Have you ever been working on a project when suddenly you thought the results might be better if you did something a little differently? After you adjusted what you were doing, your finished project was better because of the changes you made.
That's what quality assurance engineers do.
John Apostoli is a quality assurance manager. He has a diploma in mechanical engineering and a post-diploma in quality assurance.
When Apostoli was training to become an engineer, he took a course in quality statistics and quality control. At the time, the quality movement in his area was just beginning.
"I saw it as an opportunity to get established in a management position," he says. "I didn't want to work as a technician. I wanted a management position."
When Apostoli started his present job, he had to learn about the company's processes, materials and workforce. He also had to become familiar with the technology that his employer used.
At the time, the company did not have a quality system in place. Apostoli created a system and more or less defined his own job. Today, he is responsible for the quality of everything in the company.
In this job, you must talk to all departments to understand what is happening within a company. You must know all of the systems.
Your responsibilities may not be well defined, however. It is not a good line of work for someone who needs constant direction.
"If you are an accountant, there is a well-defined accounting system that you must follow," Apostoli explains. "In quality control, you often have to create the structure yourself. It's a challenge and you must be very proactive."
Louise Routledge is program head of the mathematics department at a technical institute. "I am a career teacher," she says.
In 1983, Routledge realized that quality control was becoming a very important topic for people who worked with statistics. She took some independent study to prepare herself. In 1990, Routledge certified with the American Society for Quality (ASQ) as a certified quality engineer.
Routledge teaches statistical quality control. It's a tool used in quality assurance. "Teaching statistical quality control is wonderful for me because my entire class is filled with examples drawn from local industry. That's because I belong to the local chapter of ASQ," she explains.
Routledge finds that quality work is a very positive environment. You are always making changes and learning from your mistakes. "There is a good feeling at the end of the day because you have been working to make things better."
Routledge believes that many organizations need people to work in quality assurance. The field is not limited to manufacturers. "Think about retail. Consider the need at any place where there are waiting lines, such as in banks, or people phoning customer service departments at their telephone company," she points out. "Or with organizations that operate blood banks."
You must be very good with people, says Routledge. You might work for a manufacturing plant where many people are working at low-paying jobs. Or the workers may not speak English very well. You must be able to talk with them and to assure them that, for example, each time an inspector reads a gauge, he reads it the same way.
Alan Parrish is a quality manager at a propellant manufacturing facility in Virginia. It is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility that makes propellants, munitions and explosives for the U.S. military.
Parrish has a degree in chemical engineering. He recently earned an MBA. He is also the president of his local ASQ chapter.
Parrish used to be a lead engineer. He was transferred to quality assurance in 1990. He now runs the entire quality assurance program for the facility. He oversees quality engineering, quality control, the metrology facility and the chemical lab.
He is particularly proud of the metrology lab. It calibrates all the equipment on the facility. The lab also calibrates instrumentation and tooling for 60 other companies.
If you are interested in a career in quality, Parrish suggests taking some short courses outside of college, if quality is not included in the college's curriculum. "And if you are going to get into the QA [quality assurance] field, don't wait as long as I did to certify. Do that up front. It'll be to your advantage."