Expected Characteristics for Quality Inspection Companies in China

1. Personal Characteristics of Quality Inspection Companies

Personal characteristics are highly important.
Especially for quality inspections which require honesty, and dependability.

Particularly, because you can’t come to see how the quality inspection goes on.
Then the characteristics of inspection companies are the things that determine the final results.
That’s why we put this factor in the first part.

1). Take honesty and business ethic as the top priorities

Some manufacturers pay less attention to the quality of their products. This is especially true for small manufacturers which have just started their production. And have had little time to establish themselves well in their industry.

One of the potential solutions will be third-party inspection companies. However, the third-party inspection companies must be reliable themselves.
It’s like a measuring tool – the tool itself must be accurate. Otherwise, how can you expect trustable results?

Within the quality inspection market, there are many companies to hire.
It is not easy to choose the right partner. Nor can it be easy to be trustful that they will provide a reliable result.

A shipment is inspected by one inspection company, but the result may not be true. It is therefore essential for you to be sure about one thing. That is, the third-party inspection company and its work are accurate and honest.

We can explain a little bit about the LED lighting industry as an example. An LED light has many parameters that determine its quality. Some parameters are not obvious or directly noticeable by the naked eyes. If such a parameter has issues, the buyers may not be able to identify it without tests.

In this case, we can say the decision is completely in the hand of the third-party inspection company. If they are honest and reliable, you are safe from potential issues in the future.

Another thing to mention here is even more important. A third-party quality inspection company may serve several competing brands in the same market. And they have access to the technical documents of all the customers. In such cases, it’s important to keep secrets from the customers.

You don’t want this happens to your company. Right? That’s why we put honesty and business ethic as the top priorities. Their importance will never be over-emphasized.

We know the importance of business ethics clearly, and we have some basic practices to assure the honesty and reliability of our quality inspectors. This is called “Visibilito“. We take it seriously. No kidding! 

2). Sharp eyes with great attention to target defects

Quality inspections require detailed examinations of different aspects of the products. A product is usually finished after multiple steps with several production techniques. The points to check can be as long as several spreadsheets.

If a product has issues, then the products may have issues after arriving in the hands of users. Then the costs will be very high by that time. Better to have inspectors – with a keen eye for detail – who can look for and find defects before shipment.

The cost behind product quality issues is huge. It can be far more than most people realize. If you haven’t had an idea about the total cost of product quality, spend some time reading the Cost of Quality. 

If you are not sure how to tell if a quality inspector has sharp eyes or not, check this post out. It should give you some helpful hints: 6 Simple Ways to Develop an Eye for Detail.

3). Capable to face suppliers and gain respect during inspection tasks

It’s easy for manufacturers to think of quality inspection companies as troublemakers. However, when done correctly and with proper preparation, quality inspections are a part of the production process.
They can prevent manufacturers from losing money due to potential claims after shipment.

To ensure inspection tasks go smoothly, it’s important for inspection companies to do their jobs properly within the limits of their authority. They should gain respect from the manufacturers and build mutual trust. And capable to let the manufacturers understand they are doing the right things in the right way.

Meanwhile, when working with manufacturers, remember that they are just people too. If they do not feel appreciated or respected by their customers, they may react negatively. In some cases, this could lead to poor-quality products being delivered.

Treat the manufacturers well. And let them know how much you appreciate their hard work! So, the inspection tasks and results will be respected in the end. Not to be questioned and even challenged.

2. Soft Skills for Quality Inspection Companies

Quality inspection tasks are some kind of teamwork. No matter a quality inspector or an inspection company will have to work together with the manufacturer and the buyer. 
It’d be very helpful to have good interpersonal skills for inspection tasks. That’s why we decide to talk a little bit about soft skills in the second part.

4). Capable to coordinate two sides to resolve problems

Never forget, a third-party quality inspection company offers service to its client.
And we are a middleman between their client and the manufacturer.

When problems occur, it’s important that all the 3 parties work together to find solutions. Our client may not know about certain processes or procedures. We need to guide them through these processes. And make sure they have all the information they need to make decisions on their own.

It is also important that both sides understand each other’s roles within the project. This helps eliminate misunderstandings about who is responsible and to what extent.

It’s important to remain calm and diplomatic while trying to resolve the problem together. Never try to take control of everything and make them accept our decisions. We don’t know all the truth.
So, remaining open will be helpful for troubleshooting.

5). Easy to understand the essence of problems

It is very important for quality inspectors to understand problems during quality inspections.
Not only the quality inspection of the products but also the essence of those quality problems.
In other words, we can say the root causes for those quality problems.

