What Is Quality Control (QC)? - Investopedia

Quality control (QC) is a process through which a business seeks to ensure that product quality is maintained or improved. Quality control ... TableofContents Expand TableofContents WhatIsQualityControl(QC)? UnderstandingQualityControl DifferenceWithQualityAssurance Methods QualityControlCareers QualityControlFAQs TheBottomLine Business BusinessEssentials Investopedia/RyanOakley WhatIsQualityControl(QC)? Qualitycontrol(QC)isaprocessthroughwhichabusinessseekstoensurethatproductqualityismaintainedorimproved.Qualitycontrolrequiresthecompanytocreateanenvironmentwheremanagementandemployeesstriveforperfection.Thisisdonebytrainingpersonnel,creatingbenchmarksforproductquality,andtestingproductstocheckforstatisticallysignificantvariations. Asignificantaspectofqualitycontrolistheestablishmentofwell-definedcontrols.Thesecontrolshelpstandardizebothproductionandreactionstoqualityissues.Limitingroomforerrorbyspecifyingwhichproductionactivitiesaretobecompletedbywhichpersonnelreducesthechancethatemployeeswillbeinvolvedintasksforwhichtheydonothaveadequatetraining. KeyTakeaways Qualitycontrol(QC)isaprocessthroughwhichabusinessseekstoensurethatproductqualityismaintainedorimproved.Qualitycontrolinvolvestestingunitsanddeterminingiftheyarewithinthespecificationsforthefinalproduct.Thequalitycontrolusedinabusinessishighlydependentontheproductorindustry,andseveraltechniquesexistformeasuringquality.Thefoodindustryusesqualitycontrolmethodstoensurecustomersdonotgetsickfromtheirproducts.Qualitycontrolcreatessafemeasuresthatcanbeimplementedtomakesuredeficientordamagedproductsdonotendupwithcustomers. 1:08 QualityControl UnderstandingQualityControl(QC) Qualitycontrolinvolvestestingunitsanddeterminingiftheyarewithinthespecificationsforthefinalproduct.Thepurposeofthetestingistodetermineanyneedsforcorrectiveactionsinthemanufacturingprocess.Goodqualitycontrolhelpscompaniesmeetconsumerdemandsforbetterproducts. WhyIsQCNeeded? Creatingaproductiscostly,time-consuming,andcanbeunsafewithoutcontrolsinplace.Additionally,ifacompanysendsdefectiveproductsoutforpurchase,itcouldbeheldliableforinjuriesorissuesthatarisefromusingitsproducts.Qualitycontrolinspectorsensurethatdefectiveorunsafeproductsareidentified,andthecausesarecorrected. HowIsItDone? Qualitytestingisgenerallycompletedineachstepofamanufacturingorbusinessprocess.Employeesoftenbeginbytestingrawmaterials,pullingsamplesfromthemanufacturingline,andtestingthefinishedproduct.Testingatthevariousstagesofmanufacturinghelpsidentifywhereaproductionproblemisoccurringandtheremedialstepsitrequirestopreventitinthefuture. Inanon-manufacturingbusiness,qualitytestingcaninvolvecustomerserviceevaluations,questionnaires,surveys,inspections,oraudits.Abusinesscanuseanyprocessormethodtoverifythatitsendproductorservicemeetsthecustomer'sneedsandissafeandlegal. QCIsDifferentbyIndustry Thequalitycontrolusedinabusinessishighlydependentontheproductorindustry.Forexample,infoodanddrugmanufacturing,qualitycontrolincludesensuringtheproductdoesnotmakeaconsumersick,sothecompanyperformschemicalandmicrobiologicaltestingofsamplesfromtheproductionline. Inaircraftmanufacturing,qualitycontrolandassuranceisoftheutmostimportance.Manufacturersarerequiredtodocument,track,andinspect,andreinspectallitemsandphasesofabuildtobuildevidencethateverythingiscompletedtoverystrictstandards. Inautomobilemanufacturing,qualitycontrolfocusesonpartsmeetingspecificationsandtolerances.QCensuresengines,drivetrains,andothermechanicalpartsoperatesmoothly,efficiently,safely,andasdesigned. Inelectronics,qualitytestingmightinvolveusingmetersthatmeasuretheflowofelectricityandstresstesting. QualityControlvs.QualityAssurance