How does quality assurance differ from quality control?

Quality assurance and quality control are two critical components of a quality management system, and their distinctions are essential for understanding how they contribute to an organization's quality objectives.

Quality assurance emphasizes process improvement, which means it is concerned with the overall processes and systems in place that ensure quality products are produced consistently. It involves planning, documentation, and ongoing monitoring of processes to prevent defects before they occur. This proactive approach helps establish a quality framework that enables continuous enhancement of processes, leading to higher quality outcomes.

In contrast, quality control focuses on product inspection, where the finished products are evaluated against predefined specifications and standards. The primary goal of quality control is to identify defects in products after they have been produced to ensure that only those meeting quality standards are delivered to customers. This aspect tends to be more reactive, as it addresses problems in the output after they arise.

Understanding this distinction clarifies that quality assurance and quality control serve complementary roles in achieving high-quality manufacturing, with assurance focusing on preventing issues through process enhancements and control concentrating on catching defects in the final products.