As the English saying goes, “Potato, Potato” doesn’t translate well in the written form. Still, it’s saying the same vegetable but with a different pronunciation, meaning it doesn’t matter how you say it; it’s the same veggie. Not valid in the case of Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC); ask those who do those jobs.

While it’s common for most people to use QA and QC interchangeably, there are differences between quality control and quality assurance. The distinction is often unclear and can be challenging to identify. Nevertheless, they have divergent origins even though they are related; quality control and quality assurance are elements of Quality Management. However, while QA works to prevent defects, QC aims to identify the weaknesses. In a nutshell, QA is preventative, and QC is reactive. Let’s see why.

Quality Assurance Responsibilities:

• Focus on the prevention of defects.

• Proactive process.

• Process-based approach.

• Manages quality events.

QA makes sure deep-rooted issues are absent. Fixes for the long-term need to be thorough. Relaying feedback to team members and management is involved. The goal is not only to remove an issue but also to avoid the same error again.

Quality Control Responsibilities:

• Focus on the identification of defects.

• Reactive process.

• Product-based approach.

• Verifies quality.

QC operates within a set of criteria and metrics created by the QA team. The control team is focused on executing the product and pinpointing even the slightest issues. Comparing QA/QC procedures, QC bases its activities on QA’s requirements.

Quality Assurance activities are visionary – teams need to think long-term, create strategies, and plan. Quality Control is a more hands-on-deck field that deals with real problems at hand.

Back to the potato analogy, if you were to compare another food, the hamburger, to QA and QC, it would look like this, thanks to Royal Chemical’s.

And this is why it’s so good to have proper people in place for QA and QC to make your product sizzle! And for burger lovers, who wouldn’t enjoy this kind of Quality Control testing a lot more!

Would you like to know more about Quality Assurance and Quality Control  process in your organization? Contact sales@complianceg.com to discuss your needs.