Quality Control

Quality control is an integrated process by which organizations review the quality of components involved in production. It incorporates both quality improvement and quality assurance, and is vital for product satisfaction. The term quality control is often used in a much broader context, to include quality control throughout the supply chain from raw materials to finished goods. Quality control is not a one-time or even a periodic activity. It is an ongoing process that continues until a satisfactory quality result has been achieved. In most cases, quality control extends through every stage of the supply chain from beginning to end.

Quality control begins at the beginning of the manufacturing process, with quality control testing of raw materials and/or products before the manufacturing process commences. Quality testing must be designed to verify compliance with applicable specifications and reduce risks of manufacturing faults. In most cases, quality control testing is performed during processing of raw materials and finished goods, although some manufacturing processes may use a single-step procedure to evaluate raw materials and finalize all testing as part of the overall quality control process. The most common types of quality control testing are visual testing and non-visual testing.

Quality assurance testing is another integral element of quality control. It is conducted after manufacturing, to evaluate and confirm manufacturing performance against identified quality goals. Measuring performance against identified goals involves precise measurement techniques and frequent monitoring. A wide range of tools and techniques are available for quality assurance testing, including verification methods, code verification, automated testing methods, and software verification. Quality assurance testing is necessary to ensure production quality, product life-cycle reliability, and to eliminate or reduce product returns and defects.

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