Manufacturing and Quality Control blog

Beijing faced an air quality index of 250, that’s 10 times higher than what the WHO considers “healthy” levels. How has China's pollution come to this?

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

How can you afford to spend a little extra on inspections to ensure the quality of the finished goods? With these five ways to cut inspection costs.

Topics: Product Inspection

The soapy water tank leak test stands alone in its simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness. Make sure leak testing is performed on any imported tanks.

Topics: Special Inspection Tests

Chinese factory workers still face the same issues that have affected many others of nations strengthened by growth in manufacturing. Some continue to live with poor working conditions, safety concerns and a lack of collective bargaining rights. But factories are adapting and improving following increased pressure from brands and retailers to adhere to social compliance standards. Wages are rising. People are leaving a life of poverty and joining the ranks of a growing middle class. And China continues to see consistent economic growth built on manufacturing might.

Topics: Sourcing

Supply chain negligence can cost you dearly. Importers can learn a lot from the failures of major brands – how to avoid issues with food safety and forced labor and how to correct them. An internal investigation by Nestlé S.A. found slavery in their own supply chain in Thailand, made headlines last week. How does Nestlé’s story stand out as an example for importers of supply chain mistakes? And what lessons can you learn from its telling?

Topics: Social Compliance

If you’re importing from a supplier overseas it can be difficult to find transparency. The SA8000 standard has requirements for investigating forced labor, child labor, health & safety and many others common to major brand and retailers. Certification in the SA8000 standard can go a long way in showing you what’s really going on in the factories that manufacture your products.

Topics: Social Compliance

Many importers worry about meeting commitments they’ve made to their customers. What’s the solution? Product inspection helps importers meet deadlines.

Topics: Product Inspection

Here you’ll learn three best practices for sending the samples you’ve approved for production back to the supplier to prevent issues.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

Whether you are using ceramic, stainless steel, silicone or Pyrex polymer kitchenware, any item that claims to be dishwasher safe should go through the same method of testing during a product inspection before the goods leave the factory. Here you'll learn everything you need to know about dishwasher testing for kitchenware.

Topics: Special Inspection Tests

When the important variables are controlled within the processes, your chance of getting closer to the “perfect” product will be much higher. We’ve discussed lean manufacturing and the 5S method. Let’s look at a real-life, practical application of a Six Sigma methodology. You’ll learn how one company was able to improve a process and exceed their target goals significantly.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice