How do you ensure quality control during production?

1 Define quality standards

The first step is to define what quality means for your product and your market. You need to identify the requirements and expectations of your customers, as well as the regulations and norms of the industry. You can use various tools and methods, such as benchmarking, customer feedback, quality function deployment, and quality audits, to establish the quality standards for your product. These standards should be clear, measurable, and achievable, and they should be communicated to all the stakeholders involved in the production process.

2 Design quality control plan

The next step is to design a quality control plan that outlines how you will measure and control the quality of your product throughout the production process. A quality control plan should include the following elements: the quality objectives, the quality criteria, the quality control methods, the quality control tools, the quality control activities, the quality control responsibilities, and the quality control documentation. A quality control plan should be aligned with the quality standards and the production plan, and it should be reviewed and updated regularly.

3 Implement quality control methods

The third step is to implement the quality control methods that you have chosen for your production process. Quality control methods are the techniques and procedures that you use to check and verify the quality of your product at different stages of production. Some of the common quality control methods are: inspection, sampling, testing, verification, validation, and auditing. You should select the most appropriate and effective quality control methods for your product and your process, and you should follow the quality control plan and the quality control documentation.

4 Use quality control tools

The fourth step is to use quality control tools that help you analyze and improve the quality of your product and your process. Quality control tools are the instruments and software that you use to collect, display, and interpret the quality data and information. Some of the common quality control tools are: checklists, flowcharts, Pareto charts, histograms, scatter diagrams, control charts, and fishbone diagrams. You should use the quality control tools that suit your needs and goals, and you should use them consistently and correctly.

5 Monitor quality control performance

The fifth step is to monitor the quality control performance of your product and your process. This means that you need to measure and evaluate the quality results and outcomes against the quality standards and objectives. You need to track and record the quality data and information, such as the defects, errors, deviations, complaints, and non-conformities, and you need to analyze and report the quality performance indicators, such as the defect rate, the yield rate, the customer satisfaction rate, and the cost of quality. You need to monitor the quality control performance regularly and systematically, and you need to identify and address any quality issues or gaps.

6 Improve quality control process

The sixth and final step is to improve the quality control process based on the quality control performance and feedback. This means that you need to implement corrective and preventive actions to eliminate or reduce the causes of quality problems, and you need to make continuous improvements to enhance the quality of your product and your process. You can use various tools and methods, such as root cause analysis, corrective action plan, preventive action plan, and quality improvement cycle, to improve the quality control process. You should also seek and incorporate the feedback and suggestions from your customers, your suppliers, your employees, and your managers, to improve the quality control process.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?