Quality of ConformanceDefined with Examples & More

Nowadays, it’s not enough for a business to just churn out products.

In order for them to sell, they must be sellable, of good quality and they must meet the standards that the customers demand of them.

You can introduce a cheap/affordable product, but if it’s not of sufficient quality, it likely won’t sell.

When selling a product or service, a business needs to make sure that it meets the standards that are set for it.

For example, a business wants to introduce an affordable alternative to high-end luxury phones without compromising too much in performance.

To do that, the business needs to find ways to lower the price.

It also needs to obtain parts that may not be as great as those found in a high-end phone but can be competitive enough.

It may need to let go of some features, or even compromise some such as the camera.

At the end of the day, the business must measure the end product’s quality of conformance.

Does it meet the standards set on it?

It won’t do if the price is still high.

The business wants to make it affordable after all.

It won’t do if the phone’s performance is unsatisfactory.

The business wants to make a competitive phone after all.

Remember, the business set the standards for its end product: an affordable phone that, to an extent, can compete with high-end luxury phones.

If the end product meets such standards, then we can say that it has a high quality of conformance.

I’ve already mentioned “quality of conformance” twice now (thrice if you count this one).

Do you know what it is? If you don’t, no worries.

We will be learning about “quality of conformance” in this article.

Is it important for your business? Let’s find out.

Quality of Conformance: What is it?

Quality of conformance refers to the capability of a product, service, or process to meet certain design standards set by the producer.

It measures how close a product, service, or process is to meeting design specifications.

Like with our example above.

If the business produces an affordable yet competitive phone, then it now has a product that has a high quality of conformance.

Design standards/specifications can come from many places.

They could be an interpretation of customer demands or needs.

For example, the customer may want a high-specs product.

The price doesn’t matter.

In this case, to meet the demand of the customer, the business would want to produce a product that meets such design standards.

Having a high quality of conformance doesn’t necessarily mean that product or service would sell though.

If it does not meet the demands or needs of the customer, it won’t be viewed as an acceptable product or service.

In this case, there is a disconnect between what the business wants to produce or provide and what the customer demands or needs.

To simplify the measurement of a product or service’s quality of conformance, the business may make quantifiable indicators.

For example, a pizza place advertises that it delivers all of its pizzas within 30 minutes.

With that in mind, all pizza deliveries that are fulfilled within that time frame have a high quality of conformance.

Another example, a business wants to penetrate the mid-range phone market.

Mid-range phones typically sell between $350 to $850.

Not only that, they have competitive specs that would make customers want to shell out the extra cash just to get those additional features.

In this case, any phone that meets these criteria is likely to have a high quality of conformance.

Factors that Affect Quality of Conformance

There are primarily six factors that can affect a product, service, or process’s quality of conformance: market, materials, technology, labor, cost, and management.

Market

A market may mean customer demand or target demographic.

It could also be a literal market – a place where people/businesses exchange goods and services depending on the demands of the customer.

It could also be the capacity of the customer to purchase the products or services that meet his/her requirements.

That market may be the most obvious factor that can affect the quality of conformance.  

Without a market, there’s nothing that the business can sell a product or service to.

Besides, the business would want to set its design specification based on the market demand or requirements.

If a business were to sell an apple to a market that demands oranges, it wouldn’t be able to sell the apple no matter how high its quality of conformance is.

Materials

To manufacture a product, a business will need raw materials.

You cannot make bread without eggs and flour now, can you?

The availability of raw materials, especially ones that meet the design specifications, is essential for maintaining the level of quality of conformance of the end product.

Certain end products can be strict with the materials that it needs.

For example, a particular phone model may need a specific chipset.

Securing such materials should be given importance.

Some materials may have alternatives or substitutes in case they become unavailable.

The use of the substitute materials may reduce the quality of conformance, but so long as they’re not that far in quality, the reduction should still be within a tolerable range.

For example, a particular brand of bread may prefer a specific brand of flour.

But in case it isn’t available, another brand of flour may still be used.

Materials affect the quality of conformance as they contribute to how close the end product is to its design specifications.

