83% of manufacturers say that attracting and retaining a quality workforce is a top focus. However, having a reliable team is only one part of quality manufacturing.
To manufacture quality products, it’s important that your organization controls its standards. It should follow good manufacturing practices. Adopting best practices can lead to more consistency, happier customers, and fewer product recalls.
In this guide, we’ll list the best practices for quality manufacturing.
Define Quality
The first key to implementing quality manufacturing processes is to define what quality means to your facility. Today, each industry has many different standards and strict regulatory requirements to adhere to.
Adhering to all of these requirements is a big part of defining quality. However, it’s not the full picture. You should also think carefully about what your facility considers a quality product and should set processes that align with that definition.
In addition to this, you should make sure to think about quality from the customer’s perspective as well. Be sure that you have a strong understanding of a product’s consumers and that you know what they’re looking for. This will help you set standards that align with their needs and their own ideas of quality.
Set Up a QMS
Once you have an understanding of what quality means to your organization and customers, you should then set up a quality management system (QMS). Put your definition into writing.
A QMS is a structured system. It works to document all the processes, procedures, and responsibilities that will lead to a high level of quality.
After auditing your quality process, you should establish and implement this system. You should define everything that is expected during the manufacturing process to meet the desired level of quality. These rules can then be used by your team to manufacture quality products every time.
Use Manufacturing Software
As part of improving product quality, consider using software that is made for improving efficiency in manufacturing. Using a quality management software system can help to ensure product consistency. It can help your team meet the quality requirements that you have set.
You may want to consider using enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Look for ERP software with quality assurance (QA) capabilities.
QMS software can also be useful for automating the entire process. It can help identify quality issues. You’ll also be able to create reports that can help you verify that everything is getting done right.
By using a powerful software system to maintain quality, you’ll have better success in manufacturing. It can help meeting quality standards become second nature to your team.
Maintain Your Machinery
To ensure quality and efficiency in your manufacturing process, have a plan for maintaining machinery. You can employ different strategies to maintain your equipment, but having a well-defined plan is essential.
One of the options is to use a total productive maintenance (TPM) plan. In this plan, every employee does a small part to ensure equipment effectiveness.
A strong maintenance plan can allow you to improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). This will help ensure that there are no errors or problems with equipment. This can lead to better efficiency when manufacturing and can ensure the highest level of quality as well.
Clean Your Facility
In addition to maintaining all equipment that you’re using in manufacturing, keep all work areas clean as well. Ensure that you also have a cleaning process in place and that you put effort into keeping everything nice and tidy.
Keeping a clean workspace can allow your team to better focus on the tasks at hand. It can help them prioritize quality more easily.
A cleaner work area can help your team immensely when aiming to get work done. It can help keep quality consistent among all products that are manufactured.
Focus on Training
To improve product quality, ensure that employees are well-trained in quality control. Invest in training and ensure that all expectations are set properly. This can help ensure that team members and managers can maintain a high level of quality in manufacturing processes.
Using a strong team-based approach in your manufacturing processes and ensuring that everyone is doing their part to maintain quality is essential. This can help to ensure that you maintain high levels of quality and are happy with the results.
Analyze and Test Products
To verify quality in your facility, make sure that you regularly inspect product samples. Regularly inspecting products and verifying that their appearance and functionality are as they should be is vital for ensuring a high level of quality. This can help you identify defects and avoid other pitfalls in manufacturing.
In addition to this, you should also be inspecting any raw materials or components that you use for production as well. Check for quality at various levels of the manufacturing process. This can help ensure that your products will be perfect for your customers.
Use Inspection Services
To maintain strong quality control standards in your facility, consider having regular inspections. You may want to hire quality control services in China.
A quality control service can help provide pre-production inspections, in-process inspections, and container loading inspections. These can help verify that you’re maintaining strong standards in your facility.
Getting pre-production inspections early on can help ensure that you have the right production capability. This includes the machinery, staff training, and working conditions that are needed. Verifying all of this can help things go right from the very beginning.
In-process QC inspections can also be helpful. These inspections can help maintain strong standards. You’ll then be able to make any corrections that are necessary.
Consider using QC inspections. This can help you be sure that you get quality right in your facility.
Following the Best Practices for Quality Manufacturing
If you want to ensure quality manufacturing in your facility, don’t leave it up to chance. Follow the best practices for manufacturing at all times.
Define quality in your organization. Then, implement a QMS, maintain your equipment, and train your employees to deliver quality results.
Need help with your manufacturing process? Get in touch with China 2 West today to learn more about our inspection services.
