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Relying on the context, “high quality management plan” means various things.
Let’s have a look at the three varieties of high quality management plans:
- The product high quality management plan to incorporate in a contract with a Chinese language provider
- The QC plan for a brand new product being delivered to market
- The course of management plan that decomposes manufacturing in every course of step (usually known as management plan)
They arrive up at totally different levels within the life cycle of a product:
First let’s have a look at the plan that turns into a part of your contract with a provider.
1. The product high quality management plan to incorporate in a contract with a Chinese language provider
Defining a primary high quality management plan with each new provider is a kind of issues that take little time however that may save numerous money and time. It may be standardized and despatched to each provider with solely minor diversifications. Consumers are suggested to speak about it with a supervisor working for the provider firm, and to get it signed/chopped.
By the way in which, a high quality management plan is a normal a part of contracts drafted by specialised legal professionals. The product specs are often an appendix to such contracts.
So, what to incorporate in a high quality management plan?
After all, it relies on every purchaser’s wants. I wrote a brief (and fictitious) plan beneath, for inspiration.
Timing of inspections
BUYER reserves the fitting to ship one in every of his workers/representatives (together with an outdoor inspection company) within the manufacturing unit to examine manufacturing at any time, with affordable advance discover.
Communication of standing of manufacturing
SUPPLIER ought to ship an e mail to BUYER 3 days earlier than it receives the primary supplies/parts, and will ship a affirmation e mail on the day they arrive within the manufacturing unit’s warehouse.
SUPPLIER ought to ship an e mail to BUYER 3 days earlier than the manufacturing unit begins assembling its order, and will ship a affirmation e mail on the identical day it occurs.
SUPPLIER ought to ship an e mail to BUYER 3 days earlier than the primary completed merchandise are out of the strains (i.e. absolutely produced), and will ship a affirmation e mail on the identical day it occurs.
SUPPLIER ought to ship an e mail to BUYER 3 days earlier than 100% of the cargo amount is completed and 80% is absolutely packed (i.e. able to ship), and will ship a affirmation e mail on the identical day it occurs.
SUPPLIER ought to ship an e mail to BUYER each time some samples are despatched to a laboratory for testing.
[This may make sense for you, in case the supplier only does assembly. You may have to change the wording based on the processes they do in-house, and also based on the amount of cooperation & project management you expect.]
Description of high quality management actions
BUYER reserves the fitting to carry out the next high quality management actions, and every other exercise not described beneath.
Product inspections: random inspections of merchandise, performed based mostly on the ISO2859-1 commonplace (single-stage, regular severity, degree to be decided by BUYER). Acceptance high quality restrict (AQL) is 0% for crucial defects, 1.5% for main defects, 4.0% for minor defects.
Lab exams: SUPPLIER must ship 2 samples to ABC laboratory for exams as determined by BUYER, with the intention to respect the patron security regulation of the importing nation/ies. These samples have to be extracted from bulk manufacturing. BUYER could, or could not, ask one in every of his representatives to choose these samples.
[Obviously, re-write this based on your requirements. And the AQL limits may be product-specific, which means they should be in each product’s specification sheet.]
Testing & measuring tools that have to be accessible within the manufacturing unit
In your personal high quality management actions, and for our inspection actions, the next items of apparatus have to be current within the manufacturing unit:
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- Weighing scale for export cartons
- Weighing scale for the merchandise
- Hello-pot tester
[Customize this list as you see fit. List the most important testing & measuring equipment for your products in general. More product-specific information can be listed in your product specification sheet.]
What to do in case of failure?
If a product inspection or a laboratory take a look at is failed, SUPPLIER will get in touch with BUYER inside 24 hours with an in depth clarification. If a cargo is delayed due to unacceptable high quality, SUPPLIER will bear all penalties for this delay.
If a product inspection is refused, BUYER has the fitting to ask for a re-inspection, the price of which can be deducted from the subsequent cost to SUPPLIER. And so forth till the inspection is accepted by BUYER.
