I wrote extensively about quality inspections, the way the AQL limits lead to a pass/fail result, how to set up corrective actions in order to prevent the same issues from coming back, how to set up a QC plan to prevent issues and detect them as early as possible, and so on and so forth. One thing I haven't covered is the breadth of options available when nonconforming products or materials (in other words, products that are not up to your standard) are found. … [Read more...]
Supplier Quality Management: KPIs and Improvement Tools
If you purchase goods from outside companies, and if you need to ensure that your products are of high quality, reliability, and safety, you need to focus on supplier quality management. This takes different forms for different companies, of course. Let's take two examples: Companies like Apple spend a lot of resources to qualify the right manufacturers, to ensure new products are developed with a low risk of issues, to monitor productions, etc. In contrast, a buyer of gift & … [Read more...]
Use a Corrective Action Plan after a Failed Inspection
So, the inspector sent you their report, and you see quality issue(s) that you cannot accept in some of your products. It's classified as a failed inspection, and you tell the supplier about the issues. This is where a corrective action plan will be helpful to find and eliminate the cause/s of the issues... … [Read more...]