How to Address Product Defects Found During a Quality Control Inspection

An organization in charge of manufacturing or supplying a specific product to another organization. It is a set of tools that helps organizations continuously measure and improve their management system for social performance. A method of randomly selecting samples of units from a batch in such a way that every unit has an equal and independent chance of being chosen. A pass result occurs when zero non-conformities are identified, or the number of non-conformities are within the tolerance level defined by the buyer. The payment term defines when, how, and where the payment of goods from the buyer to the supplier should be made. The terms of payment include details of any deposit,  the period for payment before or after the delivery of goods, and more.

It may be a single article, a pair, a set, a length, an area, an operation, a volume, a component of an end product, or the end product itself. The unit of product may or may not be the same as the unit of purchase, supply, production, or shipment. Representative sampling ensures that a smaller quantity of products accurately reflects the larger entity.

Quality Assurance

This document should include an exhaustive list of common and known quality defects with your product type. Importers have the power to specify how many of each type of defect they’re willing to accept in their finished goods. This tolerance, in turn, impacts how many units per SKU an inspector would check during inspection—the sample size. If the product defects can’t be corrected and render your goods unsellable, you may need to destroy all the affected units.

Acceptance Sampling is used to decide whether to accept or reject a production lot. After selecting a sample of units from a production lot, we inspect them and count how many defects are present in that sample. The number of defects found is compared against the maximum number of defects allowed (acceptance number).

Zero defects

Directives are product specifications or properties required by official entities, governments, or trade unions. They must be fulfilled in order to sell the goods within the country. Corrective actions are improvements which eliminate nonconformities by addressing the root cause of a problem. They ensure quality objectives types of defects in quality control are reached and similar issues are avoided in the future. An approval sample, also called a ‘golden sample,’ ‘pre-production sample’ or ‘PP-sample,’ is usually sent by the buyer to the third-party inspection company and manufacturer. It is the reference product that will be compared to the production samples.

• If the factory workers of your supplier try to scrape it off, they may leave scuff marks or other abrasions on the toy’s surface.
• A Nonconformance may be defined as the failure of a unit of product to conform to specified requirements for any stated quality characteristic.
• Put together any photos you can, share the defects with your third-party inspector, and see if they have any suggestions about what to add.
• That way, you can get a clear picture of how well-made the goods are before they make their long journey to…
• A stapler that says it’s cobalt blue on the box but is actually cherry red is a glaring mistake.

Here, we discuss why defect classification is so important, define the three types of defects, and explain how to develop your defect list. Critical defects render an item completely unusable and/or could cause harm to the user or someone in the vicinity of the product. For the same reasons, it is always a good idea to give a list of defects before an inspection. It is virtually impossible to list 100% of possible defects on a type of product (including its packaging). However, it is worth spending a few hours defining the most frequent defects.

Quality Control

A 100% inspection will be carried out by the garments factory QA Staff to remove the defective product/s. By doing so, you will also improve your quality control inspector’s efficiency in checking for the relevant quality issues. In Addition, you will also easily interpret future inspection reports and be sure that the inspector attends to all your quality concerns. A set of standards is set for the batch of products and it may vary from industry to industry.

They might give you a poor review and return the item, hurting your brand reputation. Another example of a minor defect would be a slight color variance, such as a stapler that is supposed to be cobalt blue but is more of an azure blue. The difference is only noticeable when you compare it side-by-side with your golden sample.

To conduct an effective inspection, you must understand these three defect types and develop a thorough defect list. Otherwise, you risk misinterpreting your inspection results and making your quality control efforts less effective. This defect classification list might extend to include 20 or even 30 different types of defects depending on your product type.

Acceptance Number

This typically results in more consistent product quality throughout a production run. Defect classification is a vital step for determining if goods should pass or fail inspection. And considering the quantity and severity of different types of defects found helps you make an informed shipping decision.

When you send an inspector to check a product for defects, specificity is critical to success. These changes help ensure you receive the most accurate reporting possible so you can take appropriate action to address issues before they affect your customers. Tell your inspector if they’ve classified a defect in a different category than you consider appropriate. This feedback allows them to adjust reporting for future inspections.

Most importers set a lower limit for major defects than minor defects in their inspected sample size. But they’re likely to reject an order, or ask their supplier to hold or rework it, if the goods fail inspection due to an excessive number of major defects found. Different quality defects can appear in different products depending on materials, production processes and standards used. Below are some common examples of minor, major and critical defects in different product types.

A minor defect is one where the item deviates slightly from your specifications, but it’s still saleable and unlikely to trigger a return. Identifying quality defects in your order before shipment is essential to ensuring your goods meet your customers’ expectations. Human hands involved in sewing and stitching, for example, raise variability in production. Whereas more automated production processes, like the use of injection molding in hardlines goods or robotics in electronic assembly, tend to lower variability.

For instance, there is excess glue on a toy, which may be very difficult to remove. If the factory workers of your supplier try to scrape it off, they may leave scuff marks or other abrasions on the toy’s surface. A sample consists of one or more units of product drawn from a lot or batch. The sample units are selected at random without regard to their quality.

Reduced inspection uses the same quality level as for normal inspection, but requires inspection of a smaller number of samples. This method is appropriate when the client is confident that the quality of the products is acceptable. Are you concerned your manufacturer may not always produce apparel that meets your standards?

For example, if the acceptance number is 6, and the number of defects is six or less, the batch will pass. The way you classify a 0.7 cm variance could mean the difference between a passed inspection and a failed inspection. Alternatively, you might decide that it’s defective but still saleable (a minor defect) or defective and unsaleable (a major defect).

A notified body is an entity that has been accredited by a country, or a trade union, to assess whether a product to be sold on the market meets the required standards. Normal inspection is used where there is no evidence that the quality of the product is likely to be better or worse than the specified quality level. An inspection certificate is an official document that certifies that the quality of goods has been confirmed to meet requirements. It is necessary when a letter of credit is involved with releasing payment.