Home Features Who it's for Apps Security Plans Talk to us

Quality checks with sampling (AQL), held lots and non-conformance

Check material as it comes in, each step on the floor, the finished product and goods going out. Each check has a sheet and a sample worked out from the lot. A failed check holds the lot, raises a non-conformance whose decision is approved, and a Rework decision makes the rework order.

PLANSFrom Growth

Compare plans How it works

Why it matters

In a small factory, inspection lives on a clipboard at the end of the line. Bad material reaches the machines, finished goods leave before the sheet is filled, and a rejected lot sits next to good stock. SmartMy Manufacturing puts a check sheet on the receipt, on the step and on the finished product, with a sample size from the AQL table. Until the check is done the work cannot be finished, and a failed lot is held so it cannot be used or sent. What happens to it is an approved decision, and Rework makes the rework order.

The problem it solves

A lot of sub-standard steel bar is issued to the machines, and the fault is found after 2,000 parts are turned.
The final inspection sheet is filled in after the goods were dispatched, if at all.
A rejected lot sits in the same rack as good stock and goes out with the next order.
Nobody remembers who decided to use a doubtful batch, or why.

How it works

Your quality manager sets up control points under Quality > Configuration > Control Points. Each says when: Goods Received, During Production, Finished Product or Goods Sent Out. It also gives which items, categories, parties, operations or machines, how many to check, and the check sheet.
Checks appear by themselves. A confirmed goods receipt or delivery gets one per item a point covers. A confirmed production order gets one per matching work order and one for the finished product. Each has the lot size, the sample and the defects allowed.
The inspector opens Quality > Checks > Checks to Do, on the web or in the app. They fill each line (OK or Not OK, a measurement, a note or a photo) and the defective pieces, and press Done.
Until its check is done, the transfer cannot be validated, the work order cannot be finished and the production order cannot be closed. This holds unless the point says it need not wait.
The check passes when every line is OK, each measurement is within its limits and the defects are within what is allowed. Otherwise it fails: the lot goes on hold, a non-conformance is raised and the quality managers are told.
The non-conformance gets its decision: Use As Is, Rework, Return to Supplier or Scrap. It is approved by a quality manager or your Non-conformance chain. Then Carry Out does it: releases the lot, opens the return, scraps the quantity, or makes a rework order from stock.

Everything it does

Control points

When: Goods Received, Goods Sent Out, During Production (for chosen operations, or work orders on chosen machines, or every work order) or Finished Product
For chosen items, categories, suppliers or customers and operation types; empty means all
How many: Every Piece, Fixed Number (5 to start with), Percentage (10 % to start with) or AQL Plan
AQL 0.65, 1.0, 1.5, 2.5 (to start with), 4.0 or 6.5: ISO 2859-1 single sampling, normal inspection, level II. The sample and the defects allowed come from the lot size
Transfer Waits for It: on to start with (also holds the work order or production order)
Hold the Lot When It Fails: on to start with
Check sheet lines: Pass / Fail, Measurement (target, min, max, unit), Note or Photo. Each is required or not, with the gauge to use (Scale). How to Check instructions

Checks

Item, lot or serial, transfer, production order or work order, party, quantity, sample, defects allowed, defective pieces, notes and a photo
States To Do, Passed, Failed, with who checked and when
Done needs every required line filled; Fail marks a check failed at once
Only a quality manager can open a finished check again (Check Again)
The produced lot is put on its checks when the production order is closed
The production order, work order and transfer show their checks to do

Holds

A lot on hold is never picked for a delivery or reserved for production (items tracked by lot or serial)
Quality > Problems > Lots on Hold lists them with the reason
An inspector can Put on Hold by hand; only a quality manager can Release
A roll rejected at 4-point fabric inspection goes on hold too (Scale)

Non-conformances

What is wrong, item, lot, transfer, party, quantity affected, details, cause, photo
Source: Supplier, Production, Customer Complaint or Internal; raised by a failed check (Supplier for goods received, Internal otherwise) or by hand
States Open, Decision to Approve, Approved, Closed, Cancelled; Send Decision for Approval needs a decision
Use As Is releases the lot. Scrap scraps the quantity from stock. Return to Supplier opens the return of the receipt. Rework makes a rework order from stock for the lot
Raise CAPA from it (Scale)

Reports

All Checks as a list, board or pivot
Supplier Quality: checks on goods received by supplier, item and result
Certificate of Analysis printed from a lot
Two ready dashboards. Quality: checks to do, passed, failed, open non-conformances, checks by result, non-conformances by source. The Manufacturing Quality dashboard: failed checks by item, checks per day

What it does not do

Holds work on lots: for items without lots, the waiting check on the transfer or order is the only stop
The Shop Floor terminal does not show checks: the inspector uses the web or the app

Who uses it

Quality InspectorDoes the checks on the web or in the app, puts lots on hold, raises non-conformances and proposes decisions.

