Posted by Karl von Knobelsdorff
Whether you’re providing products, services, or a combination of the two, customers are looking for quality. And a big part of that is the ability to trust the companies they partner with to follow through. This is especially true in areas like automation and controls where issues or errors might not be as obvious.
We conduct independent quality audits at sites where we may not have been the setup company. During these audits, we have found interlocks and critical safeties not functioning properly. These audits have solidified our commitment to quality.
At Knobelsdorff Electric, our automation and controls have measures in place for both quality assurance and quality control, because there’s no way we’re going to install something that doesn’t work like it’s supposed to. And in order to understand our approach to quality, we need to cover the difference between quality assurance and quality control.
Quality assurance (QA) is a process or workflow for how something needs to be done, and quality control (QC) is a process for ensuring the final product meets or exceeds standards. And when you have both quality assurance and quality control measures in place, you can stand behind your final product.
For our automation and controls projects, having proper QA in place means having a framework for how to get from Point A to Point B. Instead of second guessing what steps need to be gone through, there are detailed steps to follow. Even with complex custom automation work, there are still steps you go through to get to the final product.
Once we have a final product, QC measures validate whether or not everything is working properly. Part of our QC process is to have someone who wasn’t responsible for programming come in and look things over. We’ve found that getting a fresh set of eyes leads to more in-depth testing overall.
Whether you’re talking about assurance or control, the main thing here is quality. And when we’re talking about quality, there needs to be a focus on two things:
1. Are we delivering what our customers are asking for?
2. How are we accomplishing that?
When you can answer yes to the first question and clearly explain the second, you’re setting yourself up for success. If you’d like to partner with a company who places a premium on quality assurance and quality control, work with Knobelsdorff Electric.