How To Prepare Your QC Inspection Report – Sofeast
You may already have seen our infographic explaining how a random inspection works, if so, you’ll see that it is a good introduction to these inspections. Now, the next step is learning how to report the results in a QC inspection report.
There are many ways to prepare such a report. But here are a few guidelines to help you prepare a document that suits your needs.
Mục lục
What sections does a QC inspection report include?
A QC inspection report is usually composed of the following parts:
1. Conformity to specifications
You probably want the inspector to look at the following aspects of the products:
- Components
- Assembly
- General outlook, colors
- Labeling
- Packaging & packing
It can look like this (this example counts only 1 checkpoint, but you are encouraged to list up to 10 or 15 points in each sub-part, to be inspected during the job):
What to report?
In my mind, the inspector should only show the non-conformities if he was trained properly and if you trust him. But that’s up to you. Some inspection firms commonly use freelancers that they don’t really know, and they require reporting (and photos) for everything. Up to you!
2. On-site tests & measurements
This is the place for the checks that take some time, and that are generally performed only on a few samples:
- The tests (to be clearly described, including the equipment to use and the required result)
- The measurements of the cartons and of the products (size and weight)
Here is an example of a test:
And for the measurements:
3. Production status
This is where the presented quantity is noted.
Here is a common way of displaying this information:
It is extremely important to know whether the inspector could count the number of products (sometimes they are piled up in bulk) and whether all products were available for sampling (sometimes they are under packing or repairing).
If the inspection takes place during production, you can add some extra questions to ask the factory: how many lines are working on my products, when will you get to 50% finished, etc.
4. Visual defects on the product and the packing
The inspector will look for defects, will place them in the right categories (critical/major/minor), will add the numbers up, and will compare them to the AQL limits.
This is the most basic part of every QC report, and every inspector knows how to present this. Make sure you get photos, and a clear description of each defect (if it’s not obvious on the photos, indicate the size of each defect and its position on the product).
5. Appendix: photos
This is the place where you list the photos that you want to see, whether there are problems or not.
A good tip: describe how each photo should be taken (what angle). This way, you can compare the photos across several inspection reports. Some buyers have noticed an evolution in the manufacturing process based on this technique.
Benefits of reporting like this
In this global environment where we’re learning to deal with the pandemic, travelling to China may be difficult, so for buyers who are abroad, the inspection report represents an important window into how well your suppliers (or factory) are currently doing after product inspections have been conducted.
You can use the inspector’s findings to report back to suppliers and make them accountable for poor (or good) results. If you’re able to indicate exactly where quality issues have occurred, it’s easier to make a plan to put them right in future, perhaps by implementing certain process improvement tools.
“Where can I learn more about creating quality inspection reports?”
You should take a look at this infographic that we also produced about these reports:
👉 Product Quality Checklist: How To Prepare It
“Can I see some example reports?”
Yes, no problem!
You can see a selection of Sofeast’s past inspection reports on various product types ranging from soft lines through to industrial components that we’ve created for our clients in the past by hitting the link below (no identifying information is provided in them):
👉 Explore sample inspection reports
P.S. You may also be interested in…
These two podcast episodes where we discuss the 10 elements of a sound Quality Assurance strategy in China which certainly includes product inspections!
