Jean Roberts

What’s the relationship between a quality system, quality assurance, quality control and continuous quality improvement?

 Quality is the degree or standard of excellence, especially a high standard:   the totality of the attributes of a product, component, program or service that meets the requirements of the buyer, owner or end user.

 The basis of quality is that there are procedures and systems in place to ensure:

1. consistent and replicable standards,
2. consistency and replicability of improved standards,
3. assessment and resourcing of identified risk factors, and
4. avoidance or management of risk.

A risk factor is present where there is likelihood that a product or component will have to be:

• re-worked – requiring further attention and therefore involving further cost and inconvenience, or
• replaced – resulting in loss, wastage or inconvenience.

 A risk factor is present where there is likelihood that a service or program will be:

• ineffective – unable to achieve the purpose for which it has been designed
• inefficient – result in or contribute to an unwise use of resources, or
• sub-standard – failing to meet or comply with advertised or required quality or standard of delivery, process or outcome. 

A Quality system is a series of actions designed to ensure consistency in approach, process and output.

 The outcome of a quality system is that the organisation has:

• a sound basis for applying the basic philosophy of quality assurance, a clear set of guidelines for quality systems and processes, a means of satisfying contractual obligations, and readily available guidance and direction.

Advantages of a quality system:

1. a sound base for applying the basic philosophy of quality assurance, plus
2. a clear set of guidelines for quality systems and processes, plus
3. a means of satisfying contractual obligations, plus
4. readily available guidance and direction for monitoring systems and controls, resulting in 
5. a uniform initial approach to quality

Quality control is the internal method of avoiding a deviation from the desired or required situation, or the method of altering or changing the situation to achieve the desired or required situation.   A key factor in any system is ‘control’, and there are two sorts of control:

1. the maintenance of an existing situation, bringing it back to normal when it deviates, and
2. the introduction of change into a situation, whether by making alterations to the existing situation or by creating a new situation

Quality assurance is the result of quality control, in that there is certainty as to consistency in approach, process and output through the quality system.  This includes ensuring that all repetitive functions or activities are consistently performed or carried out to the same desired or required standard.  An audit or assessment process is the usual method of quality assurance.

Continuous quality improvement indicates an active commitment throughout the organisation to improving – rather than simply maintaining – the desired or required degree or standard of excellence.  The 3 basic stages are: 

• increasing your organisation’s knowledge and understanding of stakeholder expectations and requirements 
• improving the design, so that the mix of features afforded by your organisation’s products, components, programs or services more closely match stakeholder expectations and requirements, and 
• improving your organisation’s ability to consistently perform, function and operate more closely to the design.

 Now, let’s move to the relationship:

 Continuous quality improvement is the objective – and it’s the simple rule first things first.  As with anything, there has to be a starting point, a place to begin.

1. The starting point – the first thing – is the presence of a quality system.   
2. With a quality system in place, it’s then possible to have quality assurance.
3. With a quality assurance system in place, then – and only then – can you achieve continuous quality improvement.

 And the tool to achieve continuous quality improvement is quality control.

 Without a quality system, quality assurance is at best a guess, with no basis for continuous quality improvement.

 Without quality control, there is no connection between the quality system and quality assurance.

Each person working within an organisation is responsible for the quality of their own work – and for continuous improvement in the quality of their work.  If everyone is to be responsible for the quality of their own work, each person needs to know:

• the needs, aspirations and interests of their clients, customers or service-users, and the needs of the people they work most closely with, ie both internal and external ‘customers’
• the quality of research, planning and delivery required to achieve the agreed standard of product, component, program or service, and the quality of interaction with the people their internal and external customers
• how to consistently plan and deliver products, components, programs or services to the desired level of quality, and consistently monitor the quality of their interaction with others
• how to measure the quality of their own performance, and
• how to make improvements in the quality of (i) their performance, (ii) their research, planning and delivery, and (iii) their interaction with others.