Share | Summary of a Chief Engineer’s 30 Years of Experience – 6 Tips for Quality Control

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“\"Everyone is responsible for product quality.\" High-quality products are achieved through production, management, and control, not through inspection. Having served as a chief technical officer for 30 years, I have summarized 6 key points regarding quality control, in the hope that they will be helpful to everyone. “\"Quality control of products is a problem that plagues every enterprise.\" Quality control is a systematic process with its own rules and unique control methods ； Without proper quality control methods, it is difficult to ensure product quality; unexpected quality issues may even arise, causing significant financial losses to the company. However, quality control is by no means an easy task; it is what determines a company’s competitiveness. Having served as a chief technical officer for 30 years, I have summarized six concise suggestions regarding quality control, in the hope that they will be useful to everyone. 1. Do not decide on the manufacturing process lightly, and once a process has been chosen, do not change it easily. 1) When product quality issues arise, it is necessary to identify the root cause, the main factors, or the primary manifestations of those issues ； 2) Making changes to the process lightly before understanding the problem actually hides the real causes and issues. 2. Process control requires a strong emphasis on quantification and traceability. 1) Quality depends on numerous factors; no detail should be overlooked ； 2) Any details should be controlled and recorded using data as much as possible ； 3) Failing to control and track process details can lead to errors in formulating corrective and preventive actions. 3. One must be patient when solving problems. 1) One should not be impetuous and expect to achieve everything at once ； 2) If an abnormal situation is detected, do not ignore it just because it seems unrelated to the problem being resolved ； 3) When no cause or pattern can be identified, don’t remain inactive; you can standardize the control of factors that affect the analysis ； 4) Re-examine some of the experiences and patterns obtained from previous experiments and summaries* ； 5) Once some experiences and patterns are identified, delve deeper to elevate them into theory – even if it incurs some extra costs, it’s worth it ； 6) One should know that \"a dike a thousand miles long can be ruined by ant holes,\" as well as the story of \"the old man who moved the mountains.\" 4. Adopt a preventive mindset. 1) The highest level of quality management is prevention, rather than figuring out how to fix things after problems arise ； 2) There are always signs before any quality issues arise; it depends on whether you have the methods, tools, and experience to monitor and identify them ； 3) When the same quality issue occurs for the second time, it should be given high priority ； 4) The daily process and outcome data should be organized using appropriate tools, and patterns and trends should be identified from these organized results; such patterns and trends need to be continuously revised ； 5) Before processing the products, the various control elements should be as consistent as possible. 5. Quality control must be approached with a management mindset. 1) Do not rely solely on process engineers to ensure product quality stability ； 2) Product quality is created through manufacturing; without managing those who carry out the manufacturing, quality can never be consistent ； 3) Therefore, it is necessary to observe, pay attention to, and study the performance and condition of the direct manufacturers of the products, and to manage and motivate them based on these aspects ； 4) If the performance and condition of the direct manufacturer of the product are not under control, it will be impossible to accurately determine the cause of any quality issues that arise ； 5) Don’t assume that just because we meet all the process control requirements specified in our current process discipline, the product quality will be absolutely flawless ； 6) Therefore, our process control requirements need to be continuously improved, and at the same time, people also need to be properly managed. 6. Listen more to opinions and suggestions. 1) Don’t assume that just because others don’t understand the reality or can’t solve problems immediately, their opinions are worthless ； 2) But they, especially those who directly manufacture the products, can give us many hints and reminders ； 3) If you can solve this problem, you don’t need to listen to anyone’s opinions or suggestions ； But when things don’t go as planned, it’s advisable to listen to the opinions and suggestions of anyone, and to try and experiment with them, whether you agree with them or not ； 4) The mindset of quality management often touches the forefront of technology; even a casual remark or complaint can point to or suggest a direction for significant technological innovation. Therefore, professionals must be those who pay attention to details and are good at spotting them. - End -