QUALITY CONTROL & QUALITY ASSURANCE
QC is concerned with quality of conformance of a process & its purpose is to assure that the processes are performing in an acceptable manner. Organizations accomplish QC by monitoring their processes through in process stage inspections using several techniques. The practical QC based Operations Strategy for a company is to implement a quality plan which is based on the principle of quality in design
We know Quality Control is based on the checks made by a quality inspector while looking for defects in a production process.
while Quality Assurance deals with the specific controls put into the process to prevent any defect. QC is when a product has been made to qualify or fail while QA is putting procedures in place to prevent non conforming products being manufactured.
Quality Assurance Plan is made to ensure that a product/service made and/or rendered, is at the highest ethical and profit making standards, which a company has in mind, however companies generally use the QC measures for only one reason that is how to make Profits. All companies have a minimum set of standards and quality that their product or services must meet. Quality Control is a set of procedures used and followed to ensure that the required minimum set of standards and quality are met. However meeting minimum standards in no way guarantees excellence in quality to the customers. Some times company’s minimum required standards may be poor, While for others standards may be high, but that does not mean they make good product.
Inspection is an important strategy, in its simplest form, is any method or device or tactics used to minimize defects in products or services being offered to the customers and therefore the company’s appoint second/ third party inspection agencies .
As Operations managers we should be able to identify the following four questions while considering Inspection process for any organiztion.
1. How Much/How Often inspections are required
2. Where/When
3. Whether inspection is centralized or On-site
Relationship between amount of inspection required and costs incurred in carrying out such inspection.
1. With increase in Inspection activities the cost of undetected defectives decreases.
2. With increase in inspection activities the cost of inspection increases
Observations can be placed into two categories.
Good or bad
Pass or fail
Operate or don’t operate
Conforming or non conforming
When the data consists of multiple samples of several observation
Benefits
1 From a business point of view, it is a key component of continued growth.
2 It improves company image/reputation, customer relations and employee pride in their work.
3 To ensure that the same quality is maintained over and over during production and throughout the supply chain – as companies within the supply chain may let you down and reduce the quality/specification to save on costs. – A business needs qc to reduce these risks.
4. To get an acceptable performance level from the product.
5.To ensure that your products comply with the law or any standards that may apply to the product
6. customer satisfaction
7. safety
8. Efficiency (production line)
9. demonstrable regulatory compliance
10. Good quality = good reputation
11. Quality control implies some kind of audit trail:
12. An inspection audit trail aids finding the cause of faults
13. An audit trail aids further research and development
Inspection therefore gives meaningful, objective measure of how manufacturing is doing
Internal Inspections
Second Party Audits
Second Party inspection Audits are usually conducted by a customer to a supplier (or potential supplier) in order to determine whether the supplier can respond to existing or proposed contractual requirements. The complexity of production and services and the abolition of the monopoly has brought a new status to different supply chains. Now, companies look to collaborate with more than one supplier and / or part of their production, promote it to subcontractors. It is therefore difficult and time consuming to monitor the supply chain, particularly if it extends around the world. Second party inspections are carried out on the purchaser’s behalf.
Third Party Inspections: are when a customer/client appoints an independent inspection agency to carry out stage inspections during different stages of manufacturing processes.
Why should a company use an Inspection Company?
- Verify legal existence of a factory/vendor
- Verify the factory has the capability and capacity to meet contractual obligations
- Ensure the factory is complying with social standards and regulations)
- Ensure the factory has adequately planned for the purchase order’s specifications
- Effectively ensure control on the production process
- Ensure the goods are fully produced and packed as per specifications during final inspection
- Guarantee the loaded product quantity matches my order
- Verify that the product is conforming to international and national regulations
What are the benefits of using a third party to control the quality of products?
- Professionalism: working procedures developed for each product category
- Independence: reporting defect directly to client
- Integrity: Code of Conduct signed by both factory and inspector
- Reliability: objective results based on AQL
- Safety: on-site specific testing by product range
- Standards compliance: based on International Safety Standards
Why should a company choose us TPI
- Personalization: we provide personalized, tailor-made services adapted to client’s specific needs
- Value for money: we design custom-made solutions at very competitive prices
- Expertise: our inspectors and auditors are highly qualified specialists in a specific product category
- Experience: all our inspectors have a minimum 2 years of experience in their area of expertise
- NetworkWe have global presence ie in five countries
How does Quality Control help my company’s business development?
Detecting defects at an early stage and providing guidance for improvement along the production line will avoid exported products to be rejected at destination. As a consequence, imported products which have been inspected are safer and will therefore generate better sales. Furthermore, conducting Quality Control inspections will help you control your production costs by early detection of problems in the factory and avoid costly delays.
How to book an inspection or audit?
1. Fill out the form on the web site or forward request by E Mail intimating product description & company details
2. Our representative shall contact you
3. You will receive an email with a price quotation, sample size, inspection date and our confirmation of acceptance.
4. Complete, sign and return the booking form to us for our immediate action .
5. Our inspector will visit the company as & when desired for stage inspections as per QAP submitted by the company
What happens after the inspection has been carried out?
The inspection result/release note and report are provided directly to the client.
What is a Factory Audit?
The objective of a Factory Audit is to ensure that the factory you choose is capable of producing your goods to your required specifications and within your given timeframe.
The Factory Audit can cover issues such as:
- Is your supplier ‘ISO 9001 certified’ by a reputable certification body?
- Has the supplier implemented Quality Management System (QMS) standards to manage its key business processes? A QMS can help the supplier achieve greater consistency in the production process.
- The existence and reliability of the factory (monthly production capabilities, the type of machinery used, the main products produced, and in-house/outsourced operations)
- Whether the premises and factory capacities correlate with your order (assessing production facilities, the quality control system for incoming goods inspection, in-process controls and final online inspections); how is packaging material handled; how is non-conforming material handled; how are communication, document control & workflow; and complaints management managed?
- The training and experience of the workforce as well as the working conditions
Advantages
- Review your potential and existing suppliers business and production processes.
- Choose a supplier that is right for your order
- Encourage your supplier to improve their service
Alok Mohan
Managing Director
Merit Quality Certification Pvt Ltd
Faridabad