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What Are Quality Standards? [Podcast]

April 29, 2022

What Are Quality Standards? [Podcast]

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...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: product quality, QC, quality standards

Quality Control Plan: Defining Expectations Before Production

April 25, 2022

Quality Control Plan: Defining Expectations Before Production

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...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: process control plan, QC, QC plan, quality control plan

Renaud Answers YOUR Manufacturing Questions [Podcast]

April 1, 2022

Celebrating 100 Episodes By Answering YOUR Questions [Podcast]

In this episode… To celebrate our 100th episode over on Sofeast's podcast Renaud called on listeners for their manufacturing-related questions and answered as many as possible!  They're questions that are relevant to so many importers, so, hopefully, the answers will help you get better results from your suppliers, too.   Just hit the play button to start listening..! Listen to the episode right here 👇👇👇 🎧 100th episode special: YOUR manufacturing questions … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Good Articles Tagged With: AQL, manufacturing agreement, product inspections, QC, raw material cost rises, supply chain risks

Harsh Realities of Managing a Quality Control Team in China

August 31, 2021

Harsh Realities of Managing a Quality Control Team in China

A few years ago, I suggested 6 tips to avoid bribery in a QC team. And two of them are particularly important when managing a quality control team in China: Rotate inspectors among factories, as professional relationships very quickly become personal, too. And there is a strong, very strong expectation of reciprocity -- "I gave you a nice lunch, you should overlook this tiny imperfection". Have a manager, or a regional supervisor, who does a good job of being a leader -- technically … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: managing qc inspectors, manufacturing in China, QC, qc inspections, qc inspectors, QC problems, quality control

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

January 11, 2021

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...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: 100% check, 100% inspection, product inspections, QC, qc check

Factory Management: the 4 Main Roles in the Quality Department

January 4, 2021

Factory Management the 4 Main Roles in the Quality Department

China, as a whole, has 35+ years of experience manufacturing products for export customers. They have accumulated a lot of experience. However, foreign buyers are rather consistently shocked at the level of mismanagement that plagues their factories' quality operations. And fixing it is not that hard. In this article, I will lay out what I see as the 4 basic roles that manufacturers need to fill in their quality department. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory Tagged With: Chinese factory management, factory management, hiring a quality inspector, hiring in China, hiring quality managers, QC, quality department, quality inspections, quality management, quality staff

3 Quality Control Plans & Why They’re Needed BEFORE Production [Podcast]

November 19, 2020

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...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement, Quality Control Tips Tagged With: Advanced Product Quality Planning, podcast, process control plan, product quality, QC, QC plan, quality control plan, quality improvement, quality planning, supplier management

Understanding Product QC Inspections: What Is In A Man-Day?

June 22, 2020

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, including inaccuracies about a QC inspector's man-day, or stories like: “Chinese production operators are forced to work 12 hours a day, in a case of modern slavery”, or “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 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: hiring a quality inspector, man-day, product inspections, QC, qc inspections, quality inspectors

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

June 2, 2020

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...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: AI, artificial intelligence, data, data science, machine learning, QC, qc inspections

How Quality Planning Drives QC and Process Improvement

November 18, 2019

How Quality Planning Drives QC and Process Improvement

What does quality management consist of? Juran wrote about this first in 1986, and he suggested 3 types of activities that make up the "Juran trilogy": Planning Quality control Improvement … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: process improvement, process improvement tools, QC, quality assurance, quality control, quality planning

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Weekly updates for professional importers on better understanding, controlling, and improving manufacturing & supply chain in China.

This is the official blog of Sofeast.com.

This blog is written by Renaud Anjoran, an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer who has been involved in chinese manufacturing since 2005.

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