Kvalitetstap

Kvalitetstap is a Swedish term meaning “loss of quality” and is used in quality management to describe the economic consequences of deviations from the targeted quality level of a product or process. It functions as a way to quantify how far actual performance drifts from the desired standard and what that drift costs the organization.

The concept is closely related to the broader cost of quality and is often associated with Taguchi’s loss function, which suggests that a product’s value to society decreases as its quality deviates from the target. In practice, kvalitetstap is not a single metric but a framework for estimating losses tied to quality issues, with the aim of guiding improvement efforts.

Typical components of kvalitetstap include prevention costs, appraisal costs, internal failure costs (such as scrap, rework, and downtime) and external failure costs (such as field failures, returns, warranties, and reputational damage). The sum of these elements constitutes the overall cost of quality (COPQ) for a given process or product.

Measurement and use: Organizations estimate kvalitetstap to understand its economic impact and prioritize quality initiatives. It can be expressed per unit, per batch, or as a percentage of revenue or cost of goods sold. Reducing kvalitetstap is generally pursued through improving process capability, robust product and process design, better supplier quality, and effective inspection and mitigation practices.

See also: Cost of quality, Taguchi loss function, COPQ, Six Sigma, Lean manufacturing, ISO 9001.