Question 1

What is the cost of rework?

Accepted Answer

The cost of rework is the total expense incurred to fix defects, errors, or non-conformances after they have been created. This includes detection time, correction effort, re-testing, and any downstream customer impact. Industry research shows rework typically consumes 15–40% of total project costs.

Question 2

What is the Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ)?

Accepted Answer

Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) is a quality management framework that quantifies the total financial impact of delivering products or services that don't meet quality standards. It includes prevention costs, appraisal costs, internal failure costs (rework, scrap), and external failure costs (warranty claims, customer complaints).

Question 3

What is the 1-10-100 rule in quality management?

Accepted Answer

The 1-10-100 rule states that it costs $1 to prevent a defect, $10 to correct it when found internally, and $100 to fix it after it reaches the customer. The exact multipliers vary by industry, but the principle consistently holds: catching defects earlier is dramatically cheaper than fixing them later.

Question 4

How do I reduce rework cost in my organisation?

Accepted Answer

The most effective approaches are: (1) Invest in prevention — better specifications, training, and process design. (2) Shift quality checks left — catch defects earlier in the process. (3) Implement root cause analysis to eliminate recurring defect sources. (4) Track rework rate as a key metric to drive continuous improvement. Research shows investing just 5% of rework cost in prevention typically saves 40% or more.

What is rework costing your business?

Your Project Details

1-10-100 Rule: Cost Multiplier by Stage

Cost Breakdown by Category

Reduce rework cost

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