QA is "part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled", according to ISO-9000. QA is crucial in the medical field because it helps to identify the standards of medical equipment and services. The Research Quality Association (RQA) supports and promotes the quality of research in life sciences, through its members and regulatory bodies. Some types of jobs include failure testing, statistical control, and software testing.
QC is "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements", according to ISO-9000. A popular training associated with QC is Six Sigma, a set of techniques and tools for process improvement. Some types of jobs include statistical quality control, total quality control, and total quality management.
I think you can transition either way between QC and QA; while they are clearly not similar positions or tasks they do relate to similar portions of the project i.e. methods and results.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control are part of the quality system. Quality Assurance focuses on creating methods, procedures, instructions, and review of the product. They look over the system and are focused on compliance, complying with the regulation. They set the system by giving what instruction on how the product will look and its dimensions. Quality Control is more practical it focuses on making sure product is in compliance with methods created by QA. QC focuses on inspection, where you look if the product meets the standards set by QA, and investigation, why didn't product compile with QA specifications.
Training: QA will involve writing easy to follow instructions for QC, which can be done by reading documents previously written by QA and QC will require knowledge of you instruments to measure or test the device.
I don't believe transitioning from one department to other is that difficult because they work close to each other and can figure out how things are done in each department because QC is following QAs specification which allows QC to know what is QAs role and wise versa because QA is creating specification for QC so they have to have some knowledge of technologies or methods used by QC to measure or test device to see if it meets the specification or not.
Quality assurance is all of the processes established to ensure that a company is producing the best product to their customers. This process protects the safety of consumers that use the product. Quality control is the action of inspecting products to ensure they meet quality assurance protocols and standards. QA training may include certifications for various standards, such as ISO 17025 compliance. It can also include quality technician certification. I believe it would be easier to switch from QA to QC, because QA creates the protocols that QC applies in the production process. I believe it would be more difficult for QC to switch to QA because of the large scope of information and responsibilities that accompany QA.
Quality Assurance (QA) is more about preventive measures, having the right systems and processes in place, and complying with industry regulations and standards. Quality Control (QC), however, focuses on performance and outcomes compared to acceptable standards or stated expectations. Early in my career working inside hospitals, nurses or the Office of the Vice President of Nursing was responsible for both the QA and QC activities. In my space, QA only became a concern during Joint Commission renewals, our facility met or exceed the standards echoed by Medicare, AAMC, Illinois Department of Public Health and others that I can't remember.
QC, on the other hand, was always tense. For example, keeping our post-surgical infection rates down or the percentage of unplanned OB delivery complications were metrics that we watched. Managed care was beginning to expand during this era, so hospital report cards had become the rage. I served on the QC Committee with mostly nurses, a few other department directors and physician leaders, laboratory managers and management engineering staff. I was the point person for supplying and analyzing our clinical data performance against other academic medical centers and the metro Chicago market as a whole.
Having been outside the hospital setting for more than a decade now, I see QC being in the hands of those with biological science backgrounds, not exclusive to nursing; I have been hard-pressed to find any nurses in academia and the biotech industry. A bachelor's or masters-trained nurse, in my opinion presents advantages over the graduate school-trained biological scientist (e.g. MPH), due to the nurse's combination of patient care and scientific knowledge. However, the prevalence of comprehensive training and safety programs, many of whom mandated by agencies like the FDA, means that an employee without a significant health science background or graduate degree can learn how to function in this role.
QA job descriptions express a preference for candidates with experience in the sciences, but skills and/or certification in project management (PMP), six sigma lean management and regulatory safety are equally important to prospective employers. QA differs from QC but the roles are interchangeable. In my hospital experience, several nurses had major roles in the committees for both functions. I believe it is easier to shift from QA to QC, since QA provides an understanding of the entire process, so being able to drill down to address an underperforming step as a part of QC should be relatively simple.
Explain the difference between QA and QC, and think about the differences that each of these have as a career. For example:
What types of training are relevant to each and how could they differ?
What types of jobs would each of these people have?
In your opinion, is it easy to switch between these roles? Why or why not?
Is switching in one direction easier than switching in the other (QA to QC, vs. going from QC to QA)? Why or why not?
QA's aim is to make sure the product is perfect and will last for the intended time while QCs aim is to identify the defects after they have happened. In a way, QA is proactive while QC is reactive. QAs training mostly requires testing the equipment to see if its functions are okay, doesn't seem to have any defect, and can last while QC is usually more experienced and can comment on what kind of defect might have happened according to the product. QAs usually involved with manufacture while QCs usually involved with products after the production is done and it already has been used by the customer. In my opinion, it is easier to become a QA from a QC in the same area since QC has more knowledge and experience in that certain field. As mentioned before QA tries to find the defects right after production while QC tries to find a defect that could be unique for each case.
Quality control occurs mainly during production, working with the production team, ensuring the quality of the production process and products. While quality assurance takes place after production and before the final release of the product. QA sets the standards required for the particular product and QC executes the SOPs and requirements and makes sure these requirements are met on the production level. As mentioned before QA is more of a preventive role while QC is more of a reactive role.
Although the specific duties of each role are different, the basic knowledge remains similar. QC requires specific knowledge in the production while QA requires a wider spectrum of knowledge and understanding of regulations and procedures. This is why I feel it would be easier to switch from QA to QC than vice versa. When somebody shifts from QA to QC, they would also have a deeper understanding of the entire process and this may actually help the production and validation happen faster and more efficiently right from the beginning.
