Insights on Quality, Inspections, and Industrial Execution
The Steelhead Quality Solutions blog explores practical strategies for QA/QC, quality management systems (QMS), inspections, asset integrity, and project execution. We share real-world insights from the field to help teams reduce rework, improve compliance, and build quality systems that actually work.
Categories
- Audit & Compliance
- Business Strategy
- Continual Improvement
- Digital & Modern QMS
- Document Control
- Fractional Quality Management
- Nonconformance & CAPA
- Process Improvement & Mapping
- QMS Fundamentals
- Quality Management
- Quality Metrics & Performance
- Safety & Operational Excellence
- Supplier & Vendor Quality
NCRs That Get Closed: Writing Nonconformance Reports That Drive Action
Stop writing NCRs that stall, and start writing reports that make the next decision obvious, fast, and easy to close.
What Does “Continual Improvement” Actually Mean?
Confused about “continual improvement” in ISO 9001 versus other forms of process improvement? This quick breakdown makes the difference clear and shows how to build improvement into your QMS for long-term results.
From Complaints to Improvements: Leveraging Customer Feedback for Quality
Turn customer feedback into a clear quality advantage by spotting trends early, fixing root causes, and showing clients their input leads to real improvements.
Why Process Mapping Is a Hidden Quality Superpower
Process mapping turns your day to day workflow into a clear picture, so you can spot hidden delays, prevent quality escapes, and strengthen your system fast.
Quality and Safety: Two Sides of the Same Coin
If you are treating quality and safety as separate priorities, you are likely missing the simplest way to reduce risk, strengthen performance, and make work run smoother.
How Do We Blend Manual & Automated QA in Our Operations?
Learn how Steelhead helps you cut the busywork, keep the judgment calls where they belong, and design a QA system where your people and your technology actually work together.
Staying Audit Ready Through Better Quality Systems
A strong quality system keeps you audit ready year round by centralizing documents, standardizing forms, and giving your team the tools they need to stay aligned and confident.
Quality Assurance vs Quality Control: What’s the Difference?
Quality Assurance builds the process right and Quality Control checks the results. When you understand how these two roles work together, your entire quality system becomes stronger, clearer, and far more effective.
The 7 Basic Quality Tools: Your Quick Guide to Better Problem Solving
A simple set of seven tools can turn everyday quality problems into clear data-driven insights that lead to real improvement.
Quality Is a Team Sport: Engaging and Training Your Workforce for Excellence
In the end, quality isn’t a department. It’s a culture. And the most successful companies are the ones where everyone, from the shop floor to the boardroom, plays on the same team.
Document Control Made Simple: Best Practices for Managing Quality Documents
Strong document control isn’t about paperwork; it’s about confidence. When your team knows every form, procedure, and instruction is current and accessible, they can focus on doing great work instead of tracking down files or second-guessing what’s correct.
Fixing the Root Cause: 5 Steps for Effective Corrective Action
True efficiency is not about working faster, it’s about solving problems so well that they never return.
Quality Starts at the Top: The Role of Leadership in Quality Management
True quality starts with leadership—when those at the top model commitment, accountability, and integrity, the entire organization follows their lead.
Quality-First Culture: Getting Everyone on Board
Is quality just a department—or is it something every employee lives out, every day? The difference could transform your entire operation.
Quality Management Myths, Busted!
Quality management is not a cost or a constraint—it is a competitive advantage. When myths are replaced with facts, teams perform better, customers stay loyal, and operations become stronger from the ground up.
What Qualifies as an Effective QMS Audit? Internally and by Third Parties?
An effective QMS audit goes beyond ticking boxes. Whether internal or third-party, the best audits uncover root causes, strengthen processes, and drive continuous improvement, turning compliance into real value.
A Good Procedure Should Pass This 5-Second Test
If your procedures take more than five seconds to understand, they’re too complicated. Learn how the 5-second test can transform SOPs into clear, practical tools your team will actually use.
When should an Alberta-based firm choose fractional quality support?
Not every Alberta firm needs a full-time quality manager. Discover when fractional quality support is the smarter choice, giving you expert oversight exactly when you need it.
What is the Q in Fractional QMS?
The Q in Fractional QMS stands for Quality—but not the kind that drains your payroll. Discover how a flexible team of experts can level up your systems without a full-time hire.
Is your "Quality Program" just gathering dust on a shelf? It shouldn't be!
A quality management system should be more than a formality. When built right, it becomes the engine behind consistent performance and smarter decisions.