This document defines and compares quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC). According to the American Society for Quality, QA involves planning and activities to provide confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled, while QC focuses on fulfilling those requirements. Some key differences are that QA is preventative and process-oriented, defining standards to be followed, while QC is detection-based and product-oriented, ensuring standards are followed and identifying errors. QA is conducted by managers and auditors before production or delivery, while QC tasks are executed during production by those directly involved, like engineers and inspectors.
2. Definition
According to American Society for Quality (ASQ)
Quality Assurance consist of that “part of quality
management focused on providing confidence taht
quality requirements will be fulfilled”. The confidence
provided by quality assurance is two fold- internally to
management and externally to customer, goverment
agencies, regulators, certifier, and third parties
Quality control is that “part of quality management
focused on fulfilling quality requirements”
3. Quality Assurance Quality Control
assurance : the act of giving confidence,
the sate of being certain or the act of
making certain
Control : an evaluation to indicate
needed corrective, responses: the act of
guiding a process in which variability is
attributable to a constant system of
chance causes
QA : the planned and systematic
activities implemented in a quality
system so that quality requirements for
a product or service will be fulfilled
QC : the observation techniques and
activities used to fulfill requirements
for quality
QA is a failure prevention system taht
predicts almost everything about
product safety, quality standars and
legality taht could possibly go wrong,
and then takes steps to control and
prevent flawed products or services
from reaching the advanced stages of
the supply chain
QC is a failure detection system that
uses a testing techniques to identify
erorrs or flaws in products at specified
intervals, to ensure that the products or
services meet the requirements as
defined during the earlier process for
QA
4. QA department develops all the
planning processes and procedures
in order to try tomake sure that the
products manufactured or the
service delivery by the organization
will be off good quality
As some process parameter cannot
be controlled, QC department
checks the products or services for
defect that happen due to these
parameters, trying to achieve the
overall QC objective of providing a
defect free product or service to the
customers
QA defines the standards/methodology
to be followed in order to meet the
customer requirements
QC ensures that the defined standards
are followed at every steps
In general, the QA activities are done
before the product is manufactured or
the service delivered (proactive
approach)
The QC activities are done during the
manufacturig process and once the is
manufacture
5. QA task are conducted by manager
third party, auditors, and customer
QC tasks are executed by experts
who are directly involved with the
design, or manufacture of a product
on the shop floor such as engineers,
inspectors, etc
QA makes sure you are doing the right
things, the right way
QC makes sure the results of what
you’ve done are what you expected
QA is process oriented QC is product oriented