品質管理(ひんしつかんり)

Compound of 品質(ひんしつ) (quality) + 管理(かんり) (management, control). Often abbreviated as QC in Japanese business contexts.

Common collocations

• 品質管理(ひんしつかんり)部門(ぶもん): quality control department
• 品質管理(ひんしつかんり)を徹底(てってい)する: to ensure thorough quality control
• 品質管理(ひんしつかんり)基準(きじゅん): quality control standards
• 品質管理(ひんしつかんり)体制(たいせい): quality control system

Related words

• 品質保証(ひんしつほしょう): quality assurance (QA) — broader than QC, covers the entire system for maintaining quality
• 検品(けんぴん): inspection of goods — the physical act of checking products
• 不良品(ふりょうひん): defective product — what quality control aims to prevent

Cultural note

Japanese manufacturing is world-renowned for its quality control practices. The concept of 改善(かいぜん) (continuous improvement) and QC circles (品質管理(ひんしつかんり)サークル), where small groups of workers regularly meet to discuss quality improvements, originated in Japanese factories and became globally influential.