Quality - The Need For Quality

-:VB:-

Quality is mandatory these days! It  has become sort of a "dogma" in this age.

Each and everything that is manufactured today has one or the other regulatory body that governs the functioning of such organisations and keeps strict vigil over evildoers. Certifications definitely seal their fate.

In a way, it is not the necessity of the government; It is an essential requirement for the people of today. The rapidly developing world has acquired a sense of perhaps self-righteousness that has allowed the Quality industry to boom to the top. With the laws in place and governments around the world supporting this movement, Quality Control and Quality Assurance are the most valued assets of any company these days.

You can sense awareness within the minds of people about the quality of life they are leading. People nowadays are conscious about hygiene, sanitation, and cleanliness. The amount of hand sanitizers, sanitary wipes, and God knows what else is out in the stores; numerous products which no one could have thought would be in so much demand today. Why is this so?

With many people getting educated and the spread of mass media across the globe, it is becoming important to come up with practices that will make the customers believe that whatever they are spending their hard earned money on isn't just some roadside rubbish. Obviously... there simply wouldn't be any sense in buying something at four or five times costlier if it is available locally - cheap and of poor quality.

Companies these days are very worried about the quality of their products, because a single case of negligence may cost them their company's future. They are coming up with better standards and methods to prolong their existence. You can see companies trying to outdo each other in efforts to acquire a better name for themselves.

I do agree that Quality comes at a price. It is very difficult to adhere to the regulations once you establish them. But follow them you must!

Because if the customer doesn't believe in your product firsthand, then boy you are in a lot of trouble...
You will lose your customers, clients, distributors, etc.
It is like a pile of falling dominoes. One falls, the rest follow suit.

It is just like the saying goes:
For the want of a nail a shoe was lost, 
For the want of a shoe a horse was lost, 
For the want of a horse the army was lost,
For the want of an army the battle was lost,
and for the want of a battle a Kingdom was lost!



Thanks for reading, and I would appreciate your inputs in the comments section below...

Blame it all on Quality

-:VB:-

People from the Quality Industry can relate to this pretty well.

Aristotle has rightly said:"Quality is not an act, It is a Habit"

But the fact is, when there is the peak season and production is in full swing, some companies choose to ignore the Quality of these products, simply because Quality inspections demand time and accuracy, which the company looks at as loss.

Whereas even thought it is time consuming, it is an act that will enhance the Quality of your product and make it better, and in few cases even save you the trouble of a couple of lawsuits. But this is ignored by the management and the materials are dispatched, and when there are hoardes of complaints from the customers - the finger is quietly pointed towards the Quality team. Afterall it is the responsibility of the Quality dept. to look after that.

At that moment the production addicted management cannot gather the courage to take the blame for this.
Even if Quality dept. puts some stock on 'Hold' for analysis purpose, and there is shortage of goods in the market and a demand - the lot is dispatched by the management. Absolutely there is no concern for Quality at that point of time.

Meanwhile, no matter how many complaints arise, the Quality team also has to deal with that. Answering the frustrated and angry customers and facing them is perhaps the biggest challenge of them all. Even then, the Quality team is held responsible.

Today it has sort of become a universal process and almost every company does this. Wouldn't you agree?

However, there is a tiff between many departments in an organisation that leads to similar situations or even worse ones. I'll post about them later. Keep reading...


Thanks for reading, and do tell me if my posts are Wise or Wicked...

Quality - Providing Quality

-:VB:-

Another aspect of the industry is deceiving people about the quality of their product.

Following are the cases that we have recently heard about:

- There are many companies out there that do this kind of malpractice. They misinform the customer about their quality policies and their practices for quality control.
- There are also those who duplicate products and sell them in a similar packing as the original one to let the   customer believe that they are buying the right product.
- Some use the logos of the government approving bodies to show that they are selling authentic products.
- Certain manufacturers mimic the quality seal of the original ones to camouflage the falsity.
- There are also those who 'Re-use' the packaging material of the product to fill cheap, unhygienic, and duplicate goods and sell them as original at lower prices.

All these factors and many more largely affect the industry, and more importantly the customer. Many customers often buy the duplicate goods and judging by the poor quality, they stop using that brand. This in return leads to huge losses to the company.

Today there are many such counterfeit products being sold in the market that are similar to the original and sold at astonishingly low rates. Every now and then there are reports in the news about duplicates being caught in the market, off-location production units being surrounded, raids being conducted, and what not!

As a result of these activities, there is rapid development in the packaging industries to revolutionise the raw and packing materials. Efforts are being made to combat such crimes using state of the art technologies. It is the right of the consumer/customer to get a quality product, and he should not be deprived of this. Providing quality has to be the priority of the manufacturer, failing which there are many prevailing laws that will serve justice.


Thanks for reading, and do tell me if my posts are Wise or Wicked...

Quality & Production

-:VB:-

This image "briefly" describes the relation between the Quality Department and the Production Department!

In each and every organization or company, there is a thin red line between the Production dept. and the Quality dept. As we all are aware, Quality is the prime of any product these days, and if a company fails in this, and there is any mishap due to it, there arise great problems. So, every company tries to keep their products in check and give priority to the Quality.

