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We have a system in place that requires customer approval of first articles prior to release to production. The customer signifies approval by signing off on the First Article inspection report and returning the signed document to our organization for inclusion in our records and formal release to production. In some cases, the customer does not return the signed FA but they submit purchase orders for the product. In the past, we have accepted customer purchase orders as an indication of part approval. The new CS/PDM and I do not agree with this practice as the people ordering the product and the people approving the product are different.
We are looking at:
1. Requiring the president and/or CS/PDM to sign off on all purchase orders if the customer has not approved the FA parts (only if they know that the parts are accurate).
2. Indicating on the customer invoice that the parts are still in development phase, will require more lead time and will not be formally released to production until the signed FA has been returned.
Will registrars find this practice acceptable or are we opening ourselves up for a major nonconformance?
We are looking at:
1. Requiring the president and/or CS/PDM to sign off on all purchase orders if the customer has not approved the FA parts (only if they know that the parts are accurate).
2. Indicating on the customer invoice that the parts are still in development phase, will require more lead time and will not be formally released to production until the signed FA has been returned.
Will registrars find this practice acceptable or are we opening ourselves up for a major nonconformance?
