For information and reference only – not to be submitted as your own work.
This EG7069 sample shows how an abridged model answer to the NovaTech Electronics portfolio might be structured. It follows the five tasks in the EG7069 Quality Management and Reliability coursework brief, using the case figures as given. For the planning logic behind it, read our guide to writing the EG7069 quality management portfolio.
Planning table
| Brief part | Suggested words | What markers look for |
|---|---|---|
| Task 1: quality and risk evaluation, improvement strategy | 800 | Root causes tied to the data, justified methods, roadmap, measures |
| Task 2: managers, ownership, stakeholders | 500 | Theory linked to NovaTech behaviours, employee role, industry example |
| Task 3: KPIs, continuous improvement, design for quality | 600 | Balanced KPIs, honest limits of the framework, cost trade-offs |
| Task 4: benchmarking and sustainability | 500 | Realistic benchmarking under constraints, practical green initiatives |
| Task 5: ethics and compliance | 400 | Specific dilemmas, regulation, defensible manager judgement |
| Introduction, conclusion (presentation separate) | 200 | Clear scope and a synthesis, not a repeat |
This split is a suggestion that adds up to 3,000 words; check your own brief for the exact limits and the 8-minute presentation requirements.
Hire a Professional Essay & Assignment Writer for completing your Academic Assessments
Native Singapore Writers Team
- 100% Plagiarism-Free Essay
- Highest Satisfaction Rate
- Free Revision
- On-Time Delivery
EG7069 sample model answer extract
The extract below is abridged. Where a company figure is not in the brief, it is marked as illustrative.
Task 1: Quality and risk evaluation and improvement strategy
Current position
NovaTech’s defect rate has risen from 4.8% to 8.7% while first-pass yield (FPY) has fallen from 94.5% to 88.2%. Warranty cost has climbed from £1.4m to £2.3m a year, and the estimated cost of poor quality (CoPQ) is about £4.6m. These figures show a system that detects defects late rather than preventing them.
The company relies on end-of-line inspection. Juran and Godfrey (1999) place inspection in the control phase of the quality trilogy, which cannot compensate for weak planning and improvement. Oakland (2014) makes the same point: inspection sorts product but does not create capability.
Root causes from the Pareto data
| Defect source | Share of defects | Cumulative | Likely root cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCB and component assembly | 24% | 24% | Placement variation between shifts |
| Software and firmware configuration | 18% | 42% | Uncontrolled versions, outdated SOPs |
| Supplier component quality | 14% | 56% | Price-led selection of 40+ suppliers |
| Soldering | 9% | 65% | Temperature drift, no profile control |
| Final testing and calibration | 5% | 70% | Operator-dependent calibration |
The five listed sources cover 70% of defects, so the first wave of work should target them. The remaining 30% is spread across smaller causes, and its split is not given in the brief.
Methodology and risk
I would use DMAIC for assembly and soldering, where variation can be measured. Pyzdek and Keller (2014) position DMAIC for problems with a known process but unknown causes, which fits here. Control charts on soldering temperature and placement accuracy would separate common-cause from special-cause variation (Montgomery, 2019).
For risk, a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) on the top three sources would rank risks by severity, occurrence and detection. ISO 9001:2015 requires risk-based thinking and preventive planning, which NovaTech currently applies inconsistently (ISO, 2015).
Roadmap and measures
| Phase | Timing | Main actions | Measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stabilise | 0–6 months | Update the roughly 22% outdated SOPs; standardise soldering and calibration settings | Shift-to-shift variation (Cpk) |
| Prevent | 6–12 months | Supplier scorecards; in-process checks; FMEA | FPY, supplier defect rate |
| Sustain | 12–24 months | Staged digital quality tools; audits | Warranty cost, CoPQ |
The CFO’s concern about the £1.8m digital programme is fair. I would stage the spend, releasing funds only when stabilise-phase targets are met. As an illustrative case, if warranty cost returned to £1.4m, the saving would be £0.9m a year, so payback on the full programme alone would take about two years before counting other gains.
Task 2: Managers, ownership and stakeholders
Deming (2000) argued that most quality problems sit in the system, which management owns, rather than with individual workers. NovaTech’s belief that production targets outrank quality is therefore a management design flaw, not an operator failing.
Managers can build ownership in three ways. They can include quality in production supervisors’ targets, stop rewarding output that is later reworked, and give operators authority to stop the line when a process drifts. Kotter (1995) warns that change fails without a guiding coalition and short-term wins, so visible early gains from the stabilise phase matter.
