QC Inspection

The Inspectors job is to inspect all the company’s products or services to see if they meet the Specification drawn up by the Design Department. They are only interested that the product has been made to the specification, not why it works.

Inspection can be carried out by a separate department or by the operator themselves. It all depends on the size of the company or the value or complexity of the product. Inspection is a negative cost to the company as opposed to production which generates profit.

Types of Inspection.

All Inspections can be carried out by operators, inspectors, semi or automatic inspection equipment checking:-

Physical — Size, weight etc. See Quality Indicators.
Electrical — Checks electrical circuitry for function and safety
Electronic — Checks electronic circuits for function.
Chemical — Checks the chemical composition such as pH values.

Non-destructive – The product is not damaged when being inspected and can be put back into the production line.

Destructive – The product is damaged during inspection so has to be scrapped. Normally done when setting up machinery or the first of a new batch. Companies also test their products to distruction to find out the design's weak points.

Expert Scrutiny – An Inspector with special training makes a value judgement. This is mainly in the area of the Sense Quality Indicators; Such as taste where the Inspectors blind test samples.

Points of Inspection.

There are four basic areas to Inspect. From the raw materials coming into the factory right through to the customer using the product or service.

Inspecting the final quality from the consumer’s point of view is far more important than the quality of the raw materials. This is quite often overlooked by companies.

1. Incoming Materials.

Raw materials and component parts are rigorously checked. If they are not up to quality they can be returned to the supplier, a lower price negotiated, damaged parts cut out or a sub-standard products made and sold at a lower price. That is one reason for the sale of “Seconds”

2. Production.

Key Stages in Production are established and the relevant Quality Indicators are checked at Critical Control Points.

3. Finishing.

The final product or service is thoroughly checked before it is dispatched to the customer. It should also be checked all the way down the distribution chain until it reaches the actual customer.

One UK TV manufacture lost considerable sales because their products had a high percentage of failures reaching the local TV shop. These shops had the confidence to take a Japanese product into the customers house, un-box it and plug it in without any failures. The UK products had to be run for four weeks in the shop before being sold. The reason turned out to be very simple. They were stacked to high in the delivery lorry and the driver had to drop it on to the floor before picking it up.

4. After Sales.

This is one area that distinguishes between a company that Produces things and a company that Markets and Sells.

After Sales is a key point for any company. Quality Control must be involved extracting data from sales returns, servicing, customer complaints, etc.

When you return a faulty product you very really get asked to fill in a form identifying the exact nature of the fault and other useful user information.

Absolute or Relative Measurements.

Depending on the quantity of measurements being checked, the Inspectors can use either Absolute or Relative measurements.

Absolute – This is the actual measurement of the object, its exact lenght, weight etc. The measurement has to be checked against a written record to see if it is within Tolerance. Suitable for inspecting a few objects. Uses simple equipment.

Relative – This only checks to see if the measurements is within Tolerance. The inspector is not interested in the actual measurement. This requires special equipment and takes time to set-up or make GO/NO GO gauges. It means that lower skilled workers or machines can carry out the inspestion. This reduces the cost and time for inspection.

Inspection Equipment.