Is It Quality Assurance or Quality Control?

Exactly what are the subtleties between quality control and quality assurance?

If a manufacturer were to ask its clients how they evaluated goods or services, the three most common metrics would be goods at a fair price, on-time delivery, and quality. Ask which could be most valuable and in all likelihood the most significant response would be quality. When included in the product, quality isn’t a cost but a powerful tool leading to the economic success of the business.

Therefore while a supply chain partner needs to control all three—fair price, on-time delivery, and quality—as they are highly interdependent, quality can be the pendulum that swings a company from low client retention to high.

My personal thoughts and opinions are that corporations recognizing quality possess a much higher client retention rate, build competitive boundaries, and thus build their top line without compromising the bottom line. I will admit that I have been muddled about the question myself during my career and since I speak to these individuals on a regular basis, I thought it was high time to sift through the definitions.

As defined by ISO 9000:

…

Want to continue?

By logging in you agree to receive communication from Quality Digest. Privacy Policy.

Create a FREE account

Forgot My Password

Comments

Quality Control and mass inspection

I always found it amusing that we have quality control and quality assurance and the definitions of each are so important. QC seems to advocate mass inspection, and I would guess that is one reason by ASQ dropped the "C" from its name. Do we want to be known as an army of inspectors, or do we build it right the first time with a capable process?

One thing not pointed out in this article is that the definition of "control" can also mean different things, and that is another reason for dropping the "C". If something is in a state of statistical control, we mean the process is predictable. We don't mean that anyone is there constantly adjusting and trying to "control" the process so that it behaves a certain way. That's why Don Wheeler eschews the term and prefers "behavior" although his terminology hasn't caught on as well as he hoped.

My hope is that we don't get too wrapped around the axle with terminology and remember what is really needed is predictable (not controlled) processes that have sufficient process capability that they will meet and exceed requirements consistently. And even more importantly, the processes need to have minimum variation (as pointed out by Taguchi and Deming). That's really the only way to provide "quality assurance".

-Mike Harkins