Quality, cost, delivery (QCD), sometimes expanded to quality, cost, delivery, morale, safety (QCDMS), is a management approach originally developed by the British automotive industry. QCD assess different components of the production process and provides feedback in the form of facts and figures that help managers make logical decisions. By using the gathered data, it is easier for organizations to prioritize their future goals. QCD helps break down processes to organize and prioritize efforts before they grow overwhelming. QCD is a "three-dimensional" approach. If there is a problem with even one dimension, the others will inevitably suffer as well. One dimension cannot be sacrificed for the sake of the other two.
Quality Quality is the ability of a product or service to meet and exceed customer expectations. It is the result of the efficiency of the entire production process formed of people, material, and machinery. Customer requirements determine the quality scope. Quality is a competitive advantage; poor quality often results in bad business. The U.S. business organizations in the 1970s focused more on cost and productivity. That approach led to Japanese businesses capturing a major share of the U.S. market. It was not until the late 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s that the quality factor drastically shifted and became a strategic approach, created by Harvard professor David Garvin. This approach focuses on preventing mistakes and puts a great emphasis on customer satisfaction.
Quality basis David A. Garvin lists eight dimensions of quality:
Performance is a product's primary operating characteristics. For example, for a vehicle audio system, those characteristics include sound quality, surround sound, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Conformance refers to the degree to which a certain product meets the customer's expectations. Special features or extras are additional features of a product or service. An example of extras could be free meals on an airplane or Internet access for a TV. Aesthetics refer to a product's looks, sound, feel, smell, or taste. Aesthetics are subjective; thus, achieving total customer satisfaction is impossible. For example, not all customers like the smell of a certain perfume. Durability refers to how long the product lasts before it has to be replaced. Better raw materials and manufacturing processes can improve durability. For home appliances and automobiles, durability is a primary characteristic of quality. Reliability refers to the time until a product breaks down and has to be repaired, but not replaced. This feature is very important for products that have expensive maintenance. Serviceability is defined by speed, courtesy, competence and ease of repair." Customers want products that are quickly and easily serviceable. Perceived quality, which may be affected by the high price or the good aesthetics of a product.
Product components The quality of a product depends almost entirely on the quality of its raw material. Suppliers and manufacturers must work together to eliminate defects and achieve higher quality. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should discuss with their suppliers how quality improvements can affect the overall performance of the supply chain. Quality assurance can reduce testing, scrapping, reworks, and production costs.
Consequences of poor quality
Business loss: Poor quality results in unsatisfied customers and business loss, especially where customers can easily switch to a competitor. Reduced productivity: Poor-quality products must often be reworked or scrapped entirely, which diminishes usable output. Higher operating costs: Harrington argued that poor quality affects costs. Counterintuitively, higher costs are attached to offering lower-quality products and services. A reduction of cost and scheduling problems is achievable by avoiding the production of poor quality goods and services.
Costs The biggest costs in most businesses are the four basic types of manufacturing costs:
Raw materials Direct labour Variable overhead – production costs that increase or decrease depending on the quantity produced. For example, electricity is a variable overhead. If a company increases production, it will also increase the usage of equipment, which will result in a higher electricity bill. Fixed overhead In addition, there are business costs that stay the same, regardless of the production output. Business costs include:
Salaries for employees that do not work directly on the production line (e.g. security guards or safety inspectors.) Depreciation costs Occupancy costs (e.g., property taxes and building insurance) Businesses desire to reduce costs to increase their operating profit and bottom line. Cost reduction strategies include:
Minimizing supplier costs Adopting lean manufacturing Eliminating waste
Delivery Logistics are an essential part in providing good customer service on time. Logistics customer service can be separated into three elements:
Pre-transaction elements (before delivery) Transaction elements (during delivery) Post-transaction elements (after delivery)
Benefits QCD offers a method of measuring both simple and complicated business processes. It also represents a basis for comparing businesses: for example, a business measuring a supplier's delivery performance may compare its findings with the business's own performance.
Flexibility The "quality, cost, delivery, and flexibility" (QCDF) approach, includes flexibility as the capacity to adapt to changes or modifications in the input quality, output quality, product specifications, and delivery schedules.
Profitability There are seven measures used to increase profitability.
Not right first time (NRFT) Not getting things right the first time means wasted resources, effort and time. This all leads to excessive costs for the company and poor-quality, high-priced products for the customer. NRFT measures the quality of a product and is expressed in “number of defective parts per million”. The number of defective products is divided by the total quantity of finished products. This figure is then multiplied by 10^6 to get the number of defective parts per million. NRFT can be measured internally (defective parts identified within the production process) or externally (defective parts identified outside the production process (e.g. by the supplier or the customer).
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