4 replies to this topic

[jenky]

I have been tasked to research food industry spending on quality assurance.  Does anyone have any insight into this topic or be willing to share information on their own QA budgets (i.e. QA Expenses as a % of Total Sales or Revenue)?  We measure quality costs in our organization, but are looking for some industry benchmarks to see where we compare. 

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Jennifer

[Charles.C]

Dear JenniferB,

 

IMHO, it is a universal Company Operational Prerequisite that QA Personnel are to be underpaid. It is a corollary that the cost of maintaining a QA function is to be minimised while preserving external credibility.

 

Perhaps you could example how the QA costs are estimated in yr own organisation to prompt some input ?.

 

Rgds / Charles.C

[Tony-C]

I have been tasked to research food industry spending on quality assurance.  Does anyone have any insight into this topic or be willing to share information on their own QA budgets (i.e. QA Expenses as a % of Total Sales or Revenue)?  We measure quality costs in our organization, but are looking for some industry benchmarks to see where we compare. 

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Jennifer

 

Hi Jennifer,

 

I am not sure if this is information people will be willing to share.

 

A large factor in QA costs is final product sample rate which you may find people will divulge. This will vary so it would be useful to know which products you are manufacturing.

 

Regards,

 

Tony

[cazyncymru]

Dear JenniferB,

 

IMHO, it is a universal Company Operational Prerequisite that QA Personnel are to be underpaid. It is a corollary that the cost of maintaining a QA function is to be minimised while preserving external credibility.

 

Perhaps you could example how the QA costs are estimated in yr own organisation to prompt some input ?.

 

Rgds / Charles.C

Ohh so true!!

 

QA, together with engineers & admin don't make any money. We are a necessary evil.

 

My boss would tell you that I spend far too much, and I tell him its cheap if it keeps him out of jail!

 

Cazx

[jenky]

Thank you for your input.  We measure QA expenses in the traditional financial accounting measures, but also using COQ - measuring costs of preventive measures, appraisal/inspection tasks, and failures (internal/external).  Of course, we are seeking this information to benchmark where we are and ultimately the senior management is looking to reduce, but my hope is that is to prove that we already run a tight ship and are below industry standards. 

 

We manufacture food bases and dry mixes, if that helps.  As far as sampling, we use a risk-based sampling approach to incoming ingredients based on vendor compliance and product risk.  For finished products, we sample every batch. In my experience, this similar to what other companies to do in our industry.  Does anyone have any other approaches?