Business, finance and operations

Defect rate

  • Business, finance and operations

Definition

The percentage of products or services that fail to meet quality standards.

Example

20 faulty units out of 2,000 gives a defect rate of 1%.

For your role

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Why it matters

Defects cost money in rework, returns and lost trust.

Where it is used

Quality dashboards and supplier reviews.

How to calculate it

Defective units ÷ total units × 100

Worked example

20 faulty units out of 2,000 gives a defect rate of 1%.