3 Ways Parts Sorting and Inspection Can Get Your Shipment Back on Track
3 Ways Parts Sorting and Inspection Can Get Your Shipment Back on Track
For some products, the manufacturing process does not end once those products are packaged and shipped out. In the case of automobile manufacturers, many of the final vehicle’s components come from various suppliers and are assembled to build the cars we enjoy driving. Because the quality of these components work together to comprise the overall quality of each vehicle, and thereby the quality of the car’s brand, it is imperative that each of the vehicle’s components from those various suppliers must be carefully examined for non-conformance. What happens when a supplier’s shipment of non-conforming parts is already on its way to the other side of world? What measures can be taken to maintain the brand’s integrity and keep consumers safe, while adhering to a tight schedule?
3 Corrective Measures for a Shipment of Non Conforming Parts
Response Time: Once the supplier knows there are non-conforming parts that are already on their way to a warehouse or distribution center, timing is critical. If there is a tight schedule to maintain, then either sending the shipment back to its point of origin to be sorted and reshipped, or having a team sent out from the supplier’s location to the shipment’s destination to inspect the defective shipment are options, but can be costly both in time and money. Alternatively, enlisting an on-site team who can perform all the necessary parts sorting and inspection services, and who are already located at the shipment’s destination can help the supplier stay on schedule and deliver value. Once the shipment arrives, the on-site inspection team will already be in place to work diligently to contain the defective parts, sort the parts that meet specifications, gather the relevant data that the supplier wants to know about their shipment, or assist with any necessary part rework, repair, or assembly.
Reliable Data: If the supplier does not already know, they will quickly need to know the extent of the non-conformance of the parts in the shipment in order to determine how many conforming parts need to be produced or shipped to replace the defective parts in the shipment. Is it the entire shipment or is the defect limited to a certain quantity of parts? It is important to know how much of the shipment is defective, how these parts are defective, as well as the measurements of the defective parts if the defect is related to dimensional measurement. Sometimes these measurements can be quickly collected at the shipment’s destination, or in the case of non-conforming parts with tight tolerances which demand accurate measurements, the defective parts may have to be sent to an environmentally controlled dimensional metrology lab. Obtaining the measurement data, whether at the shipment’s destination or in a controlled lab, will save the supplier the time and cost it would take to send the entire shipment back to its point of origin to be sorted and inspected. This data can be used to produce the correct parts and ship them out while the non-conforming parts are on their way back to the supplier or are dispositioned.
Rework or Repair: Once the defective parts have been sorted from the parts that meet conformance, and the supplier has reliable measurement data which they can use to know how much the defective parts deviate from the conforming ones, sometimes the supplier can use this data to rework or repair the bad parts currently at the shipment’s destination. In certain scenarios that do not require a part to be held to an extremely tight tolerance, rework or repair can be as simple as smoothing out a dent or deburring a rough edge.
Parts Sorting & Inspection Services as a Value-Added Solution
Our personnel are veterans at helping our customers maintain their product’s integrity and are fully capable of providing an on-site parts sorting and inspection team able to respond and arrive at your location typically within 24 hours. As a registered ISO 9001 and ISO 17025 accredited laboratory deeply knowledgeable in serving industries including Solar, Energy, Automotive, Aerospace, Medical, Defense, and more, IIA can help you keep your tight schedule while maintaining and delivering the quality associated with your brand.
