Quality Control: Templates and Inspections Overview

A guide to how inspection templates are set up and how inspections are performed and completed in the system.

Overview

Quality control in the system has two parts:

1. Inspection Templates define what to inspect for a given item: the list of characteristics to check, the acceptance criteria, how much of a run to sample, and where the work happens.
2. Inspections (also called QCIRs, Quality Control Inspection Reports) are the actual records your team fills out on the floor. Each inspection is created from a template and captures the real results for a specific work order or receipt.

Think of a template as the blank form, and an inspection as a completed copy of that form for one job.

This article is an overview of how the pieces fit together. Each section links to a detailed, step-by-step article for the task at hand, and all of them are listed under Related Articles at the end.

Inspection Templates

Templates are created and maintained by users with the Quality Control Manager role. Each template is tied to an item and holds a set of inspection characteristics.

See also: Adding QCIR Templates for step-by-step instructions on building a template and its characteristics.

What a template defines

For the template as a whole:

• Name. A label for the template, for example "First Article", "In-Process", or "Final Inspection".
• Item. The item this template applies to.
• Percent to Inspect. The default share of a run to sample. If a work order is for 100 pieces and the template is set to 10 percent, the inspection is created with 10 units to check (always at least one).
• Notes. Free-form guidance for the inspector.

For each inspection characteristic on the template:

• Characteristic. What is being checked, for example "Overall Length" or "Surface Finish".
• Criteria. The acceptance requirement, shown to the inspector.
• Minimum and Maximum (inclusive). For measured values, the acceptable range. When the inspector records a number, the system decides pass or fail automatically against this range.
• Work Center. The work center where this characteristic is inspected. This lets a single template cover characteristics performed at different stations.
• Percent to Inspect. An optional per-characteristic sample rate.
• Allow Not Applicable. Whether the inspector can mark an item as N/A.
• Work Instructions. Step-by-step guidance for that characteristic.
• Attachments. Reference files (drawings, photos, documents) can be attached to a characteristic.

More than one template per item

An item can have several templates. This is fully supported and is a common setup (for example, separate First Article, In-Process, and Final Inspection templates on the same part).

When more than one template applies and an inspector starts a new inspection, the system presents a short list and asks which type of inspection they want to perform.

Templates can also be narrowed so they only apply in the right situation:

• By Labor Routing. A template can be tied to a specific routing, so it only appears for work orders that use that routing.
• By Customer. A template can be tied to a customer, so it only appears for that customer's orders.
• By Supplier. For receiving inspections on purchased items, a template can be tied to a supplier, so it only appears for that supplier's receipts.

A template that leaves these blank is treated as a general template for the item and is always available.

Creating an Inspection

Inspections are started from the shop floor, in the WorkScan and Workflow (procedure) screens, and can also be launched from a purchase receipt for incoming material.

The flow is:

1. On the operation or step, choose New Inspection.
2. If more than one template applies to the item, pick the type of inspection from the list.
3. The system creates the inspection from the template and fills in the items to check, based on the template's characteristics and the percent to inspect applied to the order quantity. Serial numbers, when present on the order, are carried onto the units to be inspected.

If an inspection already exists for that template on the work order, the system offers to open the existing one rather than create a duplicate.

An inspection is either Open (in progress) or Completed.

See also: Adding Quality Control Inspection Records (QCIR) for a step-by-step walkthrough of starting an inspection and recording results.

Performing an Inspection

Each inspection lists the units to check, grouped and filterable so the inspector can focus on the right work. For each item the inspector can record:

• Result. Pass or fail. For characteristics with a numeric range, the inspector enters the measured value and the system determines pass or fail against the template's minimum and maximum. Every result is saved as it is entered.
• Not Applicable. When the characteristic allows it, an item can be marked N/A instead of pass or fail.
• Serial Number. The unit's serial, where serials are tracked.
• Measurement Tool. The gauge or instrument used.
• Notes. Any observations.
• Photos and Images. Pictures captured or attached for the record.

The name of the person recording each result is captured automatically.

The Work Center filter

Because a template can span more than one work center, an inspection opens focused on the work center of the operation the inspector is working from. This shows only the items that belong to that station, so the inspector is not distracted by checks that happen elsewhere.

If the current work center has no items on this inspection, the list shows a short message explaining that, with a Show all inspections option to clear the filter and see every item on the inspection. The work center can be changed or cleared at any time using the filter at the top of the inspection.

Completing an Inspection

An inspection can only be completed once every item has been inspected. This is checked across all work centers, not just the ones currently shown, so a completed inspection always reflects the whole form.

The Complete Inspection button reflects this automatically:

• While any item is still uninspected, the button is hidden. There is nothing to do yet but finish recording results.
• Once every item has been inspected, the button appears:
  • Green when all items passed.
  • Yellow when all items are inspected but one or more failed.

The button updates on its own as results are entered, so it appears the moment the last item is recorded.

Failed inspections

Completing an inspection that contains one or more failures moves it into the non-conformance process, so the failure can be documented and dispositioned. An inspection with failures can still be completed; the yellow button signals that a non-conformance will follow.

See also: QC Non Conformance Reports (NCRs) for how to create a non-conformance from a failed inspection and assign dispositions such as scrap or rework.

After completion

A completed inspection is locked. Users with the Quality Control Manager role can reopen a completed inspection if a correction is needed.

Roles at a glance

• Quality Control Manager. Creates and maintains templates and their characteristics, and can reopen completed inspections.
• Production Agent / Inspector. Performs inspections on the floor: records results, serials, tools, notes, and photos, and completes inspections.

Glossary

Related Articles

• Adding QCIR Templates — set up a template, its characteristics, and acceptance criteria.
• Adding Quality Control Inspection Records (QCIR) — start an inspection and record results on the floor.
• QC Non Conformance Reports (NCRs) — document and disposition failures found during inspection.