The Impact of Quality Measurement in Manufacturing Enterprises

The costs of poor quality not only lead to wasted resources for businesses, but also affect national economic resources. These costs come in various forms, such as material waste, process failures (e.g. idle machine work, energy consumption and labor costs). On an annualized basis, these losses can be substantial. In addition, for businesses supplying consumers or large industries, the costs associated with returns and complaints leading to reputational damage and product losses should not be underestimated.

In order to reduce the costs of low quality, various measurement and control methods can be applied in production processes. One important step is the approval of the first five parts by the quality control department before full-scale production. This approval process, when necessary, is under the authority of the quality control department. Periodic inspections, such as hourly frequency checks, can further reduce the costs of low quality. Furthermore, a final inspection before parts leave production minimizes return costs and increases customer satisfaction.

Digitalization of quality control processes enables data to be collected and analyzed more quickly and accurately. Thanks to digitalization, quality control processes can receive instant feedback and production defects can be quickly identified and corrected. This increases overall efficiency in production processes and reduces costs.

Quality improvement initiatives can be effectively supported by Pareto analysis. This analysis helps to identify the primary causes of losses and analyze specific stations, products and processes, providing a solid foundation for Kaizen (continuous improvement) activities. The first step involves the formation of a team to carry out Kaizen projects. The team starts its work by using problem solving techniques. Once the problems are identified, the proposed solutions will be planned and implemented. As the solutions are implemented, the results are monitored and evaluated, the necessary actions for similar equipment and products are determined after the Kaizen project is completed, and the process is finalized by calculating the annual gains from Kaizen.

Traceability (lot tracking) is of great importance in production facilities. When a material problem arises, backward traceability allows the affected parts and the root cause of the problem to be quickly identified. Digitalization increases the efficiency of this process. Digital traceability systems offer benefits such as cost reduction and competitive advantage by increasing visibility of losses.

Digitalization also facilitates the integration and automation of quality management systems. This allows quality control data to be collected and analyzed more systematically. Advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence applications enable proactive approaches to quality control processes. For example, potential quality problems can be identified in advance and preventive measures can be taken.

Quality measurement and digitalization in manufacturing enterprises are critical to reduce the costs of poor quality and increase productivity. The implementation of methods such as pre-production quality approval, periodic inspections, final inspections and traceability ensure quality throughout the production process. Improvement methods such as Pareto analysis and Kaizen play an effective role in identifying and solving problems. Digitalization increases competitiveness and ensures long-term sustainable success for businesses by providing the advantage of making losses more visible and reducing costs.

In this context, the adoption of digitalization and continuous improvement culture in the quality management processes of manufacturing enterprises will provide significant gains in terms of both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.