QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

Does Checking 100% of a Production Batch Make Sense? Yes, It Often Does.

Nearly 2 years ago I wrote When To Do a Random AQL Inspection vs. Check 100% of the Goods. It is a good overview of these 2 options: Send inspector(s) to your supplier's factory for checking random samples Have the manufacturer of the goods deliver them to a facility (often called an "inspection center" or a "QC platform") where all the pieces will be checked This is a topic we explain regularly to our clients who use our contract packaging and contract assembly services. And my … [Read more...]

Using Data for Quality Management: Do You Have Puzzle? Or a Mystery?

As I wrote a few weeks ago, quality control analytics can save serious costs. I listed 5 examples of such cost savings in that article. Now, the question is, what can manufacturing and purchasing managers do to utilize data for quality management? How to start? Should you look at the data they have already collected, and look for hidden insights? In that case, they have a 'mystery' on hand. Or should you gather more data, and the right conclusions will become obvious once you have the … [Read more...]

Documenting Your Company’s Quality Standard into the Details

We have worked with many companies that buy products from China & Vietnam, and their most common shortcoming is probably the lack of a clear quality standard. They don't document what they are willing to accept. They start working with a new manufacturer and both parties often get confused about what is acceptable. Now, people often ask us what a quality standard that goes into the details looks like. We can't share any examples from our clients, for confidentiality reasons. … [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...]

The Basics of Quality Management for Buyers [Podcast]

What's the best way to get started with quality management? It makes a lot of sense to work to improve your product quality coming from Chinese suppliers and you don't need to be a large corporation to do this, but this kind of quality management is best when it follows a process. So in this episode of the podcast, we discuss what the quality management process is, and its 3 main parts: quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. By understanding how to put measures in … [Read more...]

Should You Avoid the Words “Defects” and “Defectives”?

Someone on Linkedin wrote about the distinction between these 2 terms: Defect Defective I actually see a lot of confusion around them.   What does the standard say? ISO 2859-1 includes these definitions: Defect: non-fulfilment of an intended usage requirement Nonconformity: non-fulfilment of a specified requirement (Note: In some situations specified requirements coincide with customer usage requirements) Nonconforming item: item with one or more … [Read more...]

Service Providers: Escape the Commoditization Trap

We compete with a number of other service providers, and over the years I have seen stark changes happen in some verticals. An interesting case study is the TIC (Testing, Inspection, Certification) industry. In 2005, importers were paying 500+ USD per man-day for QC inspections on consumer goods. Over the years, salaries and other costs went up, but the market price tended to go down. (I wrote before why some buyers always want a lower price.) What are the reasons? It is a combination of … [Read more...]

Understanding Product QC Inspections: What Is in a Man-Day?

A conversation earlier today made me realize that some buyers who haven’t spent much time in Chinese factories have some common misconceptions. For example, “Chinese production operators are forced to work 12 hours a day, in a case of modern slavery”, “all metal factories do all the steps from casting/forging to surface treatments and all the way to assembly and packing”, and so on. Another misconception is that a good inspector will spend 8-10 hours working at the factory. This is what I … [Read more...]

From Data Science To Machine Learning in Manufacturing, for Smarter Quality Control

I have long been put off by all the hype around artificial intelligence (AI). AI has become the modern 'magic wand': nobody knows how it works, but the results are assuredly amazing.  AI has limitations for manufacturers, but both data science and machine learning in manufacturing can help businesses make better decisions and improve quality control results, and it's these that we'll explore in this article... … [Read more...]

Reliability Testing Plan For A Home Appliance (an Electronic Hairbrush) in China [Example]

So, you have found the product you wanted to re-sell on Alibaba or Global Sources. You feel the supplier will be fine. You had them audited and they seem reliable. They have the required certifications for selling on your market. Like tens of thousands of other buyers of home appliances are, you will go ahead if you feel there is sufficient market demand for this product. However, there is one important thing you forgot. How do these products behave in their users' hands? Maybe you … [Read more...]