Quality control basic concepts

In this article I explain three fundamental concepts that every buyer should be familiar with when it comes to quality inspections: 1. Inspection levels 2. The AQL 3. When to inspect? After 10 minutes, you will be able to (1) understand the reliability of an inspectors findings and (2) take more informed decisions based on an inspection report. If you have not started doing professional quality control, you will need to understand these 3 concepts to make sure the inspection plan meets your needs.

1. Inspection levels
Why use random sampling? Shipments often represent thousands of products. Checking 100% of the quantity would be long and expensive. A solution is to select samples at random and inspect them, instead of checking the whole lot. But how many samples to select? On the one hand, checking only a few pieces might prevent the inspector from noticing quality issues; on the other hand, the objective is to keep the inspection short by reducing the number of samples to check. The relevant standards propose a standard severity, called normal level, which is designed to balance these two imperatives in the most efficient manner. Within this normal severity, there are three general levels: I, II, and III. Level II is used for more than 90% of inspections. For example, for an order of 8,000 products, only 200 samples are checked. Militari Standard 105 was created by the US Department of Defense to control their procurements more efficiently. In 1994 they decided to rely on non-governmental organizations to maintain this type of standard. The ANSI, ISO, and other institutes all created their own standard, but in essence they are similar. The major third-party QC firms use the same standards and the same statistical tables. When to adopt a different level Suppose you source a product from a factory that often ships substandard quality. You know that the risk is higher than average. How to increase the discriminating power of the inspection? You can opt for the level III, and more samples will be checked.

Similarly, if a supplier has consistently delivered acceptable products in the past and keeps its organization unchanged, you can choose level I. As fewer samples have to be checked, the inspection might take less time and be cheaper. The relevant standards give no indication about when to switch inspection levels, so most importers rely on their gut feeling. The special levels Inspectors frequently have to perform some special tests on the products they are checking. In some cases the tests can only be performed on very few samples, for two reasons: 1. They might take a long time (e.g. doing a full function test as per claims on the retail box). 2. They end up in product destruction. (e.g. unstitching a jacket to check the lining fabric). For these situations only, the inspector can choose a special level. So we have three general inspection levels, and four special levels. For a given order quantity, each level gives a different number of samples to check. Lets see how it plays in two examples. Example 1: you order 40,000 products

The number of samples to draw varies from 8 to 800. Depending on the level you choose, the inspection might take only one inspector for one day, or up to 4 or 5 days of work. Example 2: you order 3,000 products

Note: do not mix up inspection levels (I, II, III, S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4) and inspection severity (reduced, normal, tightened). They are different concepts. The above examples are based on a normal severity.

2. The AQL (Acceptance Quality Limit)

In part 1, we explained the different inspection levels that can be used. Another basic concept rings familiar to many importers, but is often not clearly understood: the AQL (Acceptance Quality Limit). There is no such thing as zero defect First, as a buyer, you have to know what proportion of defects is tolerated on your market. If you are in the aviation business, any defective part might cause a disaster, so your tolerance will be very, very low. But you will have to accept a higher percentage of defects if you source consumer products that are assembled by hand in China or in India. An objective limit is necessary So, how many defects are too many? It is up to you, as a buyer, to make this decision. There are two reasons why you should not leave this to the inspectors judgment: 1. When it comes to giving instructions to an inspector, you should never leave gray areasas they might open the door to corruption. 2. Your supplier should have clear criteria for acceptability, or they will see rejections as unfair. The AQL is the proportion of defects allowed by the buyer. It should be communicated to the supplier in advance. The three categories of defects Some defects are much worse than others. Three categories are typically distinguished:

Critical defects might harm a user or cause a whole shipment to be blocked by the customs. Major defects are not accepted by most consumers, who decide not to buy the product. Minor defects also represent a departure from specifications, but some consumers would still buy the product.

For most consumer products, critical defects are not allowed, and the AQL for major defects and minor defects are 2.5% and 4.0% respectively. Some important remarks:

A professional inspector will notice defects and evaluate their category by himself. But it is better if the buyer himself describes the most frequent defects and assigns categories to each one. Defects can be on the product itself, on the labeling or on the packaging. If one sample presents several defects, only the most severe one is counted.

