DE_Perry said:
Sounds like a have more work to do than I thought. The place I work for had only just started it's Quality Department when I arrived so we're still taking the bugs out. It took nearly 8 months for the Cosmetic Inspection procedure I wrote to be implemented.
Since assembly it right beside me (lean manufacturing) when I find a rejectable lot I consult with them for fit, form and function and I don't reject unless it's needed.
Thankfully my work is not like some other places I worked for where the mentality was 'The supplier is inspecting, so why should we?'.
Actually, the "ideal" in modern Quality thinking
IS that a customer should have such a complete approval process of a supplier that the customer can, indeed, take incoming shipments directly to the production line WITHOUT INSPECTION.
In my opinion, inspecting and finding nonconforming products means a customer has an inadequate supplier approval program.
There is such a thing as maintaining a quality record which entails stopping a production line if nonconforming parts are discovered and implementing draconian measures including charges and financial penalties to the responsible supplier. It's not MY thing, but some companies get away with that treatment of suppliers.
Typically, nonconforming material discovered in production is merely set aside and investigated for "cause" in conjunction with the supplier. This may or may not result in a Corrective Action, but almost always results in at least a "correction" which means a financial adjustment or replacement of nonconforming pieces with good pieces.