QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

Using the Limiting Quality Level (ISO 2859-2:2020) Instead of AQL

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A reader asked me how he should do an inspection of a lot produced in isolation. In theory, he should work with the Limiting Quality Level (LQ), not the AQL, which is designed for inspections of a continuous stream of production. I shot a video to contrast the 2 approaches, explain when each makes sense, and show how each works. … [Read more...]

What To Do If Your Products Fail An Inspection? [Step-By-Step Process]

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Sofeast's CEO Renaud Anjoran and Adrian from the team are back and talking about something else you don't want to experience but may if you're unfortunate. A failed product inspection! Renaud will explain to you why the type of inspection matters, a step-by-step process to follow to fix problems highlighted by a product inspection report now, and how to put corrective and preventive actions in place to stop the problem from reoccurring in future production runs.     Listen … [Read more...]

Best-In-Class Investigations on Product Failures: Learn from Air Crashes

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I found the Air Crash Investigations program on National Geographic and I admit I spent hours watching it over the past weekend. It is riveting! Here is the way they present it: Featuring captivating reenactments and state-of-the-art CGI, Air Crash Investigation uncovers the truth behind legendary aviation disasters. Those investigations are essentially failure analyses after a pretty disastrous and sometimes spectacular accident. They sometimes take years but they often result in … [Read more...]

Failure Analysis: An Activity You Hope You Won’t Do!

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A product failure analysis is an activity manufacturers hope they'll NEVER need to do. If something has gone wrong enough to warrant doing one, you're probably experiencing product quality or safety issues that are so severe that customers are returning them in numbers, or even, at the extreme end of the scale, getting hurt! If you are hit with quality, reliability, or safety problems with your product during development or, more likely, in the field, it may be necessary to help you … [Read more...]

How to optimize inspections & drive suppliers to improve quality to reduce costs & risks?

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If you're placing large enough orders with your overseas manufacturers there are ways in which you can optimize the product QC inspections you're conducting in order to get better quality results for the same costs or to reduce overall inspection costs without increasing risks. While we're talking about improving quality, a great way to reduce your need for inspections is to analyze and improve product designs, testing, and production processes in order to lock in good quality before products … [Read more...]

Mechanical Parts Inspections: Checkpoints & Defects

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When inspecting general consumer goods (except food), most companies classify defects and checkpoints in these 4 categories: Aesthetics & smell Conformance to specs (including measurements) Function, usability, reliability Safety & regulatory But how about precision mechanical parts inspections, made from metal, plastic, resin, or other polymers? … [Read more...]

Fixing Product Quality Issues: MFG vs. Product Design Causes

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About two or three times a month, a client tells us about serious issues they have experienced with a certain product, and they ask if we can help fix those product quality issues. In some cases, it is relatively quick and easy. In others, it may involve deep changes, including a re-design of the product itself! … [Read more...]

How to Improve Product Quality from your Supplier? (6 tips) [Podcast]

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In this episode… Renaud explores how to improve the product quality you're getting from suppliers who you sourced and are now actively working with.  This is a continuation of our series of podcast episodes on how to do your own sourcing from China, covering every topic from initially finding them through to going into mass production.  Almost no production will be completely free of defects, but if you follow the advice here you should be able to reduce quality problems to a … [Read more...]

What Are Quality Standards? [Podcast]

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In this episode… Renaud explores what quality standards are here. There is a combination of physical samples and written resources that outline and clarify your product quality expectations to your manufacturer and quality inspectors. There are different levels, from most basic to advanced...you'll see how, together, they keep everyone aligned and reduce quality risks from early in your cooperation with a supplier.    Just hit the play button to start listening..! Listen to the … [Read more...]

Quality Control Plan: Defining Expectations Before Production

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Depending on the context, "quality control plan" means different things. Let's look at the three types of quality control plans: The product quality control plan to include in a contract with a Chinese supplier The QC plan for a new product being brought to market The process control plan that decomposes production in each process step (often called control plan) They come up at different stages in the life cycle of a product: First let's look at the plan that becomes … [Read more...]