Quality control (QC) is a procedure or set of procedures intended to ensure that a manufactured product or performed service adheres to a defined set of quality criteria or meets the requirements of the client or customer.QC is similar to, but not identical with, quality assurance (QA). QA is defined as a procedure or set of procedures intended to ensure that a product or service under development (before work is complete, as opposed to afterwards) meets specified requirements. QA is sometimes expressed together with QC as a single expression, quality assurance and control (QA/QC).

Reference : http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/quality-control-QC

History of QualityThe quality movement can trace its roots back to medieval Europe, where craftsmen began organizing into unions calledguildsin the late 13th century.

Until the early 19th century, manufacturing in the industrialized world tended to follow this craftsmanship model. The factory system, with its emphasis on product inspection, started in Great Britain in the mid-1750s and grew into theIndustrial Revolutionin the early 1800s.

In theearly 20th century, manufacturers began to include quality processes in quality practices.

After the United States enteredWorld War II, quality became a critical component of the war effort: Bullets manufactured in one state, for example, had to work consistently in rifles made in another. The armed forces initially inspected virtually every unit of product; then to simplify and speed up this process without compromising safety, the military began to use sampling techniques for inspection, aided by the publication of military-specification standards and training courses inWalter Shewhartsstatistical process control techniques.

The birth oftotal qualityin the United States came as a direct response to the quality revolution in Japan following World War II. The Japanese welcomed the input of AmericansJoseph M. JuranandW. Edwards Demingand rather than concentrating on inspection, focused on improving all organizational processes through the people who used them.

By the 1970s, U.S. industrial sectors such as automobiles and electronics had been broadsided by Japans high-quality competition. The U.S. response, emphasizing not only statistics but approaches that embraced the entire organization, became known as total quality management (TQM).

By the last decade of the 20th century, TQM was considered a fad by many business leaders. But while the use of the term TQM has faded somewhat, particularly in the United States, its practices continue.

In the few years since the turn of the century, the quality movement seems to have maturedbeyond Total Quality. New quality systems have evolved from the foundations of Deming, Juran and the early Japanese practitioners of quality, and quality has moved beyond manufacturing into service, healthcare, education and government sectors.

Reference: http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/history-of-quality/overview/overview.html

Major Contributors in the Improvement of Concept of QUALITY

In the early 1900s, the beginning of Factory Productions, the final products were inspected for the purpose of accepting or rejecting the same. During these times, in his list of basic areas of manufacturing management,F. W. Taylor, emphasized on quality by including Product Inspection into it.Radfordswas of the view of involving quality consideration early in the product design stage and also to connect-together Quality, Productivity and Costs.

In 1924,Walter Shewhartintroduced Statistical Process Control (SPC) by means of Control Charts in order to keep a control over production. After five years or so,Dodge & Romigintroduced Acceptance Sampling Inspection Tables popularly known as Dodge-Romig Tables. The concept of SPC found a little acceptance in the Manufacturing Industry till 1940s.

Historically, Second World War remarkably increased the importance of Quality Control.W. EdwardDemingintroduced SQC in Japanese Industry. This resulted in creation of a quality manufacturing facilities in Japan. The devastated country in this Second World War posed a tough competition to other leading nations in the area of manufacturing, especially the American Manufacturing Firms.

After this war, in the mid-twentieth century, professionals and engineers in the industry hugely benefited by the American Universities in terms of training in quality control. This has seen the emergence of Quality Assurance evolved out of this development taken place around Quality Control concept. At about the same time,Joseph Juranbegan his `Cost of Quality approach, emphasizing accurate and complete identification and measurement of Costs of Quality, In the mid 1950s,Armand Fiegenbaumproposed Total Quality Control which enlarged the focus of Quality Control from manufacturing to include Product Design.

During the 1960s, the concept of Zero-defects gained favor.Philip Crosby, who was the champion of Zero defects concept focused on employee motivation and awareness. In this decade from 1950 to 1960; quality control and management became synonymous with the growth of Industrial Revolution in Japan.

In the 1970s, Quality Assurance methods were used in services such as government operations, health care, banking etc. During this period the world started importing heavily from Japan including America and European countries. In the late 1970s, there was a dramatic shift from quality assurance to a strategic approach to quality. The `reactive approach of finding and correcting defectives in products manufactured was changed to a pro-active approach of focusing on preventing defects from recurring altogether. During the same period British Standards (BS 5750) emerged along withISO 9000Standards of Quality.

In late 1980s, Total Quality Management (TQM) gained a lot of popularity even outside Japan and became the main theme revolving around the concept of Quality Control. In the twenty first century the concept of quality has been gathering a total or gross approach in terms of Business Excellence. Reference : http://www.rajeshtimane.com/56/academics/history-of-quality-control.html

Defining QualityIn technical usage, quality can have two meanings: the characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs, and a product or service free of deficiencies

Defining Quality - Gurus Deming - non-faulty systems Out of the Crisis Juran - fitness for use Quality Control Handbook Crosby - conformance to requirements Quality is Free Ishikawa known for his development of quality circles, companywide quality control, his emphasis on the human side of quality, the Ishikawa diagram Seven basic tools of quality Taguchi his overarching achievements are the Taguchi-loss function and his contributions to experimental design Taguchi methodology Feigenbaum quality is a customer determination based on the customers actual experience with the product or service, measured against his or her requirements - stated or unstated, conscious or merely sensed, technically operational or entirely subjective - and always representing a moving target in a competitive market. Total Quality Control (1961) Shewhart - father ofstatistical quality control; introduced the control chart as a tool for distinguishing problem in terms ofassignable-causeandchance-causevariation Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product(1931)

Defining Quality- Different Views Customers view (more subjective) the quality of the design (look, feel, function) product does whats intended and lasts Producers view conformance to requirements (Crosby) costs of quality (prevention, scrap, warranty) increasing conformance raises profits Governments view products should be safe not harmful to environment

Stouts View

Quality=PerformanceExpectation

Value-based Approach Manufacturing dimensions

Performance Features Reliability Conformance Durability Serviceability Perceived quality Service dimensions Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy Tangibles

Major Contributors/Quality GurusWilliam Edwards Deming 1950s - present MIT Demings Fourteen Points for Transformation of Western Management Deming Cycle Seven Deadly DiseasesJoseph Juran 1950s - 1990s Engineer, University Professor, Consultant Jurans Quality Handbook Managerial Breakthrough Juran Trilogy Walter Shewhart 1930s Father of Statistical Quality Control Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product (1931) Shewhart Control Chart Plan Do Check Act (PDCA)Philip Crosby 1970s - 1980s Quality is Conformance to Requirements Zero Defects Quality is Free (1979) Quality without Tears 14 Steps for ImprovementGenichi Taguchi 1980s 1990s Taguchi Loss Function Design of Experiments Robust Design Quality as Loss to SocietyArmand Feigenbaum 1950s - 1980s Quality Control: Principles, Practice, and Administration (1961) Reissued as Total Quality Control (1991) Quality is a Way of Managing Organizational Impact of QualityKaoru Ishikawa 1950s 1980s Guide to Quality Control (1982) What is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way (1985) Quality Circles Cause-and-Effect Diagram

Additional contributors of QC:Michael Martin Hammers Reengineering the CorporationJames A. Champy known for his work in the field ofbusiness process reengineering,business process improvementand organizational changePeter Drucker "the founder of modern management"