Forms of inspection control

Quality inspection control (third-party inspection) is not something new for manufacturers. In general, it is the conduct by a third party (agency), which acts on behalf of and under the instruction of the customer, of independent and impartial technical inspections of the supplied goods during their production and/or shipment. The main principle and goal of inspection control is the independence of the inspecting agency from the product supplier and acting exclusively in the interests of the customer.

The following forms of inspection control are distinguished:

Supplier Technical Audit

This type of inspection allows assessing the feasibility of placing an order with a supplier. Inspection control is conducted by a specialist-auditor, involving verification of documentation regulating product manufacturing processes and checking the actual execution of processes, including:

• production and quality control of products at all stages;
• implementation of procurement processes;
• storage of raw materials and materials;
• incoming product control;
• storage and delivery of finished products;
• handling complaints and defects;
• assessment of supplier customer satisfaction levels;
• service quality;
• post-warranty service (post-delivery actions, if provided).

Supplier Inspection During Work Execution

This type of inspection allows almost complete elimination of defects through control of the most important operations in the technological chain at all stages of production. In the process of analyzing the quality control program received from the supplier, the inspecting organization agrees with the customer on the procedure for conducting inspection control and necessary control points, as well as the number of inspectors involved. In this regard, so-called Hold Points are determined – stages of the production process beyond which the supplier has no right to continue production without direct inspector approval. If necessary, statuses are also assigned to other control points (witness point – mandatory inspector presence required, documents control – only documentary control needed).

This process practically duplicates the role of the quality control department in production, additionally reducing the risk of defective products.

Acceptance Inspection

Acceptance inspection includes incoming control, packaging control, marking and shipment/one-time production inspections. This type of inspection is conducted only at the shipment stage or in the form of spot visits during production to inform the customer about the progress of execution. The main tasks of incoming control are:

• obtaining with high probability an assessment of the quality of products presented for inspection;
• ensuring unambiguous recognition of quality inspection results by both supplier and customer, conducted using identical methodologies and inspection plans;
• establishing compliance of product quality with specific requirements, so that in case of non-compliance, claims can be timely presented to suppliers, and also to conduct operational work with suppliers to ensure normal product quality levels;
• preventing the launch into production of products that do not meet requirements, standards, and also do not correspond to customer documentation.

Expediting

In this case, the inspection agency takes responsibility for checking imported equipment and materials. Depending on customer preferences, the following types of expediting services may be performed:

• receiving materials from the supplier (control of loading and packaging processes);
• customs (brokerage) services;
• product certification and other issues related to legalization on the territory of the Russian Federation;
• acceptance on-site from the transport company.