These days, many companies are buying surgical masks due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak without knowing much about that type of product. Are you in that situation? If so, here is a generic quality control checklist that we use for standard surgical mask inspections.
Note, the checklist needs adapting for other types of masks such as N95 respirators (contact us if you need help with that).
The QC checklist we use at Sofeast for surgical mask inspections
You can download the checklist for your own use by hitting the button below:
Important notes for buyers of standard surgical masks
- When you are on-site and there is no specialized testing equipment, there is no way (that we know of) to test the non-woven fabric and confirm it blocks particles above a certain size.
- Purchasing medical supplies from an ISO 13485 certified manufacturer is (much) safer.
- These types of products are usually made in a relatively high-grade clean room. Don’t be impressed by a simple clean room designed for electronic or food factories — that’s not sufficient.
- Make sure you know the expiration date before you buy the masks. Yes, they have a certain lifetime and they need to be disposed of beyond the expiration date.
- Wearing a mask is NOT a reliable way of preventing an infection by the COVID 19 virus or other forms of coronaviruses. It is good for someone infected to wear a mask to reduce the risk of infecting other people. But it is not a 100% safe approach.
- Other important measures are avoiding close contact with many people (especially in a close environment), keeping one’s hands clean, and not touching one’s face with one’s hands.
What else can we tell you about the COVID-19 Coronavirus and its effect on manufacturing & importers?
Here at Sofeast we’ve been on the frontlines here in China during the epidemic and have been blogging about the virus and its effects. Take a look:
- Coping With Coronavirus 1: Identifying & Vetting New Chinese Suppliers During the Epidemic – In light of the Coronavirus epidemic, at Sofeast we’re providing help for buyers to source & verify new suppliers in China without needing to visit at all.
- Coping With Coronavirus 2: How To Inspect Products & Audit Factories Without Going On Site – Due to Coronavirus, here’s how Sofeast will adapt to the situation where we need to perform your product inspections & factory audits without going on site.
- Coping With Coronavirus 3: How Importers Can Check If A China Factory Is Ready & Has Capacity – How can importers assure Chinese suppliers are truly ready & have capacity during the COVID-19 epidemic? We can support you with this special remote audit.
- Is It Safe To Receive Packages From China? [Coronavirus FAQs] – Our consultant who has 10 years of work experience in microbiology answers these coronavirus FAQs to provide some clarity about package safety.
Our CEO, Renaud, has also blogged about the virus a lot on our blog ‘QualityInspection.org.’ Start by reading this post.
Disclaimer…
We are not lawyers. What we wrote above is based only on our understanding of the regulatory requirements. We do not present this information as a basis for you to make decisions, and we do not accept any liability if you do so. Please consult a lawyer before taking action.
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