Factors affecting quality in a manufacturing environment for a non-repairable product

Product quality has become one of the most important factors for consideration by manufacturing environments due to the increasingly competitive global market. This is especially true for organizations manufacturing a non-repairable product as the cost of warranty claims can be financially considerable and cause rapid loss of market share due to loss of customer satisfaction and confidence. This study has therefore set out to identify the factors affecting product quality in a manufacturing environment. Two distinct sets of factors were identified in literature: "Hard" factors are Systems and Processes, Efficiency, Product and Process Complexity and Discipline, whereas "Soft" factors are Long Term Planning, Organizational Culture, Workforce Management and Leadership Support. The study found that Long Term Planning and Organizational Culture had a very significant impact on product quality within an organization manufacturing a non-repairable product whereas the hard factors only had marginal impacts on product quality.