Managing inspection orders

An inspection order is the basis for all quality control work performed on the shop floor. It is built up of a series of tests to be performed on a specific item, and contains all information relevant to the execution, and later the results, of these tests. Orders are normally generated automatically whenever goods reach the warehouse, a production order is released (approved), or a production run has been completed. You can also create them manually if needed.

The orders are available in Inspect / Operator when they are released, giving you as the manager, the ability to manage the workload and prioritization on the shop floor.

As testing is performed, you can track the results in real time. As the testing concludes, the operator marks the order as completed, indicating the data is ready to be reviewed. Once you are satisfied with the integrity of the data, you can finalize the order, locking the data and any further work on the order. Thus the standard workflow is: Order creation => Release => Testing => Operator completion => Closing.

To manage existing inspection orders, select Inspection orders from the menu on the left in Inspect / Manager. A list of inspection orders will be displayed. You can also add new inspection orders here manually by pressing Add inspection order in the top right corner.

For the automatic generation of inspection orders see Creating and managing automation rules if your ERP system is SAP Business One and Creating and managing automation rules if your ERP system is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

By default, only open orders are listed. You can change this default setting by selecting one of the filter options in the Status column.

Inspection order statuses

Based on a standard workflow, an inspection order may be in one of the following statuses:

- The inspection order is created but it is not released yet.

- The inspection order is released but the operator has not proceeded with it yet.

- The inspection order is released, and the operator has already started working on it.

- The operator has clicked the Complete button for the inspection order in the Inspect / Operator module. The inspection order disappears from the operator’s screen.

- The inspection manager has clicked the Finalize button for the inspection order in the Inspect / