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Year 11

Quality

I can explain how products are monitored and tested to meet quality standards.

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New
New
Year 11

Quality

I can explain how products are monitored and tested to meet quality standards.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Improving the production process prevents defects and ensures consistent quality.
  2. Inspecting and testing products helps identify and correct defects.

Keywords

  • Quality Assurance (QA) - ensuring the production process prevents mistakes and maintains quality

  • Quality Control (QC) - checks made on a product before, during and after its production so it meets quality and safety standards

  • Tolerance - the acceptable range of variation in a product's dimensions, or weight

  • Standardise - make components or processes the same to ensure consistency and quality

Common misconception

QA and QC are the same thing.

QA (Quality Assurance) focuses on preventing defects by improving the production process, while QC (Quality Control) focuses on identifying and fixing defects in the finished product.


To help you plan your year 11 design and technology lesson on: Quality, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use hands-on activities, like testing a product for defects (QC) or designing a process to avoid errors (QA), to make the concepts more engaging and practical.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keyword with the correct definition.
Correct Answer:PPE,Equipment used to protect workers

Equipment used to protect workers

Correct Answer:Risk Assessment,The process of identifying hazards

The process of identifying hazards

Correct Answer:Quality Control,Ensuring products meet safety standards

Ensuring products meet safety standards

Correct Answer:BSI,The organisation setting product safety standards

The organisation setting product safety standards

Q2.
What is the main purpose of quality control in manufacturing?
To create new product designs
Correct answer: To ensure products are safe and meet standards
To increase production speed
To reduce the cost of production
Q3.
Put the following steps in the correct order for ensuring product safety:
1 - Perform a risk assessment.
2 - Use PPE during production.
3 - Test products through quality control.
Q4.
What does 'product quality' refer to?
the design of the product
the cost of the product
Correct answer: the overall performance and reliability of the product
Q5.
Why is it important to check products during production?
To increase the cost of production
Correct answer: To ensure the products meet required standards and function properly
To make the production process faster
Q6.
What could happen if mistakes are found in a product?
The product becomes more expensive.
The product is automatically improved.
Correct answer: It may cause customer dissatisfaction or safety issues.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which statement best describes the difference between Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC)?
Correct answer: QA prevents defects, while QC identifies and corrects them.
QC ensures mistakes don’t happen, while QA checks finished products.
QA and QC are the same process.
QA only applies to manufacturing, while QC applies to all industries.
Q2.
Put the following Quality Control (QC) steps in the correct order:
1 - Inspect and test the product.
2 - Compare product to tolerance limits.
3 - Identify if the product passes or fails QC.
4 - Rework or reject the product if necessary.
Q3.
Match the Quality Control method to its purpose.
Correct Answer:Visual inspection,Spot surface defects

Spot surface defects

Correct Answer:Tolerance testing,Check if product meets size or weight limits

Check if product meets size or weight limits

Correct Answer:Incoming inspection,Ensure raw materials are correct

Ensure raw materials are correct

Correct Answer:Functional testing,Ensure product works correctly

Ensure product works correctly

Q4.
Standardisation is important in Quality Control because it ensures that all products and components are .
Correct Answer: identical, the same, consistent, within tolerance, uniform
Q5.
A factory produces metal bolts that must be 12 mm in diameter with a tolerance of ±0.3 mm. Which of these bolts would fail Quality Control (QC)?
11.8 mm
12.2 mm
Correct answer: 12.4 mm
11.7 mm
Q6.
A production process must be designed to prevent defects. This is the role of Quality .
Correct Answer: Assurance