Key Product Quality Indicators

Quality indicators are important parameters when establishing a list of quantitative characteristics of goods. They are necessary to assess the level of quality of the investigated products. A similar process involves taking into account certain parameters:

• the purpose and conditions of use of the product;
• customer request analysis;
• structure and composition of the analyzed properties.

The main quality indicators are divided into several groups. Let us consider in more detail some of them.

Classification Options

Depending on the analyzed properties, single and complex (generalized, group and integral) characteristics are distinguished.

Quality assessment indicators by the way of expression are considered in cost parameters or in physical units: kilograms, meters, points.

According to the stage of determining indicators are:

• design
• projected
• operational
• production.

Important aspects

Quality indicators must fully meet certain requirements:

• to be stable;
• provide decent quality products for the population and the national economy;
• to take into account the achievements of technology, science, innovative processes in various sectors of the economy;
• contribute to increased manufacturing efficiency;
• describe all the characteristics of the product that determine its suitability.

Criteria Selection Algorithm

Product quality indicators are selected taking into account the following characteristics:

• product group options;
• the purpose of using the item;
• methods of selecting indicators.

The type (group) of goods is established on the basis of industry and intersectoral documents that classify products according to the terms of use and purpose.

Quality indicators can be supplemented with individual features depending on the main functions that perform the analyzed products.

For products of the engineering field and electrical engineering, destination indicators are associated with the useful work performed by the product.

For a variety of conveyors, quality indicators are associated with performance and transportation conditions. In the case of analysis of measuring instruments, the accuracy and range of measurements must be considered.

The determining indicator of quality is selected depending on the characteristics of the product and its intended use.

Destination metrics

It is customary to relate certain subgroups to them: constructive, classification, structure and composition, functionality and technical performance.

What quality indicator will be decisive in the assessment, experts decide. For example, among the classification parameters, the capacity of the excavator bucket, the power of the electric motor, the quantitative carbon content in cast iron, and the tensile strength for the fabric are distinguished.

Drinking Water Assessment

Water quality indicators are divided into several groups:

• organoleptic, which include color, taste, smell, turbidity;
• chemical;
• microbiological.

Complexity of iron compounds gives color to water . This indicator is determined by visual observation. Water smells due to substances that enter it along with wastewater.

Fine impurities are a source of turbidity. The taste of water is given by organic substances of plant origin.

Natural water components

Currently, there are six main groups, we will consider each of them in more detail.

• Macronutrients. Among them, K ⁺ , Na ⁺ , Mg ²⁺ , Ca ²⁺ , Cl ^- , SO ₄ ^2- , HCO ₃ ^- , CO ₃ ^2- are distinguished. Their percentage in water is estimated at 99, 98% of the total volume of all salts. The ions listed above fall into the water from soil, rocks, and also as a result of household and industrial activities of man.
• Dissolved gases. These include oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and methane. To analyze the quantitative content of these chemicals using methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis.
• Nutrients in terms of phosphorus and nitrogen. The main sources of nutrients are considered to be processes that occur inside water bodies. In addition, sewage and precipitation act in their quality. Silicon compounds, which are in water in the form of true or colloidal solutions of polysilicon or silicic acid, are also considered nutrients. Iron contained in the form of microcolloidal hydroxide in natural water also affects its quality.
• Trace elements. This group consists of metal ions contained in water in small quantities.
• The group of dissolved organic substances (DOM). It includes the following compounds: alcohols, acids, ketones, aldehydes, phenols, esters, aromatic compounds, humic acids, carbohydrates, amines, proteins, amino acids. When conducting their quantitative determination, indirect indicators are used: total ion content, permanganate oxidation of water, biochemical oxygen consumption.
• Polluting toxic substances. These are heavy metals, organochlorines, petroleum products, synthetic surfactants, phenols.

These parameters are taken into account when water quality assessment indicators are considered.

Practical assessment of water quality

To evaluate quality of life indicators, it is important to have a complete picture of the composition of water consumed by the population. To carry out such studies, certain characteristics are used:

• The water content of salts (in terms of the calcium bicarbonate content). For example, consider fresh water that salinity does not exceed 0.1%.
• Alkalinity. A similar parameter is determined by the ability of natural water to neutralize hydrogen cations. It is determined by titration of samples with strong acid (hydrochloric) in the presence of phenolphthalein indicator.
• Oxidation. For surface and drinking water, it should not exceed 100 mg O ₂ / L. When determining the indicator, the permanganate method is used.
• Hardness of water. The indicator is divided into two groups: carbonate (temporary) and non-carbonate (constant) value. Temporary hardness is due to the content in the water of acid salts (bicarbonates) of magnesium and calcium. A constant value is determined by the presence in it of chlorides and sulfates of magnesium and calcium. As units of measurement, mmol / L is used.

