What is Source Inspection?

There are basically three types of source inspections: prototype inspection or an initial production check, during production inspection or an in process inspection and final random inspection or pre-shipment inspection.

An initial production check is performed prior to mass production or at the initial stage of production when a very small percentage of products or the first lot samples are ready to be checked for quality, workmanship and measurements.

During Production Inspection conduct when approximately 20-50% of the ordered quantity covering all colors and sizes are ready to check whether corrections, given recommendations and revised specifications have been implemented or not.

Pre-shipment inspection takes place when the product is complete, packed and ready to be shipped, based on the sampling plan, inspectors randomly select product samples and make sure that criteria such as quality, quantity, function (by refer to user’s manual), appearance, assortment, color, dimensions, marking, packing, packaging, etc. conform to your specifications and on established reference samples. If there is any testing required, we can manage these requirements through witnessing at the factory’s laboratory according to the clients instructions or through our association with local independent laboratories

What is an AQL, and why is it such an important consideration?

The AQL standard provides three general inspection levels, namely I, II, and III, and four special inspection levels. It determines the relationship between the lot or batch size and the sample size.

A normal inspection or general inspection level I is used when there is no concern that the quality of the product is better or poorer than the specified quality level. A reduced inspection under a sampling plan would use the same quality level as the normal inspection but requires a smaller sample for inspection. Stricter acceptance criteria would call for the tightened inspection. The special levels are used only when relative small sample sizes are necessary and when large sampling risks may be tolerated.

The inspection level together with the lot or batch size make up the sampling size as seen in table I, where given as an example the general level II or normal inspection is preferred and the lot size is in between 3201 and 10000 pieces. The sample size is represented in the letter L.

As shown in table II, the AQL% ranges from 0.10 to 6.5. The letters Ac is the acceptance number where Re stands for the rejection number. In the given example the sample size is 200 and the agreed AQL% is 2.5. This means that if 11 or more defects are found, the shipment is rejected.

If client does not have any sampling requirements, ACL team will consult with client which AQL level works best for their specific requirements and product.