Quality Assurance (QA) vs Quality Control (QC): What's the Difference?

July 15th, 2024

Quality Assurance (QA) stands for Quality Assurance

Quality Control ( QC) stands for quality control

What is QAQC? stands for quality assurance and quality control. It is a combination of methods used to measure product quality, as well as practices that ensure that products and services meet customer expectations.

CHROMA ATE Automatic Electrical Safety Testing System used in QC room

What is the difference between QA and QC?

“QA is concerned with defect prevention as a process, while QC is concerned with defect identification as a product.”

The purpose of quality assurance is to enhance product testing procedures so that defects do not occur during product development. The purpose of quality control is to find defects in a product after it has been manufactured but before it is released to the market.

What is the full name of QA QC?

“The full name of QA QC is Quality Assurance and Quality Control”

Quality control is the job of the product testing team, while everyone in the product development team is responsible for quality assurance. Software validation/testing is a form of QA, while verification is an example of QC.

Responsibilities of QA QC Engineer

QAQC engineers are responsible for ensuring quality for their company. They are responsible for the production of products and are involved in every step of the process, from development to production to packaging. And one of their most important responsibilities is to ensure that the methods, technologies, and materials used to manufacture their products are safe for employees. When there are quality concerns, they must take corrective action, even stopping production if necessary. They are also responsible for monitoring the lifting of all machinery, the efficient storage of all hazardous materials, and conducting regular quality audits.

Mitutoyo PJ-H30 Series Profile Measuring Machine

used in quality control (QC) in the factory

What is QAQC plan?

A QA QC plan is a document that defines the quality standards, procedures, tools, requirements, and action sequences for a given item, service, initiative, or agreement.

The QAQC plan must include a method for determining whether quality objectives have been achieved, appropriate testing, inspection, testing and auditing procedures at various levels, and the allocation of roles, authorities and resources throughout the phases of the project, to ensure that objectives are achieved. It also includes a written mechanism for making adjustments to the quality plan as a process improves.

Specific standards, practices, procedures, and guidelines must be documented and followed. And The steps in the process include the organization's operating practices or procedures.

The QAQC plan should indicate not only who is responsible for performing a particular activity, but also who can inspect that activity. The QAQC strategy evaluates and adjusts the organization’s methods to help ensure that they achieve the desired results. Some parts of the strategy will be more comprehensive than others. However, it is important to understand that each plan is tailored to the needs of the organization and its quality management system.

DELIVERY DETAILS OF NIKON MEASUREMENT MICROSCOPE MM-400, MM-800

Used to ensure product quality is correct after production.

What is the similarity between Quality Assurance and Quality Control?

Quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) are integral components of a comprehensive quality management system. Although they have distinct roles, they have several similarities:

Focus on quality: Both QA and QC aim to ensure the quality of a product, service or process. While QA prevents defects by establishing and implementing procedures and standards, QC focuses on identifying and correcting defects through inspection, testing and analysis.
Customer satisfaction: Both QA and QC aim to ultimately meet customer requirements and expectations. Maintaining high quality standards and delivering defect-free products or services contributes to customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Continuous improvement: Both QA and QC emphasize the importance of continuous improvement. QA involves establishing processes to continually improve quality management practices, while QC involves identifying areas for improvement based on errors found during inspection or testing.
Data-driven approach : QA and QC use data and metrics to assess quality. QA uses data to set quality standards, measure process performance, and identify areas for improvement. QC uses data from inspections, tests, and analysis to identify defects and make informed decisions about corrective actions.
Interdependence: QA and QC are interdependent and complementary functions. While QA lays the foundation for quality by establishing processes and standards, QC ensures these standards are met through inspection and testing. The feedback loops between QA and QC enable continuous improvement by incorporating insights and lessons learned from each function.
Document : QA and QC require appropriate documentation to ensure traceability and accountability. QA documentation includes quality plans, procedures, and standards, while QC documentation includes inspection reports, test results, and corrective action records.
Employee Engagement: Both QA and QC require the involvement and commitment of employees at all levels of the organization. Employees contribute to QA by following established procedures and standards and participating in continuous improvement initiatives. In QC, employees are responsible for conducting inspections, tests, and analyses to ensure the quality of products or services.

PCB BOARD FUNCTIONAL TESTER – FCT

Used to check whether the component function is satisfactory or not.

on the PCB production line

Quality Control vs Quality Assurance (QA VS QC)

One focuses on finding and fixing errors, the other ensures that errors do not occur in the first place; there are many differences that set these two apart, and let’s take a look at the differences between Quality Control and Quality Assurance:

Feature	Quality Assurance (QA)	Quality Control (QC)
Concentrate	Preventing Disability	Identifying Disabilities
Approach	Proactive	Quick response
Activities	Process improvement, test planning, evaluation	Perform testing, report errors
Responsibility	The entire development team	Inspection team
Orientation	Process-oriented	Product Orientation
Target	High Quality Software Development Process	High quality software products
Work	Identify standards and methodologies	Ensure compliance with standards
Phases in SDLC	Throughout the life cycle	Later stages (testing)
Measure	The effectiveness of disability prevention	Number of errors identified

Finally, what is the relationship between QA and QC?

QA, QC, like a chain of activities that work together to ensure a high quality product. QA sets the standards for how things should be done, QC makes sure those standards are followed, checking that everything is up to quality standards. That way, any problems can be found quickly so they can be fixed before anyone else sees them.

PH/ORP Meter with Temperature Probe HANNA HI8424

Equipment used to measure PH/ORP in quality control room

Conclusion

QA, QC, all are important steps to ensure that the product meets the standards it needs to have. SEMIKI can help you advise on measuring equipment for quality control departments and evaluate the quality of the product to get exactly what you want.

So if you are a software tester or quality assurance engineer, SEMIKI is the perfect choice for you! Start contacting us for the most accurate measurement products and it can improve your software testing process and product quality.

SEMIKI is a leading company in the market providing measurement solutions and measuring equipment serving in quality control processes and product quality assessment in factories and product research and development laboratories.

Contact SEMIKI now!

SEMIKI Measuring Equipment Company Limited
Email: sales@semiki.com
Phone: +84 9797 61016