46+ SAMPLE Quality Control Plan

What Is a Quality Control Plan?

A quality control plan is a document that contains a set of procedures to deliver and produce goods that meet quality standards. Organizations use it to monitor processes, assuring consumers that necessary improvements and requirements are clear and solid over the lifecycle of the business. A quality control plan describes all the accompanying techniques, resources, and parameters that a company utilizes to satisfy the quality requirements. The document is essential for operations as it guarantees that the employees working on the production of goods have accurate information to execute the processes and methods according to industry standards. It must also have a comprehensive list of procedures to follow at the detection of conformances. The quality control plan must address policy and procedures that provide sufficient evidence of the production quality of products and services. It must also indicate the techniques and operational activities that professional and experienced employees perform to satisfy quality standards. Lastly, it must be able to represent the set of processes and rules that a business follows to cater to the expectations of the consumer market, including regulatory expectations.

According to the report of the CQ Researcher entitled Quality Control in Industry, the observation of quality control techniques range from different industries, including food production, insurance, banking, and even government industries. In 1963, the Government Employees Insurance Company or GEICO have recorded a 53 percent improvement in the quality of outgoing policies after five years of implementing quality control measures.

Components of a Quality Control Plan

The implementation of an effective quality control plan brings compliance, profitability, and the growth of a quality-driven organization. Different organizations implement quality control plans according to the industry they function in, and for life sciences institutions, certain elements must be present in the document. These core components help to identify organizational objectives and guarantee that all the necessary steps of production are compliant while monitoring opportunities for improvement. Below are the elements of a quality control plan for a business.

Quality policy and objectives: There must be a clear definition of the meaning of quality for the company through the quality policy statement. The statement can also be the mission statement, values, or principles. Setting up the quality policy allows the company to set achievable expectations for the organization and its departments, starting from the executive level to upper management, supervisors, managers, and employees. In developing the policy, ensure that it is scalable and flexible in terms of ISO standards when changes and updates are available. Quality management is essential even in start-up companies and small businesses, expanding with industry standards as they grow. Quality objectives are a requirement through ISO standards and encourage organizations to define their strategic goals and purpose of the quality control plan. The listed objectives are the representation of the vision statement that establishes the link between customer requirements and SMART goals. The quality objectives must be well-composed that establish a customer-centric culture in the organization. It must provide a clear vision for every member of the organization to understand the company purpose and value of the quality control plan. It must also establish a clear metric to measure progress, including the achievement timeline and measurable improvement.Quality manual: A quality manual is the first document for the quality control plan. It indicates the motivation for establishing the plan and the role of quality management in the organization. The manual must consist of the scope, framework requirements, exclusions, flowchart representations, and details of the quality policy statement and objectives.Organizational structure and responsibilities: A quality control plan must consist of a clear and current model of the organizational structure, including the role of each individual in the organization. It must describe both structure and people functioning in the product development cycle. It must include personnel, equipment, assessment tools, process controls, information systems, purchase and inventory lists, documentation and records, and facilities. The organizational structure details an entire product lifecycle by using detailed flowcharts to depict the workflow and define the responsibilities and roles according to the standard operating procedures. Data management: The quality and availability of data are essential for a comprehensive quality control plan. An organization must provide data evidence demonstrating effective quality control measures. The data management system must define various data types, sources, collection methods, data analysis, storage, and disposal from the organization and third-party providers. The data types vary from one organization to another but contain necessary items, including customer satisfaction, product and process monitoring, market trends, supplier performance, and corrective and preventive action plans.Processes: Quality standards require organizations to specify and explain all organizational processes that use resources to produce necessary products. In defining processes, there must be a high-level visualization of how they serve the organization and correlate with all business resources. The section must identify organizational processes, explain process standards, indicate success measurement methods, standardize the approach to verify quality, and drive continuous improvement.Customer satisfaction with quality products: A core component of quality control plans emphasizes the importance of monitoring customer satisfaction. There are no specific methods to measure customer satisfaction, and they vary from one organization and industry to another. To establish a customer satisfaction system to monitor customer attitudes and complaints, utilize different approaches to gather information, including satisfaction surveys, complaint procedures, analytical applications measuring satisfaction, and management reviews.Continuous improvement: A quality control plan insists on continuous improvement as an organizational responsibility. Organizational process designs to meet quality standards must have clear documentation showing continuous improvement. The documents include quality control procedures, compliance requirements, corrective action plans, safety plan design, innovations, risk-based thinking, gradual improvement plans, and audit assessments. Quality instruments: The control and calibration of instruments that measure quality are essential to company success. If quality validation comes from equipment, these instruments must be under strict control and supervision under industry standards. There must be a clear policy that dictates the processes of maintenance of equipment according to local and international standards. Documentation must include instrument calibration intervals and standards, manufacturer instructions for adjustments, identification and documentation of adjustment procedures, tampering prevention, and damage protection. There must also be documentation of calibration results and the methods of maintaining these files.Document control and management: The quality control plan must include records of communications, evidence, standard conformity, and knowledge sharing. Documents that reflect accuracy in quality control must be available in the plan, including quality objectives, quality manual, procedures, documentation, and record-keeping. Effective storage of records is crucial to a successful quality control plan, obtaining necessary certification, and regulatory compliance.

