Career as a Quality Control Personnel

About Quality Control Personnel

Quality Control is an essential part of every process. It ensures that the quality of the finished products is as per the desired quality standards of an organization. Quality Control Personnel are the people who ensure that the quality of finished products of an organization matches the standards. The standards of quality may be specified in the company policy or may be defined in the contract that a company has made with the buyer.

Many people think of quality control as ensuring that the quality is above a certain lower limit. However, this is incomplete information. A lot depends on the quality of a product. It defines the durability of the product, the finish and feel of a product and the cost of a product also depends on its quality. Therefore, maintaining the specific standards of quality is not only in the interest of the buyer but also the seller and there is an upper limit to quality as well.

Quality Control Personnel collect samples from the finished products and run various tests on them. These tests depend on the product and vary in nature such as measuring their dimensions, checking for colour correctness, ensuring consistency of taste, checking for manufacturing defects etc. Quality control may be done on an individual product basis or batch-checking basis if the number of products is too high.

Basically, Quality Control Personnel ensure that the company delivers what was promised to the customer. They not only help a company keep its reputation and avoid complaints but can also help it save money by keeping the quality standard within the specified limit.

Eligibility to become Quality Control Personnel

A Quality Control Personnel has to enforce the set quality standards of a company and in order to do that, he / she has to first check the quality standards of the finished products. Hence, he / she must have good knowledge about the product as well as about the process of manufacturing of the product. Hence, Quality Control Personnel must have technical knowledge about the product they are dealing with.

To become a Quality Control Personnel, a person is usually required to have completed a bachelor’s degree course in a related field. Companies may also recruit persons having work experience in the manufacturing process as Quality Control Personnel.

After some years of experience in the field, professionals usually seek higher education in the form of postgraduate programmes such as an MBA in order to develop the skills required for senior-level positions in the field. The eligibility details of Quality Control Personnel can be checked below.

Minimum Education Required

Bachelor’s degree in the related field. Professional degree holders such as (BTech) may be preferred for the role.

Higher Education Options

Courses such as:

• MBA in Total Quality Management OR
• A master’s degree in their own field can prove helpful for growth.

Work Experience

Mostly Mandatory

Types of Job Roles Quality Control Personnel

Candidates can check the job roles for Quality Control Personnel given below.

Quality Control Inspector: Checks and monitors the manufacturing processes, machines and equipment, testing equipment etc. and gathering information from finished products. He/she also records all of the information from quality checks and is responsible for creating product quality reports.

Quality Assurance Inspector / Personnel: Quality Assurance Personnel further checks the processes and equipment used by the Quality Control Inspector to verify that the correct procedures have been followed in creating the results and reports.

Quality Control Manager: Takes reporting from the quality control and quality assurance personnel. Keeps an eye on the whole manufacturing process and coordinates with different departments as well as manufacturing managers. Quality Control Managers are also included in taking key decisions about the manufacturing processes and also help resolve disputes between the quality control personnel and the manufacturing team.

Employment Sector/Industry for Quality Control Personnel

Quality Control is an essential department for any manufacturing industry and has its own importance in the whole process. Not only manufacturing but other sectors also can benefit from quality control and many reputed companies have a quality control department to ensure customer satisfaction. Hence, there are good career opportunities in the field of Quality Control.

However, candidates will find that there is no direct career pathway to becoming a Quality Control Personnel in India. What this means is that the jobs are usually not given to fresher graduates with a bachelor’s degree.

Professionals are put in charge of Quality Control after they have gained a healthy amount of experience in the production part of the process as having that experience is vital for a Quality Control Manager.

Here are some of the key areas of employment for Quality Control Personnel.

• Manufacturing Industries

• Food Processing Companies

• Export Houses

• Textile and Cloth Manufacturing

• Software Development Companies etc.

Pay Scale/Salary of Quality Control Personnel

PostEntry-Level SalaryAverage SalarySenior-Level Salary

Quality Control Inspector / 

Quality Assurance Inspector

Rs. 2 – 2.5 LPARs. 3 LPARs. 5 – 7 LPA

Quality Control Manager

Rs. 2 – 3 LPARs. 7 LPARs. 8 – 10 LPA

Quality Assurance Manager

Rs. 3 – 4 LPARs. 11 – 12 LPARs. 15 + LPA

Books & Study Material to Become Quality Control Personnel

BookAuthorPublisherThe Quality ToolboxNancy R. TagueInfotech Standards/ASQThe Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook: A Quick Reference Guide to Nearly 100 Tools for Improving Quality and SpeedMichael George, John Maxey, David Rowlands, Mark PriceMcGraw Hill EducationRoot Cause Analysis: The Core of Problem Solving and Corrective ActionDuke OkesASQ Quality PressJuran’s Quality Handbook: The Complete Guide to Performance ExcellenceJoesph DefeoMcGraw Hill EducationEconomic Control of Quality Of Manufactured ProductWalter a ShewhartMartino Fine Books

Pros of becoming a Quality Control Personnel

• There are multiple career pathways to get into the field and people from various streams are eligible.

• Professionals can take up certification courses for growth in the field.

• Workload reduces as you grow higher up in the field.

Cons of becoming a Quality Control Personnel

• The work can often get a bit monotonous.

• High level of experience may be required before one can get into this field.

• Professional education is often mandatory for quality personnel and additional certification may also be required.