Quality control is an ongoing activity done by every company to ensure that consumer demands and manufacturing standards are continuously met. Unreliable or defective products reaching customers without such routine and strict evaluation can be detrimental to the company’s public image in the long run. Quality control methods are a set of rigorous methodologies or predefined testing processes or steps with the ultimate goal of improving product quality.

Every company strives to deliver products on time without compromising on all quality aspects. Especially in the manufacturing sector where having well-defined quality control techniques that follow industry standards and best practices in place ensures a level of uniformity in the products manufactured.

Through robust quality inspection methods, a company can enhance customer loyalty, get repeat business and new customers from referrals, reduce product recall and improve its market position.
Quality control tools and techniques can vary based on the industry that the products belong to. These should also be in line with the standardized specifications or guidelines set by both national and international governing bodies.

There are two widely used quality control methods:

Method 1 – Quality Inspection 

Quality inspection involves physical inspection and activities, such as measuring, examining, testing or gauging the various characteristics of a product for comparing the results with predefined specifications or requirements. Quality inspection methods apply to components used for production, semi-finished goods and finished goods right before the shipment is done.

By doing a quality inspection, products can be checked physically for defects and if they meet the required quality standards. Quality inspection can include a pre-inspection method, process inspection and a 100% inspection method. Let’s take a detailed look into each of these stages used in quality control techniques:

Pre-Inspection Method

The pre-inspection method involves checking the raw materials when received by the manufacturer and before it goes into the actual production process. This early stage of inspection is especially useful when you want to make sure that only quality materials are used to produce the goods.

The quality control method is used to examine a product prototype or to determine the availability of the right tools in order to work with the delivered raw materials. Catching defects in raw materials itself can save the manufacturer’s time, costs and effort and prevent product recalls arising due to such defects.

Process Inspection

In manufacturing, a process inspection can happen at any point during the production cycle. Process inspection is done to ensure that the various parameters within each section of the process comply with industry standards. Inspecting the product before it gets to the final stage can help in the timely detection of errors or defects saving time and resources. Process inspection can vary based on the industry but these are usually done in three types of intervals:

• Time-based Intervals – Possibly every 2 hours or 2 days based on the machinery.
• Quantity-based Intervals – After a certain production volume is reached, say when every 5 units are produced.
• Freely-defined Intervals – Done at any time depending on the management’s discretion.

100% Inspection Method

A 100% inspection method or full product inspection is when every product of the whole consignment is inspected for quality-related issues. The products are checked for meeting the set standards and the non-acceptable product units are separated. Corrective measures are then taken to avoid repeated mistakes in the product

The size or volume of finished products chosen for the 100% inspection method depends on the required degree of precision. The higher the accuracy degree, the larger the inspection sample will be.

Method 2 – Statistical Control

The statistical quality control method uses various statistical methods or techniques to check the quality of products. These quality control methods are widely used across industries such as food, pharmaceutical and manufacturing units. Statistical quality control methods can be done as part of the production process or as a last-minute quality control check or even as part of the final quality check.

Quality control is the best method to determine variations in products that are caused due to reasons like raw material, consistency of product elements, processing machines, techniques used and packaging applications. The statistical technique helps to detect errors at an early stage so reworks can be minimized.

The two types of statistical quality control methods are acceptance sampling and process control.

Acceptance Sampling

As the name suggests, in acceptance sampling, a sample product is checked for compliance with a predefined quality measurement to ascertain if it falls within the acceptable quality variation limit. Such variations in the product can occur as a result of unexpected or assignable causes.

With this quality control method, the number of defective products reaching the market can be reduced significantly. Acceptance sampling can also be employed to test the performance or efficiency of a product after it has been installed and to compare it with accepted industry standards.

Process Control

Another quality control method that falls under the statistical technique is process control. All activities employed to check whether a particular process is reliable and predictable and results in a consistent performance with the least amount of variation are what process control is all about. This method of statistical analysis can help to improve or control a process so as to achieve desired results.

