Archive for May, 2012

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Factory audits for your China suppliers

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

Factory audits in China and other Asian countries are often (loosely) based on a checklist inspired by the ISO 9000 series. That means the main part of these audits consists in looking for holes in the factory’s quality system.

Why is this important? Because it directly impacts the factory’s reliability (how likely are they to have quality problems and to miss deadlines?)

Performing such an audit on a small workshop is over-kill. They probably have no system at all, and the auditor’s job is over in 20 min.

Here are the checkpoints related to the quality system:

1. Understanding The Buyer’s Requirements

Is there a clear list of all desired characteristics of a product, before production starts?
Is it clearly specified in which manner each requirement should be measured/tested?
Are conform samples available to workers in production and QC areas? How accessible are these samples (photo on production line, sample in hands of QC staff…)?
2. Suppliers of Materials / Components

How does the factory evaluate and select material suppliers?
Is there a list of approved suppliers?
How does the factory communicate requirements to its material suppliers? Is it done properly and accurately?
3. Incoming Quality Control (IQC)

What are the steps followed by the factory when it receives raw materials / components from its suppliers?
How are materials / components checked against the factory’s specifications?
Is any on-site test performed upon reception? Which one(s)?
Do they send samples for tests in external laboratories? How often and for what tests?
How are materials / components stored?
Describe the location (inside/outside/covered…) and the way the materials are stored (in bulk/on racks…).
Are materials / components correctly identified? How (sticker/barcode/tag…)?
Is the information easily accessible?
Is there a First-In, First-Out (FIFO) system? Or any other stock management system?
Are there QC staff solely dedicated to Incoming QC (IQC)? How many?
Are QC results recorded in a formal report?
4. Organization Of In-House Production

Are clear procedures given to each operator, for each job / task (including the QC staff)?
How does the factory verify that each production process is conducted in a satisfactory manner?
How are work-in-process products stored? Are they protected and kept clean?
Are production lots properly identified and traceable throughout the production processes?
Does the factory accept to do pilot runs (very small quantities) for the products it makes for the first time?
5. In-Process Quality Control (IPQC)
What are the control steps during production?
What proportion of products is checked?
What does the factory do with the data collected (corrective / preventive actions plans)?
What happens to defective products? (repaired / recycled / scrapped…)
Are there QC staff solely dedicated to In-Process QC (IPQC)? How many?
Are QC results recorded in a formal report?
6. Subcontracted production

Are materials/components delivered directly to subcontractors? Are they checked?
How does the factory control the work of its subcontractor(s)?
When do they check the subcontractors’ operations?
Are QC findings recorded in in a formal report?
7. Final Quality Control (FQC)

How are finished products stored?
Does Final QC occur before or after packing is completed?
What proportion of products is checked?
How are inspected samples taken from production line? (by lot, randomly…)
If the final inspection based on random checking: It is based on which inspection level, and on which AQL level?
What happens when non-conformities are detected?
Are there QC staff solely dedicated to Final QC (FQC)? How many?
Are QC results recorded in a formal report?
8. Instruments & Machines

How does the factory ensure that measuring instruments are available and correctly used?
Are testing instruments regularly calibrated?
How often are production machines maintained?
Are maintenance records available?
9. Prevention Of Problems

What is the process in case an issue is noticed during the preparation of samples?
What is the process in case an issue is noticed during bulk production?
Does the factory determine the root causes of non-conformities?
What actions are put in place so that they don’t occur again?
Do they determine potential non-conformities and take preventive actions?
Important note: this is not the checklist followed when a manufacturer wants to be “ISO 9001 certified” (which does not mean much in countries like China). This is the checklist our auditors follow when they help an importer evaluate the reliability of a potential supplier.

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How to check the production status in a factory

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

One of the purposes of quality inspections is to check the production status. You want to confirm product quality, but also make sure the manufacturer is not behind schedule.

If you–or an inspector you appointed–come after the whole production is completed, all you need to check is whether the whole quantity is fully completed and whether all is packed. This is important because an inspection is much more reliable when the whole order is ready.

However, sending an inspector after everything is finished might be too late. And you might find out at the last moment that your shipment will be 3 weeks late, even though the supplier told you it was on time!

The solution is to proceed with inspections during production. In addition to checking product conformity and quality, the following points can be checked:

Is the factory aware of the client’s specifications?

Check if the factory has full technical specifications from the client.
Check if the factory has a reference sample approved by the client.
Check if there is any open issue not clarified between the factory and the client.
Capacity allotted and key milestones

Check how many lines are working on these products.
Check how many workers per line, and total number of workers on these products.
Check the date of arrival of materials / components.
Check the date of beginning of bulk production.
Check the total production quantity per day.
Check factory-estimated date of total quantity completion.
Check factory-estimated date of shipment.
Check factory-estimated shipment quantity.
In some cases, it is better to prepare a table that shows the quantity of products in each stage (stored inputs / past the 1st process / past the 2nd process / packed). It can be detailed reference by reference, color by color, etc.

