What is the difference between quality management and quality assurance?

Quality management and quality assurance are two terms used in connection with the quality of products or services. Although they are connected, they have different meanings:

Quality management refers to the totality of all activities required to plan, control and improve the quality of products or services in a company. It includes the development of strategies, processes and procedures to ensure quality and the establishment of systems to monitor and improve quality.

Quality assurance is a part of quality management and refers to the specific actions taken to ensure that a company’s products or services meet specified quality requirements. This includes, for example, conducting inspections, tests and audits to ensure that products or services meet requirements.

In summary, quality management is a comprehensive strategy for controlling and improving quality, while quality assurance is a specific component of quality management that focuses on controlling and monitoring quality.