A quality control plan is the document that lists all the quality-related checkpoints to be passed during/after a production run. Show
Depending on the situation, it can include process, product, or legal checkpoints. Getting this document approved is an essential step before production is allowed to start. The two types of quality control plansThere are two types of quality control plans to consider: First, let’s look at the plan that becomes part of your manufacturing agreement or contract with a supplier. 1. The product quality control plan to include in a contract with a Chinese supplierDefining a basic quality control plan with every new supplier is one of those things that take little time, but can save lots of time and money. The good news is, it can be standardized and sent to every supplier with only minor adaptations. Buyers are advised to talk about it with a manager working for the supplier’s company and then to get it signed/chopped. A quality control plan is a standard exhibit in contracts (or manufacturing agreements) drafted by specialized lawyers, together with the purchase order and the product specifications. Example quality control planOf course, it depends on each buyer’s needs. I wrote a short (and fictitious) plan below, as an example (A is the buyer and B is the supplier). Timing of inspections
Communication of status of production
Description of quality control activities
Testing equipment that must be available in the factory For your own quality control activities, and for our inspection activities, the following pieces of equipment must be present in the factory:
[Customize this list as you see fit. This information should be listed in your product specification sheet or QC checklist.] What to do in case of failure?
What inspections and lab tests do NOT represent
Now let’s look at the other type of control plan. 2. The process control plan that decomposes production in each process stepWriting this document forces the manufacturer to do two things:
Here is an example of a process control planIn this example, you can see what to check regularly on a die casting machine. (Note that the mould and the materials also need to be checked regularly — it’s not only about the machine.) It is mostly used by the North American and European auto industry, but it is VERY useful for any production. The more immature and/or complex the process, the more useful. We seldom see it for a very simply production (e.g. kitting together 2 components by hand.) Ideally, this is prepared by the manufacturer. But sometimes the buyer has to send their own engineers or bring in external resources. (We routinely prepare control plans together with the work instructions for production operators, in case the manufacturer is not motivated/capable of preparing those documents.) Note that the control plan often includes a mix of process controls and product controls. Here is an example of product controlWhat types of product controls are often included?
You can learn more about control plans in this blog post: 3 Basic Process Improvement Tools: Flow Chart, FMEA, Control Plan What’s next for importers?For buyers of standard (off-the-shelf) goods to be made in China, I would advise to first spend time on defining your requirements concerning the finished products (by following the guidelines in this article). It includes the types of defects you expect as well as their severity. Hardware startups can get the low-down on what to do before and during the production process in our guide: The New Product Introduction Process Guide for Hardware Startups Editor’s note: This post originally appeared on QualityInspection.org in 2010 as: Quality Control Plan: Defining Expectations Before ProductionAdditional reading about quality controlIf you’d like to learn even more about QC, read these resources: You will also like this episode of our podcast: 3 Types Of Quality Control Plans & Why They’re Needed BEFORE Production |