An analysis of quality costs in Australian manufacturing firms

Analysis of quality costs is an important aspect in implementing total quality management culture. Yet evidence shows that manufacturing firms usually neglect this aspect, and a large proportion of firms do not even report quality costs systematically. Quality-focused firms could use cost data for various purposes such as setting quality (and operational) targets and allocating funds for quality improvement. Through a statistical analysis this paper identifies the key quality cost data/reports that have been used by Australian manufacturing firms in formulating quality improvement strategies.