Do you remember your first day on the job in QA (Quality Assurance) or QC (Quality Control)?

I sure do. I started directly out of college as a QC laboratory chemist and worked my way up, but there are two things I remember well from that first day: First, my laboratory trainer kept introducing me as a “whippersnapper,” which I thought was a fish until I Googled it…talk about embarrassing. I also remember a huge, white, three-ring binder. It was well used, the cover was worn, and the pages were crinkled and faded. But what it contained! All of the QC and QA acronyms, industry guides, a compilation of experiences (even the bad ones), QC definitions, standard operating procedures, scientific references, laboratory methods…so much information! Some might call it a cheat sheet, but we called it the Holy Grail of QC. As I progressed in my career, I developed my own binder with similar information for my employees, and I strongly suggest you do the same.

Let’s take a look at a few examples of what you might want to include in yours: