The organization of the production of a product in most cases involves the implementation by the responsible departments of the company of various types of control of products. The methods used by specialists, in this case, can be very different. Among the most common - acceptance control. What are its features? How does acceptance control affect the adoption of certain management decisions in an organization?
What is the essence of acceptance control?
To begin with, we consider the features of terminology within the scope of the subject in question. Acceptance control is the verification of the compliance of finished products with the established requirements at the enterprise that produced it, immediately before initiating the procedure for the delivery of the relevant goods to the consumer. Within the framework of this control, various defects can be identified at various stages of the production process, in particular, not identified during operational control.
The specific tasks of the procedure in question are determined by the scope of economic legal relations, as well as by the specifics of the legislation in whose jurisdiction it is located. For example, in construction, acceptance quality control involves identifying the conformity of the established list of indicators of construction projects with various state standards, as well as with the approved project.
The construction industry is characterized by a definitely high level of integration of various types of inspections. So, the type of procedures under consideration in many cases during the construction of buildings will complement operational control in terms of forming a list of information necessary for an adequate assessment of the compliance of the constructed building with state standards and the criteria reflected in the approved project.
Almost any industry is characterized by features in terms of the organization of acceptance control. Later in the article we will study them with separate examples.
What are the types of control?
But for now, let's examine what varieties production control can be represented. So, its classification is widespread, implying 2 main varieties - continuous and selective.
The control of the first type involves the verification of each object, for example, a unit of products released by the company. The procedure of the second type involves the assessment of the quality of a whole batch of goods produced on the basis of the results of checking only part of the products - within the sample. A variety of sample - statistical control. It involves the use of special methods to ensure a high degree of reliability of the verification results.
Actually acceptance control, many researchers classify:
- conducted on quantitative grounds;
- implemented by quality criteria.
Both procedures can be selective. Thus, the acceptance control involves in many cases the use of statistical methods. Consider their specifics in more detail.
Statistical methods in acceptance control
What can be associated with the use of appropriate methods and, accordingly, selective acceptance control? As a rule, this approach is predetermined by the scope of verification. For example, if a batch of goods manufactured in the amount of several tens of thousands is examined, then it can be extremely difficult to carry out their full control from a technical point of view, but from an economic point of view it is completely undesirable. Therefore, in such cases, controls are used that allow, firstly, to determine the optimal selection of goods, and secondly, to analyze it using various statistical methods for compliance with established quality requirements.
The main requirement for the sample is the inclusion of the same type of verification objects in it. Typically, in the serial production of identical products, the occurrence of any defects on several products means the presence of similar defects on others, therefore, in this case, the application of the sampling principle is appropriate.
It can be noted that the type of acceptance control under consideration is regularly used just in the course of interaction between the supplier and the consumer of the goods. Exactly how the system for approving plans and control methods between partners is organized determines the choice of approaches to assessing the quality of goods for each of the parties.
In some cases, of course, deviations from the scheme are possible, which is determined in the negotiation process. For example, this or that party may choose those controls that are most optimal from the point of view of the production model, less labor-intensive, and quick to implement. They may not always coincide with the tools that the partner prefers to use.
Statistical acceptance control can be carried out by a third party. This may be, for example, an economic entity that owns the largest share in the share capital of a manufacturing company. In this case, he may be interested in introducing the most effective types of quality control at the company he owns as a condition for increasing the competitiveness of the business.
As a rule, the requirements for the parameters of products are fixed at the level of regulatory documents, which are approved by the management of the company. Interested third parties may also participate in their development.
As is the case with many other types of control, when implementing the statistical plan is applied to conduct various quality checks of goods. In it, in particular, the rules governing:
- then, on the basis of what criteria specific forms of control are selected that make up its procedures;
- how the data obtained during the checks are processed, as well as their interpretation.
Of course, this plan can also be drawn up jointly by the supplier and consumer of the goods. A third party may be connected to the interaction between them within the framework of established mechanisms.
Quantitative and qualitative methods for acceptance control
We noted above that acceptance control is classified into 2 varieties - quantitative and qualitative.
The essence of the first is to check one or another attribute of quality in relation to the measured values. The conclusion about the results of the analysis of the sample is carried out on the basis of the study of individual characteristics of the product, sometimes the average method is used.
Quality control may involve the use of different methods for assessing the quality of a product, for example, by counting certain defective products within a sample or by calculating the number of discrepancies per one product taken in a batch.
Quality Assessment Plan
Both forms of control under consideration - quantitative, qualitative - in many cases are implemented using a common tool - a plan for assessing the quality of goods. Through its researcher determines which batch of products meets the established requirements, and which is not quite.
When implementing quantitative or qualitative control by means of an appropriate plan, the sample size is fixed , as well as the optimal characteristics according to the acceptance conditions for a series of products. In the case of quantitative control, these can be the limiting indicators - the smallest and greatest, allowing to calculate quality indicators based on the method of determining average values. If quality control is carried out, then the corresponding parameter may be the maximum number of products with defects or the total number of discrepancies that is allowed within a given series of products.
Conducting a statistical or other type of acceptance control involves the adoption by the management of the company or its responsible specialists of certain management decisions based on the results of inspections. We will study this nuance in more detail.
