Final inspection and testing

Final inspection is in fact the last inspection of the product that you will perform before dispatch but it may not be the last inspection before delivery if your contract includes installation. The term final inspection has three meanings  

In place of the term final inspection, the term product acceptance is more appropriate and tends to convey the purpose of the inspection rather than the stage of the inspection. 

The standard requires that the supplier carries out final inspection and testing in accordance with the quality plan and/or documented procedures to complete the evidence of conformance of the finished product to the specified requirements. 

To accomplish this, you need to specify either in the quality plan or the documented procedures, the inspections and tests you intend to carry out to verify that the product meets specified requirements. In Part 2 Chapter 4 there is a description of a Design Verification Plan and this includes a specification of the tests and inspections to be performed on each production item as a means of ensuring that the qualified design standard is being maintained. This requires that you produce something like an Acceptance Test Plan which contains, as appropriate, some or all of the following  

Ensuring all inspections and test have been carried out (4.10.4.1) 

---

ISO 9000. The ISO 9000 series of standards was first issued in 1987 and then updated in 1994. The ISO 9000 standard describes the selection criteria for the four standards, ISO 9001—9004. ISO 9001 is composed of 20 items covering manufactured products from design and development in R D to commercial production and after-sale service or technical support. ISO 9002 has 19 of the items in 9001 describing the requirements of a quahty system for the manufacture of an item, such as chemicals, to a specification only the requirement relating to product development is omitted. Chemical companies seldom certify to ISO 9003, which describes the quahty system for a laboratory involved in final inspection and test. Finally, ISO 9004 presents guidelines for total quahty management. 

Applicable to those who make their products on the basis of some proven designs, or work as ancillaries for standard products. ISO 9003 - Model for Quality Assurance in Final Inspection and Test. 

The standard requires the quality plan or documented procedures for final inspection and testing to require that all the specified inspections and tests, including those specified either on receipt of product or in-process, have been earned out and that the data meets specified requirements. 

Final inspection and test checks should detect whether ... 

Produce procedures for in-process and final inspection and test. 

The standard requires the supplier to arrange for the protection of the quality of product after final inspection and test and, where contractually specified, this protection shall extend to include delivery to destination. 

For products in Classes Ila, lib and III, and AIMDs, examination and certification by a notified body of a specimen product (t)q)e examination Aimex III of the MDD) coupled with a varying degree (partially restricted by product class) of product or production quality assurance (MDD Annexes IV, V and VI), which ensures that the manufacturing process produces products that conform to the certified t)q)e and might involve a quality system for manufacture and final inspection (Annex V), or a quahty system for final inspection and testing (Annex VI). 

All final inspections and testing are performed in accordance with the [quality plan and specifications] to complete the evidence of product conformance to the specified requirements. 

Special process control (of processes that have parameters that affect product characteristics and may not be easily or economically measured by normal in-process or final inspection and test, or that may exhibit inferior performance only after use) will be by one or more of the following ... 

ISO 9003 1994, Quality System — Model for Quality Assurance in Final Inspection and Test... 

ISO 9003. This standard only provides a guideline for the requirements of quality assurance in final inspections and testing. 

ISO 9003 Addresses quality practice for final inspection and testing... 

The ISO 9003 Quality Systems—Model for Quality Assurance in Inspection and Testing, designed for testing laboratories and equipment distributors only requires conformance to final inspection and testing procedures. 

ISO 9002 Quality systems— Model for quality assurances in production, installation, and servicing ISO 9003 Quality systems— Model for quality assurance in final inspection and test... 

ISO-9000 certification ISO-9000 and lSO-9004 are guidelines that interpret the requirements of the three main standards—ISO-9001 (the quality system in design and development), ISO-9002 (the quality system for quality assurance in production and installation), and ISO-9003 (the quality system for quality assurance in final inspection and testing). These three standards define the quality-system requirements for firms with a varying scope of business requirements. See design verification fabricating, world-class processor certification productivity quality system test certification testing and quality control transducer calibration. 

ISO 9003 is made of 16 elements and applies to organizations whose business is final inspection and testing. 

---