In my opinion, Quality assurance is like a continuous feedback of the on-going process. It '"assures" the quality is maintained from start to finish and Quality control is a subset of Quality Assurance which helps keep tabs on the process at every stage from implementing the Standard Operating Procedures to inspecting and reviewing the products from start to finish. The QA Manager can receive continuous assessment from the QC team to improve the process quality.
QA defines the process, polices and strategies, establish standards, develop checklists e.t.c that needs to be used and followed throughout the life cycle of a project. While QC follows all those defined process, standards and polices that was laid down by the QA to make sure that the project is maintaining high quality and the final out come of the project at least meets the customer's expectations.
In sum, QA is a proactive process and preventive in nature while QC is a reactive process and its detective in nature. Both can work hand in hand when developing a career part in these area. Most of the training that are required for both are similar because QC has to know the documented part, standard and process in other to implement this on the floor, during production or test run or in the lab.
QA have certification courses like CSQA, CSTE, CMSQ, ISTQB which a QC can also get certified in apart from the QC certificate. They can both switch between roles because they both need to know all the documented standards and polies either of the company or ISO/FDA in other to be implemented. But i think it will be more easier for the QA to become a QC since she will be implementing the preventive measure which she already know and have been documented. That why we can have a QA/QC manger. who can oversee and manage both roles.
@jonyekwere Let me sum up my understanding between QA AND QC . First of all, QA is responsible for overall monitoring, coordination and reporting for quality whereas QC is responsible for inspection, measurement, testing as well as defect prevention activities on the manufacturing shop floor.
Secondly, QA is a wider function as compared to QC, because QA function cuts across all functions viz. Sales, Design, Materials Management, Manufacturing, QC, Testing, Packaging, Shipment, Erection, Commissioning and After sales service. The focus of QA is on total quality whereas the focus of QC is merely on quality of conformance on the shopfloor.
A major difference between QA and QC is that QA is more process oriented, whereas QC is more product oriented. Another distinction between the two is that QA usually requires the whole team to participate (such as following SOPs), while QC is usually carried out by a particular person within the organization rather than the whole organization. For entry-level QA and QC jobs, a bachelor's degree is usually required along with a certification in the field (such as those from asq.org).
I think it is easy to switch between the two roles, since they work very close together and can effectively communicate if there are any problems. However, this is also dependent on the individual and whether the individual prefers a more process-oriented approach or product-oriented approach. If one heavily leans toward one than the other, it may be difficult to adjust and switch to either QA or QC. Although the main goal of quality is common in both QA and QC, the technical or software skills used in each field may be different, which could possibly hinder a smooth transition. As for switching direction, I believe switching from QC to QA will be more difficult than switching from QA to QC, since QA works in a more managerial fashion and more information on various fields needs to be acquired. Someone in QC may not understand the specific tasks in QA, but since QA is more process-focused, QA would likely have a good understanding of what occurs in QC.
Quality Assurance is the methods used to ensure a product is suitable for the market. The methods include all of the systems, structures, reviews and evaluations used to meet product requirements. Quality Control is more focused on if the product and processes meet those requirements.
The types of jobs and training relating to Quality can vary depending on the type of product or service. Most of these will follow ISO 13485, which sets requirements for quality management structure.
I believe it should be fairly easy to switch between QA and QC. Each position should have moderate-experience knowledge about the processes involved in the other. That being said, I think the switch from QC to QA should be easier because QC employees will have more first hand experience with the inspection processes for that specific company.
Explain the difference between QA and QC, and think about the differences that each of these have as a career. For example:
What types of training are relevant to each and how could they differ?
What types of jobs would each of these people have?
In your opinion, is it easy to switch between these roles? Why or why not?
Is switching in one direction easier than switching in the other (QA to QC, vs. going from QC to QA)? Why or why not?
Quality Assurance deals with setting the standard for medical device production to create a safe and effective product. Quality Control makes sure those rules and standards set by QA are followed and exist to fix any flaws if they come up. With QA training, there must be a thorough familiarity with relevant FDA regulations that apply to the device being made and ISO 13485:2016. Although I don't have any experience with QC training, I think it requires less research on the standards and, more so, company-specific training. The QC must be familiar with the standards set by QA. I think it would be easier to switch from QA to QC but not the other way around. To switch from QC to QA would require a lot of studying the many FDA regulations you were not familiar with.
It's very easy to confuse the two aspects the first Quality control can be defined as "part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements." While quality assurance relates to how a process is performed or how a product is made, quality control is more the inspection aspect of quality management. Understanding the differences makes them easier to differentiate.
If I was to simplify the difference between quality control and quality assurance, I would say that QA puts systems in place that supports the creation of a quality good or service. QC refers to working the system to make sure that quality standards are being met. I believe QC careers would have me on the production line, and QA would have me in an office having meetings about what quality looks like and how to we achieve to the level that is valuable to our customers. I think there is more value in a move from QC to QA because that hands on experience is extremely valuable when making future quality decisions and providing input on how to reach those goals.
I believe each reply on this tread has captured the fundamental ideas of QA and QC. Since they go hand in hand, as @aniketb has stated, one cannot exist (or perform to its full potential) without the other. A project with only QA will create standards for products but will never know if these products pass or fail. Similarly, QC will test products without knowing if improvement is necessary. Switching between QA and QC is no easy task; both are two different halves part of a greater whole. Perhaps it may be easier switching from QA to QC only because the understanding for the desired output is clearly visible.
