Factory Audits & Quality Inspections During & Post COVID-19： On-site Supplier Audits + Remote Participations by International Buyers (X) (Continued from the last issue)
▌Implementation of “on-site + remote” product inspections
Pre-production Inspections When orders are placed, factories would start the pre-production preparations according to the pre-agreed delivery schedule, including: internal production order review, production scheduling, raw material procurement, incoming quality control, staff assignment, production equipment allocation, technical process confirmation, etc. So when we receive the factory’s production plan, we can clearly tell the complete order production schedule, including the starting and ending time of each stage, the associated departments and responsible staff. Pre-production inspection primarily applies to the order fulfillment of OE or major projects, where customers have higher requirements for product quality, quality control capability of the production process and the on-time delivery. Pre-production inspection is usually done, based on the factory’ production schedule, on-site at raw material incoming or before the start of the production, to check the pre-production readiness of the factory. The inspection mainly covers the following:
A. Has the order been actually reviewed? Did the main departments or persons for the review, e.g. the General Manager and the departments of Sales, Technical Process, Quality, Purchasing, Production & Finance, actually participate? Was the review complete, e.g. could the required delivery schedule be met and if there are any production bottleneck? Has the technical department confirmed the product technology and process for the order? Can the on-site measuring tools and tooling meet the inspection needs? Are all materials purchased and coming in on schedule? Is production equipment on normal status? Are production staff sufficient? Has the Finance department allocated sufficient capital for material purchase?
B. Verify on-site if the raw materials at the factory or in storage can meet the order need. Spot-check newly purchased incoming materials and the main raw materials already in the warehouse if they meet the requirements. For suppliers with no capability of self-testing, ask for material test report from their own suppliers or third-parties.
C. Verify the readiness of the technical, process and inspection documents for the part numbers in the order.
D. Verify the on-site production equipment, tooling and staff match the order and scheduling, with no conflict with other orders being produced.
E. Verify the lab, measuring and testing tools meet the inspection requirements, the lab staff is qualified and has sufficient time to complete the tasks.
F. Verify the factory has contingency plans in the emergency event of electricity cutoff, production line staff shortage, equipment breakdown or tooling damage.
In summary, pre-production inspections are the checking and supervision of the pre-production preparations of the factory, usually carried out by a capable and experienced third-party quality inspection service provider, to ensure the quality, quantities of the orders could be delivered on time. During-production Inspections During production inspections usually refers to the inspection conducted in the middle of the production cycle. The exact time of during-production inspection should be decided depending on the product, with different timing for different products. The recommended principles in the determination of the during-production inspection timing are:
A. For products made of single material and simpler production process (without assemblies), during-production inspections are applied to processes with product and process characteristics that impact product performances. Inspection timing will be determined depending on different production processes. For the production of products such as brake discs and drums, which mainly consists of casting and machining, during-productions are usually done at casting. For the production of wheel rims, which consists of stamping, welding of rims and spokes, and spraying, the inspection is usually done at the welding assembly of the rims and spokes. B. For products made of multiple materials, more production processes and with assembly components, during-production inspections are usually applied to the product processes that impact product and process characteristics. Take the production of brake pads as an example, which consists of processes of material mixture, pressing, heat treatment and machining, during-production inspections are typically conducted during the processes of mixture, pressing and heat treatment. For shock absorber production, which consists processes of cylinder punching, welding, assembly and indicator testing, during-production inspections are done during the assembly and indicator testing processes. C. Using the product and process characteristics identified in the control plan for the production to check on-site the inspection records of product characteristic and process control parameters, and to see if the inspection frequencies comply with the control plan requirements. D. Check on-site first article inspection records for key characteristic processes and line inspection records if the recorded data comply with requirement of inspection criteria. E. On-site spot-check the calibration records of measuring and inspections tools and if any of them is not valid. F. On-site spot-check qualification, capability and training of operators at processes for key characteristics. G. On-site spot-check if daily check of the production equipment is implemented.
In summary, the purpose of the during-production is to check and monitor if the factory order production complies with the pre-set control plan requirements and the associated work instructions, and whether effective controls and supervision are exercised with regard to people, machines, material, method, environment and testing.
(To be continued)
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