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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

The Basics of Quality Management for Buyers [Podcast]

October 21, 2020

The Basics of Quality Management for Buyers Podcast

What's the best way to get started with quality management? It makes a lot of sense to work to improve your product quality coming from Chinese suppliers and you don't need to be a large corporation to do this, but this kind of quality management is best when it follows a process. So in this episode of the podcast, we discuss what the quality management process is, and its 3 main parts: quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. By understanding how to put measures in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: juran trilogy, podcast, quality control, quality improvement, quality inspections, quality management, quality management best practices, quality management system, quality planning

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

October 22, 2019

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...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: product inspections, qa, QC, quality inspections, receiving inspection

Why a First Article Inspection Can Save an Entire Production from Quality Issues

October 3, 2019

Why a First Article Inspection Can Save an Entire Production from Quality Issues

Planning the start of production so that a first article inspection can be performed before the rest of mass production takes place... That's not something the average Chinese factory does, unfortunately. However, under the right circumstances, a first article inspection (FAI) can save an entire production from disaster. Here's how... … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: first article inspection, first article validation, pilot runs, product inspection, production run, quality inspection, quality inspections

Dimensional Control: Should Inspectors Write their Findings?

September 9, 2019

Dimensional Control: Should Inspectors Write their Findings?

A few years back, I wrote an article related to dimensional control about the limitations of asking inspectors to write the exact values they find when checking measurements of items like garments and precision mechanical pieces. First, the numbers you can read in a report are not necessarily the reality, and I cited many ways this happens: Use of measurement instruments that are not calibrated (poor accuracy) or that lack precision Inadvertent human errors (misreading the instrument, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: checking dimensions, checking fixture, checking measurements, dimensional control, garments, inspectors, mechanical pieces, quality inspections

What Is the Confidence Level when Working with AQL Tables?

August 1, 2019

What Is the Confidence Level when Working with AQL Tables?

A reader wrote to me and asked the following question about sampling plans by attributes: What is the "Confidence Level" when using the AQL Tables? How can we determine what the confidence levels are, and are there formulas we can use? That's a valid question. When playing with statistics, one often mentions a confidence interval. For example, "90% of the time, the value will be between 34.5 and 66.0". In theory, I guess one could do the same with the values in the AQL tables. There is a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: AQL, Aql Tables, confidence level, confidence levels, quality inspections, quality inspectors, random aql inspection, random sampling aql inspection

A Simple AQL Calculator To Prepare Your Product Inspections

May 13, 2019

A Simple AQL Calculator To Prepare Your Product Inspections

One of our developers prepared this simple AQL calculator for Sofeast. You can use it instead of reading the AQL tables to quickly produce your sample size and permissible defect number. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: AQL, aql calculator, aql limit, Aql Tables, product inspections, QAQC, quality inspections, random aql inspection

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

April 5, 2019

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...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: 100% inspection, AQL, product inspections, qa, QC, quality inspections, random aql inspection, random sampling aql inspection

QC Basics: What is a Quality Inspection? Context, Tools & Template

March 25, 2019

What is a Quality Inspection?

This article answers the question: 'What is a quality inspection?' and explores when they typically take place (before, during, and after production). We will cover the types of inspections most widely used by buyers in international trade. They should be performed by 3rd party QC providers (appointed by the buyer), or by the buyer's own inspectors, if you buy from China, Vietnam, India, or another low-cost country. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: during production inspection, final random inspection, inspection, pre-production inspection, QC, quality inspections

3 Common Ways Factories Try to Cheat Inspectors/Auditors

March 19, 2019

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...]

Filed Under: Ethical Sourcing Tagged With: chinese factories, chinese suppliers, ethical sourcing, factory audits, product inspections, qa, QC, quality inspections, quality system audits, social compliance

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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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Latest Articles

  • Why Do Importers Need Product Reliability Testing? [Podcast]
  • New Physical Products: Patents Should Come After Market Success
  • Does Checking 100% of a Production Batch Make Sense? Yes, It Often Does.
  • How To Validate Your Supplier’s Factory’s Production Capacity (From Abroad) [Podcast]
  • Factory Management: the 4 Main Roles in the Quality Department

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