QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

Inspecting Productions with Very Few Defects: Dump the AQL

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

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]

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)

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]

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...]

What Causes A Bad Factory QMS Implementation? [Reason 1]

When we look at the root causes of many quality issues in China or Vietnam, we find "there is no quality system at the factory" or "they supposedly have one, but it was a really bad QMS implementation". I thought about it and I can point to a few serious misconceptions that have derailed the QMS implementations in many factories. They are very common when a company got ISO 9001 certified, in particular. Let's cover the first reason for a bad QMS implementation in this article: Hire a good … [Read more...]

Process Controls in China Factories: Q&A

I had a good talk with Clive J. Greenwood, founder of P1 Manufacturing Quality Consultants, and he agreed to answer a Q&A on the topic of process controls in China factories. He completed the Motorola Six Sigma Black Belt program and has been applying statistics for controlling operations for a long time. He has been involved in manufacturing in China for over 25 years! Clive noted that most companies rely on certification and end of line inspection, and he has found enormous variation in … [Read more...]

3 Quality Control Plans & Why They’re Needed BEFORE Production [Podcast]

What is a quality control plan and why do you need to approve it before production begins? A QC plan is an essential tool for buyers to drive their suppliers to produce goods that reach their quality standard. It will typically list your quality-related expectations that the supplier needs to know about before the production starts which may be anything from legal penalties for poor quality, to the types of process used for production and checking quality, through to making the types of … [Read more...]

An Introduction to Root Cause Analysis (Not Just for Manufacturing)

One of the most frustrating aspects of working with Chinese suppliers is that, for the most part, they don't want to (or cannot) conduct a root cause analysis. Let's say you found a serious issue in one of your productions and you don't want it to come back in the future. You ask for an investigation into that problem. And they come back with very superficial responses that are clearly still far from exposing root causes. Here are very common excuses: "It is due to an issue on the … [Read more...]