How close is quality control to the scientific method?

In this article I would like to talk, as the title suggests, about two aspects that have never been missing in my work as a railway worker. I will give you an example: one day I was checking the ascent and descent of the portal loaders, and I noticed some metal chips… I immediately wrote down on the cards that there was a problem and described them, then I started to observe the structure in search of some more signs and I saw that the edges of the welds that held the box (which were the columns) together with the Hardox plates that serve to reduce sliding wear had not been rounded off. So in this case I used a somewhat rough but effective process and kept track of the problem. Subsequently, the corrective action was planned as required by law.