Quality assurance is key in any product development and in all the processes involved to ensure that the final product meets all the requirements and achieves the highest level of assurance and safety.
In this article, we explain what quality assurance is, its advantages and everything to do with ISO standards to ensure maximum quality control in product development.
What is quality assurance?
Quality assurance is all those activities and processes that are carried out to ensure that the products and services of a project possess the required level of quality.
Quality assurance is process-oriented and focuses on product development.
In short, it is the process of auditing quality requirements and the results of quality control measurements and defect detection to ensure that appropriate quality standards and operational definitions are used. The main advantage of this process is that it facilitates the improvement of quality processes.
One of the key principles of quality assurance is that it is performed during the project to help ensure that the product meets quality standards. For example, creating a project quality management plan, following a quality assurance process and conducting audits.
In this sense, quality control data is an input to the quality assurance process of a product.
Quality assurance in project development
Projects must undergo constant audits to ensure that processes develop quality products, which consist of the following:
- Analysing quality control data to determine if quality problems exist, as in the case of quality control and defect detection in polyamide components that we carry out at INFINITIA Industrial Consulting.
- Identify process improvements that increase quality.
- Perform a root cause analysis to determine the necessary improvements.
- Determine preventive actions to avoid future quality problems.
- Ensure compliance with ISO standards.
The project management team must always be attentive to the good progress of the processes, as the real goal is continuous improvement. It is important to ensure that improvements are constantly on the minds not only of the project management team but also of all the actors involved in the design and development of the project.
ISO quality standards
A standard is a formula that describes the best way to do something.
Quality standards are defined as documents that provide requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for purpose and comply with appropriate safety measures.
Whether it is the manufacture of a product, the management of a process, the provision of a service or the supply of materials, standards cover a wide range of activities.
ISO quality standards are therefore an international system that provide organisations with the vision, understanding, procedures and vocabulary needed to meet stakeholder expectations. Because the standards present precise descriptions and terminology, they provide an objective and authoritative basis for organisations and consumers around the world to communicate and conduct their business.
In this sense, the standards that belong to ISO 9000 are those that are used for quality assurance. The ISO 9000 family addresses various aspects of quality management and contains some of the most well-known ISO standards, such as:
- Quality management standards to help work more efficiently and reduce product failures.
- Environmental management standards to reduce environmental impact, waste and increase sustainability.
- Health and safety standards.
- Energy management standards.
- Food safety standards to prevent food contamination and ensure quality control of processed food.
Advantages of quality assurance
Quality assurance allows for a more agile and efficient production of goods or services, which means:
- Improved process controls.
- Easier regulatory audits.
- An internal system of controls to ensure product quality.
- A culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.
- Better management of resources and assets.
In short, quality assurance saves time and money. In addition, at all levels, it brings a renewed focus on efficiency and productivity, allows the company’s old methods to be revised to create new production and innovation models, which in turn, improves procedures and product reliability.
At INFINITIA Industrial Consulting we want to help you ensure that your products meet the highest quality standards. Contact our Forensic Engineering and Quality Control team and tell us about your case.