How To Develop an Effective Quality Control Plan

A comprehensive outline of a quality control plan streamlines the assurance procedures by providing a clear definition of protocols, employee responsibilities, and possible responses. A business needs to provide a quality control plan to guarantee the company follows standard operating procedures to satisfy customer demands. Below are six steps in creating the document.

  • 1. Create an Organizational Chart

    In every quality control plan, management must start with an outline of an organizational chart that includes job descriptions, business qualifications, and required training that individuals need to perform the quality assurance and control procedures. There must be documentation of these requirements that records workers performing the necessary inspections have sufficient knowledge, training, and qualifications. All these documents must be in company files in case upper management needs them to correct errors or make considerable changes.

  • 2. Define Appropriate Responsibilities

    Management must clearly outline all the duties and responsibilities of internal personnel and external partners in quality control measures. The parties must recognize and understand the processes and obligations of fulfilling quality checks for outputs. For many small businesses, employees are responsible for performing quality checks for their work. However, there are designated staff members that conduct quality control procedures separately. As such, there is documentation that details the adequate period of inspection to avoid any errors. In larger businesses, peer reviews are prevalent. These quality inspections and procedures must have clear definitions to prevent confusion and guarantee uniform results.

  • 3. Make Material Purchases and Receipts

    Before making any prior purchase of materials, management must understand the essential material specifications to adhere to quality standards. It is crucial to identify fundamental characteristics for items and equipment as locating cheap alternatives and vendors can produce products that are below industry quality standards. Upon the delivery of goods, the first step is to inspect the shipment to ensure the delivery of all items. If the materials are incomplete or are not up to par with quality standards, the company must return the items to the supplier.

  • 4. Verify the Qualifications of the Supplier

    Inspecting materials is relatively easy. However, when it comes to the inspection of more complex equipment or items, it can become difficult. Companies must be specific when stating their requirements and quality standards to suppliers before writing bid proposals and quotes. Most businesses search for third-party vendors to supply the company with materials following internal processes and regulations. As a result, organizations must evaluate a vendor’s credential, brand, and other qualifications for a supplier agreement.

  • 5. Evaluate Quality Feedback

    Receiving constructive feedback is an excellent tool for improving product quality and performance. As the primary goal of quality control is to ensure that the company produces quality products, investigating online product reviews, customer complaints, and suggestions help with identifying the strengths and weakness of products. For this, companies must introduce customer service teams to read reviews and recommendations to determine any malfunctions or damages due to non-compliance in procedures.

  • 6. Develop Corrective Action Plans

    As the last step, companies must compose corrective actions to resolve quality issues, including violations and non-compliance of procedures. At the filing of non-compliance, an employee responsible must verify its origin, whether it is a result of a malfunction or employee negligence. After pinpointing the issue, the company must implement corrective actions and solutions to mitigate similar scenarios from happening in the future.

FAQs

What are the different types of quality control?

There are several types and methods of performing quality control. There are four procedures prevalent in different organizations, including the x-bar chart, six sigma, 100 percent inspection mode, and the Taguchi method.

What are the four steps in the control process?

The four steps of the control process ensure the modification and appropriation of set goals as necessary. The steps start with establishing performance standards, followed by measuring actual performance, comparing standards and performance, and taking corrective actions.

What are the three types of quality?

There are three types of quality when it comes to customer satisfaction. These are basic quality, performance quality, and excitement quality.

For manufacturing and production industries, ensuring the quality of products for distribution is an essential component to achieving a large consumer market. That is why companies must construct a quality control plan to guarantee that goods are high-quality and pass through rigorous inspections and quality testing. Whether it is a start-up company or a large business, setting up quality control plans follows quality products. Create quality control plans today by downloading the samples available in the article above.