Inspection & Verificaton of Incoming Material - How best one can accomplish

S

samsung

I just want to propose an improved way of inspection and verification of the incoming material received at our stores and with this aim, I seek your valuable input as to how best one can accomplish this task.

What I realize is that till now it's a formal process wherein the requester inspects the material based on the parameters he specified in the Purchase Request (Indent) but most of the time it's not possible to fully inspect & verify all the specified parameters based on physical attributes and the likes but in any case he has to clear the 'Receipt cum Inspection Report'. Once this doc. is signed for acceptance, the stores proceeds for material issue and payment advice. But many a times, the inherent deficiencies become apparent only after the material/ part/ equipment is put to use.

What I intend to know is how others deal with this process especially in the events when a new supplier is inducted in the supply chain or the material is received from a 'not-so-well known' supplier. Even if it's a well known one, problems may surface up and one may end up with incurring significant losses in the form of breakdowns and resultant loss of productivity or poor quality of products.

Your inputs are very much appreciated.

Thanks.
 

SteelMaiden

Super Moderator
Trusted Information Resource
We have a receiving checklist that spells out what the receiver should verify for any quality critical purchases. Basically, what paperwork must accompany the shipment, what critical characteristics should be checked (training is provided on these), quantity, etc. Is this what you are asking?
 
S

samsung

We have a receiving checklist that spells out what the receiver should verify for any quality critical purchases. Basically, what paperwork must accompany the shipment, what critical characteristics should be checked (training is provided on these), quantity, etc. Is this what you are asking?

What I want to convey is that it's always not possible to inspect and verify all the critical parameters unless the material is put to use and it's where the deficiencies become apparent which couldn't be detected during the physical inspection at the warehouse (prior to issue and use). By this time, the documents have already been cleared and payment released to the suppliers.

For example, the stores receive a supply of nut bolts requested by me. Now I'm asked to inspect the material. Quantity, make, dimensions, packaging etc. are OK and as such I have to sign off the 'Inspection Sheet' and accept the material since it meets the 'prescribed specifications'. Well, I use this material and after 2 weeks I happen to discover that the bolts have suffered a premature failure resulting in production loss for 4 hours. (Although the suppliers later on made a free replacement but the loss incurred by the company was many times higher than the original cost of the faulty material).

The reason (root cause) for the failure was poor quality/ craftsmanship which couldn't be inspected and verified by physical means. What one can and should do to prevent such failures.

Has anyone experienced similar problems? Please share how you succeeded in managing the issues.
 

SteelMaiden

Super Moderator
Trusted Information Resource
Has anyone experienced similar problems? Please share how you succeeded in managing the issues.

Sure, it happens all the time in manufacturing. Well, to varying degrees.;) This is where your control of lots of incoming product can really make a difference. If you find something wrong after you have purchased product, you pick up the phone, call your supplier and tell them what is going on. some people also have a nonconforming incoming product report that they can fill out with all the pertinent information. My last company did that. We'd fill in supplier, lot number and description of product, amount, what was wrong, etc. Then we'd send that report and a sample of the nonconforming product to the supplier and ask them to credit us our money, and sometimes (if it was needed) issue a CAR.
 
T

trainerbob

This is the reason people require the PPAP process for incoming material. It does not have to be just for the auto industry. It is not perfect, but gives the buyer some idea what they are getting. It is certainly better to find out if the parts are any good long before they might be used in production. CHEAPER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER!!!!!!!!!!
 

somashekar

Leader
Admin
This is the reason people require the PPAP process for incoming material. It does not have to be just for the auto industry. It is not perfect, but gives the buyer some idea what they are getting. It is certainly better to find out if the parts are any good long before they might be used in production. CHEAPER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER!!!!!!!!!!
To systamatically reduce such occurances, the IS0 9001 asks at the 4.1 level itself a planned approach to processes in the QMS ....
This :
Where an organization chooses to outsource any process that affects product conformity to requirements, the organization shall ensure control over such processes. The type and extent of control to be applied to these outsourced processes shall be defined within the quality management system.
NOTE 1 Processes needed for the quality management system referred to above include processes for management activities, provision of resources, product realization, measurement, analysis and improvement.
NOTE 2 An “outsourced process” is a process that the organization needs for its quality management system and which the organization chooses to have performed by an external party.
NOTE 3 Ensuring control over outsourced processes does not absolve the organization of the responsibility of conformity to all customer, statutory and regulatory requirements. The type and extent of control to be applied to the outsourced process can be influenced by factors such as
a) the potential impact of the outsourced process on the organization's capability to provide product that conforms to requirements,
b) the degree to which the control for the process is shared,
c) the capability of achieving the necessary control through the application of 7.4.