Without materials to make the end product, the business won’t be able to manufacture anything at all.

Technology

Another factor that can affect the quality of conformance is technology.

A business may be able to think of a game-changing product, but it may not able to produce because the available technology isn’t just there yet.

Before setting the final design specifications, one must ensure that the currently available technology is capable of making it.

Technology can also help in bringing the best results with minimal wastage.

It can also help in cost saving. Compare the cost of making a computer 50 years ago to now.

With the advancement in technology, a manufacturer can produce a better computer at a lesser cost.

Labor

While some processes can be fully automated, some still need the involvement of human hands.

Labor can affect the quality of performance depending on the competency of the laborer.

Some processes require a higher level of skill for them to be properly implemented.

Others only need the minimum amount of skill.

In general, the more skilled and capable labor is, the better the chances of the end product having a high quality of conformance.

Some businesses may resort to outsourcing some of their processes if the nearby labor market cannot meet their requirements.

Cost

A product or service’s cost greatly influences its price.

Businesses have become competitive, wherein they want to sell their products or service at the lowest price possible without compromising their profit generation.

As such, a business would want to manufacture or deliver services at the lowest cost possible.

Imagine having two businesses that offer the same quality of products, in this instance, phones with virtually the same specs.

However, one phone is cheaper than the other.

Assuming that brand loyalty doesn’t matter, which one do you think is more likely to sell? The cheaper one right?

Of course, lowering costs should not compromise the quality of the end product.

The business has to find the balance between having the best design specifications and the lowest cost possible.

Management

Ultimately, it is the management that sets the design specifications of a product, service, or process.

Consequently, it is also the management that sets the quantifiable indicators of quality of conformance.

Management also sets the minimum tolerable quality of conformance.

Remember that even if a product or service has a high quality of conformance based on the design specifications set by management, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the product or service will sell.

Management may misinterpret the demands or needs of the customer.

As such, it’s important for management to set appropriate design specifications.

Benefits of Assessing Quality of Conformance

Assessing the quality of conformance of your business’s products, services, and/or services provides tons of benefits.

Ensures Quality of Performance

For one, it ensures that the quality of the products or services is at least satisfactory.

You would want to manufacture products or provide services that meet the design specification set by management.

This means employing certain processes and improving them until they have a satisfactory quality of conformance.

This helps ensure that whatever products that reach the market are of good quality.

Once the errors and mistakes are detected and rectified, the quality of performance will continually increase.

Increases Customer Satisfaction

If the design specifications of a product or service meet the demands of the customer, it provides an opportunity to increase customer satisfaction.

If the business ensures that the quality of conformance of the products or services that reach the customer is at least satisfactory, it is more likely to satisfy the demands of the customer.

And if the end product wasn’t to the liking of the customer, it’s back to the drawing board.

The business will have to identify why the product wasn’t able to fully meet the requirements of the customer.

From there, the business continually makes improvements to the point where the end product fully satisfies the requirements of the customer.

Brand Value Development

As the business continues to deliver products or services that are of good quality of conformance, it will build a reputation.

Customers will start to recognize the value of the business’s brand and are more likely to patronize it.

Other the other hand, if the business repeatedly delivers low-quality products or services, its brand value and reputation will drop.

To avoid this from happening, the business must ensure that it only delivers products or services that have a satisfactory quality of conformance.

Improving Cost Efficiency

One way to improve profits is to reduce costs.

Management may set this as one of the design specifications.

In addition, management can also ensure that every penny spent ultimately contributes to the profit generation of the business.

Also, if the business only releases products that have a satisfactory quality of conformance, it reduces the chance of customer dissatisfaction.

This means that the customers are less likely to return the products, pursue warranty claims, or file lawsuits.

In Conclusion

Quality of conformance is one of the tools that the business’s management can employ to ensure the quality of the product or services.

By setting the design standards/specifications, management can assess whether a product or service has a good quality of conformance or not.

Management can set what level of quality of conformance is satisfactory.

While ideal, management cannot always require 100% conformance.

As such, they can set a level of deviations that is tolerable.

If implemented well, it increases the overall of a business’s products and/or services.