What are some of the key terms and concepts I need to understand regarding Quality control in China?

Quality Control (QC): A system that is put in place by a manufacturer to monitor and maintain quality as goods flow from raw materials (Inbound QC or IQC) into semi-finished goods (In Process QC or IPQC) into finished goods ready and packaged for shipment (Final QC or FQC). Quality Manual found on www.psschina.com for an example of the documentation that should be in a solid QC system.

Quality Assurance (QA) or Third Party QC (3PQC): An outside party that reviews the QC system of the factory and provides additional testing, inspection and/or audit services as "insurance" or a "double check". www.ChinaQualityfocus.com is a good example of 3PQC service provider.

ISO: Family of standards and guidelines for measuring quality in the manufacturing and service industries from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). However, ISO certification does not guarantee product quality. It ensures that the processes that develop the product are documented and performed in a quality manner. In other words, a concrete life jacket could be made in an ISO system, but you wouldn't want to go swimming with it! ISO is about the system for making something rather than the product being made inside that system.

Min vs. Major vs. Critical Defects: A Critical defect could cause physical harm and is considered dangerous- example a piece that easily breaks off and becomes a choke hazard. A Major Defect is something that will impact the ability to sell the product. Example- a scratch on the show surface of a microwave. A Minor defect is an acceptable defect that's root cause should be corrected in future before it becomes a major or critical defect, for example, a small scratch on the interior housing of a microwave which can't be viewed by consumer and doesn't effect function of product. A quality conscious supplier will have a system for categorizing defects and preventing them in the future.

Testing vs. Inspection vs. Audit:

• Testing: AKA Laboratory Testing, Product Life Testing = seeing how one (ideally representative sample) handles itself against certain specifications and requirements either in a laboratory or controlled environment.
• Inspection: Pulling a random sample from production line, warehouse or market place, to compare against agreed standards.
• Audit: Two main kinds Factory Audit (FA)= tech assessment of people, skills, process and equipment Social Audit (SA) or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) = child labor, min wage, OT, insurance, work place safety.

Learn more about Mike and PassageMaker at www.PSSchina.com.