Quality costing in a small engineering company: issues and difficulties

Abstract

Examines the issues and difficulties of developing a quality costing system in a small engineering company. Four different methods – departmental interviews, process mapping, departmental study, and checklist of cost elements – were used to identify the costs. The value of these methods are commented upon. The main difficulties in developing the quality costing system relate to: a blame culture; a lack of visibility of how people, in particular inspectors, spend their time; and the structure of the accounting system. The majority of the difficulties were addressed by the involvement of senior management, highlighting their importance in the development of a quality costing system.

Citation

Roden, S. and Dale, B.G. (2001), "Quality costing in a small engineering company: issues and difficulties", The TQM Magazine, Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 388-400. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000006176