Good common sense can help us identify the essence of problems.
For example, there are too many scratches on the surface of LED lights.
Is it likely that this is an issue with its manufacturing processes or packaging lines?

There can be different types of products being manufactured in the factory.
The job of a quality inspector is very important.
And people will rely on your judgment.
If you are a quality inspector, you need to have good common sense facing problems.
You need to be able to uncover the essence that can affect the whole company.

Therefore, it’s important to understand the essence of problems.
Find out whether there are any problems in the process.
And whether these problems can be corrected or not.
So, the efficiency will be high, and the risks will be low.

6). Capable to identify false claims

It’s a good thing to have a healthy sense of skepticism.
Especially when it comes to quality inspections.

A third-party quality inspection company is the one responsible for inspecting the quality of products.
It means that we should be capable to identify false claims made by the manufacturers.

There are a lot of ways for manufacturers to make false claims.
Below are two possible examples.

Take advantage of vague definitions to make their products seem better than they actually are.

• One specific example is the waterproof capability of LED lights for outdoor applications.
• The manufacturer may claim their lights are waterproof but don’t tell you which IP grade.

Put too much emphasis on certain aspects of their products and neglect others.

• One specific example is the brightness of LED lights.
• The manufacturer may tell you their lights are very bright but don’t tell you other important parameters.

You should be able to identify false claims similar to these.
This may sound rare, but it does happen and can cause problems if not checked properly.

3. Professional Skills for Quality Inspection Companies

Manufacturing processes are not easy to understand.
There are so many different technical subjects that go into manufacturing a product.
And it can be difficult to understand how they all work together.

Therefore, a quality inspector or a quality inspection company should definitely possess optimum professional skills to do the right things in the right way.

7). Capable to analyze technical subjects

It will be very helpful if an inspector understands manufacturing processes and technical standpoints.
That means he will be able to analyze problems quickly and correctly.
Recognize which manufacturing process is most likely to be the cause of a quality issue.

This will be helpful for analyzing what kind of problem is happening with the product.
And how this problem could be solved.
If they don’t understand these things well, they may not be able to solve the root cause or impact of this problem effectively.
Then it’s very likely that the manufacturers will keep having the same or similar quality issues.
This is definitely not good for the customer who buys from this manufacturer.

One example in the LED lighting industry can be fastening the screws of an LED stadium light.
Some designs can have multiple screws for fastening.
And there is usually a gasket between two parts to join.

How the assembling workers fasten those screws can have a significant impact.
If it’s not done in the right order, the light is very likely to have waterproof issues.
If the quality inspector has an idea about fastening techniques, he will spend some time on this point.
Otherwise, it will be a potential issue after the light is installed in the future.

Therefore, remember to check whether the quality inspector or inspection company knows at least the basics of the manufacturing processes of your products.

8). Capable to perform inspections in a logical way

Inspections are important to ensure the quality of products.
But it is important to ensure that the quality inspection company will do their jobs in a well-organized and logical way.

Imagine the inspectors are not doing their job as they are supposed to.
They are not checking all the details of the product, but only some parts.
Or they check the products in the wrong order or use the wrong tools.
That’d be bad for both the manufacturer and the buyer.

Let us give you an example in the LED lighting industry.
Both Spectrum Test and Light Distribution Test can test Total Lumen and Lumen/Watt.
However, the two are applicable for different types of LED lights.
If applied to the inappropriate type of LED lights, it will have a significant influence on the accuracy of the test results.

Therefore, a quality inspection company should have people who are able to follow the correct process.
Not to use the wrong tool and mess up inspection results.

9). Optimum data collection and analysis  

A quality inspector should be sensitive to numbers.
In the first place, they need to know how to collect data. Collect data with the right tools and equipment.

Meanwhile, a quality inspector should be able to interpret the collected data properly, which means they should be able to read quality inspection reports.
They should know how to interpret the collected data as well as understand what it means.

Again, let us still take the LED lighting industry as an example to explain.
Suppose there are issues identified with the LED lights.
A qualified inspector should do some basic data collection:

• Which parameter is below or beyond the standard value?
• How many inspected samples you’ve seen with this issue?
• What’s the percentage of inspected samples in the whole shipment?

A good quality inspector or quality inspection company should be able to give you results with numbers.
Not to give you very simple answers like “Good”, “Not good”.

Conclusion

We’ve told you 9 essential characteristics to consider for third-party quality inspection companies in China.
This is based on our understanding and experience in this market.
But these characteristics should be also applicable to different countries and regions.

What do you think?
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Let us know your thoughts.
Thanks!