You can use quality orders to conduct other specialized kinds of tests.

Material subject to an inventory audit is like material processed by incoming inspection. Both use quality orders, and material never leaves inventory. The difference is that material is selected from inventory for audit based on criteria such as expiration date or item.

Use inventory sampling patterns to determine which items are to be audited. Sampling is based on expiration dates or lot intervals. You can also use Inventory Detail Report (3.6.5) to identify inventory items based on expiration date, site, location, assay percentage or grade.

See Defining Sampling Patterns for more details.

It is not always practical to move an entire lot from inventory for testing. As an alternative, you can test a sample and leave the remainder in inventory. To prevent these from being issued or transferred before results are available, change the inventory status to a code that restricts issues or transfers.

The quantity for a quality order must reflect the quantity of an item moved to inspection for testing. This quantity is the same as the lot size if an entire lot is moved to inspection, and it is the lot sample size if only a portion is tested.

First article inspections are used to qualify a machine, a tool, or the setup of a machine or tool by determining whether it can produce items within design limits. It is assumed that if a few items can be produced correctly, the machine or tool is set up properly.

First article inspection differs from regular inspection in that it examines a sample by comparing it to most, if not all, of the engineering specifications appropriate for a specific level of processing.

First article inspection and process validation can use either quality orders or in-process inspection. The selection depends on whether or not the units evaluated are obtained from a supplier or from an internal manufacturing process.

Process validation—an extension of first article inspection—is used to qualify a manufacturing process. Rather than use a single sample or unique lot, process validation requires one or more large batches, each of them a typical manufacturing lot. Samples from the beginning, middle, and end of production can be examined to determine the stability of a manufacturing process and its ability to consistently produce quality material.

Quality orders can handle process validations, since they record inventory transactions and allow unplanned issue of testing supplies.

On a regular quality order, the quantity subjected to destructive testing should be reported in Quality Order Results Entry (19.11) as rejected, regardless of whether it passed or failed. This causes the quantity to be issued from inspection and expensed to scrap.

The lot quantity subjected to destructive testing can have its own quality order with a type code of D. When results are entered, quantities accepted and rejected are issued from inspection and expensed to cost of production.

For process inspection, there is no special provision for destructive testing. If rejected or scrapped quantities exist at an inspection operation, they remain in WIP. Quantities are taken out of WIP when received or rejected by a work order receipt function or by Repetitive Labor Transaction (18.14) or Backflush Operation (18.22.13). Nonconforming components can be returned from WIP by processing a Work Order Component Issue (16.10) for a negative quantity.