QA international

In order to conduct a successful inspection you will need to provide important information and documents. Remember, the success of an inspection relies heavily on the quality of the information you provide.

1. A copy of the Purchase Order between you and your supplier.
2. Your inspection criteria should include as much of the following information as possible:

Inspection Sampling Plan
Product / Material Specifications
Drawings or blue prints
Type samples, or photographs

3. Any other information, such as previous correspondence with your supplier specific to your order or any history of known quality problems, is extremely important.

Once everything is in order QA International will contact your supplier, arrange your inspection and begin providing the reports of our findings. These reports will be faxed to you and will require your feedback. The final decision as to the disposition of our inspection certificate will be yours.

If you do not have your own inspection sampling plan QA International will utilize the internationally accepted MIL STD 105E (ANSI/ASQ Z-1.4), which is a sampling plan that applies the theory of inspection by attributes.

Inspection by attributes is an inspection in which a sample selected for inspection is classified as defective or non-defective with respect to requirements specified by the buyer. MIL STD 105E is the most widely accepted method of sampling conducted in accordance with this philosophy.

MIL STD 105E was originally developed by the U.S. Government and is based on the mathematical theory of probability. With a given lot or consignment, and a designated Acceptable Quality Level (AQL), MIL STD 105E specifies the number of units to be sampled and provides specific criteria for acceptance or rejection based on the number of defects found.

ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVEL (AQL)

The AQL is the acceptable quality level that the buyer wants to obtain. The AQL is to be defined by the buyer for each defect classification.

Note: It is extremely important that the AQL's be agreed upon between the buyer and the seller, up front, to help avoid imposing unattainable quality levels.

DEFECT CLASSIFICATIONS

Defects are typically classified into three categories:

Critical	Defects that create a safety hazard.
Major	Defects in function or appearance that eliminate the sale-ability of the product.
Minor	Defects, usually aesthetic, which are unlikely to reduce the function of the product, but will affect the sale-ability of the product.