Quality control is vital to manufacturing businesses. It guarantees the safety and quality of your products. This also means you deliver a better experience to your customers.
Wondering “What is quality control?”
You can use your quality control system to gauge how well your business delivers on its promises. That includes your products, your services, and how you work with customers.
Happier customers mean more business and a higher reputation for you. How do you create a quality control program? Read on to learn more.
Set Your Quality Control Standards
Some industries have quality standards set by a third party, such as a government agency. If this is the case for you, you will use the standards set out for you.
Yet not all industries do have their own quality standards. In this case, you’ll need to devise your own. This is the basis of your quality control system.
When you set your standards, make sure you can measure them. If you don’t, you have no way of making sure you’re meeting them.
This could be as simple as promising to answer support emails within a set time limit. Or it might be dispatching products within 24 hours of an order’s creation.
Focus on the standards that affect the customer. That means anything involving safety or satisfaction.
If you’re not sure where to start, check the data you already have. What complaints do customers have? What do they highlight in reviews? Start there.
Establish Processes That Guarantee Quality
You can also think of quality as consistency. Without a process, you can’t guarantee quality. That’s because different people will approach tasks in different ways.
Set up whatever processes you need to ensure consistency (i.e. quality). For example, your supply chain is part of your product quality control system. That’s because you need specific quality components to create your products.
You may also need to bring in third parties at this stage. If you make food or medical products, then microbial ID is essential to check for contamination. You can learn more here about using a Microbial ID in your quality control program.
Check Your Processes to Measure Your Quality Control Program
You’ll check your processes twice, both internally and externally. Have random quality control checks to see how your products or services hold up.
Use data you collect within your business to measure how well you hit your quality standards. Make any changes that are necessary to your processes until you hit your standards.
Next, work with a quality control inspector to get external feedback. They can examine your processes and your data to give extra help in meeting your standards. Make any improvements they suggest and you’ll create an effective quality control system.
Get Started Today
As you can see, setting up a quality control program is straightforward. It may not be pleasant getting negative feedback at first. Yet think of any comments as being keys to your improvement.
When you hit your quality standards, you run the best business you can. This keeps you compliant with industry standards and provides the best experience for your customers.
Keen to boost other areas of your business? Check out our tech articles for more tips and advice.
