Production can be defined as the action of making goods/products from components or raw materials, or simply put, the process of converting raw materials to finished goods.
Wikipedia has a more elaborate version. It defines production as a process of combining various material inputs & immaterial inputs (plans, know-how) in order to create something for consumption. It goes further to say that production is an act of creating output a good or service which has value.
The liberalization of global trade & the fact that consumers have become more & more knowledgeable on product forwards, they now, more than ever before demand products to be not only economical, but also healthy & safe is all respects. Today, because of the ever improving tastes of consumers, production is moving from a quantity based approach to a quantity/quality based approach. This is where quality assurance comes in.
The factor that binds production and quality is STANDARDS. In other words, production produces according to set standards whilst QA enforces obedience to set standards cat all times. This is essence of the whole matter.
In the course of my career in QA I have noticed a trend which I will share. When the quality of a product is good all the credit go to the Production Department but the moment a complaint is raised on quality the QA department takes all the blame. The reason for this simple.
The output of the production department is tangible in the sense it can be seen, felt and quantified. Quality does not have that luxury. Quality is about perception and is dependent on individual. 5 cartons of a product is 5 cartons anywhere in the world but quality perception of a product to a Nigerian will be different from that to an European.
Bearing the above in mind the QA Manager must have the understanding that his job is primarily to prevent defects from occurring as he will be squarely blamed if any occurs. This is the basis of all QA principles. Consequently, you would have observed that Production and QA personnel are always at logger heads on almost every matter. While the Production Manager is striving to meet his target (quantity) the QA Manager must be sure that quality is not compromised in any way. Any system where the Production and QA Managers have a very cordial relationship is a system that tolerates lots of inadequacies and requires serious improvement. The two Managers do not necessarily have to fight but I do not expect them to agree on all matters knowing that the pressure to meet target almost always comes with the desire to cut corners. QA Manager is present to ensure these corners are not cut so do not expect a smooth sail.
Most Production Managers have this unspoken belief that QA delays production. This is true only for a production process that was planned without giving room for QA procedures. A production process that has factored in QA & is expected to achieve 1000 cartons cannot say QA is causing delay. Any attempt made to increase output above 1000 cartons given same conditions of time/materials/personnel immediately raises a red flag that quality may have been compromised.
QA Managers should not allow Production Managers to intimidate them but this does not mean common ground cannot be found. However, QA Managers must remember that the supreme judge of the quality of a product is the final consumer who is not influenced in any way by quantity. If the final consumers complain about the same thing over a given period, the QA has a headache. Prevention will always be better than cure, the same way proactivity will always be better than reactivity.
From the receipt and analysis of raw materials through the production process to the analysis and release of finished goods, QA Managers must put their feet down and insist the right things are done. Tools have to be put in place for proper monitoring of process variables to know when these go above the upper limit or below the lower limit and to make adjustments immediately. When this is not done and Production Managers are allowed to carry on with production activities without checks and balances there are chances that certain critical issues could be ignored, with serious consequences. If this happens repeatedly it becomes a norm. Expect the final consumer to complain and QA Manager to be blamed.
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