The tasks in quality assurance

Quality assurance (QA) is one of the most important steps in the value chain, especially in manufacturing companies. It ensures that the quality of the incoming and outgoing goods and merchandise meets the qualitative specifications. The tasks in quality assurance are diverse and offer exciting perspectives for those starting their careers. We show you what the tasks in quality assurance consist of.

What is Quality Assurance? - Job description

Before going into detail about the range of tasks, we would first like to explain the concept of quality assurance in more detail. A common definition is:

Quality assurance is not only widespread in the manufacturing industry, but also in many other commercial sectors and in the service sector. As part of quality management according to the DIN EN ISO 9001 standard, quality assurance is a central instrument for meeting quality standards. All QA measures are usually the responsibility of a quality controller.

The most important tasks of quality assurance at a glance

The specific tasks in quality assurance differ significantly depending on the industry, the product range and the size of the company. The quality assurance measures include both internal and external work processes.

Quality assurance tasks typically include:

• Creation of process descriptions to ensure product quality.
• Definition of methods and workflows to ensure an efficient, productive and high-quality way of working.
• Quality control of incoming and outgoing goods, products and services.
• Establishment of an optimization cycle in terms of continuous improvement of processes.
• Definition of quality standards based on internal specifications, customer requirements or legal standards.
• Conducting internal audits to review quality standards.

In principle, it makes sense to distinguish between product-oriented and process-oriented tasks in the QA task description.

Product-oriented quality assurance aims to continuously check the quality requirements of the products in the manufacturing process. For example, measuring methods such as ultrasonic tests, hardness tests or tolerance measurements are used to monitor the quality of the product.

On the other hand, process-oriented quality assurance is aimed at optimizing internal processes and workflows. This involves, for example, internal coordination between two production areas or the specification of release processes in the company.

Quality assurance plays a major role in these industries

From a company's point of view, a functioning quality control is essential for survival. Accordingly, hardly an industry today can manage with its own quality management system with integrated quality assurance. Industries which are particularly quality-oriented include:

• Food technology
• Pharmaceutical
• Chemical
• Electrical
• Automotive
• Aerospace
• IT
• Energy

In addition to the industries mentioned here, many service providers such as consultants or engineering offices also use quality assurance methods today. These mainly relate to internal coordination processes that are required to ensure quality.

Your path to quality assurance

With its exciting tasks, quality assurance offers great prospects for career starters. There are a number of specialized courses in the UK that prepare you for quality assurance tasks. In addition, you will also find many specialists with a business administration or engineering degree in the QM departments.

Here is a small selection of courses related to quality management:

• M.Sc. Quality Engineering
• M.Sc. Laboratory and Quality Management
• M.A. Industrial Production Management
• M.Sc. Process and Quality Management
• M.A. in Sustainability and Quality Management

As you can see from the course titles, these are all Master's level courses. So if you want to work in quality assurance later, it makes sense to first complete a bachelor’s degree in business or engineering. You can then apply for a master's degree related to QM.

Salaries in quality assurance

With a master's degree in one of the above courses, you have good chances of an exciting career in quality management. Quality controllers are in demand on the job market and usually earn £32,000 to £37,000 to start with, although with a master's degree you can earn in the upper part of this range.

With a few years of professional experience, you can quickly increase your salary to around £50,000 per year, depending on the industry and size of the company. If you work as a quality controller for a large company in an attractive industry, you can even earn more than £70,000 gross per year.