Comprehensive quality assurance

The firm failed to install a mature and comprehensive quality assurance department. ... 

The public health implications required a rapid, yet reliable assessment of these sites. A cost-effective procedure was developed to analyze for 2,3,7,8-TCDD down to 1 part per billion (ppb) in hundreds of soil samples ( ). From late 1982 thru 1985, over 13500 samples were analyzed by 50 different laboratories using procedures based on isotope dilution and high resolution gas chromatography with low resolution mass spectrometry. A comprehensive quality assurance program was implemented to assure the reliability of data generated during this massive monitoring effort ( 3). 

As a part of today s quality management, multiple methods of measurement and statistics are used to detect, analyze, and eliminate potential or existing faults as a task of quality assurance towards an internal or external customer. A basic precondition for a comprehensive quality assurance approach is to gain and involve internal and external customer requirements and to assess products and processes by these requirements and indicate problems. To plan and accomplish these assessments are the main objectives of quality assurance. Due to the high complexity of today s products and processes, inspection planning and adequate capability of the measurement equipment represent two of its key elements. 

Limitations in the Soviet manufacturing capacity for specialist equipment such as electronics and control, and the lack of a comprehensive quality assurance system, linked to the pressure to design and build plant that could be manufactured, constructed and commissioned quickly, led to a design which, in both concept and detail, has features which impaired ultimate plant safety. Among the features of the design which appear to be questionable, some of which contributed to the initiation and development of the accident at the Chernobyl 4 reactor, the following merit noting ... 

ISO 9001 is the most comprehensive quality assurance standard. It is made up of 20 elements and applies to companies whose business includes design and development. 

Appropriate siting is critical to the success of the monitoring network. Poor siting could result in low-quality, vmrepresentative data. It is therefore important that comprehensive quality assurance/quality control procedmes (QA/QCPs) be developed to address network siting. These procedures should be designed to meet a specific set of quality assmance objectives, namely ... 

Quality assurance. Thermosetting compoimd production uses comprehensive quality assurance programs to ensure that the customer receives products that meet their specific specifications, regardless of the process or equipment employed. Formulation and processing specifications require that the incoming raw materials meet specific quality standards and that the manufacturing processes be carefiilly monitored to make certain that the final compoimd meets a designated property profile. 

Perhaps the greatest problem in trace analysis is assurance of the accuracy of the results (i.e., the avoidance of systematic errors). Systematic sources of error are possible in every step of an analytical process. The most reliable method for detecting systematic errors is continuous and comprehensive quality assurance, particularly by occasional analysis of (certified) standard reference materials. Strictly speaking, an analytical method cannot be calibrated if suitable (i.e., representative) standard reference materials adequately representing the matrix of the expected test samples are not available. However, internal laboratoiy reference materials can then usually be prepared, whose matrix largely resembles the matrix of the test portions expected. If problems occur in the preparation of such reference samples, the standard addition method (SAM) can be applied, in which internal laboratory standards are added stepwise to the test sample (analyte and matrix)... 

Traceability of materials and components to individual units is required and each is serialized. A comprehensive quality assurance program is also implemented. One to two percent of cells built are tested under conditions similar to those seen under actual use conditions as part of a quality assurance program. 

The operating organization should prepare and implement a comprehensive quality assurance programme covering all activities which may have an influence on the safe operation of the nuclear power plant. The programme should meet the requirements of the Code on Quality Assurance for Safety in Nuclear Power Plants and Qther Nuclear Installations [8] and should be made available to the regulatory body. 

A comprehensive approach to the quality assurance in NDT would combine both approaches. It creates and maintains conditions for the people protection, safe operation of objects and products and preservation of the environment. 

Information about forthcoming meetings and symposia can be found on the wuw sites of the organizations described above (see Table 8.4). The journal Accreditation and Quality Assurance published by Springer (see Table 8.2) includes a comprehensive review of RM related meetings. 

Since many ion exchange columns exhibit mixed-mode interactions with analytes, factor analysis has been found to be useful in optimization.84 A 3-year, comprehensive review of inter-laboratory errors in determinations of the anions chloride, nitrate, and sulfate and the cations sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium suggested that multipoint calibration is essential and nonlinear calibration desirable.102 The need for nonlinear calibration was confirmed by an extended quality assurance study of chloride, sulfate, and nitrate in rainwater.103... 

These statistical methods give a comprehensive description of the whole separation and therefore can also be used as tools to investigate separation properties for quality assurance procedures. 

Unlike quality assurance plans, which address primarily regulatory requirements involving comprehensive documentation, quality control programs are science based, the components of which may be defined statistically. The two most important components of quality control are (1) determination of the precision of analysis and (2) determination of the accuracy of measurement. 

QUALITY ASSURANCE - A comprehensive root cause methodology will often include a component to ensure that the method is being applied properly. 

Several quality assurance tests should be applied when using predefined trees. Firstly, predefined trees are designed to capture most root causes, but may not be comprehensive. A completeness check should be conducted on each branch of the tree to see if there are other root causes associated with the category of that branch that are not listed on the tree. 

Predefined trees are a convenient means of identifying root causes. Providing all of the causal factors have been determined, use of a comprehensive predefined tree should ensure that most, if not all, root causes are identified. Several quality assurance tests should help identify any remaining root causes. 

Quality Assurance of Chemical Measurements, Taylor, J.K., Lewis, Chelsea, MI, 1987. A comprehensive guide to quality assurance. 

Under a comprehensive quality system the QU can expect an expanded and more visible role within the organization with greater accountability to and interaction with upper management. The QU should ideally be independent of the other organizational units to assure clear delineation of responsibility and authority and avoid conflicts. In certain instances, such as auditing, independence or objectivity is central... 

The aim of this book is to present an up to date account of procedures for testing rubber materials. It intends to be comprehensive in covering the complete range of physical properties and all of the tests in common, and sometimes not so common, use. Inevitably the bulk of methods are the standard ones, often somewhat arbitrary and primarily intended for quality assurance purposes, but in each case the requirements for testing to predict performance and for obtaining meaningful design data are considered. 

The BSI was formed in 1901 and has now developed to the point where it covers an astonishing range of subjects from virtually all branches of industry. Apart from its main function of producing standards, it also operates a quality assurance division which operates BSI s certification and assessment schemes and a comprehensive test house. 

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