Organising Quality Function in Research and Development

Abstract

Quality function may be summarised as quality generation, quality control, and quality
assurance. The quality generation and quality control, because of their fuactional nature, are
comparatively easy to organise, however, the challenge is to organise quality assurance in the
organisation. It is the challenge because quality assurance should seamlessly merge with the
R&D process. In future, the organisations, whether real or virtual, are going to be
predominantly, research and development (R&D) oriented rather than pure manufacturing or
service providers. However, the nature and intensity of the R&D may differ. It could be from
simple improvement to innovation, to exploitation of inventions.
Organising quality function in R&D means organising its various dimensions against the
stipulated criteria such as the realisation of the quality system; realisation of quality during
product development, including system engineering; staffing of quality generation, quality control,
and quality assurance; balancing of the quality function; harnessing of project quality, functional
quality, staff quality and line quality; application of the RHR principle; exploitation of the tools
of organising, democratic organisation; and so on. The basic purpose of organising the quality
function is to inculcate the sense of pride in quality among the scientists so that they feel
passionate about it. It is the passion and love for quality that generates, sustains, and maintains
quality.