management of production and operations

Quality assurance in production and operations is one of the most popular topics of professional research. Dozens of books were written to explain the main standards and practices of quality assurance in manufacturing and operations management. This paper presents a brief overview of the history of quality assurance. The definitions of quality and their implications for production and operations are provided. The paper explores the main quality assurance practices and their relevance in contemporary manufacturing facilities. Controversies over using popular quality assurance systems are discussed.