quick and robust resolution of the problems identified by the driverless car users is the key activity to guarantee customer satisfaction

Quality is the requirements of a product or process that can be given a grade and it will provide “a basis for comparison” (Watt, 2014, p.159). Quality failure could be due to the lack of planning, lack of understanding, and/or lack of commitment. Quality assurance will build confidence in clients if the quality standards and procedures are being followed. The cost of quality includes the costs in time spent, writing standards, reviewing documents, meeting to analyze, reworking to fix the defects, and etc. The cause-and-effect theory, such as the fishbone diagram, is encouraged for participants to identify the possible causes of a defect that will help control the project’s quality (Watt, 2014). 

There are reasons that quality management fails:

· Lack of proper training

· Lack of communications

. Inability to integrate through cross-functional interactions

· No focus on metrics

· Low levels of fellowship

· Standard goals are not set

· No incentive for improvement

Thus, maintaining communication, giving support, and setting the standards are all of the keys for a project to be successful. To have good quality, leaders need to communicate more and employees need to be entrusted with responsibilities (Black, 2016).  

Products can be recalled; for instance, in 2011 the Volkswagen recalled 679,000 U.S. vehicles for an electrical issue (Shama, 2019). Good quality control would reduce the rate of recall. There are ways to avoid a product recall:

· Ensure the design integrity 

· Ensure the analysis is corrected

· Make sure all parts that are needed are supplied

· Have reliable sources

· Comply with rules and regulations 

· Collaborate with distributors, suppliers, and stakeholders

· Avoid shipping damage 

· Set a team to respond to crises (Ojo, 2014).)

 Accordingly, plans need to be activated to ensure the quality of the deliverables; communications need to be set up, identified processes need to be established, project risks need to be mitigated, and other methods of quality control would all be able to reduce the numbers of recalls.

 

In 1997, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler became QS9000 registered. QS 9000 is the equivalent of ISO 9000 for the automotive industry. Since 2004, Ford had recalled over 24 million for various failures or breakdowns. GM recalled 1.9 million vehicles in March of 2010 alone, and Chrysler had a double recall of its minivans in 2011. Besides, in 2011, Honda had one of the largest recalls on the global of 1 million vehicles. It was due to the electrical problems, which could lead to fire hazards or/and the vehicle to roll backward.

Those companies and other companies have experienced challenges in quality control. It makes the monitoring and auditing critical to make sure that companies’ quality controls are applied and quality standards are complied with. A quality management system will be effective if only the management affirms and insists to act with accountability. The management would insist that the workers need to be trained and need to take responsibility for the project’s outcomes (The greatest Quality Management System Failure in History, n. d.). Along with these efforts, there is a need for incentive plans for the workforces so that it will accelerate the project’s processes and have good outcomes (Wujeck, 2010). 

It is predicted that completely autonomous units would be introduced in the market in the early 2020s. I consider the self-directed or self-driving kind of driverless technologies would bring in a quick and robust resolution for many people. Yet, it is still in its early stages. It could be facing varies challenges along the way. As time goes by, challenges would be resolved one by one. Until then, in its mature stage, it would have pleased and satisfied its users and stakeholders.

 

Reference:

Black, S. (2016). 7 Reasons Why Quality Management Systems Fail. Retrieved from: https://www.aiscorp.com/en/blog/entry/7-reasons-why-quality-management-systems-fail 

Ojo, B. (2014). Top 10 Steps to Avoid Product Recall. Retrieved from: https://epsnews.com/2014/11/13/top-10-steps-avoid-product-recall/ 

Shama, E. (2019). Volkswagen recalls 679,000 US vehicles to fix the electrical problem that could cause cars to roll away. Retrieved from:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/23/volkswagen-recalls-679000-us-vehicles-over-potential-roll-away-problem.html

The Greatest Quality Management System Failures in History. (n. d.). Retrieved from: 

https://www.qualitymanagementsystem.com/total-quality-management/the-greatest-quality-management-system-failres-in-history

Video: Wujeck, T. (2010). Build a tower, build a team. Retrieved from: 

https://www.ted.com/tasks/tom-wujeck_build_a_tower?

Watt, A. (2014). Project Management. BCcampus Open Textbook Project. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution. 4.0 Unported License. Retrieved from: https://www.opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement