CQ Quality Assurance - An Overview
Quality Assurance – An Overview
Quality assurance is a means to prevent mistakes and defects in the manufacturing process at every stage of the product life cycle. The term encompasses several aspects of quality such as best practices and methodologies to ensure customer delight and regulatory compliance.
What is Quality Assurance?
Quality assurance is defined by ISO 9000 as a “part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled.” With QA, manufacturers can ensure that customers receive a defect-free product by preventing mistakes at the time of manufacturing. Businesses can improve compliance to standards by monitoring processes and use feedback to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
How to do Complete Quality Assurance?
QA can be ensured using the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, and Act) cycle, a four-step methodology that helps control and improve the quality of products and services. It is an effective process to ensure that the organization maintains high standards of quality for the products, thus improving the reputation of the organization in the long run.
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What is the difference between Quality Control and Quality Assurance?
Both quality assurance and quality control are two aspects of quality management. Although some quality assurance and quality control processes are interrelated, there is a vast difference between the two. While QA facilitates compliance with virtually all of the quality systems, QC is a subset of the QA activities. Quality Control is the fifth phase of the DMAIC model, which is an abbreviation for define, measure, analyze, improve, control. The DMAIC model is used to improve processes as it is a data-driven quality strategy.
Best practices for Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance covers the whole product lifecycle and does not pertain to any particular phase. It is established to ensure that processes are being performed and the business is continuing to adhere to the regulatory and corporate standards. For its successes, the businesses should:
Have a clear understanding of Business Goals- Cleary define Acceptance Criteria
- Be aware of Supported Platforms
- Create a Test Plan
- Incorporate Test Cases/Checklists
- Establish Continuous Integration + Continuous deployment
- Constantly update Test Cases/Checklists
- Share Release Notes with clients
- Practice Exploratory Testing
Quality Assurance Functions
The functions of quality assurance are defined by the objectives laid out. These functions include:
- Planning and management of product quality compliance as per QA standards
- Coordinating with the manufacturing department to ensure QA is carried out at all stages from testing, auditing, and reporting
- Review the QA specifications and procedures with quality control
- Conduct technical audits to ensure the standards are met consistently
Quality assurance methods
Some of the most commonly used quality assurance methods are mentioned below –
- Benchmarking
- Business process re-engineering
- Operations analysis
- ISO accreditation
- Ishikawa diagrams
- Specifications
- Standard operating procedures
- Cost-benefit analysis
- Statistical sampling
- Quality management methodologies, e.g., Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing
Quality assurance methods
Some of the most commonly used quality assurance methods are mentioned below –
- Benchmarking
- Business process re-engineering
- Operations analysis
- ISO accreditation
- Ishikawa diagrams
- Specifications
- Standard operating procedures
- Cost-benefit analysis
- Statistical sampling
- Quality management methodologies, e.g., Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing
What industries does quality assurance apply to?
- Government agencies
- Technology
- Nonprofit
- Finance
- Manufacturing
- Food and beverage
- Healthy and beauty
The advantages of quality assurance systems
Improved Products and Business
- Innovate with an adaptable quality platform
- Drive continuous improvement and business growth
- Deliver exceptional customer experiences to build customer loyalty
- Leverage your data for a factual approach to decision making
- Gain greater efficiency by getting things right the first time
Improved Products and Business
- Innovate with an adaptable quality platform
- Drive continuous improvement and business growth
- Deliver exceptional customer experiences to build customer loyalty
- Leverage your data for a factual approach to decision making
- Gain greater efficiency by getting things right the first time
Consistency
- Reduce variability of materials, waste, and rework to cut time and costs
- Keep quality processes repeatable to increase knowledgeable staff and reduce human error
- Prevent delays by minimizing disruptions to stay on time and under budget.
- Improve process control to reduce quality gaps
- Reduce lead time and increase production yield
Consistency
- Reduce variability of materials, waste, and rework to cut time and costs
- Keep quality processes repeatable to increase knowledgeable staff and reduce human error
- Prevent delays by minimizing disruptions to stay on time and under budget.
- Improve process control to reduce quality gaps
- Reduce lead time and increase production yield
Effective Compliance
- Ensure quality standards are being met
- Experience total traceability
- Turn insights into action
- Provide historical audit trails to speed compliance
- Become adaptable to changing or emerging market conditions and to environmental and other government regulations.
Effective Compliance
- Ensure quality standards are being met
- Experience total traceability
- Turn insights into action
- Provide historical audit trails to speed compliance
- Become adaptable to changing or emerging market conditions and to environmental and other government regulations.
Risk Reduction
- Provide visibility for your quality processes, product record, requirements, issues, and related processes
- Enable teams to easily confirm designs, adjust plans, and resolve issues fast
- Quickly find the root cause and speed up resolution
- Reduce the risk of probable quality failure through predictive analysis of data
- Limit damages to profits, reputation, and existing relationships
Risk Reduction
- Provide visibility for your quality processes, product record, requirements, issues, and related processes
- Enable teams to easily confirm designs, adjust plans, and resolve issues fast
- Quickly find the root cause and speed up resolution
- Reduce the risk of probable quality failure through predictive analysis of data
- Limit damages to profits, reputation, and existing relationships
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should you automate quality assurance?
What are the areas where quality assurance is required?
- Quality
- Manufacturing
- Engineering
- Operations
- Management
- Suppliers
What are the regulations and challenges in quality assurance?
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