Page 23 - Design for Six Sigma a Roadmap for Product Development

Chapter
1

Quality Concepts

Profitability is one of the most important factors for any successful
business enterprise. High profitability is determined by strong sales
and overall low cost in the whole enterprise operation. Healthy sales
are to a great extent determined by high quality and reasonable price;
as a result, improving quality and reducing cost are among the most
important tasks for any business enterprise. Six Sigma is a new wave
of enterprise excellence initiative which would effectively improve
quality and reduce cost and thus has received much attention in the
business world. However, quality is a more intriguing concept than it
appears to be. To master quality improvement, it is very important to
understand exactly “what is quality.”

1.1 What Is Quality?
“Quality: An inherent or distinguishing
characteristic, a degree or grade of
excellence.”
(American Heritage Dictionary, 1996)
“Quality: The totality of characteristics of an
entity that bear on its ability to satisfy
stated and implied needs” (ISO 8402)
“Quality: Do the right thing, and do things
right all the time.”

When the word quality is used, we usually think in terms of an excel-
lent product or service that fulfills or exceeds our expectations. These
expectations are based on the intended use and the selling price. For
example, the performance that a customer expects from a roadside
motel is different from that of a five-star hotel because the prices and

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