regarding installation and/or set-up of equipment are met.

B. Receiving Reports

Whenever goods are received:

1. The person receiving the goods must document, using the administrative
software, that all goods were received for each requisition before any
payment can be made to the vendor.

2. Any exceptions must be noted so that partial payments can be processed or

defective goods can be returned.
C. Return of Merchandise

When merchandise is received which is incomplete or defective, the

supervisor will return the materials to the supplier or to the store where it was
bought and make arrangements with the vendor for replacement.

D. Make an Inventory Report of the Materials

All materials received must be listed and be reported to monitor how

many materials are already on hand, purchased or damaged.

Effective management checks are an important means of providing

assurance of the integrity and security of the benefit processes. They are also
useful in identifying training needs; indicating possible weaknesses in
procedure and ensuring the section meets its accuracy target set for Best Value
Performance Indicators purposes.

Methodology

The teacher will be the assessor. Students will be randomly assigned that
will: 1.) act as Quality Checker; 2.) responsible for monitoring and coordinating
the checking arrangements and; 3.) must generate reports when receiving the
equipment.

The Quality checker will record the date of receipt, name of the materials
purchased, quantity, and official receipt number, signature of the person who
bought the materials and signed his name afterwards. The Quality checker will
identify if the materials are in good condition or damage and /or needing for
replacements. This will also be recorded on his report.

Feedback

Once the Quality checker has completed all the reports, the assessor will
check if the Quality Checker provides all the data needed in the report.

Example of Log Report (to be completed by the Quality checker)

Date Item Quality

O.R. # Quantity Signature
Received Name Checker
Example of Assessment of Materials Received (to be completed by the
Quality checker)

Quality Checker: Date:

Total no. in Total no.

Item Name Comments
Good Condition of Errors

Unit of competency: - Apply Quality Standards

Standards are sets of rules that outline specification of dimensions,

design of operation, materials and performance, or describe quality of
materials, products or systems. These standards should cover the performance
expectations of the product for particular applications. The intent of standards
is to provide at least minimum quality, safety or performance specifications so
as to ensure relatively uniform products and performance, and to remove
ambiguity as to the suitability of certain commercial products for particular
applications. Following standards may reduce the risk of error in working.

Specific quality standards for:

1. Hardware The durability of the work depends on the quality of its
component parts and the assembly skills of those who install it. If the best-
quality products or hardware are used but are installed incorrectly, the system
will be a failure.
The application of suitable hardware and products must be supported
by adequate levels of training of person who use them so that they can identify
and use only appropriate products.
In judging a product or hardware, the person must consider factors such
as the following:
 Is the product or hardware under consideration suitable for the
application or purpose?
 Will it be harmful to the health of the community in its normal use?
 Is there a risk of this hardware being released into the environment
(e.g. the water) in the first instance or after the working life of the product or
hardware has expired?
2. Production Process In production process, checking of quality assurance
must be highly considered. Quality assurance covers all activities from design,
development, production, installation, servicing and documentation. This
introduced the rules: "fit for purpose" and "do it right the first time". It includes
the regulation of the quality of raw materials, assemblies, products and
components; services related to production; and management, production, and
inspection processes.

A. Failure testing

A valuable process to perform on a whole consumer product is failure

testing, the operation of a product until it fails, often under stresses such as
increasing vibration, temperature and humidity. This exposes many
unanticipated weaknesses in a product, and the data is used to drive
engineering and manufacturing process improvements.

B. Statistical control

Many organizations use statistical process control to bring the

organization to Six Sigma levels of quality, in other words, so that the likelihood
of an unexpected failure is confined to six standard deviations on the normal
distribution. Traditional statistical process controls in manufacturing
operations usually proceed by randomly sampling and testing a fraction of the
output. Variances of critical tolerances are continuously tracked, and
manufacturing processes are corrected before bad parts can be produced.

C. Company quality

The company-wide quality approach places an emphasis on three aspects:

1. Elements such as controls, job management, adequate processes,

performance and integrity criteria and identification of records
2. Competence such as knowledge, skills, experience and qualifications
3. Soft elements, such as personnel integrity, confidence, organizational
culture, motivation, team spirit and quality relationships.

The quality of the outputs is at risk if any of these three aspects are
deficient in any way.

D. Total quality control

Total Quality Control is the most necessary inspection control of all in

cases where, despite statistical quality control techniques or quality
improvements implemented, sales decrease.
As the most important factor had been ignored, a few refinements had to be
introduced:

1. Marketing had to carry out their work properly and define the customer’s
specifications.
2. Specifications had to be defined to conform to these requirements.
3. Conformance to specifications i.e. drawings, standards and other
relevant documents, were introduced during manufacturing, planning
and control.
4. Management had to confirm all operators are equal to the work imposed
on them and holidays, celebrations and disputes did not affect any of the
quality levels.
5. Inspections and tests were carried out, and all components and
materials, bought in or otherwise, conformed to the specifications, and
the measuring equipment was accurate, this is the responsibility of the
QA/QC department.
6. Any complaints received from the customers were satisfactorily dealt
with in a timely manner.
7. Feedback from the user/customer is used to review designs.
8. Consistent data recording and assessment and documentation integrity.
9. Product and/or process change management and notification.

