ISO 9001 Compliance

Quality control is usually denoted as QC and it is the process employed to ensure a certain level of quality in a product or service based on standards such as ISO 9001 2008. It is clear to everybody that quality control is important for everybody involved and there is really no disadvantage of practicing it. Quality control is usually confused with quality assurance, but although the two are similar in most aspects, there are some differences such as the fact that QC is concerned with the product whereas quality assurance is concerned with the process.

Quality Control: Benefits to Consumers

Products that are made through processes that have undergone quality control from the fact that they are ISO 9001 2008 certified or they meet other respectable standards are guaranteed to pose no harm to their consumers. If you were to buy a product that has not undergone quality control, you risk getting sick in the case of edibles of getting stuck with a defective product.

The terms “quality control” and “quality assurance” are often used interchangeably though they have different meanings. While quality control refers to a system or set of system that is intended to ensure that a product or service that is manufactured adheres to a laid down quality standard and meets the needs of the customer, quality assurance on the other hand refers to the systematic processes of production that are used to guarantee confidence in the suitability of a product or service for its intended use.

A small group of employees who come together to discuss with the management issues related to either quality control or improvement in production methods form a Quality Control Circle (QCC). These employees usually work in the same areas, and voluntarily meet on a regular basis to identify, analyze and solve their problems.

It is said that 95% of the problems in workshops can be solved through quality control tools. The Japanese have experienced this! The quality control tools useful for QCCs are Pareto Diagrams, Cause-and-Effect Diagrams, Stratification, Check Sheets, Histograms, Scatter Diagrams, Graphs and Control Charts. Also, logical thinking and experience are a must for solving problems.