Identification and evaluation of non-quality effects on the production cost of large power transformers

The costs of non-Quality in the industrial production process of large power transformers is discussed. The different phases of the production process are studied; each phase is detailed in terms of time and costs. Time and cost increments, due to the lack of quality during the production process, are defined and calculated. A computer program for the numerical evaluation of such quantities, realized by the Authors, is described. Some numerical results, presented in the paper, confirm that Quality is not a cost, but a saving, even from the point of view of short-term benefits. The computer program allows evaluating time and cost of different production layouts, i.e. in terms of manpower, significantly contributing to the optimisation of the production process.