QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

What Is the APQP? (Advanced Product Quality Planning Process)

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The APQP, or Advanced Product Quality Planning, is a proven approach for developing a new product to be made in high volume and under strict quality, timing, and cost requirements. It was developed by the North American automotive industry (virtually all tier-1 suppliers of car parts have to implement this approach.) It has also been adopted in other settings with similarly comprehensive requirements, with great success. (Note: for low- or medium-volume productions, a simpler quality plan is … [Read more...]

Understanding The Role Of Manufacturing Process Control In Your Factory

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Turning raw materials and components into a finished product can be a complex process. It usually requires more steps than a layperson would think of. And, if the manufacturer does not set up appropriate controls along these process steps, there is no assurance that the finished products will be acceptable. Let’s explore the concept of manufacturing process control here... … [Read more...]

What Manufacturing KPIs Show if a QMS is Performing Effectively?

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Many factories are proud of their ISO 9001/ISO 13485 certificate, but a look at their quality management system (QMS) and manufacturing KPIs reveals serious issues. I wrote before about how some companies get certified with a very poorly implemented QMS and how easily an auditor or a customer can spot them. And quality managers (and salespeople, and CEOs) can get pretty delusional. They look at activity metrics such as the number of inspections done, the audits they passed, the nice way … [Read more...]

Manufacturing Organizational Chart: Top 7 Common Mistakes To Avoid

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One of the first things we look at, during factory audits, is the supplier’s manufacturing organizational chart. And it often points to serious operational dysfunctions. Here are the top 7 common mistakes that you don’t want to see your supplier making… … [Read more...]

Inspecting Productions with Very Few Defects: Dump the AQL

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The topic of "do we really need to send inspectors to check productions" and "does that whole AQL concept even make sense" are frequently raised. In this article, I want to write about what it takes to get to a very low rate of defective pieces, and what manufacturing & quality people need to do when they get to that situation. … [Read more...]

QMS Implementation Consultant vs. Certifying Body

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I realized that many people are confused about the companies that typically get involved when a factory wants to get its quality management system (QMS) certified to ISO 9001 or ISO 13485. Let's break it down into the logical steps to get to a certification.   1. Gap analysis You need to know what the gap is. This is necessary in order to draw a QMS implementation plan (along with a budget). You may call in a certifying body (more on them in section 4, below). But, if there … [Read more...]

Vietnam VS China Manufacturers & Digitizing Processes In The Factory [Podcast]

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In This Episode... Renaud interviews Greg Fleming, an experienced merchandising and manufacturing operations manager who went from New Zealand to Australia to China and finally is now based in Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam. Greg's background is mainly in the apparel trade, from fabric production to retail. Due to his experience in both Vietnam and China, he is well-placed to give us some really interesting insight into manufacturing in both countries. Since Vietnam is a very popular … [Read more...]

What Causes A Bad QMS/ISO 9001 Implementation (Reason 2)

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This is a follow-up on What Causes A Bad Factory QMS Implementation? [Reason 1], as I expose a few common issues that make a factory's work much harder than it should be. If you are starting to work on a program to raise product quality in your factory, you may want to set a goal such as "get certified to ISO 9001 in 12 months", but is it the right way to frame it to your employees? You may be sending the wrong message. … [Read more...]

ISO 9001 QMS Features, Benefits, & Implementation Tips [Podcast]

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In This Episode... Phil Brown, owner of Phil Brown Consultancy, who is an ISO 9001 and 14001 consultant in the UK joins us in this episode of the China manufacturing decoded podcast. Phil talks us through the ISO 9001 QMS, the requirements that make up this standard, benefits, the difference between good and bad implementations, and some tips from him to follow if you're implementing the QMS sometime soon.   Just hit the play button to start listening..! Listen to the episode right … [Read more...]