A-Level Design & Technology — Advanced Analysis & Evaluation

Front

Differentiate between Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) in industrial manufacturing.

Back

**QA (Quality Assurance)** is a proactive, process-oriented system aimed at preventing defects by establishing standards and procedures (e.g., ISO 9001). It occurs during the development phase. **QC (Quality Control)** is a reactive, product-oriented system focused on detecting defects in finished products through inspection and testing. It occurs after production.

Front

Analyse how Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing influences inventory holding costs and production risks.

Back

JIT minimizes **inventory holding costs** by receiving materials only as they are needed in the production process, reducing warehousing space and waste. **Risks** include high vulnerability to supply chain disruptions; a delay from a supplier can halt the entire production line immediately, requiring extremely reliable supplier relationships and logistics.

Front

Explain the concept of 'Planned Obsolescence' and its ethical implications in product design.

Back

Planned obsolescence is the policy of planning or designing a product with a limited useful life so it will become obsolete or unfashionable after a certain period. **Ethical concerns:** It contributes to excessive waste and resource depletion (conflicting with sustainability), yet companies argue it drives economic growth and innovation by forcing consumers to upgrade.

Front

Compare 'Cradle to Cradle' vs 'Cradle to Grave' lifecycle assessments.

Back

**Cradle to Grave** tracks a product from raw material extraction (cradle) to disposal (grave), often ending in landfill or incineration (linear economy). **Cradle to Cradle** is a circular economy model where materials are perpetually cycled; biological nutrients return to the earth and technical nutrients are recycled into new products, creating zero waste.

Front

Define 'Critical Path' analysis in project planning and identify 'slack time'.

Back

The **Critical Path** is the longest sequence of dependent tasks in a project plan. Any delay in these tasks delays the entire project. **Slack (or Float)** is the amount of time a specific task can be delayed without causing a delay to subsequent tasks or the overall project completion date. Tasks on the critical path have zero slack.