Quality Setup

Before the team inspects anything, four masters need to be configured. Get them right and the rest of the section runs itself. Get them sloppy and your inspections produce data that doesn't roll up.

In the order most factories tackle them:

1. QC Parameters — the named things you measure, observe, or test. The vocabulary of inspection.
2. IQ Templates — bundled sets of parameters at a defined quality rank. Attached to Tech Packs to say "this style is being inspected at Q2 level."
3. Defect Categories — the hierarchical tree of defects, with codes and probable causes.
4. Alert Configuration — the triggers that turn captured data into pings and emails. This is the bridge from "data exists" to "someone acts on it."

Who owns this

In most factories, the Quality Manager owns Parameters, IQ Templates, and Defect Categories. Quality Manager + Operations jointly own Alert Configuration — the thresholds need to be agreed across functions, since alerts pull people away from their other work.

Don't leave this configuration to whoever is least busy. The defects you track and the alerts you wire up shape what the quality function actually pays attention to.

A note on changing setup after inspections exist

Most of these masters are safe to change at any time. Two exceptions:

• Don't delete a QC Parameter or Defect Category that historical inspections reference. Disable instead. Deletion orphans references and breaks reports.
• Be deliberate about changing tolerance on a parameter mid-batch. Loosening tolerance retroactively turns historical fails into passes, which is misleading. Better to create a new parameter or revise on a forward-looking basis.

What to do next

Start with QC Parameters — every other master depends on parameters existing first.