Employees are the main source of process knowledge. Uneven training suggests that operators on weaker shifts lack the same method, so a competence matrix and structured on-the-job training are needed. Suppliers, customers and regulators are also stakeholders: suppliers need clear specifications, and customers feel warranty failures first.
An industry parallel is the widespread use of stop-the-line authority in automotive assembly, which shows that line stoppages can lower total cost when they prevent defects travelling downstream (Oakland, 2014). The example is presented in general terms, and a real student answer should add a named company case from the module reading.
Task 3: KPIs, continuous improvement and design for quality
Proposed KPIs
| Area | KPI | Starting point or target |
|---|---|---|
| Process quality | FPY | 88.2% now; target set after baseline study |
| Process quality | Cpk for soldering and placement | Illustrative target of 1.33 or above |
| Product quality | Defect rate | 8.7% now; illustrative target below 5% |
| Reliability | Field failure rate, mean time between failures (MTBF) | Needs baseline from warranty data |
| Cost | CoPQ as a share of revenue | £4.6m estimated now |
| People | SOP currency, training completion | About 22% of SOPs outdated |
Lagging measures such as warranty cost should be balanced with leading ones such as Cpk and audit findings, otherwise managers only learn of problems after customers do.
Continuous improvement framework and its limits
A plan-do-check-act cycle supported by Lean and Six Sigma tools would suit NovaTech. Its limits are real, though. Improvement projects can fragment into disconnected local fixes, depend on a few trained leaders, and decay if targets overrule quality again. Pyzdek and Keller (2014) stress sponsorship and project selection for this reason.
Designing quality in
Many of the 14% supplier defects and the firmware issues can be reduced at design stage by specifying tolerances that the process can hold, standardising components and controlling firmware releases. Design for manufacturability may raise unit design cost, but Juran and Godfrey (1999) note that most quality-related cost is locked in during planning, so early spend is cheaper than late rework.
Task 4: Benchmarking, best practice and sustainability
Camp (1989) describes benchmarking as searching for best practice that leads to superior performance. With limited resources, NovaTech should avoid broad competitor studies and instead benchmark specific processes: soldering profile control against a leading electronics manufacturer, and supplier management against a non-competitor in a regulated sector.
Low-cost routes include industry body groups, supplier audits and site exchange visits. The test of a good benchmark is whether the practice can be adapted, not copied.
Sustainability links directly to quality. Fewer defects mean less scrap, less rework energy and fewer returned units. Practical initiatives include lead-free soldering controls to cut rework, a take-back route for failed units, and supplier requirements on materials and packaging. These can be tracked with scrap rate and rework hours alongside FPY.
Task 5: Ethical dilemmas in quality management
Quality managers face pressure when shipping schedules conflict with test results. A realistic dilemma for NovaTech is whether to ship borderline units from a batch with calibration doubts to meet a delivery date. For industrial control systems, a hidden fault could affect customer safety, so the cost of silence exceeds any short-term profit.
Other dilemmas include selecting a cheaper supplier with weak traceability, and reporting warranty trends honestly to executives who are deciding whether to fund improvement. ISO 9001:2015 expects top management to show leadership and commitment to the system, which includes openness about nonconformity (ISO, 2015).
A defensible approach has three parts: a clear escalation route, a documented decision rule that stops shipment when specification limits are failed, and protection for staff who raise concerns. Corporate responsibility and compliance set the minimum, and profitability is pursued within them, not against them.
Conclusion
NovaTech’s decline stems from late detection, uncontrolled variation and weak ownership. A staged strategy that stabilises processes first, then prevents defects and finally digitises, answers both the quality problem and the CFO’s concern.
If you need support with a similar brief, see our engineering assignment help and case study assignment help pages, or compare this approach with our EG7060 engineering management sample. More coursework briefs are listed in the LSBF Singapore question hub, and you can submit your own assignment brief for a tailored quote.
References
Camp, R.C. (1989) Benchmarking: the search for industry best practices that lead to superior performance. Milwaukee, WI: ASQC Quality Press.
Deming, W.E. (2000) Out of the crisis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (2015) ISO 9001:2015 Quality management systems – Requirements. 5th edn. Geneva: ISO. Available at: https://www.iso.org/standard/62085.html
Juran, J.M. and Godfrey, A.B. (1999) Juran’s quality handbook. 5th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kotter, J.P. (1995) ‘Leading change: why transformation efforts fail’, Harvard Business Review, 73(2), pp. 59–67.
Montgomery, D.C. (2019) Introduction to statistical quality control. 8th edn. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Oakland, J.S. (2014) Total quality management and operational excellence: text with cases. 4th edn. Abingdon: Routledge.
Pyzdek, T. and Keller, P. (2014) The Six Sigma handbook. 4th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
