Qualidade 4.0

Abstract

: The year 2019 is symbolic for Quality in Portugal, as a moment of celebration of a decade of activities of TMQ magazine and the RIQUAL network, and five decades of APQ’s existence, reason why it is important to take advantage of these just moments of celebration to point out and construct paths for the future. From this point of view, it is particularly gratifying to be able to participate in this special issue, and with great pride we associate. The review of some of our many reflections over 25 years on quality, combined with the current monitoring of it at multiple levels, has helped us to clarify standards and prospect an evolution, or even revolution of data-based quality. As always has been the case, but now in the context of the immense diversity and variety of data in which we live and we will live, thus giving origin to what has been dubbed as Quality 4.0 (Zairi, 2018). This is undoubtedly one of the most determining issues in the present and future of quality and quality professionals. Without exhausting the subject at all, we will characterize the contexts from which Quality 4.0 emerges, following the analyses of the corresponding implications in terms of: approaches to the definition and measurement of satisfaction of customers or other stakeholders of organizations; methodologies for analysis and improvement of processes; models of adherence to new technologies and paradigms, ensuring that new opportunities are inclusive and capable of reaching as many people, entities and territories as possible.