QA and QC: what the quality department does
Quality control is the checking side: incoming inspection of raw material and bought-out parts, first-piece and in-process inspection on the line, final inspection before dispatch, and laboratory testing where the product needs it. Quality assurance is the system side: writing inspection standards and control plans, running internal audits against ISO 9001 or customer standards such as IATF 16949 for auto parts, handling customer complaints with root cause and corrective action, calibrating gauges and instruments, and training operators on quality. Supplier quality engineers audit vendors and approve their first samples. In pharma and food, quality also owns batch records, deviations and product release.
Quality team size at 50, 500 and 5,000 employees
At 50 employees, quality is often one QC inspector or quality engineer who checks incoming material and final goods, keeps inspection reports and handles customer complaints with the owner. At 500 employees, a quality manager or QA head leads separate teams: incoming inspection, in-process and final inspection with inspectors on each shift, a small lab, a calibration technician, and a QA engineer who handles audits, documentation and customer complaints.
In a 5,000-person company with several plants, each plant has a plant quality head reporting to a corporate head of quality, with QA and QC managers, shift quality engineers, lab chemists or metrologists, and supplier quality engineers. Corporate quality owns the quality manual, certifications, customer audits and a cross-plant system for complaints and corrective actions, and it reports to the managing director or COO so it stays independent of production targets.
Working with production, purchase and sales
Production and quality meet many times a day, and friction is normal: production wants to dispatch, quality wants proof. What helps is written acceptance criteria and a clear hold procedure, so no argument happens at the dock. Purchase brings new vendors to supplier quality for approval and deals with rejections and debit notes. Sales passes customer complaints to quality and needs a timeline for the corrective action report. Maintenance keeps machines within process capability, and engineering changes to drawings or processes need quality sign-off before the first production run. HR supports skill matrices and keeps training records for inspectors.
Who can hold a lot, and reporting lines
Inspectors report to a QC supervisor or quality engineer, then the QC or QA manager, the plant quality head and the head of quality. The key design choice is that quality does not report to production: an inspector who answers to the production supervisor will be pushed to pass doubtful parts at the end of the month. Any inspector can put a lot on hold. Releasing a held lot under deviation needs the quality manager and, for deviations the customer will see, the customer's written consent. Changes to inspection standards are approved by the QA manager, and responses to certification or customer audits by the head of quality.
Typical quality team structure
Quality designation hierarchy
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Book a free demoSee pricingFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between QA and QC?
Quality control checks the product: inspecting incoming material, parts on the line and finished goods, and testing samples in the lab. Quality assurance builds the system that prevents defects: standards, control plans, audits, calibration, training and corrective actions. QC finds problems in what has been made; QA reduces the chance of making them again.
What is the hierarchy in a quality department?
Quality careers start at QC inspector or lab chemist and move through QC supervisor or quality engineer, QA or QC manager and plant quality head, up to a corporate head of quality. Supplier quality, calibration, customer quality and document control roles sit alongside and report to the relevant manager.
Who should the quality manager report to?
The quality manager should report to the plant head, and the head of quality to the managing director or COO, not to the production manager. Quality needs the authority to hold material and stop a line without being overruled by someone measured on output. Small plants that cannot manage this at least give the quality manager a direct line to the owner.
Does a service company need a quality department?
Many do, in a different form. BPOs have quality analysts who audit calls and chats, banks and NBFCs have process audit teams, hospitals have quality and accreditation coordinators, and construction companies have QA and QC engineers on site. The principle is the same as in a factory: a written standard, independent checking and corrective action.