This quality control technique is used across several industries like power generation plants, chemical processing, food and beverage industry, paper manufacturing and oil refining. The three types of process control methods are:

• Batch process control – where exact quantities of particular raw materials are mixed for a precise period in a particular manner to achieve a specific product.
• Continuous process control – where variables remain the same throughout to produce the product at the best economy, maximum flow rate and given composition.
• Hybrid process control – that can include elements of both continuous and batch process control.

By partnering with a third-party inspection company like Global Inspection Managing, you can be assured that only the best quality control tools and techniques are used for quality control and quality assurance of your products. We operate on the specific guidelines set out in the regulations and legislations governing your specific industry. Our services ensure that businesses across the world are able to maximize their potential and maintain quality standards throughout their operation.

Before we get into the explanation of what quality control is, it is important to understand that a significant aspect of this is establishing well-defined controls. Quality control is the process implemented to ensure that a manufactured product meets a defined set of standards or criteria. Quality control is different from quality assurance.
While both are parts of the overall quality management program in a company, quality assurance focuses on the fulfillment of quality requirements whereas quality control focuses on fulfilling quality requirements. The actual overall inspection of all the set criteria so that client or customer requirements are met is what effective quality control is all about.
All businesses irrespective of their size should have a quality management system in place to stay relevant in a competitive market scenario. Companies use the quality control procedure as a means to evaluate, maintain, and improve product quality. To put it in simple terms, the two main goals of quality control are to ascertain the uniformity of products and to reduce the possibility of errors or inconsistencies with the product.

Purpose of Quality Control

• Quality should be the cornerstone of every business to remain successful and deliver products that consistently meet the expectations of customers. Before getting into what is the purpose of quality control, it is integral to understand that customer satisfaction is always the major consideration for every company that is into manufacturing.
• While the main purpose of a quality control inspector is to ensure the delivery of standardized products every single time, these are the other goals.
• To reduce defects or quality issues arising unexpectedly as fixing faulty products will
  only lead to extra costs affecting the bottom line of the business
• To always maintain a strict quality standard that is acceptable for the customers as
  the credibility of the business can be affected otherwise
• To ensure uninterrupted production by catching flaws or problems in the raw
  materials and in the manufacturing processes. Catching errors in a timely manner can save the business huge costs
• To suggest further improvements by studying the methods and processes of
  production
• To aid in analyzing the root cause or origin of the inconsistencies or errors in the product
• To devise steps that can be taken to rectify the quality control issues and arrive at the desired product quality

Types of Quality Control

Quality control is not a universal process and the types of quality control methods employed by companies are based on the industry to which the specific products belong.
Some products may call for scientific testing whereas others could use a qualitative approach.
The four basic types of quality control are process control, acceptance sampling, control charts, and process protocol.
Process Control – It involves monitoring and adjusting till the required output is achieved with the least variation. The role of process control is to ensure that all workings are correct and smooth. This helps to improve performance and increase business efficiency. This is a technical process that makes use of feedback loops, industrial-level controls, and chemical processes for inspection and quality control.
Acceptance Sampling – A statistical measure used to ascertain if the sample product meets the overall manufacturing standard. Testing the entire batch of products is not a feasible or cost-friendly option for the company and hence only a few products will be selected for acceptance sampling.
Control Chart – A type of quality control that includes graphs or charts that can be employed to study how business or manufacturing processes change over a period of time.
While preparing for product inspection, a good understanding of the changes can help avoid inconsistencies that can happen in products due to these changes. The overall stability of a product can be analyzed with the four process states in the control charts; the ideal state, threshold state, the blink of chaos
state and the chaos state which is when the process is out of exhibit control.
Process Protocol – Some master standards or rules that processes have to follow to reach quality goals. With this mapping methodology, certain evaluative indicators or quality control factors can be created for every step of the process. This can greatly help to improve the design and implementation processes and prevent process failures or quality control issues.

Benefits of Quality Control

If you are in the manufacturing business, ensuring that your products follow the same high standards should be the top concern. Robust quality control procedures make this possible.The benefits of quality control go beyond just attracting more customers or increasing sales of products.

Here are some major benefits that quality control can bring to the business:

Cost Reduction – Having an effective quality control system in place can reduce production costs that may arise from wastage of raw materials, partially finished and finished goods.
The rework costs incurred by substandard products can also be avoided.