If greater than 1% of merchandise are discovered faulty and/or not conform to product specs, SUPPLIER will test the entire amount and can kind them out of bulk amount. If rework/restore is unattainable, SUPPLIER ought to let BUYER know instantly about it.
If the inspection is failed (and/or the findings within the report are refused by BUYER) twice in a row, BUYER reserves the fitting to ask SUPPLIER to pay for a third-party inspection agency (appointed by BUYER in written), which can do a 100% test on the cargo.
If a lab take a look at is failed, SUPPLIER must pay for extra exams from the identical laboratory.
[You might want to re-write this based on your needs. See related articles about corrective action plans and about the alternatives when an inspection is failed.
What inspections and lab tests do NOT represent
Product inspections and lab tests are only tools used by BUYER to take a decision. Putting pressure on an inspector is useless and is forbidden. Trying to give money/favors to an inspector is forbidden by law and will end all business relationships between BUYER and SUPPLIER.
Even if all inspections and tests are passed, SUPPLIER should wait for BUYER’s agreement for shipment.
Even if all inspections and tests are passed, they do not relieve SUPPLIER from its contractual liabilities or prejudice BUYER’s right for compensation for any apparent and/or hidden defects not detected by the inspection(s) and/or the test(s).
Now let’s look at the other type of control plan.
2. The process control plan that decomposes production in each process step
Writing this document forces the manufacturer to do two things:
- Identify each process step, and indicate whether it is critical (i.e. likely to cause serious quality issues if improperly handled) or not;
- Define the process controls: what to check, how often, using what methods, and what to do if issues are found.
Here is an example of a process control plan:
In this example, you can see what to check regularly on a die casting machine. (Note that the mould and the materials also need to be checked regularly — it’s not only about the machine.)
It is mostly used by the North American and European auto industry, but it is VERY useful for any production. The more immature and/or complex the process, the more useful. We seldom see it for a very simple production (e.g. kitting together 2 components by hand.)
Ideally, this is prepared by the manufacturer. But sometimes the buyer has to send their own engineers or bring in external resources. (We routinely prepare quality control plans together with the work instructions for production operators, in case the manufacturer is not motivated/capable of preparing those documents.)
Note that the control plan often includes a mix of process controls and product controls.
Here is an example of product control:
What types of product controls are often included?
- Incoming component checks
- Semi-finished product checks
- Finished product checks
3. The QC deliverables for a new product
Here is what the manufacturer will need to know, before going into production. If you start production without some of that information properly documented, you face severe risks.
(Note, this list is well suited to electro-mechanical products.)
1. Quality, Reliability, Compliance
- Is there a specific and documented quality standard?
- Is there a final approved prototype (or ‘golden sample’)?
- Are testing jigs/fixtures needed? Are they already made and signed off?
- What environment will the product operate in, and how long should it keep working? Was reliability testing already conducted?
- What countries will the product be sold in? Any applicable certifications?
2. Components (including packing materials)
- Is a production BOM (bill of materials) complete?
- Any environmentally friendly requirements? (e.g. recycled materials, no plastic in packaging, …)
3. Manufacturing
- What will the production volumes be?
- Is any tooling (e.g. injection molds) needed? Is it already made and signed off?
- Do you have instructions (or a video) on the assembly methods?
- Is this the first time this product is manufactured? Or is it already a mature product (made several times in the past)? Is there a list of risks and known issues?
Conclusion
So, what should you focus on, if you want to ensure your production quality is under control? What is the minimum you need to work on?
- If you buy standard (off-the-shelf) goods that are made in China or other Asian countries, I would advise to first spend time on defining your requirements concerning the finished products. That’s the fundamental document. Make sure you approve pre-production samples. And engage a QC inspection agency.
- If you are developing a new product, there is so much more that you need to work on. Make sure to read section 3 (above) of this article, as it will give you a basic plan.
Extra reading >> If you’d like to learn even more about QC, read our detailed Quality Control basic concepts post here.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in April 2010 and has been updated with additional information in April 2022.
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