Refers to ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q9000 series standards, which is the Americanized version of the 1994 edition of the ISO 9000 series standards. The United States adopted the ISO 9000 series standards as the ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q9000 series

Quality assurance

Quality Function Deployment: The process of translating customer expectations and requirements into product or service documentation to ensure expectations and requirements are being met

A quality standard, based on ISO 9000, used by the American domestic automobile manufacturers to register their suppliers

Establishing confidence that process equipment and ancillary systems are compliant with appropriate codes and approved design intentions, and that manufacturer's recommendations are suitably considered

Establishing confidence that process equipment and subsystems are capable of consistently operating within established limits and tolerances

Establishing confidence through appropriate testing that the finished product produced by a specified process meets all release requirements for functionality and safety

"Quality is conformance to specifications. "British Defence Industries Quality Assurance Panel "Quality is conformance to requirements." Philip Crosby "Quality is fitness for purpose." Dr Juran "Quality is synonymous with customer needs and expectations." R J Mortiboys "Quality is a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability, at low cost and suited to the market. "Dr Edward Deming "Quality is meeting the (stated) requirements of the customer- now and in the future." Mike Robinson "Quality is the total composite product and service characteristics of marketing, engineering, manufacturing and maintenance through which the product and service in use will meet the expectations by the customer." Armand Feigenbaum "Totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated and implied needs." ISO 8402 : 1994

All the planned and systematic activities implemented within the quality systems to provide adequate confidence the requirements for quality will be met

Two terms that have many interpretations because of the multiple definitions for the words ‘assurance’ and ‘control’. For example, ‘assurance’ can mean the act of giving confidence, the state of being certain, or the act of making certain; ‘control’ can mean an evaluation to indicate needed corrective responses, the act of guiding, or the state of a process in which the variability is attributable to a constant system of chance causes. (For a detailed discussion on the multiple definitions, see ANSI/ISO/ASQ A3534-2, Statistics ‘ Vocabulary and Symbols ‘ Statistical Quality Control.) One definition of quality assurance is: all the planned and systematic activities implemented within the quality system that can be demonstrated to provide confidence that a product or service will fulfill requirements for quality. One definition for quality control is: the operational techniques and activities used to fulfill requirements for quality. Often, however, ‘quality assurance’

(1) A planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that an item or product conforms to established technical requirements. (2) A set of activities designed to evaluate the process by which products are developed or manufactured

A systematic and independent examination to determine quality related activities are implemented effectively and comply with the quality systems and/or quality standards

The characteristics of an output of a process that are important to the customer. Identification of quality characteristics requires knowledge of the customers needs and expectations

Quality improvement or self-improvement study groups composed of a small number of employees 10 or fewer and their supervisor. Quality circles originated in Japan, where they are called quality control circles

The use of techniques and activities that compare actual quality performance with goals and define appropriate action in response to a shortfall

A group of senior management within given operational units who plan, implement, facilitate, and monitor the QUALITY PROCESS

A group comprised of representatives from every department for the purpose of identifying and assessing total PONQ for the organization

A group formed by the Quality Council or the Problem Elimination Coordinator to handle unresolved problems remaining after application of all problem elimination techniques by regular Problem Elimination Teams or to investigate inter departmental problems not under investigation by regular Problem Elimination Teams

The analysis of a manufacturing system at all stages to maximize the quality of the process itself and the products it produces

A requirements identification analysis, flow down, and tracking technique. It focuses on quality and communication to translate customer needs into product and process design specifics. Also known as the "house of quality." 

A systematic approach to the processes of work that looks to remove waste, loss, rework, frustration, etc. in order to make the processes of work more effective, efficient, and appropriate

A group of employees that take on a project to improve a given process or design a new process within an organization

A parabolic approximation of the quality loss that occurs when a quality characteristic deviates from its target value. The quality loss function is expressed in monetary units: the cost of deviating from the target increases quadratically the farther the quality characteristic moves from the target. The formula used to compute the quality loss function depends on the type of quality characteristic being used. The quality loss function was first introduced in this form by Genichi Taguchi

The planned actions taken to ensure the effective implementation of an organization's quality systems

A Quality Manual is the supplier's document that describes the elements of the quality system used to assure customer requirements, needs, and expectations are met. Quality manuals shall include responsibilities and authorities for each element of the quality system

Quality Planning is a structured process for defining the methods that will be used in the production of a specific product or family of products. Quality planning embodies the concepts of defect prevention and continuous improvement as contrasted with defect detection

A review and commitment by the Product Quality Planning Team that all planned controls and processes are being followed

A statement from Top Management regarding their position relative to Quality Products and/or Services

Quality Records are the documented evidence that the supplier's processes were executed according to the quality system documentation and records results

A control chart for evaluating the stability of a process in terms of a quality score. The quality score is the weighted sum of the count of events of various classifications where each classification is assigned a weight

Organizational structure, procedures, processes and resources required to implement quality management

A three-pronged approach to managing for quality. The three legs are quality planning (developing the products and processes required to meet customer needs), quality control (meeting product and process goals), and quality improvement (achieving unprecedented levels of performance)

A tool that creates frequency distributions. Beads tumble over numerous horizontal rows of pins, which force the beads to the right or left. After a random journey, the beads are drop into vertical slots. After many beads are dropped, a frequency distribution results. In the classroom, quincunxes are often used to simulate a manufacturing process. The quincunx was invented by English scientist Francis Galton in the 1890s