Quality ManagerSets up control points, approves decisions, releases lots, opens checks again and reads the reports.

SupervisorSees the checks on each production and work order, and finishes work once they are done.

StorekeeperValidates the receipt or delivery once its checks are done.

Where you use it

Web: the Quality app: Dashboard, Checks (Checks to Do, All Checks), Problems (Non-conformances, Lots on Hold), Reports (Supplier Quality), Configuration (Control Points)
Web: the production order, work order, goods receipt and delivery show their checks
The SmartMy Manufacturing app: Quality Checks for inspectors. OK / Not OK, measurements, notes, defective pieces, Done or Fail (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
Not on the Shop Floor terminal

What you control

Settings

Per control point: when, which items, parties, operations and machines, and sampling. Sampling is Fixed Number of 5 to start with, 10 % when Percentage, AQL 2.5 when AQL Plan
Transfer Waits for It and Hold the Lot When It Fails: on to start with
Non-conformance approval chain: the quality managers to start with

Approvals

Non-conformance: the decision waits for a quality manager with no set-up, or the levels you add. For example, scrap above a quantity goes to the plant head. Whoever raised it may approve at a level they hold

Notifications

Quality Check Failed: to the Entity's quality managers, with the item, the point, the order or transfer, the lot and what was not OK. In the app inbox and by email (app push built in, not switched on yet)
Non-conformance Decided: to the person who raised it, when the decision is approved or sent back; in the app inbox and by email
Request Waits for Your Approval: to the approvers of a non-conformance; in the app inbox and by email
These cannot be switched off; each person can switch off email for themselves, and in-app notices always arrive

Questions

Can we check during production, not only at the end?

Yes. A During Production point checks chosen operations or the work orders on chosen machines; the work order cannot be finished until its check is done. A Finished Product point checks the order before it can be closed.

How is the sample size decided?

On the control point: every piece, a fixed number, a percentage, or an AQL plan. With AQL, the sample and the defects allowed come from the lot size, as in ISO 2859-1 normal inspection, level II.

Can a failed lot still be used by mistake?

Not when the item is tracked by lot or serial. A held lot is never reserved for a delivery or a production order. That waits until a quality manager releases it or a Use As Is decision is carried out.

What happens when we decide to rework?

Carry Out makes a rework order from stock for the item, lot and quantity, where the lot is kept. The lot stays on hold until it is released.

Can inspectors work from a phone?

Yes. The SmartMy Manufacturing app lists the checks to do and records OK or Not OK, measurements, notes and defects. It is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet. Photo lines are filled on the web.

Is quality control in Starter?

No. It starts in Growth. CAPA, SPC charts and gauge calibration are added in Scale.

Related features

PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTSupplier quality and certificates of analysisPrint a certificate of analysis for any lot from the checks it passed, with each test, its limits and the measured result. See which suppliers pass and fail your incoming checks, item by item.SHOP FLOORRework orders from rejects or from stockPieces rejected for rework go through the extra steps you choose, on the same production order, so the time lands on its cost. A lot found bad later is reworked by its own order. Either way you record how many came good again and how many were scrapped.PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTCAPA: corrective and preventive actions with five whysWhen a problem keeps coming back, raise a CAPA. Ask why five times, write the root cause, and plan corrective and preventive actions with owners and dates. Have the plan approved, and close it only when you have checked that it worked.PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTGauge calibration, and checks that refuse an overdue gaugeKeep every vernier, micrometer, weighing scale and thermometer with its calibration due date, history and certificates. Quality managers get a to-do before a gauge falls due. A check cannot be finished with a gauge that is overdue or out of service.PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTThe SmartMy Manufacturing appAn Android and iOS app for supervisors, quality inspectors and maintenance technicians. It has today's figures, production orders, machines and jobs, andon calls, quality checks and repairs. Each is shown to the people whose role allows it. Operators keep working on the terminal.ACROSS SMARTMY MANUFACTURINGApproval chainsDecisions that cost money or change how you build go to the right people in order before they take effect. They cover failed goods, engineering changes, corrective actions, store requests and asset changes. With no set-up the usual managers approve; you add levels without code.

See your shop floor on it.

Tell us what you make, how many machines and people you run, and how production is recorded today. We will set up a line with you and run a job on the terminal.

Talk to us Compare plans