To conclude, the above forms are the basis from which the philosophy of
Quality Assurance has evolved, and the achievement of quality or the “fitness-
for-purpose” is “Quality Awareness” throughout the company.

4. Final Product
Table Quality System Elements.

Quality System Contents

Requirements

1 Management Define and document commitment, policy and

responsibility objectives, responsibility and authority, verification
resources and personnel. Appoint a management
representative and conduct regular reviews of the
system

2 Quality system Establish and maintain a documented quality system

ensuring that products conform to specified
 requirements

3 Contract Review Ensure that customer's contractual requirements are

evaluated and met

4 Product Plan, control and verify product development to

development ensure that specified requirements are met

5 Document System for control and identification of all documents

control regarding quality, e.g. procedures, instructions, and
specifications

6 Purchasing Ensure that purchased products conform to specified

requirements

7 Product System to identify and control traceability of product

identification at all stages from raw materials through production to
and traceability the final product as delivered to the customer

8 Process control Ensure and plan the control of production which

direct- ly effects quality by documented work
instructions, monitoring and control of processes

9 Inspection and Inspect and test incoming products, intermediate and

testing final product; establish product conformance to
specified requirements and identify non-conforming
pro- ducts; maintain inspection and test records

10 Inspection, Selection and control of equipment to ensure

measuring and reliability and accuracy in measuring data
test equipment

11 Inspection and For the whole process the products shall be identified
test status and clearly marked concerning test status, including
indication of conformance or non-conformance

12 Control of non- Identification, documentation, evaluation, isolation (if

conforming possible) and disposition of non-conforming products
products

13 Corrective Prevention of reoccurrence of failures (non-

 actions conformance)

5. Customer Service
According to Turban et al, 2002, “Customer service is a series of
activities designed to enhance the level of customer’s satisfaction – that
is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer’s
expectation”. Its importance varies by product, industry and customer.

Unit of competency: - Apply Quality Standards

2…….. Deviation

 Associated with limits vs. specifications

GMP (Good manufacturing practice mistakes or errors

– Reprocessing or Rework
– Unapproved changes
– Performing an activity without proper training
– Outside of operating parameters or in-process control limits
– Failure to follow written SOPs or approved batch record
instructions
 Documenting all attempts to identify, determine, confirm, or rule out
potential root cause(s)
– Why and how did it occur
 Detailed descriptions (what, where, when, and who) of the deviation vs.
root cause investigation or assessments
 Definitive or Potential Root Cause(s)
Quality Assurance

Quality assurance refers to assurance given to consumers that the

product, parts, components and services which he is buying or investing in
contain the promised features or characteristics. Quality Assurance implies
that the process used to manufacture a product or deliver a service is tried and
tested and it is fit for intended use.

Steps taken to ensure quality assurance:

 Quality specifications: The specific features are established. Then the

product is designed to meet these specifications.
 Quality inspections: Testing and inspections are regularly done at every
stage of manufacture. Raw materials, parts, equipment and qualified
personnel are all selected according to quality guidelines.
 Quality evaluation: Follow up and evaluation is done to measure the
degree of effectiveness and efficiency of a product.

Deviations from quality:

There are many causes which may cause deviation from the quality or the
product may be lacking in the feature(s) described. The variations may occur
due to a chance such as a slight malfunction of the machinery and are
negligible. Assignable causes of variation enter the production system or
process undetected and cause losses. They occur due to negligence or oversight
on part of technicians or faults in the machines.

Quality control ensures that the product or service meets the design
specifications and safety guidelines. It also helps in maintaining discipline and
unity among the employees. It reduces the quantity of scrap, waste and the
degree of spoilage during production.

Quality control audits are conducted in the company by an external

agency. Majority of the big corporations hold quality control orientation and
training

Quality is controlled at various stages of production.

 At the design and conception stage: The product is designed according
to the specifications laid out while conceiving the product. The standard
of the product is predetermined before the start of production.
 At the purchasing stage: The raw materials and components purchased
meet the quality standards. They are examined and inspected carefully
for flaws and defects.
 At the production stage: The stage where raw materials are converted
into finished products is the longest and most exhaustive. Supervisors
and quality department has to make sure that the processes

Corrective action

 Short term, immediate actions taken to “correct” or address the potential

root cause(s) for each reported deviation
 Actions designed to eliminate or minimize the potential for recurrence of
the deviation
 Must be initiated (accountability in a formal quality system) or completed
prior to closing out of the investigation
 Corrective actions should be tracked and trended in a quality system