A Closer Look At Quality Assurance

By:


Anybody would be upset if after purchasing a product, the product did not work as advertised, or more importantly, if the product was dangerous or had the potential to cause some kind of harm. Fortunately, we have developed a system of safety in manufacturing that greatly limits the chances of human or mechanical error. We call this quality assurance, control, or inspection.

This is a planned and controlled production process that has been created to ensure that a product is suitable for its intended purpose. Though the terms generally refer to the same idea, the processes differ. Quality control is a little more specialized. It usually refers to the act of product testing in order to ensure that the product is free from defects or that it won't cause any kind of harm to the intended consumers. Quality assurance on the other hand attempts to improve production so that defects found by quality control will be minimal to begin with.

Though there have always been means to ensure the quality of products made for the public, it was usually done on a smaller scale by the individual creating the product. However, with the rise of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, a larger division of labor was created. Usually workers performing a similar type of work would be grouped together. This required a more active quality inspection and the foreman would usually act as quality control.

This concept expanded even further during the difficult times of the Great War or World War I. Manufacturing processes became more complex and assembly lines replaced previous workplace models. Because of the speed and sheer numbers involved in mass production, the quality of products suffered. To combat this, quality control inspectors were introduced to ensure that the speed and quantity of mass production didn't reduce the quality of the products being produced. This continued into World War II. The development of Statistical Quality Control extended the inspection phase of production and manufacturing in order to make inspections more efficient, but more importantly developed ways to test a portion of the product to determine whether the whole product was suitable.

Since wartime, the importance and function of quality assurance and quality control has grown, expanded, and developed into a high tech process with many government regulations controlling the quality of products sold to the public. Quality assurance, control, and product testing ensure that we, the consumer, get the best and safest product for our money.

About the Author:
Global Quality Services (http://www.globalqualityservices.org/)new york product testing and inspection. Art Gib is a freelance writer.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Business Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.