Using Inspection Checklists for Quality Control

• Decide what event or problem will be observed. Develop operational definitions.
• Identify the period to be observed or inspected. This period should be relevant to the problems or observes.
• Develop a standard form for each type of check sheets, e.g. inspection reports which are designed so that all workers can use to record information in an easy way. Name the column and rows.
• The upper corner of the checklist should contain information about the buyers, style, items and quantity, the production line and dates of inspection. Observed period, e.g. a day, should be written in the top line of the sheet.
• The checklist form is a table with rows indicating types of mistakes and columns indicating the time the mistake was detected. The QC inspector then fills in the number of mistakes of each type in the cell of the relevant defect and time period. The final cell in a column shows the total mistakes for the period of time while the last cell of the row shows the total defects of each type. This check list helps to identify the major types of mistakes, their frequency and the peak times defects are made (See sample form below)
• Make the check sheet in standard form available at each production line or quality control point
• Before inputting information into the check sheets, fill in all necessary information to help identify the time, place of faults
• Record the defects and sources of defects into a formulated form of check sheet. For each defected products, identify sources of each defects and record into the check sheet by marking a dash
• At the end of observed period, summarize the frequency of defects by sources or time period by adding up the total number of mistakes and note this down in the final column and final row
• Get related people signed such as inspector, line manager and quality control chief into the check sheets.
• Discuss the results and draw conclusions.
• Discuss possible actions for improvement
• The inspection checklist should be stored in a safe place.
• The summary of the inspection report can be used as input for a quality improvement program. The checklist totals can be used to identify which errors are most common, and to try to prevent these errors in the future. Workers may need additional training or guidance in order to avoid making errors. The time of the error can be useful to identify needs for more rest breaks for staff or times when additional supervision is required.

Funding for the Factory Improvement Programme is provided by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the United States Department of Labor.