Quality control inspections

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A finished product that matches your customers’ standards can define your company’s success. Meeting expectations translates into satisfied customers who are more likely to do business with you again. How can you be sure you’re delivering what the customer wants to see? Quality control inspections are a great place to start.

What is a quality control inspection?

A quality control (QC) inspection is a process for ensuring a product is up to par. It may include checking the product partway through development and at completion or its various individual components before assembly. Products and components are measured against a list of predetermined.

A product may go through testing for set standards, such as electrical standards or durability ratings. It may also be inspected to make sure it’s within tolerances set forth by the developer. Measuring tolerance verifies that a product meets the desired precision of the manufacturing process. Companies known for products that are consistently high-quality and long-lasting typically employ strong QC standards.

What does a quality control inspector do?

A quality control inspector’s role is to determine whether a product meets the developer’s specifications and government and industry regulator standards. They spend time understanding how the product should look and function by examining documentation and technical drawings. They also learn which industry standards and government regulations need to be met.

With this information, they can inspect the product to determine its weight, size, temperature regulation, and reusability. Every product is unique, but they all have standards an inspector will use to determine whether they meet all requirements and report on possible deficiencies. 

How do you find a quality control inspector?

When looking for a quality control inspector, vet them for their experience providing QC to products like yours. The inspector must be familiar with the standards your product must meet and the tests needed to collect that data. An inspector should also have a track record of assessing and improving the other products.

Find out how you can start building an inspection checklist to get matched with one of over 1,500 pre-vetted experts.

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In-line inspection services

Historically, quality control inspections were done after a product was completed and ready to use. Unfortunately, this method proved unnecessarily expensive because defects that occurred early in the manufacturing process were more difficult to correct than those that occurred later. As a result, in-line quality control became the standard method for reducing or avoiding costly manufacturing defects. In-line inspections involve using the manufacturing process itself to monitor and correct problems as they occur. Generally, the inspections are performed to sets of tolerances for each part of the manufacturing process. In-line inspections catch small problems that might otherwise fly under the radar and identify minor manufacturing defects that can gradually worsen as a tool wears out, saving time and labor. Since they are performed during the manufacturing process, they are also known as During Production Inspections, or DUPRO. These inspections often augment factory audits, which contain processes designed to reduce errors in shipping, like pre-shipment inspections. Together, these quality control inspections are largely responsible for a manufacturer’s success because they prevent avoidable defects before, during, and after production.

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