How quality control reduces your costs
Quality control is an integral part of any production line, particularly to deliver high-quality output that meets consumer expectations and compliance guidelines.
However, embedding quality control does require investment from your plant, especially if you want to access the best standard through adequate processes and systems.
Although quality control costs may be high initially, having appropriate measures in your production lines will actually save you money in the long term. You will offset the cost of quality control every time you process a line, making it a cost-effective and beneficial move for your plant.
In this guide, we have delved into the cost implications of quality control to demonstrate how it could save money and provide continuous advantages for your plant.
- Reduce waste
- Enable productivity
- Prevent product recalls
- Streamline processes
- Meet compliance guidelines
- Increase sales
- Introducing quality control into your plant
Reduce waste
One of the perks of introducing a quality control regime is that it reduces waste. It has been estimated that manufacturers lose 5 to 10% of turnover through inefficient use of raw materials and waste disposal. If you reduce waste in your plant, it could therefore drive efficiencies and enhance your bottom line.
There are many ways quality control contributes to waste reduction.
Firstly, by incorporating product inspection at various stages throughout your production lines, you will detect and rectify any issues ahead of time. By inspecting your raw materials early on during pre-production, you can reduce any potential waste well ahead of time – lowering product giveaway while still meeting your quality thresholds.
It will also prevent you from having to dispose of finished products when a problem emerges after production. It can be frustrating when this happens, as it spells a total loss of costs, supplies and time associated with processing that product. However, if you catch the issue earlier enough during production, you may be able to stop the compromised product moving further down the line, thereby saving wasted time and associated costs. In some instances, this might enable you to fix the issue completely before it’s too late.
Effective quality control should also remove the need for you to reprocess a line, espousing a first-time, correct approach.
Enable productivity
Every business wants maximum productivity across its operations. Quality control processes will help you achieve this by catching issues early on, so you can address them and move forward uninterrupted. For example, if you incorporate product inspection before processing, you can refine your starting materials, allowing you to run the line smoothly without experiencing any problems.
Quality control will also increase the chances of your final product meeting quality standards the first time. This means that the work you put into processing the line will have favourable outcomes, preventing time lost to incorrect production or having to repeat tasks.
In some cases, contamination or other product flaws may result in damage to your machines, especially if it makes the product incompatible with your systems. This damage can ultimately lead to unplanned downtime later down the line, which will compromise productivity and potentially push back your delivery deadlines.
By introducing appropriate quality control practices, you can instead speed up turnaround times and quality, enabling you to create excellent output on limited time and costs.
Prevent product recalls
Product recalls happen because of poorly made or potentially hazardous products being placed on the market. Usually, this is due to inadequate checks being made before the product leaves production and enters the grasp of your customers. Unfortunately, recalls are not uncommon, with food recalls found to be on the rise in 2019.
Product recalls have substantial cost implications. The Grocery Manufacturers Association predicts food recalls cost companies an average of $10 million in direct costs in the US. There is likely to be similar expenses in the UK and other sectors.
A survey by Harris Interactive also found that 21% of consumers affected by a recall would not buy from that manufacturer again, so there is real harm to your profitability and sales in the long term.
By utilising quality control processes – such as product inspection – you can reduce the risk of product recalls by identifying problems before they leave your plant. This will also prevent customer complaints and damage to your reputation if a customer were to have a bad experience resulting from your product.
Streamline processes
When implementing quality control protocols into your plant, you need to obtain suitable equipment and processes that enable you to improve quality. Over time, these measures will become an accustomed part of the production process, allowing you to continually meet standards and deliver consistently excellent output.
With streamlined processes guaranteed to offer high quality and reduce waste, you will be better placed to reach your targets and set more ambitious goals for your plant through improved productivity, faster turnaround times and cost-efficiency.
Once quality control is integrated into your plant, you will begin to shift to a culture of quality assurance. Instead of having to remove issues from your products, you will start to identify and analyse the risks ahead of time – meaning you can stop them before they even happen.
This will boost the consistent quality of your output even further, dramatically reducing the possibility of recalls, complaints or sub-standard products. It also means better cost-efficiency across your plant – and, as your reputation as a reliable manufacturer grows, it will mean increased sales too.
If you are seeking further efficiency, YamatoStats Automatic OEE Light is an option to optimise your production line by automatically capturing the I/O data from the stop conditions of the equipment and monitoring this to record the faults stopping the line. This allows understanding to investigate what, where and why production issues are happening to increase the line efficiency. The special I/O ethernet interface integrates into the equipment to detect and record the information automatically – enabling you to eradicate issues and ensure better quality.
Meet compliance guidelines
Quality control is essential for any manufacturer who wants to meet industry guidelines. By putting in appropriate measures, you can comply with a range of recognised standards, including GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative), ISO (International Standards Organization), BRC (British Retail Consortium) and industry Codes of Practice.
Under the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point principles (outlined by the Food Standards Agency), which focuses on both quality control and assurance, you need to effectively identify hazards and protect consumer safety in your plant. By introducing product inspection and other measures into your plant, you can ensure you comply with the HACCP guidance and improve your operations accordingly.
The cost implications of meeting industry standards and following HACCP are that they prevent you from running into trouble, such as legal action or being reprimanded by inspectors or industry bodies, which could lead to disruption and downtime in your plant. Further, you are far more likely to win over clients and build a reputation as a trusted manufacturer by showing your compliance with widely acknowledged standards. This will enable you to grow sales.
Increase sales
Quality control is about ensuring quality. Simply put, the better quality you provide, the more customers that are likely to be drawn to you. If you work with clients, such as supermarkets or food suppliers, they’re also more likely to renew contracts and come back to you for repeat custom if they’ve previously been pleased with your output.
By complying with industry standards, being affected by few customer complaints and no product recalls and ensuring every person who consumes your products does so enjoyably and safely, you can build your reputation as a manufacturer.
With a quality and trusted reputation, you can continually grow your sales, bringing increased revenue. When this is balanced against cost-effective processes and productivity, it equates to improved profitability for your plant. With increased scrutiny on the food manufacturing industry following changing consumer behaviour and the coronavirus pandemic, this is more crucial than ever.
Introducing quality control into your plant
Once you understand the rewards of quality control, you will ask what are the best ways to implement it into your plant.
The first step to introducing quality control is understanding the risks posed, including contaminants that may find their way into your products or how your materials may be compromised during transport, storage and production.
With this knowledge, you will find a practical solution for your line to assist in your quality control. X-ray, metal detection and checkweighing are all viable options in this area, dependent on your plant’s needs and its output.
After you have selected the right equipment, your next job is to install it at the appropriate places in your line and make sure it is compatible with your existing systems. You will also create processes that set quality control at the heart of your processing, alongside staff training that teaches and encourages employees to follow updated protocol.
Yamato can support you in embedding quality control into your plant. We offer a range of product inspection systems, including the YX20 x-ray system and our combined metal detector and checkweigher systems. We can discuss the requirements of your production to find the ideal option for you.
We will work with you in the commissioning of your new machinery and provide tailored staff training to empower its effective use.
Get in touch today to find out how we can tailor a solution for you.