QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND IT'S STAGES:

QUALITY MANAGEMENT: 

Quality management is the process of ensuring that a product or service meets the desired level of quality, as defined by the customer or user. It involves a series of stages that help ensure that the quality of the product or service is maintained throughout its lifecycle. These stages are:

Quality Planning: This stage involves identifying the customer's quality requirements and translating them into specific quality objectives for the product or service. This stage also involves determining the resources, processes, and tools required to meet the quality objectives.

Quality Control: This stage involves monitoring and controlling the processes used to create the product or service to ensure that the quality objectives are met. This stage involves the use of statistical quality control techniques, such as statistical process control, to identify and correct quality problems.

Quality Assurance: This stage involves the development and implementation of a quality management system that ensures that the product or service meets the desired level of quality. This stage involves creating policies, procedures, and guidelines that ensure that quality objectives are met consistently.

Quality Improvement: This stage involves continuously improving the quality of the product or service by identifying and addressing quality problems. This stage involves the use of tools such as root cause analysis, process improvement, and Six Sigma to identify and address quality problems.

Overall, quality management is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and improvement to ensure that the product or service meets the desired level of quality.

QUALITY PLANNING:

Quality planning is the first stage in quality management. It involves identifying the quality requirements of the customer or user and translating them into specific quality objectives for the product or service. Quality planning is a critical stage in the quality management process as it lays the foundation for the rest of the quality management stages.

During quality planning, the following activities are typically undertaken:

1. Defining quality objectives: This involves defining the quality requirements that the product or service should meet. Quality objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
2. Identifying quality standards: This involves identifying the quality standards that the product or service should meet, such as ISO standards, industry-specific standards, or customer-specific standards.
3. Establishing quality targets: This involves establishing specific quality targets for the product or service, such as defect rates, cycle times, or customer satisfaction levels.
4. Determining quality assurance and quality control activities: This involves determining the activities that will be used to ensure that the product or service meets the quality objectives, such as inspections, testing, audits, and reviews.
5. Identifying resources: This involves identifying the resources, including personnel, equipment, and materials, needed to achieve the quality objectives.
6. Developing a quality management plan: This involves documenting the quality objectives, standards, targets, activities, and resources in a quality management plan. The quality management plan serves as a roadmap for the rest of the quality management process.

Overall, quality planning is a critical stage in quality management as it helps ensure that the product or service meets the desired level of quality.

QUALITY CONTROL:

Quality control is the second stage in quality management. It involves monitoring and controlling the processes used to create the product or service to ensure that the quality objectives are met. Quality control is an essential stage in the quality management process as it helps identify and correct quality problems before they reach the customer or user.

During quality control, the following activities are typically undertaken:

1. Inspection and testing: This involves inspecting and testing the product or service to ensure that it meets the quality objectives. Inspection and testing may be conducted at various stages of the production process, such as during raw material inspection, in-process inspection, and final inspection.
2. Statistical process control (SPC): This involves using statistical techniques to monitor and control the production process. SPC helps identify trends and patterns in the production process that may indicate quality problems.
3. Corrective action: This involves taking corrective action to address quality problems when they are identified. Corrective action may involve reworking the product, replacing defective parts, or modifying the production process.
4. Documentation: This involves documenting the results of inspections, tests, and corrective actions taken. Documentation is essential for tracking quality performance and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Overall, quality control is a critical stage in quality management as it helps ensure that the product or service meets the desired level of quality. Quality control is a proactive process that helps prevent quality problems from reaching the customer or user.

QUALITY ASSURANCE: 

Quality assurance is the third stage in quality management. It involves the development and implementation of a quality management system that ensures that the product or service meets the desired level of quality. Quality assurance is an essential stage in the quality management process as it provides a framework for maintaining and improving quality over time.

During quality assurance, the following activities are typically undertaken:

1. Quality system development: This involves developing a quality management system that defines the policies, procedures, and guidelines for ensuring that the product or service meets the quality objectives.
2. Quality audits: This involves conducting audits of the quality management system to ensure that it is effective and efficient. Audits may be conducted by internal or external auditors.
3. Training: This involves providing training to employees on the quality management system, quality objectives, and quality standards. Training helps ensure that employees understand their roles and responsibilities in maintaining quality.
4. Management review: This involves regular management reviews of the quality management system to ensure that it is meeting the quality objectives and to identify opportunities for improvement.
5. Continual improvement: This involves identifying opportunities for improvement and making changes to the quality management system to improve quality over time.

Overall, quality assurance is a critical stage in quality management as it helps ensure that the product or service meets the desired level of quality over time. Quality assurance is a proactive process that helps maintain and improve quality by providing a framework for continuous improvement.

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT: 

Quality improvement is the fourth and final stage in quality management. It involves continuously improving the quality of the product or service by identifying and addressing quality problems. Quality improvement is an essential stage in the quality management process as it helps ensure that the product or service remains competitive and meets the changing needs of the customer or user.

During quality improvement, the following activities are typically undertaken:

1. Root cause analysis: This involves identifying the underlying causes of quality problems. Root cause analysis may involve using tools such as fishbone diagrams, Pareto charts, and fault tree analysis.
2. Process improvement: This involves making changes to the production process to address quality problems and improve efficiency. Process improvement may involve using tools such as Lean Six Sigma, Total Quality Management (TQM), and Kaizen.
3. Continual monitoring: This involves monitoring the production process and product or service quality to identify quality problems and opportunities for improvement. Continual monitoring may involve using statistical process control (SPC) and other quality control tools.
4. Customer feedback: This involves obtaining feedback from customers on the quality of the product or service. Customer feedback may be obtained through surveys, focus groups, and other methods.

Overall, quality improvement is a critical stage in quality management as it helps ensure that the product or service remains competitive and meets the changing needs of the customer or user. Quality improvement is a proactive process that helps maintain and improve quality by identifying and addressing quality problems and making changes to the production process.