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5 Essentials of A QC Checklist
5 Essentials of A QC Checklist
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction........................................................................................................................3
1.1 What is a QC checklist?.............................................................................................3
1.2 Why is a QC checklist so important?........................................................................4
2. Elements of an effective QC checklist .............................................................................6
2.1 Product requirements...............................................................................................7
2.2 Packaging requirements...........................................................................................9
2.3 On-site tests & checks ............................................................................................12
2.4 Defect classification................................................................................................15
2.5 Collaboration when creating a checklist ...............................................................17
3. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................20
A QC checklist is basically a
written guide for your products’
contents, packaging, color, barcodes,
appearance, possible defects,
functions and special requirements.
It’s also sometimes called an
“inspection criteria sheet”. Checklists
for similar products often share
common inspection criteria. But
typically, each checklist is unique to
each importer and their product.
They also realize the need to provide the same requirements along with clear
inspection criteria to any QC staff that will be checking the goods prior to shipping.
(( Outlining quality standards and product requirements the supplier is expected to meet
and
(( Providing objective criteria for inspecting the product to ensure the goods meet the
customer’s expectations
The same kind of problem can result when inspection staff don’t have clear criteria for
checking your product. They may report the number of untrimmed threads found in the
goods they inspect, but they won’t know how many should result in a failing inspection
result.
In both cases, you could’ve prevented these problems by providing your supplier and
inspection staff with a QC checklist clearly outlining your requirements.
5 ELEMENTS OF
AN EFFECTIVE
QC CHECKLIST
ww Product requirements
ww Packaging requirements
ww On-site tests and checks
ww Defect classification
ww Collaboration between the importer, supplier and QC staff
Let’s take a closer look at each element and discover what problems can be avoided by
including them in your checklist.
1. Product requirements
For most importers, product requirements are the most obvious point to include in their
QC checklist. And they typically spend more time specifying their requirements for
the product than any other aspect of working with their supplier. Yet a large portion of
inspections fail because the order doesn’t meet the importer’s product requirements.
One of the most common reasons for suppliers not meeting requirements is that they
don’t fully understand them. An effective QC checklist helps clear up any confusion
surrounding product requirements by addressing the following:
If you’re importing stainless steel conduits, you might have a requirement for the
thickness of zinc coating used. If you’re manufacturing textiles, you may want a certain
ratio of cotton to polyester material. And if you import injection-molded spoons, you
probably want to ensure there are no sharp edges on the product. These are just a few
examples showing the need to clearly state material and construction requirements.
Importers often state requirements for the weight and dimensions of their product
in the checklist as well. Clearly defined dimensions are especially important for
manufacturers of garments, whose customers often have set fitting standards, and
manufacturers of machined components, often requiring precision down to the tenth of
a millimeter or smaller.
2. Packaging requirements
Besides product requirements, experienced importers are often keenly aware of their
need to clarify how their products should be packaged. After all, packaging not only
protects your product during transit, but is also a part of product appearance and
influences consumer perception. So it makes sense that you’d want to take care in
specifying all areas of packaging, especially when manufacturing high-end or fragile
goods.
Packaging weight and dimensions can greatly affect shipping costs. Let’s say you plan
to ship 1,800 cartons of cosmetics from South Korea in a 40-ft shipping container. If
the cartons are just one inch wider than your specification, you may need to rent space
in a second container. What may initially seem like a small discrepancy can have a
ripple effect across the entire length of your supply chain.
Some importers can be very particular about how their supplier labels their cartons.
And you may have distributors that impose certain labeling requirements. For example,
Walmart stores and Amazon fulfillment centers, both have their own standards they
expect their suppliers to meet. Requirements such as label size and contents are
typical. You may also want to specify if hand-written markings are acceptable on
cartons or if you require printed labels.
It’s essential that your QC checklist includes specifications for packaging. By setting
clear packaging requirements with your supplier ahead of production, you can prevent
undue damage to your product, while protecting your brand and consumers.
When it comes to on-site tests and checks, consider how to address the following
questions:
Some importers are quite familiar with the types of tests common for their product or
industry, while others may not be. If you find yourself in the latter group, it pays to do
some research, either by consulting an expert or by searching online for information.
Either way, it’s important to know which tests you consider necessary and which can be
left out during inspection.
Besides ensuring that you’re conducting the right product tests, it’s also beneficial to
avoid any unnecessary tests. On-site testing requires extra time during inspection. And
if you’re paying a third-party to inspect on your behalf, this extra time can cut into time
that might otherwise be spent checking a larger sample size of an order. By extension,
you could also end up paying more for the service than needed.
If you have an idea of the testing needed for your product, it’s also important to outline
the procedure and your tolerances for the testing results because:
1. Your inspector or supplier may not be familiar with the test and
2. The procedure and result tolerances you desire for the test may not be consistent
with any standard commonly used by your inspector or supplier
Without clearly outlining the procedure for any on-site tests to be performed during
inspection and the related pass/fail criteria, you can’t be sure that QC staff will apply
the right standard for your product. The consequence is often inaccurate reporting and
the need to re-inspect the product using the correct criteria.
