Inspection

General Information

Receipt lines with an inspection demand from a source line generally originate from purchase order lines with the following receive cases: Receive into Arrival - Inspect at Arrival, Receive into Arrival - Inspect at QA, or Receive into QA - Inspect at QA. The status on the receipt line must be To be Inspected before you can enter the inspection results.

For receipt lines with inventory registered parts and an inspection demand, the inspection results need to be entered before you are allowed to move the quantity into a stock location. For both receipt lines with non-inventory registered parts or no-number parts and an inspection demand, the inspection results need to be entered before the receipt is completed.

Quantity to Inspect

The quantity to inspect in the receipt process may be obtained directly from the receive case and its inspection code, or from the control plan and its inspection code (if IFS/Quality Management is used).

On the receipt lines with a receive case that requires inspection, the quantity to inspect is either a fixed quantity from the inspection code or a quantity that is calculated from a percentage from the inspection code. You can manually increase or decrease the calculated value.

If IFS/Quality Management is used, the quantity to inspect as indicated in the Receipt window will be affected. If it is required to create an analysis (this is controlled from IFS/Quality Management), the Qty to Inspect field in the Receipt window will initially show the highest sample size as indicated in the active control plan. Every time you connect a new control plan to the receipt, the quantity to inspect will be updated according to the highest sample size as calculated for that control plan. You can manually increase or decrease this value too.

However, the quantity to inspect could have been manually entered at the arrival registration. This can be done for a receipt line with a receive case that does not require any inspection. This receipt line can be handled in the same manner as a receipt line with a receive case that requires inspection.

Location for Inspection

Generally the inspection is performed due to the receive case, i.e., in an arrival location or an inspection location (quality assurance). However, inspection results can be reported regardless of where the parts are situated, i.e., in an arrival location, inspection location, or stock location.

Example: You have an arrival with the receive case Receive into Inventory. You can enter the receipt, and the parts are then moved to the default or latest stock location. Then, you can indicate a quantity to inspect in the Receipt window, inspect the parts in the stock location, and enter the inspection results. In this example, it is important to notice that the parts are not locked in any way before the inspection, and its results are entered. Any user can process the parts at any time. To avoid this, you must move the parts back into an inspection or arrival location.

IFS/Quality Management

IFS/Quality Management provides the ability to define test plans and standards for parts, suppliers, manufacturing processes, and any combination of the above. You can also perform control operations at receipt and you can analyze the testing results. Overview forms with standard interfaces can be used to feed third party products for advanced statistical calculations. Note that these control operations are not connected to inspection codes or to the entry of inspection results in IFS/Purchasing. The only point in common is that the analysis in IFS/Quality Management is created in the receipt function. However, if you are using IFS/Quality Management and have created an analysis, tested the parts in question, and reported the results in IFS/Quality Management, you can use these results as a guideline when entering the inspection results in the receipt function.

You can maintain IFS/Quality Management as an open option in the receipt process, or make it an integral part of the receipt process. This depends on how the basic data is set up in IFS/Quality Management.

Enter Inspection Results

Inspection results are entered for inventory registered parts, non-inventory registered parts, and no-number parts. This must be done when the quantity to inspect is larger than zero (0). Inspection results can either be entered using the Inspection Management or Purchase Order Receipt  window since both windows lead to the same dialog box. Inspection results can be reported regardless of where the parts are situated, i.e., in an arrival location, an inspection location, or a stock location. For inventory parts, you must enter the inspection results before you are allowed to move the parts into a stock location. For non-inventory parts or no-number parts, the results must be entered in order to complete the receipt. In the To Inspect fields in this dialog box you can see the quantity of parts for which you should enter the result; this is shown in both the source unit and inventory unit. The same quantity is indicated as a suggestion in the Approve fields. This value can be decreased or accepted. If all the parts are approved, confirm the value. You can also decrease the quantity and make a partial approval.

When the inspection results are entered, the number of inspections is increased (+1) every time an inspection is performed. This occurs, for example, when you inspect 10 parts on a receipt line and decide to partially report the inspection results. The combination of the quantity inspected and the number of inspections help you when evaluating the inspection/re-inspection of a receipt line.

In connection with reporting the inspection results, faulty parts can be scrapped for no credit, scrapped for credit, returned for rework, or returned for credit. (See the corresponding activity descriptions.) To complete the entry of inspection results, the sum of the quantity approved and any quantities scrapped or returned should be the same as the quantity to inspect. Otherwise, you have performed a partial report of the inspection results.

Scrap and Return

The quantity scrapped and returned are normally entered per scrap or return cause on separate tabs in the Register Result dialog box. You can choose from among the following:

Reject reasons are entered in the Scrapping Causes window. Return reasons are entered on the Procurement Basic Data/Return Cause tab.

Print Supplier Returns

Once the returns for credit and rework have been entered, you can print a supplier returns report to accompany the returned goods. This can be done either on the Receipt/Return tab, by right-clicking and then clicking Print Supplier Returns, or in the Register Result dialog box by selecting the Print Return Note check box and clicking OK. In both cases, the Print Supplier Returns dialog box opens. After you modify the fields in the Print Supplier Returns dialog box and click OK, a supplier returns report can be printed.

If you have scrapped material, you can also include details of those in a supplier returns report. This can be done in the Purchase Order Receipt/Scrap tab or in the Register Result dialog box, similar to the way you would print returns information as mentioned above.

An efficient method when handling several scrap or returns

When scrapping or returning several receipt lines for the same source order, such as scrapping or returning serial numbered parts, it is very time consuming to enter a new line and specify the return cause or reject reason for each serial number. Instead, you can select all the lines in question on the Receipt/Single tab, right-click and then click Scrap Receipt Lines or Return Receipt Lines. When you select one of these operations, a dialog box opens.

In this dialog box, you can specify the reject reason or the return cause for all the selected lines at the same time. For returned parts, you must also enter a return type, i.e., a return for credit or a return for rework. For scrapped parts, you can specify whether they are scrapped for credit or scrapped for no credit.

Then, the Register Result dialog box opens with the selected lines and their scrap/return cause already indicated on the proper tab. You can remove a line that is selected by mistake. You can also change the scrapping cause and scrap type on a single line.

Undo Scrap/Return

For any reason, if you have scrapped or returned any parts by mistake, you can undo this action. This is done in different windows, depending on whether the part is an inventory or a non-inventory part. No-number parts are handled in the same window as the non-inventory parts. You can undo a subset of the quantity that is scrapped or returned. 

Replacement Order

A replacement order can be created for parts that are returned for credit or scrapped for credit. The replacement order is created based upon the quantity of parts to be credited. The original order to be replaced determines whether a purchase order or distribution order will be created.

A new purchase order will have the same supplier and supplier agreement if this is applied. Postings and possible supplier agreements are adjusted to avoid a double entry. If the original purchase order was linked to any type of demand, such as a customer order or a request form in inventory, this link is transferred to the new purchase order. The new purchase order will be in the Planned status.

A new distribution order copies the data from the replaced distribution order. The new distribution order will be in the Planned status.

Re-inspection

You can re-inspect the parts that are not verified or obsolete or that are found to be faulty after passing the inspection. The parts can be moved from a stock location back into an inspection location. The method for entering re-inspection results is the same as used for an ordinary inspection.

If you want to re-inspect the parts directly after the inspection results are entered, specify a new quantity to inspect.