WATCH THE VIDEO FIRST BEFORE READING THE ARTICLE
In our daily life we regularly hear quality is important.
But do we really understand what Quality is and what Non-Quality is?
In any industry small or big, quality is crucial. Quality is often talked about—but not always completely understood.
When Quality is not prioritized do we understand the consequences?
CoPQ that means Cost of Poor Quality is very dangerous and at long run can hinder the company success; it’s an invisible force that drains resources, erodes customer trust, and damages reputations.
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” – Henry Ford
WHAT IS REALLY QUALITY?
We often define Quality with terms like excellence, perfection, premium offerings, value, meeting customer expectations, meeting specifications.
If we look at Quality from ISO viewpoint, we can find many definitions which evolved over time but still looking it mainly from the user perspective:
- Ability of a product or service to satisfy, at minimum cost and prompt the user needs. (ISO 9000 1982)
- Ability of a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements. (ISO 9000 2000)
Today across the globe quality improvement (QI) or continuous improvement (CI) has become an important business strategy for many organizations. This includes manufacturers, financial service organizations, healthcare services, public sector organizations and most recently third sector organizations.
Nevertheless, the concept of quality has existed long before Jesus Christ (JC). Humans have always had some sense of what is “better” or “worse,” even in prehistoric times. Civilizations like Egyptians, Greeks, Romans had high standards in architecture, medicine, art, and more. The quality of materials (like marble or bronze) and precision in construction (like the Pyramids or Roman roads) were key indicators of excellence.
In the industrial era (1700-1900) quality started being measured and standardized.
Quality Today It’s not just about the product anymore. It’s about the experience.
Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, ISO standards, etc. have formalized how we define and measure quality
“You can’t inspect quality into a product; it is already there.” – W. Edwards Deming
THE HIDDEN COSTS OF NON-QUALITY
When organizations fail to embed quality into their processes, culture, and values, the consequences can be staggering. Those costs can be divided into three main categories:
1. Internal Failures
Rework, scrap, and production delays, wasted materials and labor due to errors
2. External Failures
Customer complaints and product returns, warranty claims and legal liabilities, damaged reputation and loss of brand loyalty
3. Loss of Opportunity
Time and energy spent fixing problems instead of innovating, negative customer word-of-mouth impacting future sales, market share loss to competitors who do it right the first time
“If you think quality is expensive, try the cost of non-quality.” – Unknown
As illustrated in the video, the cost of correcting mistakes after the fact is exponentially higher than doing it right from the beginning. What may seem like a shortcut today can become tomorrow’s costly detour.
- Nasa example – 1986:
- Human loss: 7 people dead
- Financial loss over a billion dollars
- Cost of redesigning O-rings: a few hundred thousand dollars
- Toyota example – 2009:
- Human loss: 52 people dead, 38 injured
- Financial loss $5.5 billion
- Reason: Putting cost/profit before quality
- The largest environmental disaster
- Human loss: 11 people dead
- Financial loss to BO: $10 billion
- Cost of checking the cement: $128’000
QUALITY IS EVERYONE’S JOB
Organizations that have a long-term vision understand that quality isn’t the responsibility of a single department. It must be everyone’s business.
“Quality is not an act, it is a habit.” – Aristotle
It starts with building a culture of quality by:
- Empowering employees to speak up about issues
- Investing in training and continuous improvement
- Monitoring processes and using data to drive decisions
- Learning from mistakes and embedding lessons into the system
THE ROI OF DOING IT RIGHT
Focusing on quality isn’t just the ethical thing to do – it makes financial sense.
When processes are streamlined and defects are minimized, productivity increases, costs drop, and customers come back. High quality leads to:
- Better customer satisfaction and loyalty
- Lower operational costs
- Stronger brand reputation
- Sustainable business growth
“Quality is the best business plan.” – John Lasseter
CONCLUSION: QUALITY IS NOT A COST—IT’S A LONG TERM INVESTMENT
Cutting corners may save money in the short run, but the cost of poor quality always catches up.
The organizations that lead in any market are those that understand quality isn’t a goal—it’s a habit.
As the video demonstrates with simple but powerful examples, investing in quality up front protects you from paying dearly later.
Because in the end, poor quality doesn’t just cost money—it costs trust, time, and opportunity.
And do not forget the 7 quality management principles as per ISO 9000-9001 are exactly related to the points mentioned in the video:
- Leadership
- Customer focus
- Engagement of people/employees
- Process approach
- Continual Improvement
- Evidence based decision making
- Relationship management (suppliers…)
“Customers may forget what you said but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou