Quality control, or QC, is the operational checking of materials, work in progress or finished goods against defined acceptance requirements. It can include inspection, measurement and testing.
| Area | What the record should show |
|---|---|
| Control | Set the characteristic, method, sample, tolerance, equipment and disposition rule before checking begins. Results need to identify the lot or units examined. |
| Evidence | Keep the inspection plan, raw results, equipment status, inspector, date, lot, failures, concessions and release decision. |
| Tradeoff | QC evidence is only as useful as the specification behind it. A pass against an incomplete checklist can still produce unusable goods. |
When it matters
Set the characteristic, method, sample, tolerance, equipment and disposition rule before checking begins. Results need to identify the lot or units examined.
Review before approval
Keep the inspection plan, raw results, equipment status, inspector, date, lot, failures, concessions and release decision.
QC evidence is only as useful as the specification behind it. A pass against an incomplete checklist can still produce unusable goods.
Related terms
quality assurance qa, quality inspection, acceptance quality limit aql.
