What Does a Quality Engineer Do?

Most common in manufacturing plants, a quality engineer is someone with a technical/engineering background who handles the day-to-day issues with product quality within the plant, at the customer and at suppliers.

Plant Data Collection

The QE decides what process metrics will be monitored and how they will be sampled, using statistical process control (SPC) tools such as run charts. The line operators will react based on control limits established on these charts by the QE. The idea is to stabilize the process before rejects are made that could get to the next station or final customer.

Working with Other Departments

The QE works with the design engineers to determine the key product characteristics and how best to measure them in a real-time plant environment.

Customer Issues

The QE is often the liaison to the final customer on quality issues that have affected the plant, such as fit, form and function. He is responsible for implementing containment and corrective actions at his plant to rectify the customer's problem.

Supplier Issues

The QE is also called in when incoming inspection finds defects in supplied material. He may then work with purchasing and its supplier quality engineers to get the problem fixed at the supplier, including containment and corrective actions.

Continuous Improvement

As well as reacting to problems, the QE is involved in proactively reducing variation and eliminating defects using tools such as Six Sigma and lean manufacturing.

Training

The QE works with production to train operators in new assembly methods and new testing criteria. He also works with the quality technicians in running the quality lab's measurement equipment, such as coordinate measurement machines (CMMs).