In China and other parts of developing Asia, few suppliers take the time to track their production schedule. They often prefer not to promise anything, and to avoid being held accountable to delays.

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Some tips for testing products against regulatory standards

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

it is dangerous of relying on Chinese manufacturers’ certificates. So, if you import products that are subject to regulatory standards in your country, what should you do?

First, you should look for a supplier that already works with other importers in your country. If possible, call a couple of reference customers (warning: it won’t be easy to get their contacts from your potential suppliers).

Second, you can contact a quality control firm to check what safety/regulatory standards are applicable to your importing project.

Third, you can ask your suppliers if they have certifications from a international lab. Then you can contact that lab, tell them the report number, and ask whether it is legitimate. It does not eliminate risks on your side, but it is better than nothing.

Fourth, you should tell your supplier from the beginning that you will run lab tests on their goods. Some of them will increase their prices, others will refuse your order. It is an easy screening method.

Fifth, you are strongly advised to take the process in your own hands and to follow these steps:

Send an inspector to pick up some real production samples in a random manner, for on-site testing and/or for sending to a laboratory. It is important to use a testing lab of YOUR choice, that YOU will pay, and that sends all the results directly to YOU. Depending on the risks to avoid, this step can take place once the bulk materials/components are in the factory and/or when some totally finished products are off the lines.
If the tests are failed, communicate with the lab to see if the goods are way beyond what can be tolerated, or if only an insignificant part of the test protocol triggered this general failure.
If the tests are failed for a valid reason, your supplier should pay for re-picking random samples and for re-testing, and should follow the exact same procedure as the first testing round. This is a procedure that should be defined in advance, in a quality control plan.
Is this expensive? Yes it is, for small orders.

Is this too expensive for you to make enough margin? Then do not import directly.

Remember, if you import potentially unsafe products, you (as the importer) carry the same legal risks as if you were the manufacturer…

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What should be included in a quality inspection report

Monday, May 28th, 2012

There are many ways to prepare a quality inspection report. But here are a few guidelines to prepare a document that suits your needs.

A report is usually composed of the following parts:

Conformity to specifications
You probably want the inspector to look at the following aspects of the products:

Components
Assembly
General outlook, colors
Labeling
Packaging & packing
It can look like this (this example counts only 1 checkpoint, but you are encouraged to list up to 10 or 15 points in each sub-part, to be inspected during the job):

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What to report of a quality inspection?

Sunday, May 27th, 2012

The inspector should only show the non-conformities if he was trained properly and if you trust him. But that’s up to you. Some China inspections firms commonly use freelancers that they don’t really know, and they require reporting (and photos) for everything. Up to you!

On-site tests & measurements
This is the place for the checks that take some time, and that are generally performed only on a few samples:

The tests (to be clearly described, including the equipment to use and the required result)
The measurements of the cartons and of the products (size and weight)
Here is an example of test:
And for the measurements:

Production status
This is where the presented quantity is noted.

Here is a common way of displaying this information:

It is extremely important to know whether the inspector could count the quantity of products (sometimes they are piled up in bulk), and whether all products were available for sampling (sometimes they are under packing or repairing).

If the inspection takes place during production, you can add some extra questions to ask the factory: how many lines are working on my products, when will you get to 50% finished, etc.

Visual defects on the product and the packing
The inspector will look for defects, will place them in the right categories (critical/major/minor), will add the numbers up, and will compare them to the AQL limits.

This is the most basic part of every QC report, and every inspector knows how to present this. Make sure you get photos, and a clear description of each defect (if it’s not obvious on the photos, indicate the size of each defect and its position on the product).

Appendix: photos
This is the place where you list the photos that you want to see, whether there are problems or not.

A good tip: describe how each photo should be taken (what angle). This way, you can compare the photos across several inspection reports. Some buyers have noticed an evolution in the manufacturing process based on this technique.

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How to check the loading of a container

Saturday, May 26th, 2012

How do you ensure that the factory ships the right kind of product in the right quantity to you, when you import by full containers? By sending someone on site when they are loading the goods in the container(s).

You might send your employee. Or maybe an agent that you trust enough. Or maybe you want professionals to do it for you, and you pay for a container loading inspection by a third party.

In any case, your representative should at a minimum follow these checkpoints:

The products to ship

Total quantity
Conformity to the buyer’s requirements
The container

Containers are in good condition, inside and outside
A seal is affixed to close each container, with a unique number
Compulsory photos of the container:

Container seal
Container markings
General condition of the container
The loading process

Number of cartons to be loaded
Expected number of pcs per carton
Numbering of cartons
Pallets size, if applicable
Number of pallets, if applicable
No carton should fall on the ground or be damaged when factory loads the cartons
There can be many other requirements to check. For example, the importer might prepare a loading plan (to save volume)… which will not be respected by most Asian manufacturers, unless an inspector is present.

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