Better Employee Morale – Employees are more quality conscious and understand product standards when there are stringent quality control procedures within the company.
Producing quality goods enhances the morale of employees.

Better Resource Utilization – The resources of the company can be utilized to the maximum without any wastage when there is a quality control process in place. With this, there will be better control over machines, equipment, men, materials, or other resources.

Better Sales – The top benefit of quality control is definitely to increase the sales of the products. No consumer wants to spend their money on substandard products. The cost of production can be low when quality is adhered to at every step and this can allow products to reach buyers at a low rate increasing demand and sales.

Happy Customers – Quality products that meet expectations automatically mean happy customers.

Reduced Variations – Product variations can occur due to changes in the nature of machines, materials, or operations. Quality control can bring about a certain level of uniformity in the products with the least possible variations.

Procedure for Performing Quality Control in Business

A company must first decide the specific standards that products manufactured or services rendered must meet before implementing a quality control procedure. The first step would be to determine the extent of quality control actions. There should be a set percentage of units that need to be checked from each batch of products.

Suggested Read – EN71 Standard : Toy Safety and Testing

Once the quality control is done, the data about the percentage of units that failed the test has to be reported to the management. Following this, corrective action can be decided and taken. If the percentage of failed units is high then steps should be devised to improve the production process and solve quality control issues.

The quality control process must be ongoing to ensure that desired results are achieved after the changes have been made. Unlike proactive quality assurance programs in companies, a quality control program is reactive where a dedicated team studies the final product output to identify the problems or defects and works to fix them.

Challenges of Quality Control

Taking a product to the market is a complex process so the possibility of errors is quite understandable. A good understanding of the various challenges of quality control can to a great extent help minimize quality control issues.

Here are a few challenges of quality control that can hinder the smooth running of the process:

When a product has multiple parts and materials then the quality control of all the different components can be challenging. All the parts should conform to the exacting standards for the product to function properly.

● The additional handling and assembly during product reworks could lead to the
possibility of additional defects happening. This is especially the case when the
product has to be handled by many different workers or staff.
● When the product’s complexity and other dependent factors are not properly
studied before determining the quality issues. A good understanding of the product
function and quality standards is crucial to quality control.
● When the number of players involved in the supply chain is more,managing quality
control can get more complicated. Some factories could also outsource the
manufacturing of certain parts to sub-suppliers. At times the inspection and quality control of sub-supplier factories may also be required.
● The efficient management of shipping deadlines is another challenge of quality
control. In the case of complicated products, a regular product inspection can help to catch quality issues thereby avoiding delivery delays.

Relevance of Quality Control for Small Businesses

Quality control benefits every company irrespective of its size or industry. Any company that wants to consistently deliver high-quality products and remain successful should have a quality control system in place.
The two-fold benefit of this is that you will always stay ahead of your competition and always have satisfied customers. With effective quality control, small businesses can especially have a winning streak in markets where quality is given more importance than the price of the product.

Brand loyalty and customer satisfaction can be greatly improved with a quality control procedure. A small business that delivers quality products performs better and it can also increase the customer base solely based on positive product reviews. Quality control can also help to positively improve the reputation of the company and its engagement on social media platforms. Continuous product callbacks due to quality control issues can adversely affect brand goodwill.

Even though the initial efforts are more, it is absolutely necessary for small business owners to implement quality control standards and processes. Having such a system ensures that there will be a final assurance of quality before the product reaches the customer. Defective products will only mean that you have to deal with a lot of wastage of company resources and additional expenses.
Overlooking quality control and ignoring small mistakes in your production chain can, over time, turn into much larger errors that may ultimately cost you dearly. For small businesses to implement effective quality control within their organization, it is important to standardize everything from start to finish. Create standardization by devising a thorough process and passing it on to the employees that are tasked with handling quality control.

Identifying Quality Control Issues

Solving quality control issues begins with correctly identifying the root cause or origin of the issue. Doing this can save a lot of money, time and effort when it comes to rectifying the error and reworking the product.

This can be easily done when quality control checkpoints are added at every stage of the production line. Repairing faulty products and pinpointing the correct stage when the issue occurs is so much easier with such a quality control strategy.
A key indicator of quality control issues with a product is when it underperforms in the market or when there is a regular callback of products or general neglect of operations.