How to read the AQL tables The master tables included in the relevant standards are commonly called AQL tables. Lets take an example. You buy 8,000 widgets from a factory, and you choose inspection level II. In the table below (which is only valid for single sampling plans), you see that the corresponding letter is L. AQL table 1 (sample code letters):

Now lets turn to the next table (which is only appropriate for normal-severity inspections). The letter L gives you the number of samples to draw at random: 200 pcs. And what about the AQL? Lets say you follow the usual practice of tolerating 0% of critical defects, 2.5% of major defects, and 4.0% of minor defects. The maximum acceptable number of defects is 10 major and 14 minor. In other words, the inspection is failed if you find at least 1 critical defect and/or at least 11 major defects and/or at least 15 minor defects. AQL table 2:

Notes:

These 2 tables are only useful for inspections under normal severity. See all the tables for single sampling on AQL tables. You can use our calculator to get a sampling plan for a QC inspection.

Additional notes, for accuracy

The number of defects is not the only cause for acceptance of refusal. The products can be refused because they are not conform to the buyers specifications, even though their workmanship is very good. If you have two different products (made with different processes or in different factories), you should do two separate inspections. If you inspect them together, one product might be accepted even though it presents too many defects. Why? Because the better workmanship of the other product might compensate for its poor quality.

3. When to inspect?
The first two parts focused on the different inspection levels and on the AQL tables. So you know how to set the number of samples to check and how many defects have to be accepted. With these settings and your detailed product specifications, a QC inspector can check your products and reach a conclusion (passed or failed). But importers face one more question: when should the products be inspected? This is an extremely important issue for buyers willing to secure their supply chain. Spending a few hundreds of dollars to check and fix issues early can be an excellent investment; if might save you weeks of delay, shipments by air, and/or lower quality products that you have to accept and deliver to your own customers.

Four types of inspections Lets picture the simplified model where one factory turns raw materials into finished products. (If you also have to manage the quality of sub-suppliers products, the same model can be applied to them)

Pre-production inspection This type of inspection is necessary if you want to check the raw materials or components that will be used in production. Buying cheaper materials can increase a factorys margin considerably, so you should keep an eye on this risk. It can also be used to monitor the processes followed by the operators. During production inspection This inspection allows you to get a good idea of average product quality, and to ask for corrections if problems are found. It can take place as soon as the first finished products get off the line, but these samples might not be representative of the whole order. So usually an inspection during production is done after 10-30% of the products are finished. Final (pre-shipment) inspection Inspecting the goods after they are made and packed is the standard QC solution of most importers. The inspector can really check every detail, including counting the total quantity and confirming the packaging. Final inspections are usually performed in a hurry, just before shipment. To avoid creating delays, inspectors can usually start after all products are finished and 80%+ of the shipment quantity is packed. Loading supervision In some cases, a buyer wants to make sure the factory ships the right products, in the right quantity, and with the right loading plan. Further reading about the different types of inspections: quality inspection services.

4. Putting it all together

Example 1: 5,000 widgets from a new supplier You have no information about the factory, so you should adopt level II. The order quantity is comprised between 3,201 and 10,000pcs. In the first AQL table (higher in this document), you see the code letter is L. And in the second AQL table you see that 200 samples have to be checked by the inspector. If you opt for the standard AQL limits (0 C. / 2.5% M. / 4.0% m.), the inspection is failed if at least one of these conditions comes true:

One or more critical defects are found Eleven or more major defects are found Fifteen or more minor defects are found

And lets say you want the inspector to check all the product functions on a few samples. This test takes some time. You can choose special level S-2. You see this test will be done on 8 samples. Lets say the 200 samples can be checked by one person in one day, so a third-party QC firm would quote you one man-day. When to inspect? If this is a standard product and you have flexibility with timing, a final (pre-shipment) inspection should be enough. Example 2: 30,000 watches from unknown factory(ies) You suspect that your supplier gave orders to several workshops to produce your goods, but he wont tell you. And these items are rather valuable. A level-III inspection is probably the most appropriate. If we read the AQL tables as we did above, we have to inspect 500 samples, and the maximum number of defects is: 0 critical, 21 major, 21 minor. If a visual check on all samples and a function/accuracy check on a few pieces is enough, it probably takes two or three man-days. When to inspect? If the supplier refuses to disclose the factory information, you have to go for a final (pre-shipment) inspection. Example 3: four different styles of garments from a good factory

You know that this factorys workmanship is quite good. But you want an inspector to check all the conformity elements, and in particular the measurements. Level I should be enough. You sell these products in boutiques at a high price, so you can only accept 1.5% major defects (M) and 4.0% minor defects (m). Note: for garments, there are generally no critical defects. The fitting is quite important, especially for the brassiere and the brief, so 3 to 5 samples should be measured in each size. There are 4 different types of products, so there has to be 4 inspections:

The total number of samples to check visually is 317 pieces. And 63 of these samples also have to be measured. So it will probably take 2 inspectors (maybe 3, depending on the products complexity) for one day. When to inspect? The best is clearly during production, after enough finished products have come off the lines. As the 4 products might not all be processed at exactly the same time, it might be preferable to send an inspector at different times. And if an inspection is failed, a re-inspection can probably be performed at the suppliers charge.

