Is the Quality Control Process Being Implemented Correctly?

Quality control practices are currently used in many fields including manufacturing, services, textiles, pharmaceuticals and aviation. Experts emphasize the importance of continuously maintaining quality control processes to detect manufacturing errors immediately, and they point out that when a large number of defective products or poor services occur, a well-designed plan must be implemented to improve the production or service process. Experts state that when the quality control process is applied correctly, it provides companies with advantages such as reduced production costs, increased customer satisfaction, and effective and efficient use of resources. Dr. Muhammet Enis Bulak, Assistant Department Head of Industrial Engineering at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, discussed the place and importance of quality control in industry.

Quality control and quality assurance are different concepts

Dr. Muhammet Enis Bulak, noting that quality control is defined as a series of procedures that ensure a produced product or service provided conforms to defined quality criteria, stated: "It can also be defined as a process that ensures the needs of customers using the product or receiving the service are met. On the other hand, quality assurance and quality control are different concepts that resemble each other. Quality assurance provides confirmation that specific requirements are met by a product or service, while quality control refers to the actual inspection and supervision of these elements."  

Necessary steps must be taken for failed products

Dr. Bulak stated, "To implement an effective quality control program, an organization must first decide which specific standards the product or service must meet," and continued: "Then, the scope of quality control activities must be determined, such as defining the percentage of units to be tested from produced products. Following this phase, actual data about the product, such as the percentage of failed units, must be collected and the results shared with senior management. To avoid encountering failed units in the next stage, corrective and preventive activities must be defined and necessary steps taken. For example, defective units should be repaired, rejected, or the service provided should be repeated free of charge until customer satisfaction is achieved. If a large number of defective products or poor services occur, a well-designed plan must be developed and implemented to improve the production or service process. Finally, if necessary, quality control processes must be continued to ensure improvement efforts produce satisfactory results or to detect new errors immediately. Statistical process control, root cause identification and correction approaches stand out as frequently used methods in applications."

Compliance with quality standards is important

Dr. Muhammet Enis Bulak, stating that compliance with quality standards, as specified in ISO 9001, is an important part of quality control, shared the three points focused on in quality control in production and service industries according to these standards:

• Management and control of work, well-defined and managed processes, performance criteria and record-keeping,
• Competence (skills, experience, qualifications and knowledge),
• More managerial elements such as personnel, confidence, motivation, quality relationships and organizational culture

Bulak shared his assessment regarding these points as follows: "If any of these three points is lacking in any way, whether it is a product or a service, the quality of the output is likely to decline. Quality control plays a critical role in Supply Chain Management, which is another term for delivering the product to the customer in industry. By preventing defective products from reaching the end user, it significantly contributes to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty."  

Quality control practices are seen in many fields

Bulak, noting that quality control is frequently applied in production and service sectors, stated: "Quality control practices exist in many fields, from the pharmaceutical sector to the textile sector or airline companies. Companies that correctly implement quality control processes gain significant competitive advantages over their rivals in terms of reduced production costs, increased customer satisfaction, effective and efficient use of resources, and ultimately becoming a more competitive organization."  

Dr. Muhammet Enis Bulak shared his examples of areas where quality control is used as follows:

 

• Product quality (dimensions, size, color),
• Accuracy of labeling,
• Process control (procurement, production, supply chain),
• Packaging suitability,
• Control of compatibility of parts with each other on the assembly line,
• Service providers receiving appropriate training,
• Providing solutions to customer problems related to services provided by airline companies and similar areas where Quality Control practices exist.