Description
Plan, direct, or coordinate quality assurance programs. Formulate quality control policies and control quality of laboratory and production efforts.
- • Stop production if serious product defects are present.
- • Review and approve quality plans submitted by contractors.
- • Review statistical studies, technological advances, or regulatory standards and trends to stay abreast of issues in the field of quality control.
- • Generate and maintain quality control operating budgets.
- • Evaluate new testing and sampling methodologies or technologies to determine usefulness.
- • Coordinate the selection and implementation of quality control equipment, such as inspection gauges.
- • Collect and analyze production samples to evaluate quality.
- • Audit and inspect subcontractor facilities including external laboratories.
- • Verify that raw materials, purchased parts or components, in-process samples, and finished products meet established testing and inspection standards.
- • Review quality documentation necessary for regulatory submissions and inspections.
- • Review and update standard operating procedures or quality assurance manuals.
- • Produce reports regarding nonconformance of products or processes, daily production quality, root cause analyses, or quality trends.
- • Participate in the development of product specifications.
- • Monitor development of new products to help identify possible problems for mass production.
- • Instruct vendors or contractors on quality guidelines, testing procedures, or ways to eliminate deficiencies.
- • Identify quality problems or areas for improvement and recommend solutions.
- • Instruct staff in quality control and analytical procedures.
- • Identify critical points in the manufacturing process and specify sampling procedures to be used at these points.
- • Document testing procedures, methodologies, or criteria.
- • Direct the tracking of defects, test results, or other regularly reported quality control data.
- • Create and implement inspection and testing criteria or procedures.
- • Confer with marketing and sales departments to define client requirements and expectations.
- • Communicate quality control information to all relevant organizational departments, outside vendors, or contractors.
- • Analyze quality control test results and provide feedback and interpretation to production management or staff.
- • Oversee workers including supervisors, inspectors, or laboratory workers engaged in testing activities.
- • Monitor performance of quality control systems to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.
- • Direct product testing activities throughout production cycles.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
