Quality control is one of the most important stages of the production process, which does not directly relate to manufacturing operations, but provides the necessary information about its consumer properties. At first glance, the technology for assessing qualitative characteristics completely depends on the type of product and its features. But precisely in order to optimize quality control in different areas, they use the concept of unification of product evaluation rules. And in this context it is important to understand what qualimetry is? This is a rather multilayered and ambiguous concept, but in general terms it can be represented as a quality regulation. Below this term will be disclosed in more detail with all the nuances and aspects of the application.
Basic concepts of qualimetry
First of all, it is important to determine that qualimetry is a science of quality. Accordingly, the central concept for consideration will be quality, expressed in a huge array of properties and characteristics. Again, if we consider each subject for the application of qualimetry in its closed system of ratings, then the quality will be expressed by specific indicators. The meaning of qualimetry is to develop the principles of an assessment system that can be applied in a universal manner to all objects of research or individual groups of products. The object of qualimetry can be understood as a specific characteristic (system of properties and parameters), and a conditional product to which the quality control method will be applied. The concept of a qualimetric aspect is also important, which already reflects the technological side of the application of qualimetry methods, combining such systemic concepts of assessment as structure, property, dynamism, etc. We can say that this is a universal framework in which a matrix of assessment parameters with a certain hierarchy and relationships between individual indicators.
Application of qualimetry
The difficulties of considering qualimetry as a science in the USSR came down to the contradictions of its presentation from the point of view of practical use. Theoretically, a universal rating system can be applied to any object of nature, initially having determined the criteria and parameters of the study. The main condition is that this object in principle allows the use of the concept of quality. But what is qualimetry in practice of its use today? This is a kind of analysis tool that allows you to establish the conformity of one or more properties of an object to a specific quality standard. The latter may be a regulation, normative, technical document, design decision, etc. Moreover, the areas in which such a model of quality assessments operates are extensive and go far beyond the traditional areas of the national economy.
Qualimetry Measurements
It is impossible to determine how the object corresponds to quality indicators without a measurement system. Measurement and evaluation are basic concepts of qualimetry, but their relationship is fundamentally different from other contexts of using the same terms. In this case, the measurement is not only a measured quantity for the technical designation of a particular parameter. Through examination of the subject, the user can obtain information about its characteristics as corresponding to the standard. For example, what is qualimetry as applied to assessing the quality of a reinforced concrete structure? Firstly, it is a set of technical and measuring tools that will provide an array of operational indicators of this facility. Among them, there will be several types of strength indicators, mass, dimensional parameters, etc. Secondly, qualimetry, based on the information obtained and reference indicators, should give an assessment of the design, i.e., how good it is. Moreover, the deviation itself, even at a high coefficient, does not always mean that the object is of poor quality. So, if the compressive strength of reinforced concrete exceeds the standard indicator, then the design is recognized as high-quality.
Qualimetry Tasks
The use of qualimetry and its technologies is based on a wide functional base, which, in turn, is aimed at solving the following array of tasks:
- Selection and justification of quality indicators, as well as ways to optimize them.
- Development of principles for constructing integrated quality assessment systems, the indicators of which can be applied to different objects of research in a generalized form.
- Development of quantitative quality assessment systems. Qualimetry is still largely a conditional tool from the point of view of application, therefore, for specialists working in this field, it is important to strive to create systems with specific forms and characteristics of quality reflection.
The range of tasks of modern qualimetry to a large extent depends on the conditions of production, objects of study, the goals of assessment and, in general, on the model of application of one or another method of quality control at the enterprise.
Varieties of qualimetry
A more accurate formulation of the goals and objectives of qualimetry will also be helped by its division into areas of use. In particular, the following types of modern qualimetry are distinguished:
- The total. He is engaged in the development of general theoretical problems, including the theory of evaluation and measurement, systems of concepts and axiomatics.
- Special. Narrowly targeted qualimetry in terms of scope and applied assessment methods. For example, in social qualimetry, an extensive range of methods can be used, among which are expert, index, probabilistic and statistical, etc. As a result of complex processing of the obtained data, an expert opinion is made about the quality of a particular social environment. Moreover, the evaluation systems themselves can be multifaceted, which also leads to the presence of conventions when formulating conclusions about the qualitative state of the object of study.
Subject qualimetry
Actually the classification of the assessment system, a sign of which will be the object of study. This can be a simple technical part with clear parameters, which is produced on a lathe as part of the general assembly of the car, and a city-planning project of a metropolis with a huge array of source data, to which different rating systems are applied.
Basic methods of applying qualimetry
Even in the field of real activities, modern enterprises use a huge number of different approaches and methods for assessing the quality of their products. However, the most common are the main methods of qualimetry, presented below:
- Exact method. It involves the use of all reasonable theories, techniques and methods that can reduce the error and increase the reliability of the results of the study. The process is characterized by the use of multilevel assessment tools, in which multiple summation of a wide array of source data, including those related to environmental conditions, is assumed.
- Simplified method. In this case, a high degree of error and a low degree of reliability of the research results are allowed. This is due to the fact that simple schemes and assessment tools are used, requiring less time and material and technical resources to determine qualimetry indicators within a specific model.
- The approximate method. According to the parameters of the error and the complexity of the application, this is an intermediate version of the assessment, located between the exact and simplified methods. A feature of this approach is the performance of a single summation or integration of the properties of an object without taking into account environmental conditions.
Expert and non-expert methods
In line quality control systems, when servicing large volumes of numerical indicators, an assessment system is used that draws on the knowledge of experts. This approach is characterized by technological ease of use, but organizationally it is a costly and unreliable method. A high share of the error is largely associated with the need to attract various qualified specialists, which requires the creation of several data processing channels. The non-expert method of assessing quality in qualimetry is analytical and does not require the involvement of third-party specialists. There is a debugged model of data processing in automatic mode, which allows to achieve high accuracy of the results. The only thing that may require the involvement of experts is the task of constructing a tree of properties, which is not directly related to the process of assessing the qualitative characteristics of an object.
Mixed methods
A combined approach that combines the individual principles of expert and non-expert assessment methods. As a rule, narrowly focused processing of numerical data with the involvement of specialists occupies a smaller share in the overall process. This is the most costly approach, since its implementation requires much more organizational resources specifically for the technological integration of fundamentally different models for studying the object. However, a mixed assessment method has a significant advantage. It is expressed in the principles of qualimetry management, which allow the formation of complex systems of judgments about the object.
Conclusion
From generalized theoretical models with primitive means of application, qualimetry has taken a huge evolutionary step towards a highly accurate diverse assessment of an object with a high share of reliable information about its quality. Today it is not just a tool in quality control systems, but one of the factors of competition. After all, what is qualimetry from the point of view of a large commodity producer who is fighting for new market platforms, trying to please the consumer? At a minimum, this is a way to increase the attractiveness of their products due to the optimal model for identifying its shortcomings and minimizing marriage. But at the same time, modern qualimetry provides a lot of opportunities for optimizing production itself and part of the logistics processes, so its methods are increasingly entering the areas of management and design of production infrastructure.