Quality at the source (QATS) has been used well before lean manufacturing became so popular. Many people in the quality function have applied the principles especially at critical work areas to detect nonconforming items and prevent them from moving forward in the process. If not given proper planning it can increase appraisal costs and disrupt material flow but as part of a lean initiative, QATS can produce dramatic quality improvements relatively quickly.
QATS is one of the building blocks of lean manufacturing concepts. It can be a powerful stand-alone effort that can produce significant results or it can be partly used in conjunction with a much larger lean initiative.