Here is a short version:

QA = all the activities that aim at ensuring a certain level of quality. It includes defining what the requirement are + setting up a proper management system + QC. QC = only the activities that consist of checking whether conformity is achieved or not. In the context of an importer who needs to secure his product quality, QC means checking if the specs are respected in production, and it translates into 2 types of activities: on-site inspections (statistical quality control) & laboratory testing (only on a few samples taken out of bulk production).

Here is the more detailed version:

1. Good QA takes time but is worth it

For an importer buying finished products from low-cost Asia, QA includes the following steps:

Making sure the design is manufacturing-friendly and will not cause defects Auditing and approving factories based on a relevant checklist Getting the manufacturers approval of the quality control plan Writing down detailed product specifications, and getting the manufacturers approval Identifying failure points with production engineers, and removing them (back to design) Following pre-production sampling closely, and if possible launching a pilot run Ensuring that lessons from sampling will be taken into account for production Performing QC at one or several points of mass production Following up with corrective/preventive action plans, when applicable Re-engineering production processes (to reduce opportunities for errors) Revising product specifications for the next production batch

2. QC is part of QA It is important to understand that QA includes QC. It is not either QA or QC. Good QA is dependent on QC, since the information from inspection is necessary to implement corrective and preventive measures. The old way: inspect bad quality out; The new way: build quality in. - W. Edward Deming 3. QA is constantly mixed up with QC QA and QC are often used interchangeably. QA sound smarter than QC, so QA is frequently substituted to QC. I have met with QA technicians who actually do statistical quality control every day. On the last trade show I attended, I noticed that I explained over and over again how we perform random quality inspections. There must be a better way to pass this message. One of my friends (and ex-colleague) in France is a graphic designer. He helped me render it visually, and here is the result:

Is there still anything unclear about the general process? We tried to illustrate it from 10,000 feet high, without getting into any confusing detail TRANSCRIPT: FINAL RANDOM INSPECTIONS - How is quality controlled before shipment? Most consumer goods exported from low-cost Asia to Europe and the USA are inspected randomly. For example, for an order of 8,000 pieces, only 200 samples are selected for inspection. How can an inspector draw valid conclusions after checking some pieces at random?

Here is how it works. 1. COMMUNICATION OF REQUIREMENTS The purchaser describes his product: specifications, dimensions, labeling, packaging The more precise the information, the more you take advantage of the inspection. If possible, an approved sample can be sent for the inspectors reference. 2. AN INSPECTOR GOES TO THE FACTORY When? After all production is finished and packed, and about 2 days before the goods leave the factory. (In most cases, one inspector is enough) 3. QUANTITY VERIFICATION The cartons are counted, to check if the whole quantity is presented. Then the inspector randomly selects a few cartons, opens them, and checks their content. 4. RANDOM SELECTION OF SAMPLES Some samples are taken from each of these cartons, totally randomly. The inspector follows industry-standard statistical rules to ensure his findings are valid. 5. COSMETIC AND WORKMANSHIP CHECK These samples are checked thoroughly for visual defects. A defect is an imperfection on the product (or its packaging). The statistical rules provide a maximum number for each type of defect. If there are too many defects, the inspection is failed. 6. CONFORMITY VERIFICATION The inspector also checks if the goods presented by the factory correspond to the purchasers requirements. For example, the products might be too small, in the wrong color, incorrectly labeled, or insufficiently protected. 7. TESTING IN THE FACTORY The inspector performs some tests that are specific to the product, with the factorys equipment. Tests vary according to the nature of the products. A few examples: checking if there is current leakage on an electrical device; checking if a piece of furniture falls over easily; checking if the export carton is strong enough. 8. REPORT PREPARATION

