Quality Assurance vs Quality Management

Quality Assurance vs Quality Management

Quality assurance is a process that aims to ensure that product, service, and systems will conform to specified requirements and delivered in time with optimum quality. The main activities are prevention, control, inspection, and improvement. Quality management is the process of planning, organizing, and controlling quality at all stages of development or production with the aim to maximize customer satisfaction by providing defect-free products or services.

Quality assurance processes and quality management processes are both undertaken by an organization. To separate the two processes is not so easy. It is difficult to say when one process ends and the other starts. It would depend on the organization, its size, type of products, services as well as the expectations of its customers. The two processes are interwoven and interdependent on each other.

Quality assurance is to be found in every stage of development and production. It includes all the activities to establish, maintain, support, or improve quality. It can be seen as a proactive process to ensure that quality standards are being maintained and not a reactive approach which is only performed when quality problems occur. Quality assurance can be achieved by procedures and policies that are used in the manufacture of products or services. Quality assurance helps to prevent defects by implementing a quality system. It also helps to maintain and support the quality of the product or service.

Quality management refers to the application of managerial skills, techniques, tools, and methods to achieve efficient production in a cost-effective manner that is able to compete in the market place. Quality management is performed at all stages of the production process from inception to design, manufacture, and after-sales service delivery. It is the responsibility of top management to ensure that quality objectives and strategies are implemented and followed.

Quality assurance can be done by employing quality assurance specialists or professionals. While quality management is normally conducted by the production or service departments within an organization in collaboration with top management. Quality assurance is absent where the management or the production department does not have a defined and written quality system. Quality management takes advantage of the quality assurance system to teach and train all departments to ensure quality objectives are being achieved.

Quality Assurance vs Quality Management

Quality assurance: Quality assurance is a proactive process or activity. The main activities are prevention, control, inspection, and improvement.

Quality management: Quality management is a reactive process. It is concerned with the managerial aspects of production or service delivery. Quality management encompasses quality assurance and assurance includes quality control. It aims to maximize customer satisfaction through defect-free products or services.

How Quality Assurance vs Quality Management work together in a company?

A company has production and service departments. Quality assurance is usually carried out by the production department. It is mainly concerned with the manufacturing process while quality management is not so much involved with the production but rather involved in how a product is delivered to the customer. It includes the delivery of services and products according to the agreed specifications, in accordance with customer requirements.

Both quality management and assurance departments work for the customer. Both departments are concerned with customer perception, as well as quality objectives. Quality assurance works in conjunction with quality management. It operates as a preventive measure to ensure that quality standards are being maintained and not a reactive approach which is only performed when quality problems occur.

In conclusion: Both quality management and assurance are interwoven and interdependent on each other. Quality assurance is a process that aims to ensure that product, service, and systems will conform to specified requirements, produced in time with optimum quality. Quality control is one of the tools used in the industry to achieve quality management.