quality assurance

Quality Assurance

The processes a company or organization uses to make sure its products do what they are supposed to do. There are two primary aspects of quality assurance. The first ensures that a product functions. That is, if a product is supposed to cut watermelons, quality assurance operatives see to it that it is designed in such a way that it actually cuts watermelons. The second works to eliminates mistakes so the products are created as they are designed. Quality assurance may be conducted in almost any industry. See also: Quality, Quality control.

quality assurance

an overall organizational commitment to the detection and prevention of QUALITY problems in order to maintain specified levels of product quality. Quality assurance involves managers and employees from all functional areas (production, marketing, purchasing etc.) in collaborating to design and produce more reliable goods or services (‘quality assurance groups’). In addition, small groups of supervisors and employees within each functional area may be formed to identify and solve quality problems (QUALITY CIRCLES). See TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT, QUALITY CONTROL.