5 Tips to Improve Quality Control in Manufacturing

5 Tips to Improve Quality Control in Manufacturing

Quality control is a necessary process that measures the uniformity of a company’s production. It does benefit not only the manufacturing company but also its customers. Customers are guaranteed quality delivery service. Quality control also conforms to customers’ demands, self-imposed regulations from the company, and external standards from regulatory bodies. Moreso, customers’ needs will be met without compromising on high-quality standards.

Quality control may also be implemented at the manufacturing stage. The technique may differ for each company, depending on the internal standard, authoritative regulations, and products being manufactured. If you are looking for ways to improve customer and employee satisfaction, these five tips are for you.

Planning the Inspection Process

Developing adequate process control is the key to achieving a premium result. Unfortunately, many people skip this critical stage and jump directly into execution. Proper planning must be in place to accurately measure your success rate. You must also know the number of items produced within a particular time frame and the guideline for evaluating each item. This will help you to improve the workflow across production sectors.

The planning phase should also include ways to identify production errors. This may involve training the employees for the task ahead and communicating the company’s expectations. Once the goal is well-communicated, it is much easier to operate in quality control.

The planning phase should also identify an environment suitable for the quality control examination. Thus, the quality inspector should know the size of the products to be checked. Before you carry out a sample check, you must ensure the environment is thoroughly clean, not to harbour a foreign item. This is because foreign substances that do not belong to the product composition may cause reading and recording errors.

Implementing the Statistical Quality Control Method

This statistical quality control method is commonly implemented as an acceptance sampling. This sampling method is used on many products to determine if they should be rejected or accepted. The term “producer’s error” is also used to describe erroneous decisions. This happens when poor-quality products are accepted, and good products are rejected. In some cases, producer error occurs when there is too much variation in production techniques, raw materials, and inconsistency in the product elements. As a result, a sample check should ensure the goods are produced in the same manner.

The statistical method is a comprehensive application which involves quality control charts, data inspection, and examining hypotheses. This method can be employed in various units, especially the food, beverages, and pharmaceutical industries. Applying statistical quality control also varies with the company’s standards. Some companies focus on quantitative data, while others would use perspective judgement. For instance, a large amount of product is being examined within a food company. If the number of errors detected from the examination exceeds the expected volume, the entire product will be discarded.

Another way to apply the statistical method is to set a standard variation. It can be used in the drug industry to estimate the minimum and maximum weight of a drug dosage. If a drug report is far below the minimum weight, it will be discarded and considered ineffective. The processes involved in statistical quality control are regarded as one of the fastest methods. Also, the end goal is to ensure a product is safe for consumption.

Using Statistical Process Control Method

Process control is considered a time-saving quality control method. It is also cost-effective because it saves man-labor and production expenses. Although statistical process control is often used interchangeably with statistical quality control, they are different techniques. The former is usually implemented at the manufacturing stage to detect any possible mistakes and correct them.

Companies can use the control chart created by Walter Shewhart in the 1920s. This control chart has made quality control more straightforward, alerting the quality inspection whenever there is an unusual change during production. The chart can also detect a common or special variation. A variation is considered common if it is caused by intrinsic factors and is bound to happen. On the other hand, a variation is special when caused by extrinsic factors. This type of variation will require extra resources for appropriate correction.

Statistical process control is essential for every company today, considering the rise in market competition. This competition’s birth increases raw materials and production costs. Thus, it does not only detect a production error but also prevents the manufacture of low-quality products. To minimize wastage, companies should take adequate measures to control operational costs.

The statistical process control also helps to reduce rework. Thus, companies can spend time on other vital aspects than repeatedly producing the same product. Standard quality control should also provide accurate data discovered during the evaluation stage. This data will support further decision-making and prevent the company or organization from making the same mistakes. Thus, companies implementing this quality control process will continually grow, despite the tight market competition.

Implementing Lean Production Process

Lean production is another essential tip for quality control in manufacturing. Any item that does not add to the product value or meet the customers’ needs is considered a waste. Sample check is carried out to minimize waste and maximize productivity. This process is also known as lean manufacturing or lean. Established companies, including Nike, Intel, Toyota, and John Deere, widely employ this method.

A quality inspector ensures every product meets the customers’ demands. Often, value is described from a customer’s perspective. This also includes the amount a customer is willing to pay for a particular product or service. This tip will help you channel your advertisement appropriately and foster customer communication. The lean manufacturing process also involves a pull system where goods are manufactured based on customers’ demands.

Contrary to a push system, this pull system does not estimate future inventories. Companies adopting the pull system believe excess inventories can disrupt customer service systems or relations. Thus, items are produced in large quantities only when there is a significant demand for them.

Every waste that adds to operational costs is eliminated during lean processing. These wastes include excess inventory, unnecessary equipment and transportation, prolonged delivery time, and defects. The quality inspector will analyze how much it will cost to correct a production defect. This method is complex and requires adequate technical know-how. However, it is versatile and can be employed across several sectors, including health and software development.

Inspection Quality Control Method

The inspection involves examining, measuring, and testing products and services to confirm if it meets the required standard. It also involves auditing where the manufacturing process is being analyzed. The physical condition is also examined to verify if it meets the standard requirements. A quality inspector will always have a checklist where each production phase’s report is marked. Moreover, if the planning phase mentioned above is well implemented, quality inspection will be a smooth process.

A quality inspector is mainly responsible for determining the type of inspection for a particular company. Meanwhile, a company can also dictate the extent to which an assessment should be carried out. Inspection can be done at initial production, during production, pre-shipment, and as a container loading check.

The pre-shipment inspection can be carried out using the ISO standard sampling procedures. The quality inspector will randomly use a large portion of the samples to confirm the production’s quality. This is also done when the production is at least 80% covered. This is to identify the necessary corrections before the company proceeds to the packaging stage.

The inspection also extends to the packing stage, as the quality inspector ensures that suitable styles and sizes are sent to the correct location. Thus, the products will be grouped and marked appropriately. The products must be neatly packaged in protective materials so that customers can meet their items in good condition. The ventilation requirement for perishable packaging items also differs from non-perishable items. Thus, every company needs a quality inspector that understands storage requirements and every other necessary criterion for effective quality assurance.

Hiring a Professional Service for the Job

Quality control requires the input of professional teams with years of industry experience. It is not an independent task that one man can do. As a result, this article recommends you contact the EC Global Inspection Company. The company has a track record of working with top companies, including Walmart, John Lewis, Amazon, and Tesco.

EC Global Inspection Company offers premium inspection services across manufacturing and packaging stages. Since its establishment in 2017, the company has worked with different sectors in compliance with regulatory requirements. Unlike many inspection companies, EC Global does not just provide a pass or fall result. You will be guided on possible production problems and implementing solutions that work. Every transaction is transparent, and the company’s customer team is always available for enquiries through the mail, phone contact, or live message.


Post time: Dec-05-2022