What is the difference between quality control and quality assurance?

Quality control focuses on detecting defects in products, while quality assurance focuses on preventing defects from occurring in the first place.

Quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) are two distinct aspects of a company's quality management system. They both play crucial roles in ensuring that a company's products or services meet the desired standards and expectations, but they do so in different ways.

Quality control is a reactive process. It involves inspecting and testing products or services after they have been produced or delivered, to identify and correct any defects or problems. This could involve anything from visually inspecting a product for flaws, to testing a software application to ensure it functions as expected. The aim of QC is to identify any issues before the product or service reaches the customer, and to correct them or remove the faulty items from the production line.

On the other hand, quality assurance is a proactive process. It focuses on preventing defects or problems from occurring in the first place, by establishing and maintaining a set of procedures and standards that govern how products or services are created. This could involve setting up a rigorous design and development process, training staff to follow certain procedures, or implementing a robust system for managing and tracking production. The aim of QA is to ensure that the processes used to create the product or service are robust and reliable, so that the end result is consistently of a high standard.

In essence, while quality control is about 'doing things right', quality assurance is about 'doing the right things'. Both are vital for any business that wants to deliver high-quality products or services, and they often work hand in hand. For example, the findings from QC inspections and tests can be used to improve the QA processes, and vice versa.