If you’re thinking about how to manage product quality effectively, you may have come across the term ‘golden sample.’
A Golden Sample, also called an approval sample, is a sample your manufacturer sends to you before mass production. It represents a perfectly-made product that completely aligns with your product quality standards.
These crucial samples serve as a standard for comparison to all future production goods. They make your quality control measures more effective and help you to prevent quality fade.
Golden Samples: How Do You Develop?
Golden samples are the result of an approval process and are essentially the ‘go-ahead’ signal to start work on your production goods.
The approval process works as follows:
- The supplier sends you pre-production samples.
- You check the samples and either approve or reject them.
- If rejected, the supplier produces new samples.
- Once approved, the supplier can start production.
You will need to save the final samples, and they should be signed, dated, and sealed. Generally, you will need several of them:
- One for the manufacturer to hold on to
- Some samples for your third-party inspectors
- One for you to keep for your reference
Why Golden Samples?
You can compare your golden samples to all future mass-produced items to determine if they meet your quality standards.
For example, let’s say you’re making ceramic mugs and an issue develops with their color after a year or two. They are coming off the line in what appears to be candy red, but they are supposed to have more of a deep crimson red. Your supplier argues that they’re red, just like you requested, so you pull out the approval sample for a side-by-side comparison. Upon examining it, the supplier can clearly see there is a significant difference and that they need to remake the mugs.
Used in conjunction with your product specifications and inspection checklist, golden samples are an essential tool that help you set expectations with your manufacturer. During a product quality inspection, the inspector can take a golden sample to the factory and compare it to production goods.
How to Conduct Product Inspections With Your Golden Samples
Many companies with a strong focus on product quality choose to conduct inspections at the factory regularly. Frequently, they use pre-shipment inspections, which occur once 100% of an order is produced and it is 80% packaged.
You arrange a date for the inspection, and an inspector in the country of manufacture travels to your supplier’s facility. They do this once production is completed but before the orders ship.
The inspector takes your inspection checklist, the approval sample, and various QC tools. Using the AQL sampling method, they randomly select goods from your order and begin going through their list of checks. During the inspection, they often:
- Visually inspect products
- Check packaging and labeling
- Verify goods meet physical requirements
- Test product functions
- Conduct other special tests as needed
Having that perfect sample plays a pivotal role, as the inspector can easily compare it to the products they examine at the factory. And if any quality issues are discovered, you can discuss them with your manufacturing partner and work out a solution before shipping.
Golden Samples Ensure Product Quality
Together with your product specifications, golden samples give you something that helps you hold your factory accountable. You can use it during third-party quality inspections to help verify the condition of the goods in each order.
This article was originally published on the Insight Quality Services website.
Andy Church – Founder & CEO of Insight Quality Services
Andy Church has over 20 years of experience in product quality and founded his company in 2014. Insight Quality provides product inspections, factory audits, lab testing, and other services in 17 countries worldwide.
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