Using third-party services when it comes to the inspection and quality control of products could greatly help identify problems before it gets to your customers. Pre-shipment inspections are another way to help identify quality control issues and assess overall product quality before your order ships. Such inspections can also happen right at the manufacturing stage as well to check on the quality of raw materials used. Big importers dealing with high-volume products often conduct ‘during production inspections’ (DUPRO) to check product dimensions, appearance, and functionality quite early in the manufacturing process.

Global Inspection Managing can help to maximize your company’s potential and maintain quality standards throughout your operation. We have relevant knowledge of industry standards and extensive experience working with industries like fresh produce, textiles and manufacturing, and we also provide lab testing services.

Ensuring quality control for cosmetics industry, and other industries are extremely crucial to stay relevant in today’s marketplaces Quality standards should be maintained right from raw material storage to production, lab testing and even in the pre-delivery stage to ensure that the final products meet the same standards of quality. An assurance of quality is the most important factor for the trust placed in your business by your customers.

What are Quality Control and Quality Assurance?

In the manufacturing sector, implementing even some elements of quality control and
quality assurance can enable companies to save on money, time, effort and resources to a
great extent. Now, what are quality control and quality assurance all about?
Both these processes can lead to faster turnaround times, production of high-quality
products and reinforcing positive relationships with their customers. Though there is a
difference between quality control and quality assurance, the ultimate goal of both
processes is customer satisfaction.
While both processes are parts of overall quality management in a company, quality
assurance focuses on ensuring that all quality prerequisites are fulfilled. The focus of quality
control is to fulfill all quality requirements. Quality assurance deals with the processes
involved in developing the product. The actual inspection part of quality management is
what quality control is all about.

What does QA & QC stand for?

QA stands for Quality Assurance whereas QC stands for Quality Control. Quality assurance
and quality control are two completely different but key aspects of quality management.
Some of the activities that fall under both processes could be interrelated but quality
control is a subset of quality assurance activities. Quality assurance process makes sure that
all the functions necessary to achieve the required quality are carried out. Quality control,
on the other hand, is practically ensuring that product quality is maintained.

Quality Control vs Quality Assurance

Though the goal of both quality control and quality assurance is to improve product quality,
there are some major differences between them. Here is our pick of the top 5 points to
discuss on quality control vs quality assurance:

1. Similarities Between Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Both Quality Assurance and Quality Control aim to improve processes and enhance the final product, Quality assurance is a proactive process that deals with defining a framework to
reduce errors or prevent defects. Quality control is a reactive process used to find
defects in product quality so corrective actions can be taken. QA happens in the
product development phase and QC after the product is produced.2. Process vs. Product as the main differences between QA and QC

Quality assurance is process-oriented while quality control is product-oriented. The
former focuses on steps to improve quality and the latter focuses on the finished
product.

3. Which is more important : QC or QA

Quality assurance predominantly deals with procedures defined under ISO standards
and/or regulatory requirements; quality control checks parts or the outputs of a
system used to turn around the final product. Both QC and QA play crucial roles in ensuring product quality, the importance of each depends on the specific goals and needs of the company, as they work hand-in-hand to deliver high-quality products.4. Understanding How QA and QC Work Together in Quality Management

Quality assurance handles the defined standards for every production step, right
from design to sales. Quality control handles all the measuring activities that
ascertain if the product is fit to be distributed.5. Will Quality Assurance replace Quality Control ?

Quality assurance falls under the responsibility of the whole team in the quality
department of a company whereas quality control has some dedicated personnel
inside the company that follows set procedures to do quality control product
inspection.

Quality Assurance Examples

It is a given that products and services belonging to every industry adhere to a certain level
of quality to meet customer expectations. There can be numerous quality assurance
examples, especially in the manufacturing sector. Any company that makes use of systems
to maintain standard operating procedures, predefined tasks and other key steps to ensure
quality is taking part in quality assurance activities.
Companies that check machine information for errors using specially designed software like
High-Frequency Data Collector are engaging in quality assurance. When machine functioning
is problematic, this can lead to production turnaround issues and huge wastage in the form
of scrap parts.
Companies using predictive maintenance methods to continuously monitor the machines
even before a problem arises is a quality assurance example. Doing this proactively can
prevent quality control issues or the production of low-quality products or product parts.

