Task Overview

As a Quality Assurance practitioner, you are required to demonstrate your understanding of how process control directly impacts product consistency and legal compliance. In this task, you will select a specific process within your vocational setting (e.g., manufacturing, food production, or logistics) and reflect on how it is controlled, monitored, and improved.

Section 1: The Theory of Process Control

Objective:

Define process control and its relevance to UK Quality Assurance (QA).

In the context of Level 2 QA, process control is the active monitoring and adjustment of a process to ensure it operates within defined limits. Unlike “inspection” (which finds errors at the end), process control aims to prevent errors from occurring in the first place.

• Relevance: Effective process control reduces waste (Lean principles), ensures consumer safety, and maintains “Right First Time” (RFT) metrics.
• Product Consistency: Explain how maintaining stable inputs (raw materials) and stable parameters (temperature, speed, pressure) ensures that every unit produced is identical to the approved master sample.

Section 2: UK Regulatory Framework

Objective:

Identify key laws governing process control in the United Kingdom.

Your chosen process must operate within the legal requirements of the UK. Depending on your industry, you must reflect on the following:

Regulation	Application to Process Control
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974	Ensures process controls include safety interlocks and risk mitigation for operators.
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998	Requires that equipment used in the process is suitable for its intended use and maintained.
The Consumer Protection Act 1987	Mandates that process controls must be robust enough to prevent defective/dangerous products from reaching the UK public.
Weights and Measures Act 1985	Specifically relevant to consistency; ensures processes controlling volume/mass meet “Average Quantity” system standards.

Section 3: Practical Application & Techniques

Objective:

Identify techniques and monitoring methods for your chosen process.

Identify one workplace process (e.g., a bottling line, a soldering station, or a data entry workflow) and address the following:

1. Technique Selection: Which technique is used to control this process?
   1. Statistical Process Control (SPC): Using charts to track trends.Automated Control: Sensors and PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) that auto-adjust.
2. Monitoring Requirements: How is the process measured?
   1. Identify the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or Critical Control Points (CCPs).
   1. Example: “In a food heating process, the CCP is the core temperature, monitored by a calibrated probe.”

Section 4: Continuous Improvement Reflection

Objective:

Propose a competency-based improvement.

Reflect on a time the process deviated from the standard (out of control). Based on your vocational experience:

• The Issue: What caused the inconsistency? (e.g., Tool wear, human error, or environmental changes).
• The Correction: How was the process brought back under control?
• The Improvement: Suggest one change to the monitoring method to prevent recurrence. This could be moving from a manual log sheet to a digital real-time sensor.

Evidence Requirements for Learners

To successfully complete this KPT, you must provide:

1. A flowchart of your chosen workplace process.
2. A written reflection (approx. 500 words) or a recorded professional discussion covering the sections above.
3. An annotated sample of a control document used in your workplace (e.g., a batch record or a check sheet).