The term quality seems to be a term that goes without any contestation. However, “quality” can mean a lot of things. What makes it variable is the application for which the term is applied. An acceptable level of quality for medical equipment will not be the same as for a home appliance. This means that the quality level of a product is always determined by the way that the component will be in use.

One place where this is prevalent is in finish quality. A smooth, flawless finish is essential to a new product, as it not only minimises any surface issues, but also indicates quality and care to the customer. However, in many cases, that high quality finish is only provided for appearance, and does nothing to add to the actual value of the product. Granted, consumers generally won’t buy a product which isn’t finished nicely, but this can easily become overdone.

In order to ensure that these types of issues are eliminated, every product undergoes a quality review process. The review is usually only based around whether the quality level required on this drawing is appropriate for the application in which it will be used. Most of the time, this step can eliminate excessive cost as well as guarantee that the quality of manufactured components are appropriate to their intended use.