Quality Control Examples

A quality control example in manufacturing could entail every activity that focuses on
inspecting, checking or monitoring the finished product to identify defects, if any. Unlike
quality assurance, which is independent of manufacturing and operations, quality control
always resides within manufacturing and operations.
Quality control examples can be seen in every industry.
● An FMCG company tests a food or juice product from each batch to ensure
consistency in color, weight, texture or even taste so there is uniformity across the
products.
● A retail store doing a quality check on the products that are on display or one that
tests the efficacy of their customer service.
● A car manufacturer runs a series of tests on their automatic and manual versions.

● A pharma company does quality checks of the outer packaging or seals of medicines.

Conclusion

Both quality control and quality assurance are important aspects of quality management. A
good understanding of the difference between quality control and quality assurance is
necessary for delivering exceptional customer service. Products or services that do not meet
quality standards can affect the reputation of a company. A successful company is one
where quality control and quality assurance processes are well implemented. You can also
use third-party inspection services of companies like Global Inspection Managing to handle
quality control and quality assurance for your products.
As a global quality assurance firm, we work with clients in a broad range of industries –
everything from fresh produce to textiles and manufacturing and even the provision of lab
testing services, certifications, audit services and inspection services.

Product quality control is key to ensuring 100% functionality of your end product, which translates into a high user acceptance rate. Earlier, enterprises had a dedicated quality assurance testing team that was tasked to conduct rigorous product quality tests as per the enterprise’s specifications.

Cut to the present day, things have changed in the quality management arena. Companies have deepened their focus on the end-user perspective than their vision regarding a product. This change is witnessed in things like software development, the performance of a medical device, analytical services and others.

There are no two thoughts about the fact that the perspectives of end-users are extremely dynamic. Enterprises need to introduce multiple ad-hoc changes during the entire product development lifecycle to align with the dynamic user perspectives. This has created extreme pressure on the in-house quality control testing experts.

In-house quality management experts lack the bandwidth or expertise to look beyond the conventional total quality management framework and work out a flexible quality testing solution right off the bat.

This compelled enterprises to form a beeline for quality outsourcing to reap the actual benefits of quality control. According to a Forbes Technology Council Post, the software quality system outsourcing market which was valued at USD 40 billion in 2019 is set to grow at 6% through 2026.

On this note, here’s looking at the top 5 reasons why outsourcing product quality control can prove to be the turning point for your business.

1. Outsourcing Product Quality Control for Cost Optimization

As stated earlier, enterprises require the best minds and tech stack at work to align with the fast-changing quality assurance testing standards. For instance, post-pandemic, supplier quality compliance requires the introduction of highly sophisticated cloud-based digital tools.

Highly talented quality management professionals are short in supply and can be quite expensive to hire. Procuring new infrastructure is also a costly proposition, particularly for an individual entrepreneur with no guarantee of the best ROI. In the current high-risk and fast-paced marketplace, no enterprise of any size can afford to lose money or time.

Since quality control procedures are the core function of QC outsourcing service providers, companies ensure that they house the cream of quality testing analysts and infrastructure to stay at the top of the game. Partnering with such a service provider allows enterprises access to such talents and infrastructure at half the quality control cost of procuring them in-house.

Most QC outsourcing service providers are known to offer flexible pricing. This means that an enterprise can pay only for the quality management service they have used at a certain time. It enables huge product quality control cost savings for enterprises as opposed to paying a fixed monthly compensation and other monetary benefits to the in-house team despite a low work volume.

2. QC Outsourcing for Access to Talents on a Global Level

The Covid-19 pandemic-induced mobility restrictions and lockdowns created a severe resource crunch during critical quality assurance phases such as software testing, manufacturing process quality compliance and many more.

Enterprises heavily relying on their local in-house quality testing team do not have a backup in case of emergencies such as political unrest or a pandemic. Such situations deter teams from commuting to their workplace and provide remote support with limited infrastructure. This either halts the entire quality management process or compromises the entire quality compliance test standards.

