I have made a couple of posts (replies) and happy to see replies back to what I had to say. Anyway, I have a question that I would like to have an outsider opinion or two on. It is rather simple question actually.
If the receiving material handler finds an error in paperwork, quantity or packaging should this be written as a "receiving discrepancy report" to be handled by the buyer or as a nonconformance report to be handled by Quality? I know my take on it, I just want to see if anyone agrees with me.
Why not tell us YOUR opinion? Do you fear skewing the results? I'm pretty sure the Cove crowd is not so easily swayed.
The entity which discovers/detects the nonconformance is responsible for creating the NC. How it gets handled (internally, top officer to top officer, formal request for root cause and corrective action, etc.) ultimately depends on the particular nonconformance, the relationship between levels of the supply chain, and suspicion of root cause.
If the nonconforming paperwork, quantity, or packaging is causing a disruption in the production cycle, I think it belongs in Quality purview for issuing and receiving NC, but certainly, purchasing should be in the loop, especially if they can resolve the entire matter with a quick phone call, rather than a protracted round of "he said, she said" which NC exchanges have been known to generate.
If the count is off because a package got left on a truck is a different issue than if the count is off because each package is labeled with a different count than the actual count. Similarly, labeling which has smudged bar codes is a different issue than packaging with no bar codes when they should be present. If the inspection sheet was inadvertently left on the shipping clerk's desk instead of inserted in package #1 of 10, or inserted in package #2 of 10, is certainly a different issue than if no inspection sheet was ever generated.
Why involve purchasing as an intermediary instead of "an also notified party?" Personally, I prefer ALL records related to quality (product, service, shipping, packaging, etc.) kept in one place with the product or supplier master file so ALL pertinent information is available in one place when evaluating product or supplier for future or continuing business.