Quality Control Manager
Who Is A Quality Control Manager?
A quality control manager is a person who ensures that all products leaving a production line, are of high quality and conform to all safety guidelines as per regulatory authorities governing that industry. As a quality control manager, it is your responsibility to make sure that the goods manufactured in a facility do not contain any toxic, corrosive or hazardous materials that may cause risk to the final consumer.
For example, you may be asked to test a sample of 100 cough medicine bottles from a pharmaceutical company, for which you’ll have to perform multiple tests and controls to ensure that they are of high quality. As a quality control manager, you will be responsible for testing the medicine, ensuring that there are no additives or unrequired materials, as well as close out any loops of mismanagement or faulty production.
Roles & Responsibilities
Ensuring that all products that are a part of the production line are of high quality.
Making sure that there are no faulty mechanisms in the machinery that may be preventing the company from making quality goods.
Removing all faulty products that may be a cause of hazard for the end consumer.
Performing tests and analysis on the samples of the goods under your management.
Ensuring that all products meet the safety requirements laid down by the authorities pertaining to your specific industry. You need to ensure that the working environment is clean, that there are no leakages of any machinery, etc.
Creating systems and process that avoid any problems from occurring in the future.
Escalating the situation to your manager or CEO if there are problems found in the manufacturing of certain goods in the production line.
Using regression analysis, hypothesis-based testing, as well as core statistical analysis methods to refine the product quality further.
Ensuring that all raw materials involved in the production of the good are sourced from high quality vendors.
Creating internal checks and balances to ensure that the product is of high quality and doesn’t have any additives that may not be necessary.
Making sure that all processes related to the production of goods are maintained at optimum quality levels, and there are no hiccups that might prevent it from doing so. Suppose you have a sick employee and your production dips 5% that day, then you need to talk to HR about hiring another temporary worker to fill in for him that day.
Ensuring all leadership quotas, requirements and goals are met with on a quarter-to-quarter basis.
Leading a team of quality scientists, researchers, and field managers to ensure that the final product meets the internal and external quality requirements, depending on the scale of the company.
Take the Mentoria career assessment, to find out how well-suited you are as a Quality Control Manager.
What Skills Will I Need To Have To Do This Job Well?
As exciting as this sounds, there are some things you’ll need to learn to do the job right:
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
You need to have excellent project management skills as there are so many moving parts in a production unit, that anything going wrong can move things ahead unexpectedly. For example, if you have a machine that breaks down or over-utilization of certain employees on a task, then you need to effectively manage the project risks and calculate the appropriate course of action to rectify that.
DETAIL-ORIENTATION
You have to be on top of all the activities and functions of the task from start to finish. This includes minute details, such as product formulation, the supply chain lead time, the field worker’s output, etc. If you have these skills, then you’re better suited to becoming a quality manager.
MATHEMATICS/STATISTICS SKILLS
You will need to have strong mathematical, and statistical skills to perform the necessary testing and experimentation on sample sizes to ensure that you don’t have any outliers in the production line. For this highly complex task, you will need a strong background in mathematics and statistics.
MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Since you will be leading teams, dealing with external parties, and sourcing information from your team and other departments in the company, you will need to have excellent management skills that will propel your job to greater heights.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
When finding quality related issues or sourcing the appropriate raw materials, you must have great communication skills to request, enforce and source the appropriate information. As an example, assume that you find a chemical compound that doesn’t belong in the formulation, and gets titrated out as a by-product. To fix this, you must talk to all departments that are involved in that process to find the reasons why.
What Will My Workplace Look Like?
Your work life varies extensively, depending on where you work, what role you have and the scale of your job.
As a quality control manager, you’ll have to constantly be on your toes and measure, analyse and guide the process that you will oversee. Right from field managers to admin-related tasks, you will have access to a lot of information when it comes to your role, as well as a lot of responsibilities.
If you’re a part of a private corporation, then you will be in charge of the production line, the supply chain and the appropriate methodology (JIT, Kaizen, 5s, etc) for the assurance of quality for your product line.
What Is My Scope For Career Growth As A Quality Control Manager?
If you are entering the industry for the first time, then you will need to apply as an intern or a starting position at any FMCG, Pharma, Automobile or other such company that requires that products be regularly checked for flaws and maintenance issues. You will be in charge of a single production line or a secondary issue that needs to be tested.
Moving on from quality assistant to quality manager, you will be in charge of a larger set of people, data, production lines, and testing mechanism. You will be promoted to a larger role, that will require more thorough testing and you will be delegating tasks to your entire QC (Quality Check) team.
Utilizing all the skills you’ve learned on the job, you can grow into a senior management role, that will take you away from everyday tasks, and make you focus more on the management, strategy and overall checks of the quality control analysis that your company is a part of.
Thinking of a career as a Quality Control Managery? Take the Mentoria assessment & talk to our career counsellors to get personalized step-by-step guidance for your future career path.
How Much Will I Get Paid?
The exact number will depend on where you’re working, your education, skill set and internship experience. But we can give you a general idea.
A quality assistant can earn between INR 4,00,000 to Rs. 5,00,000 per annum in India. At the managerial level, as a quality control manager, it can range between INR 9,00,000 and Rs. 11,00,000 per annum in India.
Okay, I'm sold. This is amazing
STEP 1: Class XI-XII/Junior College
Go to high school or junior college, learning the basics of science, mathematics and management.
STEP 2: Entrance Exams
Depending on the course you pick, you might have to appear for entrance exams to pursue an undergraduate degree in your chosen field and university. These courses are usually offered by private schools, sometimes in affiliation with international universities. Hence, the admission criteria vary widely from course to course and even college to college.
STEP 3: Graduate Degree
You can choose to do your graduation in your particular field (BSc/STEM/Statistics). These are usually 3-year diplomas or degrees, which can help you in building the framework for your career early on.
STEP 4: Corporate Training
You can take a corporate training program under any major company’s training program, and they will take you through the essential techniques that managers use to ensure that the quality is maintained throughout the organization.
STEP 5: Apply for Jobs
Now that you’ve gained an internship, graduated from college and have a strong analytical mind for the job, you can start applying for open positions in the industry of your choosing. Fields where more industry knowledge is required like healthcare will need a keen interest in the domain and some industry expertise.
Congratulations, you are now officially a Quality Control Manager!
STEP 6: Postgraduate Degree
You can expand your knowledge of quality control management by obtaining an MBA in applied statistics or quality control management. With the help of core strategies that you will learn in a post-graduate degree, you can be on the fast track to upper management through your professional degree.
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