Which statement is NOT listed as an impact on quality due to automation?

• A. Consistency
• B. Zero defects
• C. Increased maintenance costs
• D. Right First Time principle with less money lost on botched products

Answer: (C)

Automation raises quality by making processes more consistent, reducing human error, and enabling precise, repeatable operation. This helps achieve outputs that are uniform and reliable, supports aiming for zero defects through meticulous control, and reinforces doing things right the first time, which minimizes waste and rework. The idea of increased maintenance costs, while important for budgeting, isn’t a direct quality outcome produced by the automation itself; it’s a cost consequence rather than a measure of product or process quality. So the statement about higher maintenance costs doesn’t describe a quality impact, whereas the other points illustrate how automation can improve consistency, defect reduction, and right‑first‑time performance.