With competition between companies becoming globalized and the era of selling solely on price becoming a thing of the past, factories are increasingly emphasizing quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) in order to produce high-quality products.

QA and QC are similar terms, but what are the differences between the two tasks?

This article will explain the differences between QA and QC, focusing on the tasks performed by QA professionals.

1. What is Quality Assurance (QA), which is essential for factories?

Quality Assurance is abbreviated as QA, taking the initials of the English term.

QA refers to a series of tasks that guarantee performance and functionality of products manufactured in a factory. Its role is to check and guarantee that the products meet the expected quality standards so that customers can use them with peace of mind.

In terms of quality standards, representative standards within Japan include the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) and the Electrical Appliances and Materials safety Act (PSE), while the ISO 9000 series is commonly used as an international standard.

The ISO 9000 series includes five different standards, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 19011, and deciding which quality standard to adopt is one of the important tasks of a quality assurance (QA) professional.

2. The difference between Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC)

Quality Control (QC) is an activity that is often confused with Quality Assurance (QA).

QC refers to management methods for maintaining a consistent level of quality, and it involves scientifically Inspection and testing products in accordance with the quality standards established by QA.

Although QA and QC may seem similar at first glance, they differ in the following three ways.

Time axis

While QA guarantees quality from product planning to after-sales service, QC aims to improve quality before the product is completed.

In short, QA focuses on long-term quality improvement, while QC focuses on short-term quality improvement. For this reason, many companies have recently incorporated QC into their QA framework.

Responsibility

QA (Quality Assurance) guarantees the quality of a product even after it's released to the market, thus taking responsibility for the customers who use the product. On the other hand, QC (Quality Control) Inspection products before they are completed and checks whether they meet quality standards, so it is responsible for the quality standards at the time the product is released to the market.

Scope of work

As mentioned regarding the time axis, QA aims to maintain quality over a significantly longer period than QC.

Therefore, QA roles have a broader scope of work, involving a wide range of tasks from product planning and raw material selection to production, shipping, sales, and even after-sales service.

3. The work performed by factory quality assurance (QA).

Originally, quality control (QC) was responsible for improving product quality. However, with QC only checking quality until the product is completed, if problems occur after shipment, significant costs and time are incurred for tasks such as returns, compensation, and complaint handling.

Therefore, QA has become mainstream in order to reduce post-sales risks by implementing thorough quality control from the planning stage to after-sales support.

Against this backdrop, QA emphasizes "user perspective" and "cost performance," aspects that were not present in QC, in its various tasks.

Here, we will introduce the QA tasks involved in each stage of the production process.

Plan

Once production of a product is decided, the first step is to analyze customer needs and plan a product that meets the required quality. Past purchase data and past customer complaints are used to understand customer needs.

Design

We design the product to minimize the occurrence of defects and then consider the design accordingly. At this time, we set quality standards based on standards such as JIS and ISO, and simultaneously decide at which stage of the process these quality standards will be applied.

Material procurement

Next, based on the completed design drawings, the necessary materials are selected and procured. For example, in the case of industrial products, safety of the raw materials is checked, while in the case of food products, the origin and pesticide use are among the things to be checked.

Production

Once the production process begins, quality control tasks include creating QC process charts and conducting quality Inspection. If the quality Inspection reveals deviations from specifications, the cause is investigated and countermeasures are planned. Furthermore, process audits and internal audits are also carried out.

Shipping

Once the product is completed, a final check is performed to ensure it meets the quality standards initially established. If it meets the standards, it is shipped; if not, the cause of the defect is investigated, and work is done to improve the process.

Market research

After the product is actually sold, the after-sales service department will gather feedback from buyers, collecting and analyzing customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction to help improve future products.

Recall

If a product is found to have a defect that significantly impacts its use, we will immediately initiate a recall. Determining whether a recall is necessary is also part of the QA (Quality Assessment) job.

Customer support

QA is responsible for tasks such as creating instruction manuals for products and setting up customer centers. While large companies often outsource these tasks to specialized call centers, it's not uncommon for QA personnel in small and medium-sized enterprises to handle customer inquiries themselves.

We analyze customer inquiries and complaints to gather information useful for quality improvement and utilize it in future production activities.

4. Summary

QA and QC are important activities responsible for quality enhancement. At first glance, they may seem similar, but there are differences in the production processes they are involved in and the scope of their work.

QA is involved in everything from product planning to post-sales customer support, striving to improve quality from a long-term perspective so that customers can use the product with peace of mind.

On the other hand, QC refers to the work of Inspection and checking products before they are completed, and contributes to maintaining quality by scientifically confirming whether they meet quality standards.

Most of the work of a QC (Quality Control) specialist is included within the scope of QA (Quality Assurance), and QA requires a higher level of knowledge than QC.