The reason (root cause) for the failure was poor quality/ craftsmanship which couldn't be inspected and verified by physical means. What one can and should do to prevent such failures.

A case for validation and validation is one of the critical out sourced process control that can be exercised.

Has anyone experienced similar problems? Please share how you succeeded in managing the issues.

Medical example: A SS tubing passivation process is outsourced. The tubing pathway must meet endotoxin levels per USP classification. Failure can be known only when pooled endotoxin test is conducted on finished products by customer and a reject will mean reject of an entire batch of device traced to a passivation lot. Our final cleaning process is controlled and effective, only if the process at passivation is maintained and controlled. So the controls exercised are :
1. Following of the approved passivation process and records
2. Records of bath concentrations
3. Tests on DM water that is used in process for listed parameters
4. Periodic 3rd party tests of passivated tube random samples for properties and contamination
5. Our periodic audits at outsourced place

Result: The pooled endotoxin test results of the final device have been consistantly 10 fold better than limit since last 5 years.
 
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Chennaiite

Never-say-die
Trusted Information Resource
What I want to convey is that it's always not possible to inspect and verify all the critical parameters unless the material is put to use and it's where the deficiencies become apparent which couldn't be detected during the physical inspection at the warehouse (prior to issue and use). By this time, the documents have already been cleared and payment released to the suppliers.

For example, the stores receive a supply of nut bolts requested by me. Now I'm asked to inspect the material. Quantity, make, dimensions, packaging etc. are OK and as such I have to sign off the 'Inspection Sheet' and accept the material since it meets the 'prescribed specifications'. Well, I use this material and after 2 weeks I happen to discover that the bolts have suffered a premature failure resulting in production loss for 4 hours. (Although the suppliers later on made a free replacement but the loss incurred by the company was many times higher than the original cost of the faulty material).

The reason (root cause) for the failure was poor quality/ craftsmanship which couldn't be inspected and verified by physical means. What one can and should do to prevent such failures.

Has anyone experienced similar problems? Please share how you succeeded in managing the issues.

I see two concerns in your Post,

One is, the inspection mechanism not good enough to detect the product non-conformance at receiving stage.
I don't think this is something unusual and there is not any hard and fast way of managing the situation. Your Engineering function responsible for Process Design along with the fellow Cross-functional team members could study the feasibility of improving the inspection mechanism, *case-by-case*. After all, I can cite a case where we succeeded by implementing a Gauge inspection, but this may not help in your specifics. Sometimes it is also possible that we are better off detecting in the Production line after putting the part to use (viable option).

Two is, Monetary loss your Organization encounters on account of non conformance in the purchased part.
This can be managed through the purchase agreement(or Quality agreement) by specifying the conditions of debit which can include factors like line stoppage loss. Remember, most of the times, as far as I know, this practice is not entertained as a good will, because it will be too much for the Suppliers to bear. After all, it is also important that the Suppliers are satisfied with the Customer, to some extent.
 

Jen Kirley

Quality and Auditing Expert
Leader
Admin
I used to work for a composites (fiberglass) fabricator. My incoming inspection involved the typical: lot numbers, paperwork complete, temperature controls evidence appropriate, expiration dates in parameters.

But of course, like with you that does not determine outcomes. So we ran samples of the new material through the process and then performed destructive testing on them. I performed peel tests, burn tests and others I can't remember; tests are designed to indicate the ability to meet required performance in use.

Determining the value of the testing process involves weighing the cost of getting it wrong against the cost of performing these tests and having the extra material stock in house while some is being run and the new is being tested. As always, criticality of end-use needs are paramount.
 
S

samsung

As expected, lot of excellent points and so far what I could make out is:

- the inspection process has to be strengthened through introducing some standard checklists, providing training to those who inspect & use the material, and developing some sampling & test protocols for certain items; the last one I suppose could be the most difficult task to execute. The commonly procured high value & high volume ('A' Class) items typically include raw material, fuel, packing material, diesel, lubricants, Ammonium Nitrate, various types of refractory, castables, rubber belts, tyres, steel, bearings, filter bags, electrodes, spares etc. The first 6-7 items are subjected to certain standardized test protocols and thus we hardly had any significant issues with this group of materials so far but as for the remaining items, the acceptance criteria is solely based upon the physical verification of the PO specifications such as Quantity, packaging, dimension, test cert. and other specs that can be visually verified.

- PPAP seems to be a good option but is quite new for me and will take me sometime before I can get acquainted with it.

- Frequency of audit for the inspection, verification and subsequent approval processes can also be increased. Supplier audit can be a workable option though it's not so usual in the type of business we are in.

I would like to have more comments & suggestions on this issue.

Thank you very much.
 
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