The inspector issues a report that describes the situation and illustrates it with photos. It documents his findings about presented quantity, visual defects, conformity to requirements, and on-site tests. Here is my report. You have the info you need to take a decision(accept or refuse the shipment). Yesterday I wrote about the danger of relying on Chinese manufacturers certificates. So, if you import products that are subject to regulatory standards in your country, what should you do? First, you should look for a supplier that already works with other importers in your country. If possible, call a couple of reference customers (warning: it wont be easy to get their contacts from your potential suppliers). Second, you can contact a quality control firm to check what safety/regulatory standards are applicable to your importing project. Third, you can ask your suppliers if they have certifications from a international lab. Then you can contact that lab, tell them the report number, and ask whether it is legitimate. It does not eliminate risks on your side, but it is better than nothing. Fourth, you should tell your supplier from the beginning that you will run lab tests on their goods. Some of them will increase their prices, others will refuse your order. It is an easy screening method. Fifth, you are strongly advised to take the process in your own hands and to follow these steps:

Send an inspector to pick up some real production samples in a random manner, for on-site testing and/or for sending to a laboratory. It is important to use a testing lab of YOUR choice, that YOU will pay, and that sends all the results directly to YOU. Depending on the risks to avoid, this step can take place once the bulk materials/components are in the factory and/or when some totally finished products are off the lines. If the tests are failed, communicate with the lab to see if the goods are way beyond what can be tolerated, or if only an insignificant part of the test protocol triggered this general failure. If the tests are failed for a valid reason, your supplier should pay for re-picking random samples and for re-testing, and should follow the exact same procedure as the first testing round. This is a procedure that should be defined in advance, in a quality control plan.

Is this expensive? Yes it is, for small orders. Is this too expensive for you to make enough margin? Then do not import directly.

Remember, if you import potentially unsafe products, you (as the importer) carry the same legal risks as if you were the manufacturer Some importers have been buying from China for many years, and yet they have never done quality control in a professional manner. The science behind inspection protocols seems complexnearly intimidating. Buyers dont know where to start, and they dont know how their suppliers will react. On the other hand, quality control is a necessity for most shipments. The constant search for cheaper suppliers, the bad habit of subcontracting to lower-grade factories, and the high risk of communication mistakes, all make a strong case for systematic inspections. So, how to start? What are the first steps? After helping a few importers to start doing quality control, here are the first four steps I recommend.

1. Establish clear expectations

Some buyers choose a sample, negotiate a price, and then wait for delivery. This might work for off-the-shelf (standard) items with low quality/safety constraints, but not for most made-to-order products. And, think about it: on what basis will an inspector approveor rejecta production? You should try to get perfect/golden samples (i.e. representative of what you expect to get out of bulk production), but this is usually not enough. You also have to prepareor confirm, if your supplier accepts to do ita list of specifications. And these specs will become the checkpoints for the inspector. See this useful infographic: How to prepare a quality inspection checklist.

2. Dont focus on final inspections

Final random inspections are a good tool for approving all aspects of production (total quantity, product specs, aesthetics, packaging). But they tend to put a lot pressure on the supplier: what happens if serious non-conformities are found at that time? It is too late. The risks for a factory that gets caught are pretty high: re-work of the goods, reproduction, penalties, air freight, or even order cancellation Instead of sending inspectors at the end (i.e. using them as policemen), try to send them when the goods are in process. Issues can get caught and corrected early: this is not only an extra safety for the buyer, but also a helping hand for the factory. This is how you should frame the discussion when you tell your suppliers about your QC intentions. Early inspections (during production) have several positive side effects. They are a way to ensure that production is taking place in the right factory. Samples can be picked up randomly for lab testing. And it can prevent long shipment delays if the factory corrects course immediately after quality issues are noticed.

Dont get me wrong, Chinese suppliers will not welcome this idea warmly. Many of them see QC inspectors as a nuisance. I have seen long-time suppliers of an importer (more than five years) getting used to inspections But they would never admit that it is a necessity. Which leads me to the third step.

3. Inspections are not an option

You should be careful about the signals you send to your suppliers. Small things can go a long way:

You should write Quality inspection required prior to shipment on your P/Os. If you pay by letter of credit, you can require a passed inspection report from your nominated QC provider. When you develop new products, ask extra samples for the inspectors use. Keep track of the final inspection date and the shipment date, not just the shipment date.

All this is quite standard, and thousands of importers follow these tips. You still have the freedom not to book an inspection for a given shipment, or to do skiplot inspections for the most reliable suppliers. But you are the one to take this decision, not your suppliers. They should see inspectors as an extension of your organization. On the other hand, you should make sure you work with professionals who will be respected by factories.

