A quality control board is a group of representatives who ensure local and federal quality standards are met. The most common types of quality control board are for land, air and water pollution control. Each member of the board typically has different duties and responsibilities when it comes to checking and reporting on compliance.
Quality control boards for environmental aspects will usually monitor company and individual actions to ensure the integrity of the air, water or land is kept intact. This means limiting pollution and destruction as well as rebuilding areas which have been degraded. A governmental quality control board is usually comprised of members chosen from different industry and government backgrounds, as well as possible local citizens. This ensures a balanced control board with government, business and community interests in mind.
Some private companies also have quality control boards to ensure compliance with product creation, marketing and internal procedure guidelines. This is typically necessary for franchises or companies with many individual locations. The only way for many large companies to ensure each location is doing things the way it should be is to have a quality control board perform inspections and compile reports from the information gained. Sometimes the members of the quality control board are employees of the company and sometimes they are employees of third-party vendors to avoid bias.
There are quality control boards for all types of industry and in many companies. Some boards oversee product creation and manufacturing, while others review food and drug invention. A number of schools and school systems also have a quality control board over them so they will continue to perform in the best interest of their students. All of these control boards perform regular inspections and other necessary action to keep agencies within the guidelines. Sometimes this necessary action even includes shutting a location or agency down after repeated quality failures.
Control boards in general may receive negative criticism from many sides. The agencies or companies which the board is meant to regulate may begin to have problems with guidelines which are too strict. The public or quality control board contractors, on the other hand, might have issues when guidelines are too lax. This is especially true when guidelines are in place to keep people out of danger in any way and mistakes are made which cause harm. In an attempt to keep a balance between the two sides, many control boards are regulated themselves and must make regular reports to outside sources to prove their diligence.