QUALITY CONTROL PLAN
Summary
1. WHAT IS A QUALITY CONTROL PLAN?
• The Quality Control Plan is a comprehensive document that outlines controls to maintain
product quality and conformity throughout the production process.
• It covers all aspects of the factory, including raw materials, production processes,
purchased goods, subcontracted activities, and laboratory testing.
• It should be determined based on a risk approach to limit the possibility to delivering non-
conforming products and internal losses.
PRODUCT CONTROL PLAN PROCESS CONTROL PLAN
• Ensuring compliance with regulations
and standards, preventing compliance • Collecting process data to monitor the
issues and their potential stability and ensuring conformity of
consequences product characteristics between two
product controls
• Capturing defective products to
prevent shipping products not • Maintaining control over our
satisfying customer requirements manufacturing processes to prevent
production of non-conforming
• Identifying quality issues as early as products, thus reducing internal
possible to minimize wastes and losses (scraps, reworks...)
rework
QUALITY CONTROL PLAN
Summary
2. HOW TO BUILD A QUALITY CONTROL PLAN?
A typical Quality Control Plan is structured as a table, incorporating essential information
Process step Specifications
Characteristic
Where is the control What specifications
taking place? At which What is controlled? should the results
step in our process? reach?
Criticality
Control method Frequency
What is the criticality
of the product How to perform this How often is the control
characteristic/ control? With which made?
process parameter? tools?
Reaction plan
Data recording
Person in
What to do in case of a
charge Where are the data
Who does the control? control out of
recorded?
specification?
Calibration
What is the calibration
plan for the
measurement tools?
QUALITY CONTROL PLAN
Summary
3. HOW TO USE AND SUSTAIN A QUALITY
CONTROL PLAN?
• Make the Quality Control Plan accessible to operators on the shop floor
• Train operators on effectively using the Quality Control Plan and associated documents
• Audit operators to ensure they respect control frequencies, data recording, and reaction plan
• Monitor the ratio of tests performed to the expected number of tests to adhere to the
defined frequency in the Quality Control Plan
• Manage KPI deviations and implement corrective actions
QUALITY CONTROL PLAN
Summary
4. HOW TO IMPROVE A QUALITY CONTROL PLAN?
The control plan can be adjusted for various reasons:
• When receiving customer complaints → identify gaps in our Product Control Plan or
opportunities for improvement in the Process Control Plan
• When conducting a risk analysis for a given change → adapt the Quality Control Plan if
necessary (adjustments in the types of controls performed / in the control frequencies)
• When wanting to reduce control frequencies → better allocate resources to needs
If the Quality Control Plan is modified, it is necessary to ensure that:
• There is no impact on the customers
• Employees are trained
• The revised Quality Control Plan is properly applied