QUALITY INDICATORS: MEASUREMENT AND MAIN INDICATORS - JOB - 2025

The quality indicators are the tools and systems that owns a company to measure the performance of their processes. Although historically they have been quantitative, little by little new models appear that consider other more qualitative factors, such as competitiveness or consumer satisfaction.

However, these models need to be quantifiable in order to be measured and compared. To understand the indicators, you must first see how they are used. In every organization there must be a quality management system, which ensures the quality of the company and is in charge of the administration of its controls.

Those in charge of carrying out this system to measure quality have to design the different quality indicators, in order to carry out an exhaustive control of it. Thus, the product or service can reach the expectations of customers.

characteristics

According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO, for its acronym in English), a correct quality management system must have certain characteristics, included in the ISO 9001 Standard. Some of these characteristics are the following:

- They indicate a key and relevant activity. They have to be measurable.

- They are generally quantitative, although little by little there are more qualitative indicators.

- They must be able to be compared in time.

- They have to be reliable.

- They must be easy to use.

- They must be compatible with the other indicators, in order to be able to compare them.

- They have to be concrete and not lead to misinterpretations.

How do you measure the quality of a product

If we define the word quality in a generic way, it would be the group of characteristics that make an object satisfy a specific need.

In the business case, the idea that the customer has of the service or product is very important, depending on how he has satisfied the customer's need.

For this reason, it is very important to continuously monitor the company's products and services, in order to minimize errors and be able to provide the best product or service to customers.

The quality indicators serve to measure the different criteria that are considered appropriate, depending on which process you want to evaluate. For this, the following controls must be defined:

Plan quality control

The plan defined by the company to measure quality must be very detailed and aligned with the objectives of the company. In this plan, several elements must be defined:

- The processes and systems that must be measured to achieve error-free products.

- The characteristics that the product or service must have in order to guarantee its quality.

- The team of people who will correctly measure and verify the products and services.

- How the data will be collected, so that later changes and corrections can be made.

- The necessary training for workers to carry out inspections.

- The tests to verify that the product is of quality and has no faults.

Check the products

Product verification can be done in three phases:

- Inspecting the process of input of materials.

- Inspecting the process during its development.

- Checking the finished products.

Activities to improve process control

Finally, to achieve a successful evaluation it is necessary to apply a series of activities that will facilitate control:

Inventories preparation

Having an up-to-date inventory will make it easier to calculate many of the product indicators.

Design of a calibration plan

Calibration is used to compare the different qualities with a reference standard (or standard).

Make equipment maintenance plans

Having planned review and maintenance periods for material resources and products will ensure that there is a regular evaluation.

Main quality indicators

When selecting the most appropriate indicators for a process, the first thing to know is that they should be implemented in the processes that are most influential in the quality of the final product, in those that are most important for results or in those that are most weakened and below quality standard.

As for the quantity, there is no stipulated minimum or maximum number, so it is recommended to carry out those that are necessary to get a global idea of ​​the process.

Other recommendations are:

- Take into account the opinion of the company's experts on the process, so that they determine how appropriate the chosen indicators are.

- Use indicators that are easy to understand.

- Place them in visible places, in order to motivate workers to reach them.

There are infinite indicators, below we will mention those that are very common in most organizations: market coverage, product effectiveness, sales level, customer satisfaction and competitiveness.

Market coverage

Coverage is defined as the quantity of products available in relation to total market demand.

Product efficacy

This indicator measures whether the customer has covered their need with the product. For this, subsequent evaluations must be implemented and customer feedback obtained.

Sales level

Sales are a mandatory indicator when it comes to measuring the quality of a product, so they are essential, as well as being easy to measure.

Customer satisfaction

Here you should measure how satisfied the customer has been after the purchase. That is, if you have fully met your expectations or if, on the contrary, you have been disappointed.

To measure this, as well as for effectiveness, it is essential to conduct customer surveys, in order to generate feedback from them and improve the process in question.

Competitiveness

Measuring how competitive an organization is, how it stands in relation to its competitors and how it responds to market demand are issues to take into account when measuring quality.

References

1. Nanda, V. (2016). Quality Management System Handbook for Product Development Companies.
2. Gitlow, HS (2000). Quality Management Systems: A Practical Guide
3. Wood, JC; Wood, MC, eds. (2003). Henry Ford: Critical Evaluations in Business and Management
4. EAE Business School. Obtained from challenges-operaciones-logistica.eae.es
5. ISO 9001: EQS Consulting specialized in ISO Standards