Analyse how SWF might benefit from introducing a quality assurance system.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2019). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. Definition of quality assurance: based on setting agreed quality standards at all stages of production in order to ensure customer satisfaction is achieved.
2. Accept: TQM as particular form of QA
3. Giving responsibility to workers for checking quality
4. Makes everyone responsible for quality
5. Motivational impact of self-checking and efforts to increase quality leads to increased productivity
6. System can be used to trace back quality problems
7. Reduces the need for expensive final inspection – no need for quality inspectors
8. Could avoid issues such as the poisoning caused by inadequate cleaning of production valve
9. A failure of SWF was in not identifying the problem of the production valve
10. Importance of quality in a food industry context
11. Maintaining SWF’s reputation for good quality products
12. Impact on sales to national supermarket group that SWF supplies
13. Link to mission statement which refers to meeting customers’ needs and expectations
14. Possible loss of government contract to supply milk to schools
15. Impact on sales of non-milk products such as ice cream and butter
16. Payment of compensation to those affected by sub-standard products
17. Impact on long term reputation and therefore sales and profits
18. Avoid payment of compensation in poisoning outbreak will reduce profits
19. Loss of contract to government would reduce sales and profits
20. Motivation leading to higher productivity will lead to higher profits / enable SWF to offer more competitive prices.
21. Less rework of goods produced leading to a reduction in costs