Question 1
Quality Assurance refers to procedures and processes that monitor different facets of facility or process systematically. These processes and procedures are put in place to identify, correct and guarantee quality standards are met.
Question 2
Medical and clinical laboratories have set rules and regulations to ensure quality. They aim to ensure medical laboratory competence. Laboratory competence may consist of:
- Safe work practice
- Collection of data and procurement or receipt of specimen
- Specimen analysis and result validation
- Diagnostic procedures
- Analysis and documentation of results
- Quality Management
Question 3
The regulations governing quality assurance vary from one country to another. However, there are some basic regulations that are fundamental in all regulations governing quality assurance.
- Provide product differentiation
- Ascertain value of product
- Protect the consumers from fraud
- Increase consumer assurance
- Ensure integrity in the whole production process
Question 4
There are 3 major components of Quality Assurance are:
Standards: these are rules that members must adhere to. These rules are drawn up by a board of experts.
Audit: the inspection of the place of business, processes and procedures to guarantee goods and services standards are met. It is carried out by independent entity.
Certification: after plant or factory meets requirement standards, an independent certification committee certifies that the requirement standards have been met.
Question 5
There are 3 main quality concepts;
- Inspection Levels
- The Acceptance Quality Limit (AQL)
- When to inspect?
- Pre-production inspection
- During production inspection
- Final random inspection
Question 6
Quality Assurance; the fundamental quality control method. It entails inspecting for quality during the production process.
Product Testing
This method entails deliberate breakdown and/or damage of a good to ascertain its standards and quality.
Total Quality Control
This is testing all departments within an organization to ascertain the source for drop in quality of the end product.
Customer Feedback
This entails receiving client input and suggestion concerning the product and/or service.
References
Besterfield, D. H. (1986). Quality control.Quality control. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Feigenbaum, A. V. (1991). Total quality control. New York: McGraw-Hill.
