Product Quality Controllers
Examine, evaluate and test manufactured products and primary produce to ensure conformity to specifications and standards of presentation and quality.
A hard morning in the quality room
You are a product quality controller, checking and grading produce and recording the results before it goes to buyers. It is 7am at a packing shed in peak season. Three trucks are waiting, the supervisor is running late and the grading sheet for the morning is on your bench.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
Come on, those marks are nothing. I have had top grade for this variety from you every year. If you drop it to second grade I lose money on the whole load. Just pass it.
Pass the load at the higher grade to keep a good customer happy
The buyer rejects part of the shipment a day later and the shed has to cover the difference. Passing it also teaches every other grower that the standard can be bent. Your name is on that grading sheet.
Show Warren the written standard, mark each tray by it and explain the reason
Warren does not like the result but sees it is the same standard everyone gets. He asks what to change next season. Being fair and clear is what lets him keep trusting you.
Show him the standard and the photo guide, grade each tray by it, and offer to ask the supervisor to review
Warren is annoyed but listens. The supervisor reviews later and agrees. It was the right path, but it could have been quicker if you had shown the standard first and the review offer second.
The moisture test came back right on the limit. If it's under the limit we ship. If it's over, we hold the batch for another test. We have a truck at the dock and I need an answer now. What do you recommend?
Tell her it is probably under the limit, so ship it
The batch ships and the customer's own test later finds it just over. The batch is returned and the shed loses the contract. Probably is not an answer a quality controller can give.
Tell her to decide, since you only report the number
Fiona makes a call, but she wanted your view as a person who knows the test. Reporting the number is the start, and advice is part of the job.
Say it is borderline and suggest a retest
The retest shows it is just inside, and the batch ships two hours later. Fiona is not thrilled, but knows the result is solid. A borderline reading is a reason to check again, not to guess.
I was filing yesterday's sheets and one of yours looks off. The log says pass, but the printout from the tester says fail. It is probably a typo. That batch already went out. What do you want to do about it?
Tell the supervisor straight away, show the printout and help trace the batch
The supervisor recalls the batch from the buyer before it is sold, and writes up what happened. You are told that an honest mistake reported at once is fine. Hiding it would have been much worse.
Correct the number quietly in the log and not mention it
The record is now wrong in a different way, because it has been changed without a note. When the batch is checked later, nobody can tell what happened. Altering a record without telling anyone is the worst mistake in this job.
Wait to see if the batch causes trouble before saying anything
The batch is found at the buyer's end and the call is much worse than it needed to be. Telling people early is what turns a mistake into a small problem.
How it went
The three trucks leave with sound loads, and your record is correct and signed. Quality control is a job of patience, fairness and honesty, because other people rely on your answer being right and not convenient. Could you be the person who says what the standard says, even when it is hard to hear?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The load at the borderline
A fictional case set in the quality room and grading floor of a fruit packing and food manufacturing site.
The situation
Alejandra worked in the grading room at a pear packing shed. A large grower brought in a load that was mostly very good, but several trays had pears with a mark on the skin that was right on the edge of the top grade. The grower, who had supplied the shed for years, said they had always been top grade and that she should not be so picky. The supervisor was out and a buyer was waiting on the load.
What they did
Alejandra measured the marks against the written standard and the photo guide on the wall. Some trays were below the line, and some were not. She explained to the grower which trays were which and why, showed him the guide and graded each tray by the standard. She then recorded her results and asked the supervisor to review them when he returned.
How it turned out
The grower was not pleased and said so, but he accepted the explanation. The supervisor backed her grading and added a note to the file about the borderline marks. The grower returned the next season with a changed picking process and a better load.
What would you do?
- How would you feel standing firm with a grower who has known the shed for years?
- Why does a written standard help in an argument like this?
- What could Alejandra have said to keep the relationship friendly?