Approved Product Authorization

4.13.4 says that material shipped on an authorization shall be properly identified. It also says that supplier shall obtain prior approval for product/process changes from what is currently approved.

Do we have to get approval and mark the packaging on EVERY waiver? Is there any way around this? Maybe limit to when required by customer?

[Kevin Mader]

Steven,

I am not sure that I understand you correctly. Are you saying that you have determined a nonconforming condition, sent it to the Customer for approval, and they in turn have said it is of no consquence (the waiver)? I don't want to hazard a guess and put you way off the path with bad input.

If we produce a nonconforming product, do we have to get customer approval and mark the box as "out of spec/sent with customer approval" before we can ship to customer?


When I said waiver I was referring to an internal document that authorizes us to ship product that doesnt meet spec without contacting the customer.

I apologize for not being clear.

[Howard Atkins]

If you have identified a non conforming product you must get customer approval. With out this you face the possibility of a complaint and all the expense involved, this is common sense not even QS.
When we have done this we have been required with the written permission to mark the cartoons. This again is to prevent rejected parts due to the non conformance.
IMHO the situation is clear to protect yourself.

[Marc]

If your question is does QS require it, it does require some type of identification - and it is 'assumed' that you and your customer come to an agreement on what and where that marking will be. For example, you may decide to mark the product and not the box. Or you may be required to do both.

When you get the 'waiver' you should be agreeing on how they want the material identified. If they bolw you off and don't give you an answer, document that they declined to advise you of a specific identification scheme very, very well.

[Kevin Mader]

Steven,

No apology necessary. I was just looking for added explanation and got it. Thanks.

Not much to add to the above postings. I have not had to walk this walk yet (hopefully never) but I have thought about what I might do. I would expect that when getting the required Customer Authorization, terms of the submital would be discussed, agreed to, and recorded to that written authorization. This might include what and where to identify packaging/product to avoid a rejection at the door. This is important, as Howard has stated, since a rejection at the door will generate even more corrective action documentation. You will still be required to submit some type of corrective action but by being up-front you may avoid additional work (i.e. the complaint, controlled shipping requirements). Hope this helps.

Back to the group...

[Howard Atkins]

I am just reading the standard and 4.13.4 says clearly" material shipped on an authorization shall be properly identified on each shipping container."
Does this mean each palet or each carton?




[This message has been edited by Howard Atkins (edited 01-03-99).]

[Marc]

Well, Howard, now you did it. Haven't looked at the latest QS for a month and now I have to. Good point - I would say here that if an auditor wanted to get picky, one could address this and strictly say you must have a stated policy/procedure for labeling 'waiver' material.

I would take it to mean each box (container).

Hmmm - What's that FAX in Interpretations Request number again? Here we go again!