QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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 the receiving inspection (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...]

21 Assumptions About Buying From Chinese Suppliers To Avoid

Many buyers who are seeking to manufacture products in China tend to make assumptions about buying from Chinese suppliers that are seldom valid here, and it can be quite dangerous. When I started spending a lot of time in Chinese factories, what I saw blew my mind. A foreign buyer simply can’t imagine what is sometimes going on behind the scenes. I'll say that China is the land where everything is possible... from the worst to the best. I wrote 21 common assumptions below, in categories, … [Read more...]