Quality control process map

A swimlane map of quality control from the inspection trigger through sampling, testing and release, with a full nonconforming-material path, across production, the QC inspector, the QC lab, the quality manager and the warehouse. The nonconforming branch is drawn at the same weight as the release path, because that is the half people need the map for.

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What is in this map

20 steps across 5 swimlanes and 6 phases, with 4 decision points.

Swimlanes (who does the work): Production, QC inspector, QC lab, Quality manager and Warehouse
Phases (left to right): Inspection trigger, Sampling and inspection, Testing, Release, Nonconforming control and Records and trending

Why map this process

Quality control is a process whose whole purpose is to have a well-defined failure path, and it is remarkable how often that path is undrawn. Everyone can describe what happens when a batch passes. What happens when it does not (who quarantines it, who decides between rework, concession and scrap, who signs that decision) is where the process lives, and where an unwritten answer becomes an expensive one.

The other reason to map it is the separation between inspecting and releasing. The inspector produces a result; the quality manager decides what it means for a batch that is already needed on a production line. Keeping those in different lanes is what keeps commercial pressure out of the measurement.

Every step in the map

This is the spreadsheet behind the diagram. The numbers in “Goes to” are row numbers, which is exactly what the editor’s “Line to” column holds — so you can read the flow here and retype any part of it.

Every step in the Quality control process (inspection and testing) process map, in the order the editor numbers them.
#	Step	Shape	Swimlane	Phase	Goes to
1	Batch presented for inspection	Start	Production	Inspection trigger	2
2	Which inspection point?	Decision	QC inspector	Inspection trigger	3 (Incoming), 4 (In-process), 5 (Final)
3	Verify delivery against the supplier certificate	Process	QC inspector	Sampling and inspection	6
4	Record in-process checks at the line	Process	Production	Sampling and inspection	6
5	Inspect finished batch before despatch	Process	QC inspector	Sampling and inspection	6
6	Sample and inspect per the plan	Process	QC inspector	Sampling and inspection	7
7	Test sample against the specification	Process	QC lab	Testing	8
8	Results within specification?	Decision	QC lab	Testing	9 (Yes), 11 (No)
9	Authorise batch release	Approval	Quality manager	Release	10
10	Book batch into free stock	Process	Warehouse	Release	19
11	Open out-of-specification investigation	Process	QC lab	Testing	12
12	Laboratory error confirmed?	Decision	QC lab	Testing	7 (Yes), 13 (No)
13	Raise a nonconformance report	Exception	QC inspector	Nonconforming control	14
14	Quarantine the affected batch	Process	Warehouse	Nonconforming control	15
15	Material review board disposition?	Decision	Quality manager	Nonconforming control	16 (Rework), 17 (Concession), 18 (Scrap)
16	Rework the batch to specification	Process	Production	Nonconforming control	6 (Retest)
17	Release under documented concession	Process	Quality manager	Nonconforming control	10 (To stock)
18	Scrap batch and write off stock	Process	Warehouse	Nonconforming control	19
19	Record results in the quality record	Registry	QC inspector	Records and trending	20
20	Trend results and close the record	End	Quality manager	Records and trending	End

The decision points

Every branch in the map, with the label on each outgoing line. These are the questions the process has to be able to answer.

2. Which inspection point?

Owned by QC inspector · Inspection trigger
- Incoming → step 3
- In-process → step 4
- Final → step 5
8. Results **within specification?**

Owned by QC lab · Testing
- Yes → step 9
- No → step 11
12. Laboratory error confirmed?

Owned by QC lab · Testing
- Yes → step 7
- No → step 13
15. **Material review board** disposition?

Owned by Quality manager · Nonconforming control
- Rework → step 16
- Concession → step 17
- Scrap → step 18

Notes on specific steps

These notes travel with the map. In the editor they live in the Notes column and appear when you open a box.

6. Sample and inspect per the plan: The sampling plan sets the sample size and the accept and reject numbers, for example ISO 2859-1 at a stated AQL and inspection level. Record the plan, the lot size and the inspection level on the record, not only the result.
11. Open **out-of-specification** investigation: One failing result is a trigger, not a verdict. Check the laboratory first: method, dilution, calculation, instrument and analyst. Keep the original result on file whatever the outcome, and only retest under a written plan.
15. **Material review board** disposition?: Give the board a standing membership, typically quality, production and engineering, plus commercial when a customer requirement is affected. Record the reasoning behind the disposition, not only the verdict.
19. Record results in the quality record: Record passes and failures in the same place, with lot, sampling plan, defect code and disposition. Trending only works if released and rejected batches sit in one dataset.

Making it yours

Sampling rules and acceptance criteria belong in the Notes column, next to the steps that apply them: a map that says 'inspect' without saying how many and against what is a diagram of an intention. Then adapt the disposition decision: rework, use-as-is under concession, return to supplier and scrap are four outcomes, and each needs a route and an approver.

What to watch out for

Quarantine is a physical step in the warehouse lane, not a status. Material that has failed and is still sitting next to good stock is the failure mode this step exists to prevent.
A concession (releasing nonconforming material deliberately) needs an approver with a name and a record. If your map has that branch without an approval step, it is describing something an auditor will treat as an uncontrolled release.
The trending step at the end feeds everything upstream. Cutting it makes each inspection an isolated event and removes the only mechanism by which QC informs supplier management.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between quality control and quality assurance here?

This map is control: checking specific output against a specification and deciding what to do about it. Assurance is the surrounding system that decides what the specifications and the sampling plans should be. They connect at the trending step, which is where control's results become assurance's evidence.

How do I map incoming inspection versus in-process inspection?

The inspection trigger phase is where they differ, and only there: a goods receipt triggers one, a production milestone triggers the other, and both then run through the same sampling, testing and disposition. Branch at the trigger and rejoin at sampling rather than maintaining two maps.

Does this satisfy ISO 9001?

A map is not a management system, and this one is written for teams that want their inspection process to be legible rather than for a certification file. It does cover the shape ISO 9001 expects around nonconforming output (identification, quarantine, documented disposition and records), which makes it a reasonable starting point for a controlled procedure elsewhere.

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