Prominent outsourcing quality control firms have resources spread across the globe with local quality assurance managers inspecting a team. Such firms have the bandwidth to ensure resource availability from regions that escape the impacts of a pandemic or any socio-political unrest. This exempts enterprises from the pain of managing an in-house quality testing team in affected regions. QC outsourcing firms assign dedicated supervisors who are adept with the region’s vernacular and regulatory requirements and hence are best suited to manage the quality management team.

3. Product Quality Control Outsourcing Brings in Expert Knowledge

Quality control outsourcing firms are home to testing experts who have exceptional domain knowledge. They tap into this knowledge to think beyond the traditional quality management framework to bring product and process improvements beyond a short span of time.

They stay at the top of the testing standard dynamics and all the regulatory requirements pertaining to it. Such experts make a continuous effort to hone their testing skills with the newest technologies disrupting the market. This is particularly pertinent in the software testing genre, where enterprises face the constant pressure of launching products at lightning speed and are bugs free.

With hands-on experience with the newest product quality compliance tech, outsourced software testing experts require minimal to no handholding during the software development lifecycle. They liaise with developers and designers, understand the objective of the product and test the same from the user’s perspective.

4. Quality Outsourcing to Address Integrity Risks

Quality assurance integrity risks are rampant across many industries. Such risks include bribing quality assurance personnel with money, gifts, or other subtle forms of bribery such as personal transportation provided for an onsite inspection, taking out to lunch and other such instances. These integrity risks, if not addressed beforehand, resulting in the leaking of confidential information, biased quality inspection, or counterfeiting of products.

It is not always possible for an enterprise to keep a check on the auditory activities of its in-house quality testing team. Such a lack of control creates cracks through which integrity risks may slip in.

Partnering with experienced quality testing service providers will help address these integrity risks to a significant extent. They conduct frequent inspections of the auditing activities of individual quality testers. Third-party quality control firms enforce stringent compliance guidelines that forbid quality testers from accepting favours of any kind.

They leverage digital audit software that creates a trail of all quality assurance activities. This trail is critical to flag any incident that does not comply with an enterprise’s pre-set quality compliance standards. Third-party quality control firms are known to implement and religiously follow QA process maps. These maps help the third-party service providers bind all the quality testing experts to a set process, deviating from which issues warnings to the team supervisor.

Additionally, third-party quality control firms implement incentive programs, sudden quality control checklists and tracking inspection activities, to keep any integrity risks at bay.

5. Outsourcing Quality Control for Better Business Flexibility

One of the biggest benefits of QA process outsourcing is the flexibility that can be the real turning point in an enterprise’s business. A client does not need to be bound by a service contract. Such a binding service contract compels the client to pay service fees for a certain point irrespective of the volume of work. It also compels the client to work with the limited resources they have for quality management.

Contrary to the above, third-party quality control service providers cater to quality assurance as and when needed. The service providers station resources across various time zones. This allows them the liberty to respond to their client’s quality testing needs anytime and anywhere.

The client gets to pick and choose a team of experts without having to go through the hassles of hiring and training resources. This allows ample business flexibility for a client who can work with a team of the best of experts round the clock on a need basis.

Conclusion

Quality management has pivoted from being conducted from an enterprise’s vision to the end user perspective. This makes outsourcing even more pertinent as this helps to bring a fresh perspective to the QA process. An in-house tester is bound to think in a linear way. It is mostly because they work towards a set direction in liaison with the developers, designers and business analysts. Third-party experts bring in industry insights and a fresh objective. It manifests into an unbiased quality assurance which is a big turning point for an enterprise’s business in the competitive marketplace.

At Global Inspection Managing, we take a holistic approach to product quality testing to ensure that you launch a product with guaranteed functionality. Our QA processes are tailored to suit your product specifications. For instance, our experts conduct earth continuity tests to determine the safety of your electronic goods. Similarly, we conduct power consumption tests to evaluate your electronic product performance in the real world.

We curate a detailed quality management plan as per your needs. This plan includes inspecting the product design, determining the product’s compliance with the highest manufacturing standards and material inspection to help your product meet all the pertinent regulatory requirements.