Chemical Process Analytics as Part of Quality Management and Quality Assurance

Abstract

Archaeological findings in Jericho, the oldest industrial area in the world, point to the fact that even 10,000 years ago there was already lively trade between customers living far apart. As preconditions for the exchange of goods there were surely also in those times agreements on the quality and quantity of the products offered (mostly weapons and jewelry made of the dark mineral glass obsidian) and of the goods offered for payment (skins, wild cereals, various collected fruits, etc.). Without certain agreements co-existence and trade would have probably been threatened at that time by disputes and the use of violence. A “quality test” in that era was surely limited to only a few characteristics which could easily be observed. As early as in the Babylonian Codex Hammurabi (1750 BC) and in ancient Egyptian inscriptions, methods of quality assurance are documented. One is also reminded of the famous picture by Rembrandt (1650 AD) “De Waardijns” showing five serious-looking men who were responsible for the quality (measurements, weights) which had to be used in medieval Holland. Corporations and guilds attached great importance to high-quality work and punished offenses severely.