When one studies the literature around the Cost of Quality, the traditional breakdown of the costs is presented as follows: Source: ASQ TR2:2018. ISO 10014 and ASQ TR 2, two standards that provide guidelines (in other words, advice, rather than a set of requirements like ISO 9001), follow this logic. The problem is, it leaves a lot of extra costs unaccounted for. What makes up the cost of poor quality, in the traditional view? If something cannot be … [Read more...]
A Few Tips To Avoid Quality Fade in China
When Paul Midler wrote ‘Quality Fade’: China’s Great Business Challenge in 2007, I remember it struck a nerve and that article was widely quoted. And, nearly 14 years later, the term 'quality fade' is rather well known among importers. As Midler described it: One of the problems facing China is that manufacturers continue to engage in a practice I call “quality fade.” This is the deliberate and secret habit of widening profit margins through a reduction in the quality of materials. Importers … [Read more...]
How To Add Process Validation To Your QA Plan
If you (or your suppliers) suffer from inconsistent quality, in many cases there is at least one missing ingredient in the quality assurance plan. And, more often than not, process validation was skipped. … [Read more...]
How Bad Product Design Leads to Many Quality Issues
I had an interesting discussion a few days ago. It made me realize most people see products of obviously poor quality and think the issues come from manufacturing, while, in fact, they most often come from bad product design! Let's see why here... … [Read more...]
What Is Good Quality Assurance For Importers Buying In China?
A client was interested in product inspections, and they asked: Do you also offer a post-inspection service, for cases where the results are not ideal? That got me thinking. The answer is simple, yes, we can keep following up, but managing the way rework is done and planning a re-inspection is never a pleasing experience for the buyer. It looks straightforward (see below), but in reality, it is often a tense negotiation between the buyer and the seller: How to avoid … [Read more...]
Inspecting Product Quality: What Are Your Options?
If you purchase products from an overseas supplier that you don't know well, and you can't be there, you might want to contact an inspection agency to handle inspecting product quality on your behalf. But you need to give them direction on WHEN to go to the factory and WHAT to check. I tried to summarize it in this flow chart: Here are some suggestions for your inspection options for the scenarios that apply to many importers' situations when inspecting product quality that you can … [Read more...]
3 Examples of Quality Inspection Checklists
Over the years, we have provided feedback to many clients on their product specification sheets and their inspection checklists. Rather than a step-by-step guideline, the most useful is usually to provide them with a few real examples for different types of products. 3 examples of inspection checklists Last year, when personal protective equipment was severely lacking in many countries, we released some of our templates on our commercial website. I believe they … [Read more...]
How A DFQ Review Designs Quality INTO Your Product At An Early Stage [Podcast]
![How A DFQ Review Designs Quality INTO Your Product At An Early Stage [Podcast]](https://qualityinspection.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/HowADFQReviewDesignsQualityINTOYourProductAtAnEarlyStagePodcast-1140x445.jpeg)
What if you could reduce the chances of quality problems long before your product goes into production? A DFQ review can help you achieve this! What is DFQ? Design For Quality is where we review a number of factors that affect quality at the early stages of the new product introduction process, so that's your concept and prototypes. Not every Chinese manufacturer will do this, and while it may be tempting to power through to production to get to market, it's risky to do so (could your … [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]
![3 Quality Control Plans & Why They’re Needed BEFORE Production [Podcast]](https://qualityinspection.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/3QualityControlPlansWhyTheyreNeededBEFOREProductionPodcast-1140x445.jpg)
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...]