What is QA

QA comprises a methodology of preventing defects in the production of manufactured products and avoiding problems in delivery of a product or service through administrative and procedural activities.

ISO 9000 defines QA as "part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled." It is the systematic measurement and comparison with a standard and monitoring of processes and an associated feedback loop that confers error prevention in the delivery of the service. QA focuses on quality throughout the production process, against quality control (QC), where the focus is on detecting defects once the production process is complete.

The company-wide quality approach places an emphasis on four aspects enshrined in standards such as ISO 9001. The quality of the outputs is at risk if any of these aspects is deficient:

• Elements such as: controls, job management, adequacy of processes, performance and integrity criteria, and identification of records
• Competence, such as: knowledge, skills, experiences, qualifications
• Soft elements, such as: personnel integrity, confidence, organizational culture motivate and team spirit
• Infrastructure (as it enhances or limits functionality).

A quality assurance program suitable for the size and type of business you operate can make a big impact on reducing costs associated with defects in work product. We work with your team to build quality management practices around business systems specific to the activities of your business and with your employee process experts to document process flow and write detailed work instructions (Quality Management Instructions or “QMI’s”). The QA plan will include a quality improvement process through detection and remediation of “non-conforming product”, applied to any of the above aspects and establish a behavior pattern that supports the achievement of your quality goals.