Decision making based on acceptance control
The procedure under consideration in all varieties, for example, if acceptance inspection is carried out, implies, first of all, the adoption by specialists who conduct the appropriate check, decisions on whether or not the investigated product meets the established quality indicators based on those parameters with which the studied characteristics of the product are compared. Based on the study, a variety of decisions can be made, for example:
- about the need to optimize technological processes in order to improve product quality;
- modernization or repair of production lines in order to eliminate the causes of defects or other inconsistencies in manufactured products;
- the need to improve approaches to assessing the quality of goods, including through additional work with partners.
Acceptance inspection results may also affect other types of inspections. For example, based on the decisions made following the results of the work of specialists at the acceptance, operational control on production lines can be changed in one way or another. Adjustments can also be made to the acceptance procedures for materials, raw materials and semi-finished products that are used in the release of goods.
The Importance of Acceptance Control for Business
Decision-making based on the results of acceptance control in a company can also be carried out taking into account the views of the partner organization, the results of the relevant checks that it conducted, as well as when considering the positions of other interested parties, which, for example, may have access to the results of acceptance control in other organizations, as an option, also included in the holding. This allows interested parties in some cases to recommend, on the basis of available data, those approaches by which acceptance sampling or continuous, if applied, can be optimized at the enterprise taking into account the experience of other firms.
Thus, the implementation of quality control of products upon their release is a procedure that can affect not only the relationship between the company and the supplier. In many respects, its results affect the business management policy, the priorities of the company management regarding decision-making on investments in various production sectors, on updating of various funds.
In fact, acceptance control is one of the feedback tools between business owners and hired employees who occupy positions both at the management level, that is, are competent in making key management decisions, and at the level of ordinary specialists who are directly responsible for the quality of products.
Practical application of acceptance control
Let us consider how the control process in the considered varieties can be carried out in practice. Appropriate approaches can be applied at different stages of product release:
- upon receipt of a series of products - in this case, incoming inspection of materials, raw materials or, for example, semi-finished products is carried out;
- as part of a shift in production operations;
- during the release of finished products.
At any stage of production, the task of the employee responsible for the acceptance control is to decide whether to approve the released batch of goods or reject it. Moreover, it matters how thoroughly the procedure for determining the optimal criteria for a defect or non-compliance of the goods with the established parameters has been worked out. If this procedure is too strict, the control process may be delayed and predetermine a decrease in production rates. However, in the opposite situation, a decrease in the quality of control is possible, as a result of which goods with defects or other discrepancies can be sent to the consumer.
Therefore, the control procedure is preceded by responsible work to determine the optimal criteria for checking goods, as well as its methods. In many cases, how a product should be checked, what specific types of quality control an enterprise should use, is determined during its interaction with partners and consumers. We will study this aspect in more detail.
Quality control based on consumer opinion
Indeed, in a market economy, communications between suppliers of goods and consumers play an important role. The ability of the manufacturer to find a common language with the buyer in terms of determining the desired indicators of product quality is an extremely significant factor in increasing the company's competitiveness. As part of the interaction of partners on issues, in particular, acceptance control, issues relating to:
- limit indicators of the number of defective products within the consignment;
- specific parameters of product quality;
- return, exchange of goods with defects and other discrepancies;
- feedback mechanisms between the consumer and the manufacturer in terms of improving approaches to assessing product quality, as well as to improve it.
In many cases, only after agreeing on the appropriate conditions of communication with the consumer, manufacturers develop specific methods of technological control, approaches to quality analysis and interpretation algorithms for evaluating the conformity of manufactured products to established parameters.
It will be useful to consider how the methods of acceptance control are implemented in practice in various industries. So, acceptance control at the pharmacy is very common. We study its features.
Acceptance control in pharmacies
It can be noted that the implementation of acceptance control in pharmacies in many cases is based on the provisions of regulatory legislation, in particular, legal acts regulating how the acceptance of those medicines that are issued directly in pharmacies should be carried out. The main task of pharmacists in this case is to prevent the receipt on the shelves of low-quality drugs that do not meet the established requirements.
Acceptance control in a pharmacy is usually carried out by checking incoming drugs for compliance with those criteria that are relevant to the description, packaging and labeling of goods. In addition, the quality of processing of various financial documents can be assessed, the availability of certificates or passports of medicines certifying their quality, as well as other similar documents, can be carried out.
If we talk about the description of the drug, its verification involves the study of its appearance, in some cases - the smell, for compliance with the established criteria. If the pharmacist doubts that the drug is of good quality, then he can send it for examination to a special laboratory. If the acceptance control carried out in relation to a particular medicine showed that its quality does not meet the established parameters, this product is rejected and placed in a pharmacy separately from other drugs.
Checking the packaging involves first of all studying its integrity. It also matters how much it corresponds to the physicochemical properties characteristic of a particular drug.
The next object of verification in the pharmacy is the labeling of goods. The control in this case involves, in particular, the study of drug labels for the presence of:
- the name of the manufacturer of the product or the organization that carried out its packaging;
- the name of the drug, its mass, volume, concentration;
- batch numbers, drug analysis;
- the expiration date, as well as the packaging date of the product.
In a number of cases, the presence of units of action indicators on the drug label is checked against one gram of plant material or a milliliter of the drug.
Checking the label also involves assessing the contents of the primary, secondary, as well as group packaging. In addition, the presence of inserts in Russian is checked inside the package or in a bundle.