Implementing Quality Controls

By : Scott Bahr

It is imperative to understand the various stages of quality control and what they mean for a business, as well as how to improve output. Along with proper processes, it is valuable to create a culture that values quality products. If everyone is on board with the idea that every result should be high quality, then it is easier to make sure the various stages of quality control are being followed.

Define quality standards

Every part of a business should have quality controls. This is to make sure every employee is checking products to ensure they meet the standards set by the company. If employees have been introduced to quality controls early, and they are reinforced with praise and positive feedback, then it becomes an everyday value. In some industries, quality control standards are set by the government, but even when they are not, it is vital to know which criteria are required to provide quality to customers. High-quality standards build trust with customers and help companies retain their business.

Select methods

The methods of quality control used in manufacturing vary by industry, but there are some common methods. For example, quality must be standardized for each product. What are the exact specifications that need to be inspected? How often should they be checked? When should they be checked? Often quality control is done at the end when, in reality, inspecting products at every stage ensures that issues can be pinpointed easily and quickly. Using technology for quality control may benefit an operation because of its consistency and ability to perform repeat tasks. Finally, how should quality control be addressed when an issue does occur? This includes understanding when an issue is big enough to be addressed and what should happen when an issue is identified.

Corporate culture and quality control

Embedding quality into the culture of a company is vital to ensuring quality results. Employees quality checking products need to have adequate training, but besides this obvious step, all employees need to understand their part in the quality control process. A 2014 Harvard Business Review article noted that four main factors drive quality control as a cultural value: leadership emphasis, message credibility, peer involvement, and employee ownership of quality issues. Leadership emphasis means executive members of the team must show they value quality through actions, not just words. Message credibility refers to the ability to create quality messaging to employees to emphasize quality products, not just templated emails. Peer involvement means fostering a good level of communication with employees and increasing employee ownership means allowing employees to act on situations that fall outside of the scope of quality control with their best judgment, garnering praise or feedback from their supervisors.

Create a communication loop

Getting feedback and making improvements continually creates a quality control process that is sustainable. Involving employees who are in charge of quality control is important because they can provide knowledge and insight that someone higher up may not possess. Feedback and continuous improvement make quality control processes more effective and ensure that all errors or issues are documented properly. Being able to look back at previous mistakes will help everyone understand the patterns or processes that need to be fixed.

Quality control is an ongoing process. By starting to implement stages of quality control, it can continue to evolve and create a culture of quality that will make the result better than ever before.