Your business needs to be sure that you are providing quality products and services to your clients and customers and that you can do this on an ongoing basis. Quality must be long-lasting and sustainable if you expect the business to survive, let alone make a decent profit.
What Is Quality Management
Quality management or a quality management system (QMS) is used in all forms of business to ensure that quality standards are met and that these are then maintained. If quality is not maintained, then there needs to be a clear corrective action tracking solution that can be put in place to immediately address the issues. It sounds simple, but there are also a few other components of a QMS that your business must consider essential.
The Systems That You Need in Place for Quality Management
Clear Strategic Plan
The organization or business will need a clear business plan to be able to implement and then monitor progress against such a plan to assure or assess quality is at the expected level. Without a plan, it will be impossible to have a means of measuring progress or standards of quality. This plan must have a quality manual and a quality management policy (QMS) which should clearly state what the quality standards that are expected should be.
Quality Assurance
This is primarily about testing the standards of goods and services before they leave the business or are dispatched to the customer. A sample of the products and services are tested and then reported on to note any quality issues and areas for improvement. This is done when finished on the production line or between stages on the production line.
Quality Control Implementation
Once you have a business plan in place that is (SMART) specific, measurable, and achievable with realistic targets that are time bound, then you will be able to measure your achievements with this plan. This is the process of physically assessing and evaluating the products and services to ensure that they reach and meet the required standards as set out in the quality management plan. This is normally done in the field and products and services are assessed in their normal working environments.
Make Improvements and Changes
Once you have a clear idea as to what the targets for quality are and then have tested the products and services produced both in the field and at the point of production then you will have the basis to make any improvements. As mentioned, a corrective tracking mechanism would then be instituted at this point as part of the quality assurance process and to make the required improvements in quality.
Without such a system in place, there will always be the chance of poor-quality services and products being produced and then leaving the factory or point of production (The same can be said for services). It is thus counterintuitive not to have a quality management system that considers these issues and ensures that what your business puts out there is the best quality that you can produce.