Neglecting to specify the equipment needed for any required on-site testing is a very
common mistake importers make with checklists. For example, if you import a fitness
product that sends and stores data through an iPhone app, you’ll likely want to test this
function during inspection. But if you don’t specify that an iPhone is needed for this
test, there may not be one available during inspection, and QC staff won’t be able to
perform the test.
Similarly, it’s also important to clearly state which party will be responsible for
providing the necessary equipment for on-site tests. Third-party QC staff often bring a
basic set of inspection tools with them to every factory visit, such as measuring tape,
defect stickers and a camera. But they typically don’t bring their own hi-pot tester,
environmental chamber or other equipment that’s cumbersome or expensive.
Importers largely expect the factory that’s hosting inspection to provide these types of
equipment. But any assumptions you make about who will provide a moisture meter,
hot plate or any other equipment could lead to a situation in which inspectors don’t
have what they need to carry out your desired product testing. That’s why it’s important
that you not only address what equipment you require for testing, but also who’s
expected to make that equipment available on-site.
Just as it helps to clarify on-site testing, it’s also important to list any known quality
issues in the QC checklist and how they should be classified in the inspection
report. Experienced inspection staff are typically aware of common quality defects
for particular products. But there may be other issues you’ve experienced with the
product that they haven’t seen before. And only by explicitly noting the issues you want
reported can you ensure the person checking your product will look for and document
them.
Let’s return to the example of inspecting skillets. If you’re relying on the AQL standard,
your product might fail inspection if there are either 15 minor defects, 11 major
defects or one critical defect. Let’s say your inspector finds 12 instances of pinholes
on different skillets he’s checked. If you haven’t specified in your checklist that these
should be reported as major defects, he might report them as minor. The result could
be that the overall inspection result is “pass” when it actually should be “fail”.
Sure, by carefully looking over the report and counting the instances of pinholes
reported, you might independently decide that your product has failed inspection. But
inspection reports can often be quite long—sometimes dozens of pages or more for
inspections covering multiple items.
Including any known defects and how to classify them makes for a more effective QC
checklist and leads to more transparent and informative reporting.
So why is collaboration key? And how does it tend to result in QC checklists that better
prevent problems?
If you’re manufacturing leather bags and the quality of the material in the finished
goods ends up being substandard, that’s not something that you or the factory can
easily remedy. The product was manufactured with poor quality material. In this way,
poor quality was built into the product.
But you might prevent this by clarifying the quality level of material you require for the
bags before the factory begins mass production. And collaborating with your supplier
when creating the QC checklist is one of the best ways to do so. Working with your
supplier to develop inspection standards and product requirements helps you clarify
expectations. In doing so, you limit the risk that your supplier will later manufacture a
product that doesn’t meet your requirements.
A problem that many importers face is that their product fails inspection because they
didn’t clearly communicate what they wanted to their supplier. Perhaps your shoe
supplier is producing shoes that are the wrong size because you haven’t specified the
proper measuring method. Or maybe they don’t have the necessary equipment for a
particular on-site test, and you don’t find out until inspection time because you haven’t
informed them that you plan to conduct that test. Worse still, you might mistakenly
expect a certain component in your product, but your supplier isn’t aware that you
require it.
In the same way that feedback from your supplier helps ensure the finished goods
meet expectations, feedback from QC staff helps ensure there’s a consensus on how
to inspect them. If you choose to rely on the factory’s own QC staff to inspect your
product, you’ll have less opportunity to collaborate on the proper inspection method
(related: Why Most Importers Don’t Rely on Factory QC Staff for Inspection). But if you’re
sending someone from outside to inspect, it almost always helps to work out the
procedure together with the inspector beforehand.
Effective checklists should begin with collaboration. Talk with your supplier. Explain
your product expectations, your desire for a thorough inspection and what aspects of
the product should be checked. If possible, speak with a QC manager at the factory
that’s manufacturing your product to voice any issues or quality concerns you have.
Discuss the inspection procedure with any outside QC staff that will be checking
your product. Find out what industry-standard, on-site tests and checks, if any, they’d
recommend conducting and on what sample size of goods.
You likely have your own quality expectations based on your product type, budget and
target market. And your checklist should reflect that.
Perhaps above all else, this author hopes to stress the importance of having a thorough
QC checklist that addresses all aspects of your product covered here. Remember that if
you think something isn’t important enough to include in your checklist, it’s likely your
supplier and any QC staff will think it’s not important enough to verify.
With staff based in 15 countries throughout Asia, InTouch helps importers ensure
they’re working with the right suppliers and receiving goods on time which meet or
exceed expectations.