Inspect quality at the point where a decision can still change the outcome

The manufacturing problem

Quality records are often separated from production orders in spreadsheets, paper forms, or standalone tools. The measurement may exist, but the organization cannot reliably connect it to the item, operation, work centre, production quantity, inspector, specification, or disposition.

When a check fails, production may continue because the result does not control status or notify the responsible user.

Quality Points in Simor ERP

Simor ERP Manufacturing can define Quality Points and record Quality Check results within the broader BOM, routing, work-centre, production-order, work-order, material, time, scrap, and costing workflow. A quality point can represent a required inspection at receipt, an operation, completion, or another configured stage.

The implementation can capture result, measurement, pass or fail, comments, inspector, time, reference, attachment, and disposition according to the product and process.

Design checks that lead to action

A quality point needs a trigger, scope, method, acceptance rule, and disposition. It may run before an operation, after an operation, at receipt, or when production is reported finished. Applicability can depend on product, product group, site, work centre, routing step, supplier, or another controlled condition.

Sampling must reflect risk

Testing every unit may be appropriate for a critical characteristic but wasteful elsewhere. Sampling can use a fixed quantity, percentage, or defined acceptance plan. The inspected quantity, lot context, test instrument, target, minimum, maximum, qualitative result, and acceptable quality level should be explicit enough that two inspectors reach consistent conclusions.

Inventory under inspection should not become available accidentally. Depending on the process, the entire quantity or only the sample-related quantity may be blocked. The release decision must connect to the recorded result and authorized role.

Failure needs a disposition, not just a red status

A failed check may require quarantine, rework, scrap, retest, deviation approval, return to supplier, or investigation. Each choice affects production quantity, routing, material availability, labour, cost, delivery promise, and sometimes customer documentation. Linking the quality event to the production or inventory transaction prevents those consequences from disappearing into an isolated spreadsheet.

Useful measures include first-pass yield, failure rate by test or operation, rework time, scrap cost, repeat defects, supplier-related failures, and inspection lead time. Historical results can reveal whether a corrective action actually reduced recurrence.

Simor ERP Quality Points and Quality Checks can be configured around the manufacturer’s measurements and decisions. Validation should include partial production, re-inspection, failed samples, blocked stock, and an attempted completion without required evidence.

Background reading: Microsoft’s quality and nonconformance overview and quality association and sampling guidance.

Define the trigger

Identify when the check is required: every unit, first article, sample quantity, batch, operation completion, supplier receipt, or risk-based condition.

Define acceptance

Use measurable criteria where possible. Text such as “looks good” is difficult to audit or trend. Record unit, tolerance, method, and specification version.

Define failure disposition

A failed check may hold material, create rework, record scrap, request another inspection, allow approved deviation, or stop the order. Permission to choose disposition should match the risk.

Questions manufacturers search

• How do we link inspection results to a production order?
• Can production continue when a quality check fails?
• How do we record rework and scrap caused by defects?
• Which specification was active when the item was inspected?
• Can quality results be analysed by product, operation, supplier, or defect?

Evidence and reporting

Useful measures include first-pass yield, defect rate, rework, scrap, failure by operation, inspection completion, and recurring cause. Metrics need drill-down to the check and production context; otherwise teams may debate the number rather than improve the process.

Example: inspection between production operations

A manufacturer may need to inspect a dimension after machining but before the part moves to finishing. The quality point should identify when the check occurs, what is measured, the acceptable range, sampling expectation, responsible role, and action required when the result fails. A generic note entered after completion cannot provide the same control.

The recorded result should remain connected to the production order, work order, item, quantity, operator, time, and relevant lot or serial context when applicable. A failed check may hold work, trigger rework, record scrap, or require authorized acceptance. The chosen disposition changes inventory, capacity, cost, and delivery expectations, so it cannot live in an isolated quality spreadsheet.

Validation should cover a pass, a borderline measurement, a failed sample, repeated inspection after rework, and an attempted completion without the required check. Reports should distinguish first-pass performance from re-inspection and make recurring defects visible by product, operation, work centre, or reason.

Quality inspection and failure-path tests

Configure numeric and qualitative tests at receipt, during a routing operation, and when production is reported finished. Test fixed and percentage sampling, acceptable and failed results, partial production, re-inspection, and a destructive sample where quantity treatment matters. Required instruments, specifications, and responsible roles should be visible to the inspector.

Fail a result and follow each permitted disposition: quarantine, rework, scrap, retest, authorized deviation, or supplier return where applicable. Inventory availability, production status, material movement, labour, and cost should reflect the selected decision. An operator must not complete a controlled step simply by bypassing the quality screen.

Finally, compare reports by product, supplier, operation, work centre, test, and failure reason. Confirm that first-pass performance is not inflated by replacing failed results with successful retests. This protects both management analysis and the evidence behind an accepted batch.

Adapt quality to the operation

Simor Soft can customize quality fields, sampling rules, tolerances, status control, notifications, attachments, permissions, dashboards, and downstream actions. Review Simor ERP manufacturing, connect failures to subcontracting, or show us your inspection plan.