Effective Processes for Quality Assurance

Boyd L. Summers

• Editorial: Auerbach Publications
• Año: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780429509001
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Business
• Categoría: Business General

Driving innovation can reduce costs for companies, institutions, military programs, and successful businesses. Quality is key to successful innovation. Delivery of complex products must have high quality to reduce customer problems and defects. This book explains how to integrate Quality Assurance processes to produce compliant product management and gap analysis. It shows how Quality Assurance provides a common operating framework in which best practices, improvements, and cost avoidance activities can be shared.

Effective Processes for Quality Assurance emphasizes improving process execution and reducing operational costs. It also focuses on how Quality Assurance personnel must support companies, institutions, military programs, and successful businesses by encouraging a cooperative, proactive approach and ensure compliance through management and team member participation.

Lean and Agile can provide a competitive advantage, and this practical reference explains how to implement these two principles to deliver products that have fewer defects. It also explains:

• Quality Assurance methods
• Measuring benefits of Quality Assurance process improvement
• Quality Assurance performance and improvement
• Risk management
• Quality Assurance improvement with metrics
• Effective processes for Quality Assurance
• Quantitative process performance and commitments
• Quality Assurance plans
• Quality Assurance for customers and suppliers
• Supporting software configuration

Effective Processes for Quality Assurance covers the critical issues for implementing Quality Assurance processes that can deliver high-quality products successfully.

1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Quality Assurance

In order to develop, operate, and maintain Quality Assurance process capabilities, there must be a major discipline supporting the entire life-cycle (i.e., commitment, consulting, planning, verification, and validation for design, builds, Quality Assurance, and delivery to customers) needs to be completely understood. The critical understanding and the implementation of the right discipline of these methods empower and achieve effective, flexible, and Quality Assurance results. The right disciplines are identified in Figure 1.1.

More than a word, it is a way of life, and Quality Assurance is more important than Quantity “One home run is much better than two doubles”.

The Aerospace standards 9100 (AS9100), Standard Aerospace Evaluation (SAE) AS9110, and International Organization for Standardization 9001 (ISO 9001) are the models for Quality Assurance of all processes, requirements, production, and service. These standards are used when conformance to processes is to be assured by companies during several stages of compliance. The standards given below adopt and deploy the following:

Figure 1.1 Quality is important.

• Companies, institutions, military programs, and successful businesses should comply with AS9100 for Quality Assurance to show system requirement-specific additional requirements for support.
• Providing Quality Assurance for maintenance, repair, or modification services should be required to comply with AS9100 or may select SAE AS9110 to ensure that processes are compliant and working per Quality Assurance disciplines.
• Software companies’ products must comply with ISO 9001 for compliance to minimum requirements for the application of AS9100 and ISO 9001 on software programs.
• ISO 9001 requirements for a Quality Assurance management system can be used for internal application certifications and contractual purposes to focus on the effectiveness of meeting and accomplishing customer requirements.

As a software and Quality Assurance consultant, I like to reference ISO 9001 disciplines and requirements during all reviews, audits, and evaluations. Before implementing reviews, audits, and evaluations, it is important to have future Quality Assurance objectives in place.

Management and all team members must provide the planning for Quality Assurance to be carried out to meet the integrity of quality to be maintained when changes are planned and implemented. Programs and organizations must achieve and sustain quality of the product or service produced to meet the customer needs. Confidence of customers will show that quality is achieved in the delivery of all products provided for use.

1.2 Vision

Effective Quality Assurance processes are inclusive for creating all people to work together and establish an inspired future for all companies, institutions, military programs, and successful businesses.

1.3 Mission

Driving the growth of people and all businesses through personal and professional development focuses on disciplined execution and quality. Quality Assurance Audit Steps are as follows:

• Quality Planning
• Perform Reviews and Audits and Evaluations
• Record and Report Reviews and Audits and Evaluation Results

1.4 Quality Planning

At the start of each audit, review, and evaluation period, Quality Assurance auditors prepare for planning by identifying contracts evaluated during that specific and important period for companies, institutions, military programs, and successful businesses.

The identified contracts and processes require the right criteria derived from documentation associated plans, procedures, and work instructions.

1.5 Performing Reviews, Audits, and Evaluations

This step provides the criteria derived from

• contracts
• documented plans
• defined procedures
• work instructions

Performance of reviews, audits, and evaluations ensures activity performance and processes are compliant with approved directions. Performance and processes are important for auditors to make an assessment as to whether implemented and used processes are compliant or noncompliant.

An auditor’s performance helps companies, institutions, military programs, and successful businesses to verify, analyze, communicate, and track technical, financial/costs, schedules, contractual, customer, suppliers, and internal/external risks to ensure long-term success.

Interviews with management and employees ensure that Quality Assurance is implemented for compliance, promoting a professional environment. The auditor identifies an issue or opportunity for improvement, as a result of reviews, audit, and evaluations.

1.6 Record and Report Reviews, Audits, and Evaluation Results

Recording and reporting reviews, audits, and evaluation results provides companies, institutions, military programs, and businesses to maintain historical records (electronic or documents) such that they accurately reflect the activities and status (Figure 1.2). Managing configuration and control of all records as required by contract and requirements are retained for compliance and use.

1.7 Quality Management

Quality management ensures that everything is consistent. It has four main components: quality planning, Quality Assurance, quality control, and quality improvement. Quality management focuses not only on product and service quality, but also on the means to achieve it. Therefore, quality management uses Quality Assurance and control of processes as well as products to achieve more consistent quality. Having quality management in place means simply having documented paperwork and online instructions, executing with knowledgeable employees, monitoring or measuring, and making continual improvements. The following improvements are to plan and document to deliver results and do implementation by a skilled work force. Always check and act to take actions and continually improve performance.

Figure 1.2 Quality Assurance and Documentation.

In order to have quality management implemented, the companies and institutions must be focused, process-based, and improvement-oriented. Say what you do, do what you say, prove it, and improve it. A quality management system can be used for internal application certifications and contractual purposes, and the focus is on the effectiveness of the quality management system in meeting customer requirements and expectations.

Do what you say (Compliance): Follow all procedures and instructions that affect your work. You must say what you do (Documentation): Use current plans, procedures, and work instructions. Prove it (Records): Demonstrate your work in accordance with compliant processes/procedures and provide objective evidence. Improve it: (Business Management/Continual Improvement): Implement change based on the information provided by business management.

If the specification does not reflect the true quality requirements, the product’s quality cannot be guaranteed. For instance, the parameters for a pressure vessel should cover not only the material and dimensions but also the operation, environmental safety, reliability, and maintainability requirements.

The quality of products is dependent on the participating constituents, some of which are ...