A quality control plan is an essential part of a Quality control system. In simple words Quality Control Plan is writing down all the activities and steps of an operation for quality assurance to ensure the output of the process is in line with the customer’s requirements.

In any business customer satisfaction is the major consideration. A company designs a control plan to ensure the customer about all the steps and activities that are going to take place in the whole process. Furthermore, it assures the customer how the quality of a product is maintained in a process. In this way the customer is satisfied and builds up more trust.

The purpose of a quality control plan is to document and ensure all the steps required to control a process are taken during operations to maintain its credibility and conformity of a product.

Components of a Quality Control Plan

  • Name of the process: It is a specific name assigned by the organization for a project.
  • Process flow number: It is a specific number assigned to a process that helps to differentiate that specific process.
  • Product attributes: Write down all the characteristics of the product or a process under this column. Make a checklist of the attributes and mark a check when a specific characteristic is analyzed. It may include the density, texture, firmness, cost, yield and regularity of the product.
  • Measuring instrument: Mention all the instruments and techniques that are used and make sure that all the instruments are calibrated to avoid any mistakes.
  • Specifications: Document all the specifications of the product or process under this column.
  • Sampling: Mention all the features of the sample whether it’s the sample size, dimensions or frequency.
  • Method: List all the procedures that are to be carried out for quality check and assurance.
  • Record: Make a record of all the measurements in either a computerized or a hand written form. Some organizations use SPC program for measuring records.
  • Responsibilities: It specifies all the responsibilities of the personnel involved in a process.
  • Procurement: It defines all the purchases carried out for a particular operation.
  • Inspection: It describes the testing procedures for the inspection and testing of a product.
  • Quality Audits: For a better quality achievement quality audit should be carried out at each phase.

Purpose of a Quality Control Plan

For any organization to work properly, a quality control plan is a must have. The purpose of a quality control plan is:

  • Quality Assurance: It is the major purpose of a quality control plan. All the organizations are based on quality assurance of their products as well as the processes. Quality assurance assures that the processes are in compliance with the set standards (ISO9001).
  • Define information: A quality control plan describes all the information about the products and the processes by which these products are going to be made. It includes all the necessary information about the processes to be carried out such as time frame, product specifications, steps involved in the process, product delivery, roles and responsibilities of the personnel involved.
  • Define objectives: A quality control clearly and effectively defines the objectives to be achieved for example the product characteristics, cost etc.
  • Internal Audit: Another important purpose of a quality control plan is internal auditing of the project. The objective of the internal audit is to confirm and validate that all the activities that are being carried out are in accordance with the set standards. It also helps to identify any mistakes or errors in the implementation of the quality control plan.
  • Counter Measures: A quality control plan helps to identify any flaws in the operations and thus helps to maintain an error free system. This helps to achieve the targets efficiently keeping in account the quality of the system.
  • Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal of any organization. A quality control plan states all the information about the product and process and helps to gain the trust of a customer. A customer reviews all the details and when the product formed is exactly what was described, it satisfies the customer and helps to gain more business.

In a nutshell, to create a quality control plan is the most captious part of any project. It helps to ensure that all the activities being carried out are in conformance with quality standards and customer’s requirements. It helps to supervise all the processes closely and any misstep can be identified instantly. Thus it helps to create an error free system.