Learn how a quality manager can gain management approval for implementing a process improvement methodology to address rising customer complaints and technician errors in the computer repair industry.
Table of Contents
Question
Computer House Call Company has been in business for 15 years and was once considered a leader in the home computer diagnostic and repair industry. The company has relied on its highly trained and experienced technicians to maintain its reputation, however, the new quality manager has analyzed technician reports for the past three years and the analysis indicates a steady increase in the number of issues found during post-diagnostic analysis. During the same timeframe, accounting has reported an increase in requests for refunds or discounts from customers complaining about continued computer problems and inadequate computer performance. To resolve these issues, the quality manager proposes using a process improvement methodology. In an effort to gam management approval for a process improvement methodology, the quality manager should collect and present data on which of the following?
A. Hours of technician training
B. The number of customers served
C. Total manufacturing costs
D. Total cost of quality
Answer
D. Total cost of quality
Explanation
To gain management approval for implementing a process improvement methodology, the quality manager at Computer House Call Company should collect and present data on the total cost of quality.
The total cost of quality includes four main categories:
- Prevention costs – costs incurred to prevent defects and errors from occurring in the first place, such as training, process design, and quality planning.
- Appraisal costs – costs associated with measuring, evaluating, and auditing products and processes to ensure quality standards are met.
- Internal failure costs – costs resulting from defects discovered before the product reaches the customer, such as scrap, rework, and delays.
- External failure costs – costs incurred when a defect is discovered after the product reaches the customer, including warranty claims, recalls, returns, and lost business.
In this scenario, the quality manager has already identified rising internal failure costs (issues found during post-diagnostic analysis by technicians) and external failure costs (increasing customer refund requests due to inadequate repairs). By quantifying these costs and the overall increase in the total cost of quality over the past three years, the quality manager can build a financial case for investing in process improvement.
While data on technician training hours, number of customers served, and manufacturing costs may be relevant context, they do not directly capture the financial impact of the quality issues like the total cost of quality does. Presenting a trend of rising costs due to unresolved problems will be more likely to get management’s attention and buy-in for the process improvement initiative.
A process improvement methodology like lean, Six Sigma, or total quality management can then be used to systematically analyze the root causes, reduce errors, and implement sustainable solutions. This will help Computer House Call Company regain its reputation for quality and reduce the costs associated with poor performance.
Does this help explain why total cost of quality is the most appropriate data for the quality manager to collect and present in this situation? Let me know if you need any clarification or have additional questions!
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