Quality by Design
Concept of Product
Basic human needs generate wants, which create demand for the
products, capable to satisfy the basic needs. All organizations are, in fact,
involved in design, production and supply of various kinds of products and
services.
What comes to your mind when you think of a product? Based on
the traditional mindset, most of the people think of the “product” as a certain
good, which is manufactured in a factory only.
Product is defined as the “result of a process”. And process
is a system of activities, which use resources to transform inputs into outputs.
Output of each phase of our job or activity is a product, sometimes it is a
tangible product like a machine component, a material, a written report, a
letter; more often it is an intangible product like message, instruction,
communication, ideas, advice, information, expression, gesture, etc. Economists
define products as goods and services. As per modern quality management, all
kinds of products can be classified into the following four generic product
categories:
-
Hardware
-
Processed material
-
Software
- Service
A tangible product comprising of one or more distinct items.
Hardware products normally consist of manufactured, constructed or fabricated
pieces/ parts / components and/or assemblies.
Examples of hardware products include car, scooter, washing
machine, transformer, electric motor, fan, television, instruments, computer,
pen, tools, fasteners, etc.
A tangible product generated by transforming raw material
into desired state. The state of
processed material can be liquid, gas, particulate material, ingot, filament or
sheet. Processed material typically
is delivered in drums, bags, tanks, cylinders, cans, pipelines or rolls.
Examples are medicines, liquified petroleum gas, food
products, cement, sugar, steel sheets, paper, textile, fertilizer, alcohol, ink,
tea, petrol, oxygen, etc.
An intellectual creation consisting of information,
instructions, concepts, transactions or procedures. Software has more than one
meaning. Most commonly understood meaning of software is computer programmes.
Other examples of software include contents of books, procedures, instructions,
reports, advice, commands, communications, etc.
The result generated at the interface between the supplier
and the customer and by the supplier internal activities to meet customer needs.
Service is work performed for someone else. Several
organizations are established to provide services of various kinds, such as,
electric power, water supply, transportation, communications, entertainment,
health care, education, security, catering, tourism, banking, insurance,
consultancy, public administration, etc.
Service may be for internal customers within a company also,
such as, pay roll preparation, recruitment, accounting, plant maintenance, human
resource development, etc. Such services are called as support services.
Personnel or equipment may represent the supplier or customer
at the interface. A service may be
linked with manufacture and supply of tangible product.
Quality management
deals with all products belonging to any of the above four generic
categories. The quality management
principles are the same for all generic products.
Two or more of the generic product categories are usually
present in the market-place offer of any organization. For example, most of
organizations that supply hardware, software or processed materials have service
component to their offerings. Customers will look for value in each of generic
product categories.
A service organization, such as a restaurant will have
hardware (restaurant furnishing, crockery), software (menu card), processed
materials (food), as well as service (catering) components.
An electric power utility is an example where offering
combines many characteristics of a service, together with delivery of a form of
processed material (electric current) via a hardware (conducting cable). Project management is another example
where the offering typically combines many characteristics of service together
with production and/or delivery of a hardware and/or software product.
Analytical instruments are examples where hardware (the main
instrument), software (programmes and instruction manuals), processed material
(chemicals and consumables) and services (training and maintenance) may all be
important features of the offer.