But, there is also the other side of production of materials that has to happen. If there is no production, there will be no materials going to the market, and thus the company will incur losses, sometimes massive amounts. If there is no material in the market, the customer will simply go for another brand, and you stand a great risk of losing that customer forever. Moreover, the company is bound to gain a bad name due to all of this, and some competitors might even tarnish the company's reputation.

However, the thing is, during some huge orders or production rush due to demand, some companies tend to sideline the quality aspect, which negatively affects their brand, and the competitor acquires profits and customers. Why is Production given priority?
Mainly because production leads to collection of income from the market, and some companies are so obsessed with the money, that they forget about the customer.

If any product fails in the market, or the company receives a complaint in case the above scenario is followed, the Quality Dept. is blamed for it. But, if the product does not reach the market, the Production Dept. is blamed. It is neither the fault of either of them. Sometimes there is a discrepancy with the transport, or warehousing, or even finance dept. but they are not blamed. It is solely the fault of poor management and flawed planning by the company that spoils the name of a brand.

There are many companies which do not face these issues, and thus there is never a Quality versus Production issue. Such companies have acquired the utmost respect of the customer; but that is not all - the company has to strive even harder to keep up that image. Everything in a company is inter-dependent. Sales and Marketing are also equally important.

However, if there is synonymy between Quality & Production, your brand will be at the top sooner than you can imagine!


Thanks for reading, and do tell me if my posts are Wise or Wicked...

Quality - How & Why?

-:VB:-

Quality is the single most important word that channels our lives.

As I mentioned earlier, today we have realised the importance of 'Quality'. Not only in our lives and surroundings but also in our products.

First questions first! How do we maintain Quality?
Quality can only be maintained or improved upon or worsened. It is like energy, it can neither be created nor destroyed.Creation of quality is entirely up to you.

Lets understand everything from the point of view of a company, manufacturing products. You know that your product has to be the best amongst the rest. So, what do you do? You start with your Manufacturing unit - How it is maintained, what is the frequency, steps taken, precautions, etc. The basics are entirely up to how you want your own company to run - smoothly & efficiently, or bumpy and problematically. Everyone has that basic idea that the company has to be clean, disinfected, sanitised, etc. We are well aware what steps we need to take to make our product the best.

Now, as some may not be aware there are Licenses given by the governing bodies of your particular countries that are indicative of the standards that are being maintained by you. You have to follow their guidelines for your company, failing which your license is cancelled, and a beautiful lock rests on the door of your company. It may be difficult at times, but the real challenge is trying to better yourself than the set standards and having the determination to maintain the quality of your products at all costs.

Quality of a product indicates the honesty of your company towards your customers. For example - who would buy a packet of chips - if it was shabbily packed, or if it was poorly processed, or if it had a bad taste, poor appearance, if you fell sick on eating it - the answer is no one! Also, if a consumer complained about it, you are bound to go to prison. And if an unwanted/foreign material is found in your product, boy you are in some deeeeep trouble!

Everyone of us wants the best product at competitive prices, having maximum appeal and brilliant packaging. Better your quality, follow protocol, never compromise for anything less!


Thanks for reading, and do tell me if my posts are Wise or Wicked...

Quality - Introduction

-:VB:-

The world that we live in today is a dangerous cesspool of frauds and scams. You cannot instill your faith into anyone or anything. Why? Because you don't trust what is being presented in front of you, or in the way it is being presented. No matter how much the quantity, what you care for is the Quality!

People often say "I want to spend a Quality time with my friends/family (or whatever)", and why do they say that? Because they simply do not want to spend time which they will not remember, they want to live that moment. Quality time means that they want to spend their time in a great manner no matter if only for a few moments.

We all crave for the quality - be it in our lives, our time, or be it our products.

Ultimately everything breaks down into our daily life, and the products that we use.

Money is not yet freely available on this planet and neither have scientists been able to create a plant that can grow money. Nor is money self replicating, unlike an Amoeba... which is really sad! (Man, am I headed for depression by simply writing this...) So, when we spend our hard earned buck on something we want (in some cases something that we don't want) we expect it to be up to our expectations.

If a you buy a Rolls Royce, with your earned/saved money (no matter how many centuries it takes on that pay-scale of yours, just assume), and you discover that it has a faulty engine, or shape defect, or dented, or anything at all, are you just gonna be okay with it? (These scenarios are hypothetical and are highly unlikely to happen)
- Definitely not! You are not getting what you paid for. Call the company or dealer, and if nothing works call your lawyer... that should definitely help!

This is an age where instead of buying a cheap roadside unhygienic foodstuff, and compromising food, you settle for a packet of food, or a restaurant/cafe, a bottle of water against tap water... All this for what? For your safety and health! About a decade or so ago, street food was good, tap water was healthy, there was cleanliness, and you hardly fell sick. Now, as compared to then, everything is topsy-turvy. Population boom, pollution, reliability on meds, etc, has made us weak.

A glass of outside water and your are chomping down your delicious medicines.

This is the time we realise how much Quality is important for us, and thus many have evolved to be Sanitary freaks!

So, how do we maintain quality?
More on this in the next post.


Thanks for reading, and do tell me if my posts are Wise or Wicked...