8 Steps to Effective Quality Control in Electronic Manufacturing
Electronic manufacturing quality control is among the most significant aspects in delivering reliable, secure, and competitive products in today’s technology-driven market. With the complexity of electronics and their ubiquitous penetration into every facet of modern life, ranging from medical devices to automobiles, imperative quality control cannot be overstressed. Producers must maintain full quality control systems right through the entire process of manufacture from raw material receipt right through to final inspection of the completed item, so all assemblies and components are of an exceptionally high quality.
Following these 8 steps will ensure effective quality control in electronic manufacturing…
Step 1 – Create a Clear Specification
Good quality control begins many years before a single component shows up on the assembly line. Unambiguous and clear specifications and standards are the most important foundation that will guide all subsequent quality control. They must be comprehensive, not merely documenting functional requirements of the final product but the nature of individual components, acceptable variation, use environment, and performance characteristics. They must be readable and comprehensive for the entire team so that the whole team shares a common interpretation of acceptable quality. This record is the one against which all measures of quality are made, and forms the basis on which to train staff, certify suppliers, and investigate quality when errors do occur.
Step 2 – Establish Supplier and Materials Standards
Supplier qualification and incoming material inspection is the second highest level of quality control. Electronic manufacturing relies on the quality of incoming material, and a single faulty part can ruin an entire lot of finished goods. Manufacturers need to have strong supplier qualification programs that filter prospective suppliers on the basis of quality management system, manufacturing capability, and history. Incoming inspection procedures should verify the parts are to specification prior to releasing them into production. Based on the nature and criticality of the part, the inspection can range from visual inspection and measurement inspection to electrical test and chemical analysis. The majority of companies employ statistically principle-based sampling plans so that they can confidently make quality decisions without having to inspect each and every item, thus achieving a balance between efficiency and completeness.
Step 3 – Pinpoint Process Control Protocols
Process control is central to quality assurance in electronics production. Rather than being reliant on end-of-line inspection as the exclusive method for identifying defects, good quality control involves checking and verification points during the manufacturing line. This in-process inspection methodology, also referred to as in-process inspection, allows for manufacturers to identify and eliminate defects as they are being produced, avoiding defects accumulating and waste.
Step 4 – Sampling, Testing and Improving Your Process
Statistical process control provides manufacturers with very powerful tools with which to monitor quality and make process improvements over the long term. By incorporating the use of sampling and testing points into the manufacturing process, quality engineers can monitor trends, detect process drift prior to defects, and make informed data-driven process-improving decisions. Statistical methods such as capability studies and control charts transform raw measurement data into useful information that allows producers to maintain levels of consistency in quality and make continuous process improvement. This analytical process is beyond the old pass / fail quality control judgments so that manufacturers can identify vulnerabilities in the process and make lasting improvement.
Step 5 – Testing and Inspection of Finished Products
Testing and inspection of finished products are the final opportunity to guarantee that only conforming products are shipped to customers. There are generally a few levels of tests for electronic companies, each to test some characteristic of product performance. There is functional testing to ensure the product functions as planned during normal conditions of use, and there’s environmental stress testing where products are exposed to temperature, humidity, vibration, and other environmental stresses to ensure reliability. Electrical safety testing ensures compliance with standards and consumer safety. Burn-in testing, where products are operated in test facilities for hours to catch early failures before shipping products to customers, is also performed by most companies. Testing protocol for each product is different by product type, end use, and regulatory status but always follows the same concept; intense testing guarantees that products will perform dependably in customers’ applications.
Step 6 – Traceability
Documentation and traceability schemes give assurance that manufacturers can trace products through the entire production process and respond when quality issues arise. Current manufacturing methods for electronics tend to use sophisticated traceability systems that keep a record of precisely which components were used in a product, when and where the operations were conducted, what the results were on testing, and who performed key operations. This complete record-keeping is for a number of reasons: it enables rapid response to supplier quality issues by identifying what products may be affected, supports root cause analysis of field failures, and provides evidence of compliance with quality standards and regulatory requirements. Traceability is not only a good practice in the medical device and aerospace industries but also a regulation.
Step 7 – Corrective Action
Corrective action procedures and ongoing improvement procedures all work to make quality control systems improve and adapt over time. Where defects in quality are found, internally or as recorded by the customer, the manufacturer must properly investigate in a manner that determines root causes and use corrective actions to avoid future occurrence. Effective corrective action procedures do not just resolve short-term problems but also restore long-term system-causing errors. Most manufacturers have formal mechanisms of continuous improvement under which everyone can identify opportunities for quality enhancement and participate in improvement efforts. Quality management is dynamic and must respond to new technologies, customer requirements, and competitive forces.
Step 8 – Employee Training
Training and competency management complete the system of quality control by ensuring that employees possess the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain quality standards. Electronic production usually includes intricate operations and advanced machinery, and the skill of the operators has a big impact on product quality. Companies need to conduct extensive initial training, continuous skill enhancement, and regular competency testing to enable staff to continually execute their job to the desired quality level.
