Achieving quality production
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| reputation | 声誉 | shēng yù |
| quality | 质量 | zhì liàng |
| quality control | 质量控制 | zhì liàng kòng zhì |
| quality assurance | 质量保证 | zhì liàng bǎo zhèng |
| inspecting | 检验 | jiǎn yàn |
| loyalty | 忠诚度 | zhōng chéng dù |
| quality marks | 质量标志 | zhì liàng biāo zhì |
Getting it right every time
- One faulty product can lose a customer for life and harm a business's reputation 声誉.
- Quality 质量 means meeting the standard customers expect — consistently.
Quality methods lab
Compare quality approaches by when they prevent or find faults.
Quality control mainly involves:
QC inspects the end product.
Quality assurance focuses on:
QA designs quality in so faults do not occur.
Building quality into every stage of production is quality ______.
Assurance prevents faults; control inspects for them.
Quality control 质量控制 vs quality assurance 质量保证
- Quality control (QC): inspecting 检验 finished products to catch faults at the end.
- Quality assurance (QA): building quality into every stage so faults don't happen.
Quality control checks at the end; quality assurance builds quality into every stage
Why does quality matter to a business? (Select all that apply.)
Quality builds reputation and loyalty and cuts waste; it does not raise material costs.
Why quality matters
- High quality builds reputation, customer loyalty 忠诚度, and lets a firm charge more.
- Poor quality causes returns, complaints, lost customers and wasted materials.
Worked example. A bakery that checks ingredients, ovens and packaging at every step (QA) wastes less than one that only inspects finished loaves at the end (QC) — because faults are caught before more are made.
Preventing faults (assurance) is usually cheaper than inspecting them out at the end (control).
Prevention avoids making defective output.
Quality and small vs large firms
- Small firms rely on personal care and reputation.
- Large firms use systems and standards (e.g. quality marks 质量标志) to keep quality consistent across many sites.
Quality control catches faults; quality assurance prevents them. QC inspects at the end, when waste is already made. QA builds quality in from the start — usually cheaper.
You've got it
- quality control inspects finished output; quality assurance builds quality into every stage
- good quality builds reputation and loyalty; poor quality causes waste and lost customers
- prevention (assurance) is usually cheaper than inspection (control)