Quality Control Inspector how-to

How to Handle a Nonconforming Lot

Clear steps keep bad parts away from customers.

Updated By the Career Education Institute Curriculum Team
Quick answer

Clear steps keep bad parts away from customers. In short: stop; tag; write, then complete the remaining steps below.

Step by step

  1. Stop the process if parts are being made out of spec.

  2. Tag and move suspect material to a quarantine area.

  3. Write an NCR with the problem, quantity and evidence.

  4. Notify production and quality leaders.

  5. Help sort, rework or scrap per the decision.

  6. Follow up on corrective action.

Safety reminders for quality control inspectors

  • Wear safety glasses and required PPE on the production floor
  • Handle sharp parts carefully
  • Use proper lifting for heavy parts
  • Follow lockout before inspecting inside machines

Specification · Tolerance · First-article inspection (FAI) · Nonconformance · NCR · AQL: see the full quality control inspector glossary.

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