Hardness of water

Depending on the field of application, certain indicators of water quality (hardness) are distinguished:

• for industrial purposes, soft water is used (total hardness up to 3.5 mmol / l);
• medium hardness water (7 to 10 mmol / l) is suitable for drinking.

Among the serious environmental problems that significantly reduce the quality of drinking water is the pollution of ecosystems with oil products. As they enter the aquatic environment, hydrocarbons spill over its surface with a monomolecular thin layer. As a result, an oil slick forms in the pond. Depending on the volume of emissions, it is capable of capturing a space of hundreds and thousands of kilometers.

In just a few days, about a quarter of the oil slick disappears with the evaporation and dissolution of low molecular weight fractions. Heavy hydrocarbons do not dissolve and do not settle at the bottom of the reservoir. They form strong emulsions that last for 50 years. It is these organic compounds that negatively affect the existence of living organisms.

The environmental problems of our century, which lead to the "bloom" of some fresh water bodies, include their pollution by nutrients. Their main sources are nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers from agricultural fields, as well as sewage.

Negative consequences can also be observed due to reduced water exchange during the construction of dams, the appearance of stagnant zones. The greatest danger is blue-green algae, which in two months are able to give offspring about 10 ²⁰ offspring.

Performance indicators

They determine the beneficial effect obtained from the operation or consumption of products, as well as the progressiveness of technical solutions that are embedded in the products. For technical objects, the following operational parameters are distinguished:

• performance indicator of the device, which determines the amount of products manufactured on it for a specific period;
• an indicator of the speed and accuracy of the measuring device, the accuracy of the fabric for the clothing industry;
• specific heat of the electric fireplace, which is determined by the expenditure of energy per unit of heat generated by the heater;
• calorie foods;
• water resistance coefficient of rubber products.

Performance indicators allow us to evaluate the main areas of application of products, the demand for consumer goods.

Design indicators allow us to evaluate design techniques, ease of installation, installation, the possibility of interchangeability of individual parts (units). These include:

• overall parameters;
• the presence of additional devices.

Among the indicators used in assessing the structure and composition of chemical elements, there are:

• mass fraction of the component (alloying components) in steel;
• the concentration of various impurities in acids;
• mass fraction of ash and sulfur in coke;
• the percentage of salt and sugar in foods.

The indicators of the economical use of materials, raw materials, energy and fuel characterize the properties of a particular product, which reflect technical excellence in the degree or level of raw materials, energy, fuel and materials used.

Such indicators in the operation and manufacture of products, for example, include:

• specific consumption of leading options for raw materials, energy;
• the utilization rate of material resources is the ratio of useful use to the cost of manufacturing one unit of a certain type of product;
• efficiency.

Reliability is considered one of the main indicators of industrial products. The intensity and complexity of the operating modes of different products is constantly increasing, the responsibility of the functions performed is increasing. The higher it is, the higher requirements are placed on the reliability of the product.

If it is insignificant, serious normal time and material costs will be required for normal operation and operability of machines and mechanisms.

The reliability of the product is affected by its operating conditions:

• air humidity,
• temperature,
• pressure,
• mechanical loads
• radiation.

As technical objects consider products, elements, systems, machines, devices and assemblies.

Reliability characterizes the ability of an object to maintain the values ​​of the main parameters throughout the entire period of operation, to perform basic functions in certain modes and conditions. This concept also includes reliability, maintainability, durability and product retention.

Depending on the object and the conditions of its operation, this property has different significance. For example, for objects unsuitable for repair, their reliability is considered as the main property.

Finally

Product quality is an important indicator of enterprise performance. If various indicators of the quality of services are used in the social sphere, then the efficiency of mechanisms and machines is of importance in industry.

For example, among the parameters that characterize the ability to perform the necessary functions, dynamic and kinematic, as well as indicators of performance, accuracy of operation and speed of work are distinguished.

As you operate, these specifications may change. To quantify the reliability of the facility, indicators are used taking into account the specifics, operating conditions, and consequences of decommissioning the mechanism.

Among the non-waste indicators, we note the average operating time before decommissioning and the likelihood of working without repair.

Among the main economic indicators are:

• cost price,
• ergonomics
• service life
• product price.

For example, among the parameters that are important for industrial products, the level of noise, overloads, vibration, and the magnitude of the magnetic and electromagnetic fields are distinguished.

When assessing the aesthetics of a product, its informational expressiveness, composition integrity, rationality of form, and appearance are used.

The informational expressiveness of the product is characterized by the following single quality indicators: originality, symbolism, compliance with fashion trends, and originality of style.

It is by the presence of originality in the form of a product that it can be distinguished from products of a similar kind.

If the product does not meet certain qualities, it will not be in demand by consumers. Therefore, the manufacturer will not be able to get the desired profit and cover the cost of manufacturing the product.