Quality Assurance and Product Certification
Quality of products is certified by national or authorized private organizations implementing regulations and standards pertaining to performance and quality assurance. These regulations and standards are based generally on how the users or customers are satisfied with the product, and on factors of health and environment safety stipulated in certain government codes. All products and services passing nationally accredited test standards are allowed for retail and trade.
Quality assurance refers to the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the creation and processing of a product to meet at least the minimum standards. This is applicable for all kinds of business, whether related to continuous production or definite projects. Although it does not guarantee production of quality products, it minimizes the chance for allowing low-quality, which are most likely dangerous for public use, to be distributed on the market.
Companies answer to authorities enforcing policies regarding product quality if they are found to be distributing products without undergoing quality control. Different recognized private organizations conduct accreditation using automated product certification and quality assurance systems to help companies build their credibility and reputation in providing quality products and services. The technology they use is proficient in providing reliable results.
The quality of a product is not measured merely on the final output but also on the management employed to attain such output. The various factors leading to the final output are part of the data evaluated using quality assurance systems. However, the notion that quality output always results from an effective process is true, making the evaluation and the results quite simple and concise.
A product should fit for purpose and created right at first run of the process to be considered of quality. This is the general principle of quality assurance dissected into several sub-principles encoded in the product certification software. However, quality should not be mistaken with high quality or expensive, which are two different terms. High quality products are those that exceed the standards. Both quality and high quality products can either be expensive or not depending on the demands of the competition.
Quality assurance is applied in a broader way in the fields of construction and project management. The evaluation in this case is not focused mainly on the products utilized but also on the procedure of utilization. The purpose of the product may not be utilized well if the procedure is not effective and the management quality is poor. Quality assurance systems provide matrix that can determine whether or not a given project adheres to standards.
