How quality control works

This page explains where quality is checked, what each check holds back, and what happens to goods that fail. For the screens and buttons, see Quality.

In NextGenManager a failed check is not only a record. At each point below, goods that have failed are stopped from moving to the next step until somebody decides what to do with them.

The five checkpoints

Goods receipt  →  Operation  →  Rejections  →  Final inspection  →  Box inspection
(purchase)        (QA check)    (rework/scrap)  (work order)        (packing slip)

Checkpoint	Where it is done	What it holds back
1. Goods receipt	The goods receipt note	Rejected goods go to Quarantine and cannot be picked or reserved
2. QA check at an operation	The work order, after a batch	A failed critical reading stops the work order from being completed
3. Rejections	The work order's Rejections & Yield tab	Rejected pieces are not counted as good until someone decides on them
4. Final inspection	Quality Desk, against a work order	The work order cannot book finished goods into stock
5. Box inspection	The packing slip	The packing slip cannot be closed, so the goods cannot ship on it

1. Goods receipt

On a goods receipt you enter the quantity Accepted. The rest is Rejected, with a reason.

Quantity	Where it goes
Accepted	The warehouse on the receipt, as good stock
Rejected	The Quarantine warehouse, in its own batch, marked as failed

Stock marked as failed is in the building and on the books, but it cannot be picked for a sales order or reserved for one. It stays that way until it is returned to the vendor with a debit note, written off, or released by a decision on a non-conformance report (see below).

Goods are often inspected after they have been received. For that, raise an Incoming inspection lot against the receipt on the Quality Desk and record the result with its check sheet. The quantity the inspection rejects is taken out of the warehouse the goods were received into and moved to Quarantine as failed stock, the same as goods rejected on the receipt itself. For a batch-tracked product the units come from the batch of that receipt.

If some of the goods have already been reserved or used by the time the result is recorded, only what is still free is moved, and the lot's remarks say how much could not be set aside.

2. QA checks at an operation

These are the readings operators take on the shop floor.

1. On the bill of materials, tick Requires Inspection on the operation and add its parameters in the QA Plan. A parameter is either a numeric range (Min, Max, Unit) or Pass / Fail, and can be marked Critical.
2. On the work order, the QA Check box opens after each batch of that operation. The operator enters the readings. See Running a work order.

A failed reading on a parameter that is not critical is recorded and shown, and the order carries on. A failed reading on a critical parameter stops Complete WO: the system names the check that failed.

3. Rejections on the shop floor

When an operator records a batch, the quantity is split into Good, Reject and Scrap, with a reason code for the losses. Rejected pieces wait on the Rejections & Yield tab for a decision:

Decision	Result
Accept (Concession)	The pieces are accepted as they are and count as good
Send to Rework	A child work order is created for those pieces
Scrap	The pieces are written off

Each decision needs a justification. The same tab shows First Pass Yield, Overall Yield, Rework Rate and Scrap Rate for the order.

4. Final inspection

A final inspection is an inspection lot raised against a work order on the Quality Desk. It is the check on the finished goods before they go into stock.

Complete WO is refused while any of these is true:

Reason	What to do
A final or in-process inspection lot for the order has not been judged	Record the result
A final or in-process inspection lot for the order has failed	Raise a report and decide, then waive the lot if the goods are to be released
The product is marked Final Inspection Required and no final inspection has passed	Raise a final inspection and record a pass, or waive it
A critical QA reading at an operation failed	Deal with the failed pieces, or have the result corrected

All the reasons are listed together, so you do not fix one and then meet the next.

There are two ways a work order comes to need an inspection:

• Someone raises a lot for it. Once someone has said the goods are to be looked at, they do not go into stock until they have been.
• The product requires it. Tick Final Inspection Required on the product's Inventory Settings and every work order for it needs a final inspection that passed or was waived. The switch is off for a new product.

5. Box inspection

On a packing slip, Inspect on a box raises a Package inspection lot. The slip cannot be closed until that lot is passed or waived, and a pick list that has a packing slip cannot ship until the slip is closed.

A box with no inspection raised does not hold the slip up, unless it holds a product marked Package Inspection Required on its Inventory Settings. Such a box must have an inspection for that product, passed or waived, before the slip can close.

Inspection lots

An inspection lot is a quantity offered for inspection. Lots are numbered QC/0001 and all of them are listed on the Quality Desk.

