Quality control is a process that involves working with suppliers to find problems, fix them, and then continuously improve product quality over time. Quality control can be applied to any industry, but it’s especially important in the furniture industry because it often involves large volumes of products shipped across multiple states or countries. Guangdong Inspection is a reputed product testing company in Foshan who conducts thorough quality inspection for hard as well as soft goods. Quality inspection on home furnishings, electronics, jewelry and sport equipment come under Hardline inspection services while apparels, footwear & accessories fall under softlines.
A quality control plan needs to be developed before any production begins
This is a critical step in ensuring that the furniture you produce meets your quality standards. The quality control plan should be developed with the supplier and reviewed regularly, so that it can be used as an ongoing tool for measuring and improving performance.
Quality control plans should also include:
- Process descriptions (how you make things)
- Material specifications (what materials are used)
- Manufacturing processes (how/where things are made)
Production samples should be inspected
Production samples should be inspected and tested to validate the quality control plan.
The first step is to take production samples from each unit. You can do this by taking a representative sample of each product type or all products at once, depending on the time & resources available to you.
Production sampling involves taking small amounts of material from each item being produced so that they can be tested for quality assurance purposes (QA). There are several different furniture defects that must be inspected before launching the product in the market. Importers find it difficult to buy goods from Southeast Asian manufacturers for challenges like language barrier, compliance and logistics. That’s where product testing companies like Guangdong Inspection come to the rescue who conducts quality control for different goods in Foshan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Ningbo, Shanghai and other places.
There can be critical, major and minor defects. Defects that can cause hazardous conditions or make the product unsafe to use, they are critical. Major defects are likely to result in failure or reduce the usability of the product. Defects that hardly affect the usability or operation of the product are counted as minor defects.
Inspection includes checking every piece individually either visually examining them without touching directly. However, there are machines that have sensors incorporated into them which detect whether anything wrong has happened during production process.
Pre-production inspections – catch problems early
Pre- production inspection is not a substitute for quality control, but they can help you catch problems early and prevent defects from getting into the supply chain.
Pre-production inspections should be conducted on every product that goes into production, whether it’s made manually or by machine. The goal is to ensure that your products meet specifications before any further work — and once you’ve caught an issue in production, you’ll have plenty of time to fix it before it becomes too late.
Finished product inspections – the final line of defense against defects
Random finished product inspections should be used to catch nonconforming products before they leave the factory, but they can’t replace a full audit program. You will need to conduct random finished product inspections on each shipment of furniture in order to ensure that your brand is being presented as it should be by your importer.
Periodic audits – improve your product’s quality over time
Periodic audits will get you the information you need to improve your product’s quality over time. It’s important to be aware of what parts of your process are working well and where improvements can be made. The best way to do this is by having a third party on board to conduct periodic audits, which are likely conducted at least once per year (and preferably more often). These should focus on specific quality issues within the manufacturing process, such as:
- Good materials used while manufacturing
- Cleanliness standards maintained throughout production/assembly processes
- Properly trained employees who understand their roles and responsibilities
Conclusion
Quality control is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your furniture is shipped to customers in perfect condition. We hope this article helped explain how quality control in furniture manufacturing works, what it looks like on an importer’s end, and how it can be improved over time.
