Every business wants to ensure that they are able to deliver the best-finished products to their clients. Whether you are a B2B or a B2C business, success depends upon the standardization of quality. In other words, your customers should be secure in the belief that every time they purchase from your brand, they receive the exact same quality as they did the last time around.
While this might sound easy, there are plenty of variables that affect the same. The slightest change in raw material quantity or quality can influence the final finished products. Likewise, untimely delays arising from supply and logistics processes can sour the experiences of the customers. In this day and age, slipping on the quality front can result in massive losses.
Every business is competing with someone else as far as its goods and services are concerned. In this article, we are going to help businesses by outlining how they implement a strict quality control system for their organizations. If you are someone that is looking to put in place such a system, this article will help guide you in the right direction.
What is Quality Control?
Quality Control or QC is one of an important business function that ensures that the quality of the product that the business is manufacturing is maintained or improved over a period. It is a set of processes and guidelines that is applicable to both the higher management as well as the employees which directs them to strive for perfection in every aspect of the production.
There are three major ways how businesses strive to maintain and improve quality control–
- Train employees about the best practices and due diligence that needs to be followed in product manufacturing, packing, and distribution.
- Create specific yardsticks or benchmarks for high-quality products and measure the subsequent production batches with the same.
- Testing products as they come out of the production line and ensuring strict quality control protocols are being followed.
A major part of the quality control process is extensive testing. This is where the best businesses use leading inspection tools in quality control.
Steps of the Quality Control Process in Business Organizations
In this section, we are going to list down some of the major steps of the quality control process in businesses-
Step 1: Starting with the Manufacturing Process
The first step of an effective quality control process begins by examining the raw materials. Employees pull up and test random batches to ensure that they are up to the standards as demanded by the business organization. any batch where the raw material is not adequate is marked and sent back to the supplier.
Step 2: Focussing on the Production Line
Once the raw materials are examined, the quality control process should move to the production line. Here the need to see that nothing is being skimmed and everything is being done in accordance with what has been laid down is investigated. Employees are implored to stick to what has been mentioned rather than innovating on what they feel best.
Step 3: Assessment of the Product at the end of the Production Line
Once the product rolls off the production line, it is tested internally. At this stage, the user experience is not focused upon. What is emphasized is whether the fit, finish, and configurations are in order. Any impurities are identified and sent to the relevant departments. This step or stage is not to be confused with the final testing step of the product.
Step 4: Final Test in Real World Scenarios and Applications-
Once the final batch of products is ready, their real-world testing starts. At this stage, the business puts the product through its track and subjects it to forces and experiences that the users will normally do. Problem areas are identified and sent back to the QC team for their concerns. Once this step is completed, the product is shipped out to the retailers.
The Final Word
Many make the mistake of thinking that it is only at the production or manufacturing stage where quality control matters. In modern business organizations, quality control also takes into account the shipping and final delivery of the product. If the same is not found to live up to the expectations of the customers, then the same is reworked and brought into accordance with what the customers like.
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