4. Find the right balance between helping and arm-twisting

A buyer can play it tough, be easy on his suppliers, or find the right balance in between. The tough way: a focus on final inspections performed rigidly. Suppliers have no choice: either they comply with the rules, or they are charged penalties and/or re-inspection fees. Charge-backs are triggered by late changes in planning or nonrespect of quantity requirements, for example. The fees are charged by the inspection firm to the importer, who re-invoices everything to the supplier. It works well for large buyers who are adequately organized and who have the power to charge penalties systematically. But small-and-medium-sized importers can seldom play this game. The easy way: in-line inspections and/or tailored final inspections. As noted above, inspections during production dont create much adversarial tension, and there is less timing pressure.

Once production quality has been secured, final inspections can be a little less formal. Why? Because it is less risky to loosen requirements about the proportion of presented products. You want to perform a product inspection? You would like your procedure to be statistically valid? Enter your information on this page and you'll get the info you need! 1. Find how many samples to draw at random Total quantity of products: What inspection level do you choose?

pieces (not sets or pairs e

What kind of product is it?

2. Find how many defects are acceptable Defects are usually split into three categories: Critical defects are a non-compliance with applicable law and/or might hurt users. Major defects would cause a consumer/user to refuse buying the product.

Minor defects are a non-respect of specifications, but some consumers would not mind. AQL for critical defects AQL for major defects AQL for minor defects What AQL do buyers often choose? For most consumer products: 0 for critical, 2.5 for major, and 4.0 for minor. For more valuable items: 0 for critical, 1.0 or 1.5 for major, and 2.5 or 4.0 for minor.

You want to learn more about AQL and inspection levels?

Sampling plan calculations for quality inspections [infographic]

by Renaud Anjoran on 14 February 2011 Most inspections only involve 1 or 2 references, and can be conducted in one man-day (i.e. one inspector on site for one day). However, in certain situations, deciding on a sample plan is very difficultsee my previous article about shipments including many references. This is one of the most difficult things to explain to my clients. Fortunately, my designer managed to explain it all nicely in this illustration:

Related resources:

To see the whole statistical tables, you can go to AQL tables. To understand how to read these tables, you can read Get familiar with AQL tables. To calculate the sampling plan and the AQL limits, you can use our tool to generate sampling plans.

How to prepare your QC inspection report template

by Renaud Anjoran on 14 August 2011 A few months back, we drew an infographic to show how a random inspection works, but we didnt get into all the specifics. I regularly get questions from readers who ask me how to report the results. There are many ways to prepare a QC inspection report. But here are a few guidelines to prepare a document that suits your needs. A report is usually composed of the following parts:

Conformity to specifications
You probably want the inspector to look at the following aspects of the products:

Components Assembly General outlook, colors Labeling Packaging & packing

It can look like this (this example counts only 1 checkpoint, but you are encouraged to list up to 10 or 15 points in each sub-part, to be inspected during the job):

What to report?

In my mind, the inspector should only show the non-conformities if he was trained properly and if you trust him. But thats up to you. Some inspection firms commonly use freelancers that they dont really know, and they require reporting (and photos) for everything. Up to you!

On-site tests & measurements

This is the place for the checks that take some time, and that are generally performed only on a few samples:

The tests (to be clearly described, including the equipment to use and the required result) The measurements of the cartons and of the products (size and weight)

Here is an example of test:

And for the measurements:

Production status
This is where the presented quantity is noted. Here is a common way of displaying this information:

It is extremely important to know whether the inspector could count the quantity of products (sometimes they are piled up in bulk), and whether all products were available for sampling (sometimes they are under packing or repairing). If the inspection takes place during production, you can add some extra questions to ask the factory: how many lines are working on my products, when will you get to 50% finished, etc.

Visual defects on the product and the packing

The inspector will look for defects, will place them in the right categories (critical/major/minor), will add the numbers up, and will compare them to the AQL limits. This is the most basic part of every QC report, and every inspector knows how to present this. Make sure you get photos, and a clear description of each defect (if its not obvious on the photos, indicate the size of each defect and its position on the product).

Appendix: photos
This is the place where you list the photos that you want to see, whether there are problems or not. A good tip: describe how each photo should be taken (what angle). This way, you can compare the photos across several inspection reports. Some buyers have noticed an evolution in the manufacturing process based on this technique.

Is it helpful? Any comments from QC pros?