SEDL / STP / STP814-EB / STP28556S

Quality Assurance at the Ford Motor Company Central Laboratory: A Dynamic Approach to Laboratory Quality

Gaft, S
Test Development Analyst and Development Group Coordinator, Ford Motor Company, Central Laboratory Services, Dearborn, Mich.

Richards, FD
Test Development Analyst and Development Group Coordinator, Ford Motor Company, Central Laboratory Services, Dearborn, Mich.

Pages: 8    Published: Jan 1983

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Abstract

Quality assurance can be realized by integrating the concepts of quality of data, certified calibration of equipment, and approved methodology. At the Ford Motor Company Central Laboratory, this is accomplished by enlisting employee commitments to quality into a program that measures the laboratory output (reports) for equipment calibration and standards, test methods and sampling, overall report quality, and record retention. This paper describes a quality assurance program developed and implemented at Central Laboratory in 1978. The program has been readily accepted by laboratory management and engineers and has yielded an impressive reduction in significant discrepancies in laboratory reports since its inception.