Manufacturing and Quality Control blog

After problems with their suppliers, many people then look to their Purchase Order and discover issues within. After a botched order, buyers are left wondering where to turn next? Many people end up contacting Quality Control firms after such a problem with a supplier. However, in many cases the issue is that they did not take the time to write up a proper Purchase Order.

Writing a detailed Purchase Order between you and your supplier is a must. Purchase Orders are business forms designed to enter detailed information for a purchase or sale of goods and services. A Purchase Order, also called a requisition or PO, is a vital part of the financial and accounting aspect of business. Templates are invaluable when learning to write a purchase order.

When looking into factories, you may notice that some are listed as ODM and OEM. Both terms ODM and OEM classify factories that supply parts or final parts. But what do these mean and what is the difference?

Al buscar fábricas, es posible que vea que algunas figuran definidas como fabricante ODM y OEM. Ambos términos, ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) y OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), se utilizan para clasificar a las fábricas que suministran componentes o piezas finales. Pero ¿qué significan y en qué se diferencian?

AQL por sus siglas en Ingles Acceptance Quality Limit que significa Nivel de Calidad Aceptado es el estándar usado por muchas empresas de control de calidad para determinar propiamente el tamaño de la muestra así como el número de defectos permitidos. Hemos escrito previamente sobre este tema explicando cómo utilizar la tabla, pero es común escuchar a importadores preguntándose que es exactamente la tabla AQL y de donde proviene.

Para cada inspección de producto es necesario tener una lista de especificaciones y de requerimientos a revisar para ver si los productos alcanzan los requerimientos deseados. Esta información tiene un alto nivel de importancia y es un factor clave para una agencia de inspecciones de control de calidad.

En conjunto con la lista de requerimientos o especificaciones siempre es sabio tener alguna muestra maestra del producto que se quiere inspeccionar despoblé el día de la inspección.

In addition to a list of requirements or specifications, it is always wise to have some master samples of the product you want to inspect available the day of inspection.

These precious master samples (called also golden or reference samples in the business) will help you compare what has been agreed between you and your supplier with the current production and also to avoid any misunderstandings (which is more than common in China for example). Of course this alone is not enough, as a clear list of specifications and requirements needs to be defined and agreed between the two parties.

Nowadays, a lot of third party inspection companies are increasing their inspectors' skills and training how to use special tools to check product quality. For example, during a soft-goods or textile inspection the most important tools that will be used are newton meters, metal detectors, barcode scanners, pantone books, etc. But one of the most important for a soft-goods inspection (along with ceramics, toys, and many other items!) is a grey scale in order to evaluate the color shading or staining.

Al ejecutar una inspección, la empresa de control de calidad realizara varias pruebas especiales de control de calidad, dependiendo del tipo de producto. Una de estas pruebas es la prueba de alta tensión (Hi-pot test) que se realiza al inspeccionar productos eléctricos. Los resultados de esta prueba son cruciales para asegurar la calidad de los bienes y que estos alcancen los estándares deseados.