A Quick Guide on Quality Standards
Learn what quality standards are, how they relate to quality assurance and quality control, the principles, and some examples.
Learn what quality standards are, how they relate to quality assurance and quality control, the principles, and some examples.
Published 27 Jul 2023
Quality standards refer to sets of guidelines, systems, methods, requirements, and specifications followed by an organization to ensure consistent process and product quality. Mostly prevalent in manufacturing, quality standards are established by industry regulatory boards to help drive customer satisfaction and maintain compliance. Globally, ISO quality standards are the most widely accepted set of standards applicable to various industries.
Any product or service that’s free from any manufacturing defect, deficiency, or process variation is considered of good quality. This is achieved through the holistic process of quality assurance and quality control.
Thus, to ensure and maintain good manufacturing practices, a set of manufacturing quality standards must be established and followed for the purpose of uniformity across the entire manufacturing process.
Additionally, some of the benefits of quality standards include the following:
Principles of Quality Standards
In setting quality assurance standards, the 7 principles of quality management also apply to help establish a more fitting Quality Management Standard (QMS) based on your business and industry. That said, the principles of quality standards are the following:
Learn more about this list of quality standards most widely used in the manufacturing, healthcare, food, and automotive industries.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published the ISO 9000, the family of good management practices standards for QMS. The ISO sets quality control standards for manufacturing companies to adhere to so that they can maintain compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements. Under ISO 9000 is ISO 9001, which sets out detailed requirements for establishing a QMS that specifically suits their industry needs.
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Another set of notable quality standards examples is Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP).
GMP refers to the system of processes and documentation to ensure that manufacturing products are being produced and controlled consistently against quality standards. On the other hand, GLP is a set of principles that ensures non-clinical laboratory studies are following quality standards and maintaining the integrity of safety test data.
Both the GMP and GLP are enforced by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That said, the US FDA sets out regulations that address manufacturing practices, including personal hygienic practices, facility maintenance guidelines, sanitary operations, and process controls during food manufacturing.
The International Automotive Task Force (IATF) 16949 was created specifically for the automotive industry. Apart from helping organizations maintain the quality of automotive services and assembly parts, IATF 16949 also guides in continuously improving how manufacturers carry out their processes toward reducing defects and waste.
The International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) 9100 is a specific set of QMS requirements for aviation, space, and defense organizations in the aerospace industry. This can be applied to all supply chain levels to achieve optimal quality and efficiency.
Enforcing and monitoring quality standards in your organization requires an optimized approach to ensure you’re not missing out on critical process issues, system improvements, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). To help you with these, use a powerful mobile solution such as SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) and leverage the following features for your QMS:
You may also download and customize these ready-to-use checklist templates for your quality checks:
Patricia Guevara
Patricia Guevara is a content writer and researcher for SafetyCulture. With her extensive content writing and copywriting experience, she creates high-quality content across a variety of relevant topics. She aims to promote workplace safety, operational excellence, and continuous improvement in her articles. She is passionate about communicating how technology can be used to streamline work processes, empowering companies to realize their business goals.
Patricia Guevara is a content writer and researcher for SafetyCulture. With her extensive content writing and copywriting experience, she creates high-quality content across a variety of relevant topics. She aims to promote workplace safety, operational excellence, and continuous improvement in her articles. She is passionate about communicating how technology can be used to streamline work processes, empowering companies to realize their business goals.
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