ISO 9001
section 8.2.4 states “The organization shall monitor and measure the
characteristics of the product to verify that product requirements have been
met.” The standard goes on to say “Evidence
of conformity with the acceptance criteria shall be maintained.” It fails to point out though that quality
cannot be inspected into the product.
Many organizations fail to achieve high quality, because
they rely on inspection in the belief that they can inspect quality into the
product. Point 3 of Edward Deming’s 14
points states “Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass
basis by building quality into the product in the first place.” Phillip Crosby’s second absolute of quality
says it differently: “The way to cause quality is through prevention not appraisal
[inspection]”.
For a good example of what can happen when inspection is
used as the only means of assuring quality read Austin, A L (2013) “Failure of
Inspection The consequences of layering on quality checks” Quality Progress, January 2013.
In an audit I performed recently, the customer was
inspecting welds using dye penetrant testing.
I issued a corrective action because no evidence that the tests had been
performed was available. The test
reports didn’t include a place for the technician to indicate that the testing
had been performed. When inspection is
performed assure that the results of inspection are recorded.
Keep in mind that even 100% inspection is not 100%
effective. Inspectors make mistakes
too. Focus on mistake proofing
production processes and designing quality into the product, not inspecting
quality into the product. Inspect when
you must. Select inspection points to
occur just before high cost processes occur.
This assures that the product conforms to requirements before high cost
is added to the product. When you
inspect assure that the results of inspection are recorded.
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