Stage	Raised against	Holds back
Incoming	A goods receipt	The rejected quantity, which is moved to Quarantine as failed stock
In-process	An operation on a work order	Completing the work order
Final	A work order	Completing the work order
Package	A box on a packing slip	Closing the packing slip

Statuses

Status	Meaning
Pending	Raised, waiting for a result
Passed	Judged, and accepted
Failed	Judged, and not accepted
Waived	Released without passing, with a reason on record

How the result is decided

When you record a result you enter the Accepted and Rejected quantities and, if you wish, a check sheet of measurements.

• Accepted plus Rejected cannot be more than the quantity offered.
• A check with Min and Max limits works out its own verdict from the value observed, unless the inspector sets the verdict by hand.
• The lot is Failed if a check marked Critical failed, or if nothing was accepted. Otherwise it is Passed.
• A failed check that is not critical is recorded but does not fail the lot.

A result cannot be changed once it is recorded. A lot that is still Pending can be withdrawn; a lot that has been judged stays on record.

Non-conformance reports

A non-conformance report (NCR/0001) is raised against a lot that failed, or against a lot that passed but rejected part of its quantity. It says what is wrong, how many are affected, and what was decided.

Decision	Meaning	Effect on quarantined stock from a goods receipt
Rework	Put it right and inspect again	Marked as waiting for inspection. Still cannot be picked
Scrap	Write it off	Stays failed until you post the stock write-off
Use as is	Accept it on someone's authority. The approver's name is required	Released, and can be picked. Recorded as waived, not passed
Return to vendor	Send it back	Stays failed until you raise the debit note

Three things to keep in mind:

• A decision covers the quantity on the report. If 10 are reported, 10 are released or held for rework, taken first from the receipt the inspection was raised against. Other failed stock of the same product is not touched.
• A decision does not move quantities. Scrapping and returning to a vendor each have their own document, and the stock stays where it is until that document is raised.
• A decision closes the report. If something else is wrong, raise a new report.

Waiving an inspection

Waive releases a Pending or Failed lot so that the work order can be completed or the packing slip closed. A reason is required.

A waived lot is shown as Waived, never as Passed. Anyone looking at the record later can see that the goods were released on a deviation, who released them and why.

A worked example

Vajra Auto Components makes 600 brake discs on a work order.

1. Goods receipt. 700 kg of casting stock arrives; 680 kg is accepted and 20 kg rejected for porosity. The 20 kg goes to Quarantine and is later returned with a debit note. Two days later an incoming inspection rejects a further 15 kg, which is moved to Quarantine as well.
2. QA check. After the turning operation the operator records the thickness. The parameter is critical, with limits of 21.8 to 22.2 mm. All readings are inside the limits.
3. Rejections. 15 pieces are rejected for surface defects. On Rejections & Yield, 10 are sent to rework and 5 are scrapped.
4. Final inspection. Quality raises QC/0004 against the work order. Until it is judged, Complete WO is refused. The inspector records the result with a check sheet; one critical check is out of limits, so the lot fails.
5. Report and waiver. Quality raises NCR/0002, and the decision is Use as is, approved by the quality head. The lot is waived with that reason. Complete WO now goes through and the finished goods are booked into stock.
6. Box inspection. At packing, one box is sent for inspection and passes. The slip is closed and the goods ship.

Common questions

Why can I not complete the work order? Read the message: it lists every reason. It will be a final inspection that is pending or failed, or a critical QA reading that failed.

Why can I not close the packing slip? A box on it has an inspection that is pending or failed. Record a pass or waive it.

We rejected goods at receipt. Why are they still in stock? They are in the Quarantine warehouse, marked as failed. They leave stock when you raise the debit note or the write-off.

Why can stores not pick this unit? It failed inspection or is waiting for one.

What is the difference between a QA check and an inspection lot? A QA check is a reading the operator takes at an operation, set up on the BOM. An inspection lot is a separate inspection raised on the Quality Desk, usually by the quality team, against a receipt, a work order or a box.

Can an inspection be made compulsory for a product? Yes. On the product's Inventory Settings tick Final Inspection Required, Package Inspection Required, or both.

We received the goods last week and inspection has only now rejected some. What do I do? Raise an Incoming inspection against the receipt and record the rejected quantity. It is moved to Quarantine for you.