Qualitycontrolandqualityassurancearetermsoftenusedtodefinethesamething,buttherearedistinctdifferences.Qualitycontrolfocusesonqualityrequirements,suchasensuringapartmeetsspecifications.Qualityassurancereferstothesumofallactionsandprocessesneededtodemonstratethatqualityrequirementsarefulfilled. Whatthisdifferencemeansforqualityprofessionalsisthatasyoumovethroughaqualitycontrolcareer,youmighttransitionfromqualitycontroltoqualityassurance.Qualitycontrolispartofqualityassurance,whichareprogramsanddepartmentsthatassureupper-levelmanagement,customers,andgovernmentinspectorsthatproductsmeetallqualityrequirementsandsafetystandards. TypesofQualityControlMethods Thereareseveralmethodsqualitycontrolusestocommunicateandtrackinspectionsandissues.Forinstance,aqualitycontrolchartisagraphicthatdepictswhethersampledproductsorprocessesaremeetingtheirintendedspecifications—and,ifnot,thedegreebywhichtheyvaryfromthosespecifications. Whenonechartanalyzesaspecificproductattribute,itiscalledaunivariatechart.Achartthatmeasuresvariancesinseveralproductattributesiscalledamultivariatechart.Trackingvariancesallowsbusinessestoseehowmanydefectsperproductionunittheyproduceandwhattypesofdefectsareoccurring.Hereareafewexamplesofsomemethodsused. X-BarChart Randomlyselectedproductsaretestedforthegivenattributesthechartistracking.AcommonformofaqualitycontrolchartistheX-BarChart,wherethey-axisonthegraphtracksthedegreetowhichthevarianceofthetestedattributeisacceptable.Thex-axistracksthesamplestested.Analyzingthevariancepatternonthischarthelpsyoudetermineifdefectsareoccurringrandomlyorsystematically. TaguchiMethod TheTaguchiMethodofqualitycontrolisanotherapproachthatemphasizestherolesofresearchanddevelopment,productdesign,andproductdevelopmentinreducingtheoccurrenceofdefectsandfailuresinproducts.TheTaguchi Methodconsidersdesignmoreimportantthanthemanufacturingprocessinqualitycontrolandtriestoeliminatevariancesinproductionbeforetheycanoccur. 100%InspectionMethod This100%inspectionmethodisaqualitycontrolprocessinvolvinglookingatandassessingallproductparts.Thistypeofqualitycontrolisdonetoruleoutflawsinproducts.Thismethodisoftenusedtoevaluatevaluablemetalsandproduce.The100%inspectionmethodcallsfordataaboutthemanufacturingprocessandsoftwaretoanalyzeinventory. Thechallengeofusingthismethodisthatlookingateverysingleitemusedtobuildaproductisexpensiveandcoulddestabilizeorrendertheproductunusable.Forexample,ifyouusethismethodtoexamineorganicstrawberries,youriskdamagingtheberries,renderingthemunsellable. Qualitycontrolmethodshelpstandardizeproductionandreactionstoqualityissuesinvariousindustries,fromfoodproductiontoautomobilemanufacturing. QualityControlCareers Qualitycontrolcanbearewardingcareerifyouenjoyworkingwithpeople,communicating,presentingresults,andworkingtomakeproductsbetterandsafer.Tobecomeaqualitycontrolinspector,you'llneed(dependingontheindustry): Ahighschooldiplomaforentry-levelpositionsAbachelor'sdegree,dependingontheindustryExperienceinanindustryLicensesandcertificationsforsomeindustriesandbusinesses Otherqualitiesthatarenecessaryforqualitycontrolprofessionalsare: AttentiontodetailMechanicalandmathskillsPhysicalabilitiesandstrengthTechnicalskillsPerformanceunderpressure CareerPath Theroutetoacareerinqualitycontrolandassurancevariesbyindustry,sotheremaybedifferences.However,you'llgenerallyneedseveralyearsofexperienceinyourindustry.Typically,youbeginbybeinghiredasaqualityassuranceorcontrolassociateaftermeetingeducationalandworkexperiencerequirements. Onceyougainworkexperienceasaqualityspecialistorassociate,youmaymoveintoaseniorspecialistpositionandbeginmanagingteamsofqualitycontrolspecialists.YoumayattendprofessionaldevelopmentcoursessponsoredbyyouremployerorberequiredtogaincertificationssuchasSixSigma.YoumightalsoneedtoearnaprofessionaldesignationsuchasCertifiedQualityInspector. Movingupthecareerpath,youhavemoreoptions.Youmaybeabletochoosefromorbeselectedtobea: QASystemsManagerQAOperationsManagerQAComplianceManager Thesepositionscanleaduptoupper-levelmanagementorexecutivelevelswithinqualitycontrol: