Azgaldov Garry G. - The ABC of Qualimetry. The Toolkit for Measuring Immeasurable стр 4.

Therefore, it often happens in practice that the term quality control is applied to processes which, in control theoretic terms, cannot be considered quality control and, not infrequently, cannot be even called quality improvement because in reality they only ensure some indefinite quality variation (see lines 2 and 5 in Table 1 above).

The grey background in Table 1 is used to highlight two lines, 10 and 11, which represent the criteria to be met if we are to have a real quality control process. Line 10 describes the conditions under which, as common sense tells us, quality control is really achievable. That is to say, it is about a quality improvement is achievable to a pre-set extent within a pre-set time.

The case introduced by line 11 also belongs to control processes, though it is less apparent in the usual sense. Its only difference from case 10 is that the latter achieves a quality improvement (accordingly, ΔK

K 

K 

The process described in line 12 is also related to quality control is totally unobvious to common sense. In pure theory, however, one can imagine a situation where the goal is not to increase but to decrease the quality of a product within pre-set limits and within a pre-set time, e.g., in order to cut production costs so as to boost demand. Since this is more academic than a real-life situation the respective line (12) in Table 1 was not highlighted with grey.

The foregoing interpretation of quality and quality control suggests that if we are to control quality we must be able to calculate the values of ΔKK. To do it we must, in turn, be able to quantify or estimate quality using its index KK. Consequently, we need a tool for the quantification of quality, which is provided by qualimetry.

There were also other factors, which made the appearance of qualimetry necessary, even inevitable. They will be discussed in the section that follows.

1.1.3. The Origin, Growth and Future of Qualimetry

1.1.3.1. The Reasons Behind the Rise of Qualimetry as a Science

Qualimetry is a consequence of knowledge quantification

The term qualimetry (from the Latin quale, “of what kind”, and the Greek μετρεω, “to measure”) was initially applied to a scientific discipline studying the methodology and problems of quantitative assessment of the quality of various objects, mainly of industrial products [3]. By 1970 enough experience had accumulated to permit a thorough investigation of qualimetry, its subject matter and its relations with various scientific fields. At the same time there was a growing awareness of the need to expand the scope of qualimetry from product quality (which was the focus of some researchers) to the quality of objects of whatever nature, including socio-economic objects such as the quality of life.

When the term (and the respective concept) was first used it seemed unexpected, almost fortuitous; some still regard it so.

However, it would be wrong to speak of the fortuity of qualimetry. On the contrary, its appearance should be seen as one of the many perfectly natural signs of the general broadening of the scope of quantification and the use of quantitative methods in scientific and, generally, cognitive activities at large.

The universal and imperative nature of this tendency to expand the use of quantification as a major tool of cognition was succinctly stated by Galileo, who said “Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so.” The Russian Mathematician D. B. Yudin expressed nowadays essentially the same idea: “Quality is a yet unknown quantity”.

Many great minds were aware of the important influence that mathematics, as a general framework of quantification techniques, has exerted on the development of science.

K. Marx was of the opinion that a subject could be called a science if it had a mathematical foundation. A century before him, I. Kant wrote in his Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science, “I maintain, however, that in every special doctrine of nature only so much science proper can be found as there is mathematics in it”. Three centuries before Kant, Leonardo made a similar statement: “No human investigation can be called real science if it cannot be demonstrated mathematically”. Five centuries before Leonardo, in the 9

th

Quantification is steadily broadening its scope of application, as evidenced by the growth of scientific disciplines or technical problem solving techniques that include the Greek μετρεω in their name. Here are a few examples:

Absorptiometry; autometry; autorefractometry; adaptometry; axiometry; actinometry; algometry; amperometry; angiostereometry; anthropometry; astrocalorimetry; astrometry; astrophotometry; audiometry; acidimetry; batimetry; biometry; bibliometry; veloergometry; visometry; viscosimetry; gigrometry; hygrometry; hydrometry; glucometry; gravimetry; gradiometry; densitometry; didactometry; dilatometry; dynamometry; dielectrometry; dosimetry; dopleometry; isometrym impedancemetry; inclinometry; interferometry; cliometrics; calipometry; calorimetry; chelatometry; conductometry; craniometry; coulometry; lipometry; luxmetry; mediometry; mercurimetry; morphometry; scientometrics; nitritometry; optometry; ordometry; oscillometry; optometry; perimetry; pirometry; pH-metry; planimetry; polarimetry; psychometrics; potentiometry; pulseoxymetry; radiometry; radiothermometry; redoxmetry; roentgenometry; refractometry; sensitometry; sociometry; spectrometry; spectroradiometry; spectropolariometry; spectrophotometry; spirometry; spiroergometry; stabilometry; stereometry; sphincterometry; tacheometry; tensometry; technometry; tonometry; turbidemetry; uroflowmetry; fluorimetry; photogrammetry; photocolorimetry; photometry; chronometry; equilibriometry; econometrics; exponometry; electrometry; echobiometry. Qualimetry is also a member of this steadily expanding family. (It would be wrong, however, to believe that every discipline using quantification has metry / metrics in its name.)

Qualimetry: A Tool for Enhancing the Efficiency of Any Kind of Work

What happened for the qualimetry to appear in the 1960s?

Modern management science has formulated five necessary and sufficient conditions for the success of any work, which can be represented by a “condition tree” (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the success of any work

Four of these conditions, TO KNOW, TO BE ABLE, TO MANAGE, and TO MOTIVATE, are relatively easy to meet technically; regulatory documents for respective calculations are already in place. For example, every productive industry uses its own rate setter’s handbook (or a similar document), which is used to calculate the workforce and the time and tools needed to perform a piece of work (TO MANAGE condition). Other documents, like wage rate books, specify the requirements to be met in selecting the workforce to do some work successfully (TO BE ABLE condition).It is relatively easy to secure the TO KNOW condition: you only need to set the work executors a task. Finally, to meet the TO MOTIVATE condition all businesspersons or managers have a broad range of stimulatory actions they can use on their subordinates: material or moral; positive (“carrot”) or negative (“stick”); individualized or team-directed; one-off or time-phased, etc.

The TO EVALUATE condition is a very different case. What we evaluate is work. Any work (and its output) is characterized by three parameters: quantity, cost and quality. Arguably, the numerical evaluation of the quantity and cost parameters does not present any essential difficulties to most occupations in the real sector.