QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

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...]

How to set up a Receiving Inspection: Checklist, Procedure, Reporting form

I have written extensively about pre-shipment inspections (before, during, or after production), always from the perspective of the buyer checking what a supplier is doing; but I noticed that I haven't covered receiving inspections (also called incoming quality inspections). However, that's a really important topic, so let's get into how to set one up here... … [Read more...]

When To Do a Random AQL Inspection vs. Check 100% of the Goods

First, let me get one thing out of the way: not all batches need to be checked. If a manufacturer has great systems and processes, and if they have a history of complying with your quality standard, there is usually no reason to send quality inspectors to their facility. Similarly, if you can easily return the whole batch and it can be reworked quickly, you probably don't want to spend resources on checking whether they did as promised. Now, let's assume you do want confirmation of … [Read more...]

3 Common Ways Factories Try to Cheat Inspectors/Auditors

Every day in China, in Vietnam, in Bangladesh, and in India, thousands of inspectors and auditors take a bus or a car to a factory. And, in some of those factories, managers are plotting how to cheat those unwelcome visitors. Let's look at 3 very common ways this is done, so you are warned and ready to avoid unscrupulous suppliers like this... … [Read more...]

Why the AQL tables are not in favor of the buyer

This is the third and last video about the ANSI tables (also known as “AQL tables”). As I explained in the last video, these sampling schemes were designed for very stable relationships, where the manufacturer keeps making the same products and keeps shipping them regularly (e.g. twice a month) to the same customer. As a consequence, the assumption is that quality is under control. And an inspection is used to catch the big accidents. What it means is that the statistics are way, way … [Read more...]

How much does a Chinese inspector cost?

Some importers wonder how much a Chinese inspector costs to hire full time. The short answer is: More than you might think. It's more than just their salary, so in this post, I'll explore the 5 types of people you might hire as an inspector, their pros and cons, approximate salaries, and then break down how to calculate their full cost to your business as a new hire. … [Read more...]

How does a random quality inspection work? [infographic]

On the last trade show I attended, I noticed that I explained over and over again how we perform random quality inspections. There must be a better way to pass this message. A graphic designer helped me render it visually, and here is the result: To go further: lots of great information about inspections on this page about QC basics. Understanding what  “AQL” (Acceptance Quality Limit) means in simple terms here. -------- TRANSCRIPT: FINAL RANDOM INSPECTIONS - How … [Read more...]