What is Quality Control?
N. Madison
Quality control is a process that is used to ensure a certain level of quality in a product or service. It might include whatever actions a business deems necessary to provide for the control and verification of certain characteristics of a product or service. Most often, it involves thoroughly examining and testing the quality of products or the results of services. The basic goal of this process is to ensure that the products or services that are provided meet specific requirements and characteristics, such as being dependable, satisfactory, safe and fiscally sound.
Companies that engage in quality control typically have a team of workers who focus on testing a certain number of products or observing services being done. The products or services that are examined usually are chosen at random. The goal of the quality control team is to identify products or services that do not meet a company's specified standards of quality. If a problem is identified, the job of a quality control team or professional might involve stopping production or service until the problem has been corrected. Depending on the particular service or product as well as the type of problem identified, production or services might not cease entirely.
Usually, it is not the job of the quality control team or professional to correct quality issues. Typically, other individuals are involved in the process of discovering the cause of quality issues and fixing them. After the problems are overcome and the proper quality has been achieved, the product or service continues production or implementation as usual.
Many types of businesses perform these types of quality checks. Manufacturers of food products, for example, often have employees who test the finished products for taste and other qualities. Clothing manufacturers have workers inspect garments to ensure that they are properly sewn. Service-oriented companies often have representatives who observe the services being performed or who do follow-up checks to ensure that everything was done properly.
Quality control also might involve evaluating people. If a company has employees who don't have adequate skills or training, have trouble understanding directions or are misinformed, the quality of the company's products or services might be diminished. This is especially important for service-oriented companies, because the employees are the product that they provide to customers.
Often, quality control is confused with quality assurance. Though the two are similar, but there are some basic differences. Quality control is concerned with examining the product or service — the end result ‐ and quality assurance is concerned with examining the process that leads to the end result. A company would use quality assurance to ensure that a product is manufactured in the right way, thereby reducing or eliminating potential problems with the quality of the final product.
N. Madison
Nicole’s thirst for knowledge inspired her to become a wiseGEEK writer, and she focuses primarily on topics such as homeschooling, parenting, health, science, and business. When not writing or spending time with her four children, Nicole enjoys reading, camping, and going to the beach.
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Discussion Comments
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I have been working in quality control for five years and everything I have learned has been on the job training. I am now looking to get my asq certification for qc tech. I mostly have been on the qc side of things but now I am on the qa side of things. I am trying to learn all the different facets of quality. However, one thing I have learned is that unless you find a place to get a formal education in say, quality engineering, you will not learn much about the seven tools of quality, let alone anything else.
I personally am getting used books from the internet to study on my own. I have chosen to start with Kaoru Ishikawa. However, I will be taking some courses through asq before my certification exam. I am taking the next year to study and take the certification exam sometime next fall.
If you want a career in quality control, you simply have to educate yourself, do the research and when you see an opening in quality, jump on it and keep trying until you get what you want. Quality control in an industrial situation is the control of quality in process, not letting quality issues of the product escape, finding the root cause of the issue and finding ways to fix it. quality assurance is more the measuring of product, example would be macros to ensure weld penetration, calibration of measuring tools, use of CMM or a vision system, testing of product like tensile testing, etc.
I don't really have any advice to any one wanting to pursue this field, but to just pick a place and start learning, but make sure your math skills are there; you will need them.
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Thanks for the article. It's really helpful.
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what is the difference between quality control and quality assurance?
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please tell me all the details about QC, how to control it, what are the different assurances in quality control and about a job with a quality center.
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where can i find a quality control training center in mumbai.
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Thanks in advance.
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Dear Sir/Madam
I am very much interested in studying Quality Control, where do I start? Do you have a school of your own?
Kind regards
Mogapi J.
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