CPIM Practice Exam

Which of the following is a disadvantage of solely relying on inspection to ensure quality?

1. High costs associated with comprehensive inspections.

2. Delayed production feedback to improvement teams.

3. Lack of employee involvement in quality assurance.

4. Inaccurate shift-to-shift quality variance tracking.

The correct answer is: High costs associated with comprehensive inspections.

Relying solely on inspection to ensure quality can lead to high costs associated with comprehensive inspections. This approach often requires significant resources, including extensive manpower, equipment, and time, which can be expensive. If inspection is the only quality control method employed, organizations may face elevated operational costs as workers conduct constant checks on products or processes to identify defects. This can create a burden on the production process and may inhibit productivity due to the time and effort invested in inspections rather than in proactive quality management practices. In contrast to more integrated quality assurance techniques, which focus on preventing defects and improving processes, relying entirely on inspection does not address the root causes of defects and can lead to recurring issues. By highlighting the cost implications of this method, it underscores the importance of adopting a more holistic approach that includes process design, employee training, and continuous improvement initiatives to drive quality at the source rather than through checks after the fact.