Obtaining academic credentials in a course of study related to the science and practice of manufacturing reliability can lead to a career as a quality controller. Some people who work in quality control are successful at gaining on-the-job experience. Inspection, evaluation, and statistical analysis skills are frequently required for this career path. A quality controller may work in production or in companies that provide personal services, where he or she can apply quality-control expertise.
A bachelor’s degree or even a higher level of formal education may be required for academic preparation to become a quality controller. The science of reliability offers a wide range of study options, with courses drawn from a variety of academic disciplines. Quality control jobs can be found in a variety of industries, including medical instrument manufacturing and food production.
Degrees from technical schools, colleges, and universities may be used to demonstrate academic credentials in the field of quality control assurance. Some people who work as quality controllers are skilled at tracking and comprehending statistical variances. As a result, in this field, having a strong background in statistical mathematics can be extremely beneficial.
On-the-job training may also be an option for those who want to work as a quality control inspector. Someone working as a quality-control inspector in an assembly plant, for example, may develop a greater understanding of manufacturing variables over time. This could happen as a result of on-the-job training, seminars, or professional association events.
A quality control manager’s responsibilities usually include product performance testing. He or she might also come up with more dependable manufacturing methods. Quality assurance can sometimes entail consulting with management and reporting on quality-control issues. Those who advance through the ranks of a manufacturing operation to become quality controllers may have the opportunity to gain a keen understanding of the variations that can occur in technological processes within a specific industry.
If a quality controller works for a company that provides services, such as health care or transportation, he or she might conduct customer satisfaction surveys, analyze service wait times, or tweak service transactions to reduce the risk of errors. A quality controller for an airline, for example, might examine and measure the airline’s baggage-handling errors. In this case, he or she may have prepared for the job researching customer metrics, such as the psychological and financial effects of mishandled luggage on repeat business.