Methodology
The four geographically different companies in this research
belong to one large multinational organization and are labeled
company A through company D. Each of the four companies is
locally managed, manufactures the same products using similar
manufacturing processes, has identical quality measuring
methods, and uses the same quality metrics. Their products have
a reputation of high-quality and are for sale in the U.S. and around
the world. To protect proprietary and confidential information
of the sponsoring organization, this research was populated
with representative data. The representative data were obtained
utilizing mathematical functions that proportionally allocated
actual data from the sponsoring organization. The results of the
analysis in this study are unaffected by the use of representative
data. The same results can be observed by running the analysis
both ways, using redacted and unredacted data.
The quality performance metrics, as measured by the four
companies, are the product quality score and quality issues rate.
The product quality score is a comprehensive measure of quality
since it includes all possible quality issues for a large number
of audited products. It is weighted, with severe product audit
findings resulting in lower product quality scores than minor
findings. In other words, superior product quality is represented
by a high product quality score, and inferior product quality is
characterized by a low product quality score. The second quality
performance metric is the quality issue rate, which provides a
measure for the number of product quality related issues. This
metric is also measured during product audit. Contrary to the
product quality score, the quality issue rate metric is a nonweighted
metric. All quality issues, independent of severity, have
the same weight. A low quality issue rate signifies better quality
than a high quality issue rate. Since the manufacturing processes
and the quality measurement methodologies are standardized
among the four companies, the measurement results are
directly comparable between the four sites. In addition, the
product quality measurement process is frequently audited by
the corporate quality department to ensure compliance and
uniformity between the four companies.