Quality control (QC) is a process through which a business seeks to ensure that product quality is maintained or improved. Quality control requires the business to create an environment in which both management and employees strive for perfection. This is done by training personnel, creating benchmarks for product quality and testing products to check for statistically significant variations. A major aspect of quality control is the establishment of well-defined controls. These controls help standardize both production and reactions to quality issues. Limiting room for error by specifying which production activities are to be completed by which personnel reduces the chance that employees will be involved in tasks for which they do not have adequate training.
Quality control inspectors protect the consumer from defective products and the company from damage to its reputation due to inferior manufacturing processes. If the testing process reveals issues with the product, the inspector has the option of fixing the problem himself, returning the product for repairs or tagging the product for rejection. When issues arise, the inspector notifies supervisors and works with them to correct the problem.