DirectorofQualityHeadofComplianceVicePresidentofQuality QualityControlSalaries Theaveragepayforqualitycontrolprofessionalsdiffersbyindustry,experience,andposition.Payincreasesasyougainmoreexperienceandmoveintomanagementpositions.TheBureauofLaborStatisticsreportsaveragesalariesas: Professional,scientificandtechnicalservices:$46,280Manufacturing:$40,020Wholesaletrade:$37,800Administrativeandsupportservices:$30,070 WhatDoesQualityControlMean? Qualitycontrolmeanshowacompanymeasuresproductqualityandimprovesitifneedbe.Qualitycontrolcanbedoneinmanyways,fromtestingproducts,reviewingmanufacturingprocesses,andcreatingbenchmarks.Thisisalldonetomonitorsignificantvariationsinaproduct. WhatArethe4TypesofQualityControl? Thereareseveralmethodsofqualitycontrol.Theseincludeanx-barchart,SixSigma,100%inspectionmode,andtheTaguchi Method. WhyIsQualityControlImportant? Qualitycontrolensuresthatdefectivegoodsdonotgoouttothepublic.Companiesthathavequalitycontrolmethodsinplaceoftenhaveemployeeswhopaycloseattentiontotheirwork.Infoodanddrugmanufacturing,qualitycontrolpreventsproductsthatmakecustomerssick,andinmanufacturing,qualitycontrolcanensurethataccidentsdon'thappenwhenpeopleuseaproduct. WhatAre3ExamplesofQualityControl? Threeexamplesofqualitycontrolcouldbeinthefoodindustry;overseeingtheingredientspecifications,reviewingsupplierlists,andensuringthefacilitywherethefoodproductismadeissanitary. TheBottomLine Havingqualitycontrolinplacewithinabusinesshelpsensureproductqualityandtheoverallsuccessofabusiness.Thequalitycontrolenvironmentinfluencesemployees'attitudesabouttheworkplaceandcreatesasenseofownershipoftheproductsandcompany. Qualitycontrolcanbedoneinvariousways,fromtrainingpersonneltocreatingdata-driventoolstotestproductsandsetstandards.Qualitycontrolmethodshelpcreateasafeworkenvironmentandproductsthataresafetouseandmeetcustomers'needs.Additionally,itisarewardingcareerforsomeonethatenjoysinvestigatingissuesandimprovingoutcomes. ArticleSources Investopediarequireswriterstouseprimarysourcestosupporttheirwork.Theseincludewhitepapers,governmentdata,originalreporting,andinterviewswithindustryexperts.Wealsoreferenceoriginalresearchfromotherreputablepublisherswhereappropriate.Youcanlearnmoreaboutthestandardswefollowinproducingaccurate,unbiasedcontentinour editorialpolicy. AmericanSocietyforQuality."QualityControlandQualityAssurance." BureauofLaborStatistics."HowtoBecomeaQualityControlInspector." ProClinicalStaffing."QualityAssuranceCareerPath." AmericanSocietyforQuality."QualityInspectorCertificationCQI." U.S.BureauofLaborStatistics."QualityControlInspectors|Pay." RelatedTerms UnderstandingQualityControlCharts Aqualitycontrolchartisagraphicthatdepictswhethersampledproductsorprocessesaremeetingtheirintendedspecifications. more TaguchiMethodofQualityControlDefinition Inengineering,theTaguchimethodofqualitycontrolfocusesondesignanddevelopmenttocreateefficient,reliableproducts. more SixSigma:WhatItIsWiththeFiveStepsandBeltRankingsExplained Aquality-controlprogramdevelopedin1986toimproveefficiency.Sincethen,ithasevolvedintoamoregeneralbusiness-managementphilosophy. more TheInsandOutsofISO9000 ISO9000isasetofstandardsforqualitymanagementsystems,establishedbytheInternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO). more ProductionRate Productionrateisthepaceatwhichunitsofaproductaremanufacturedwithinascheduledtimeframe.Productionratecanalsorefertotheamountoftimeittakestoproduceoneunitofagood. more AcceptanceSampling:TheQuickFixQualityControlMethod Acceptancesamplingisastatisticalquality-controlmeasurethatletsacompanydeterminethequalityofaproductlotbytestingrandomlyselectedsamples. more PartnerLinks RelatedArticles Macroeconomics WhyFactorsofProductionAreImportanttoEconomicActivity BusinessEssentials OperationsManagementTheory Bitcoin WhyDoBitcoinsHaveValue? 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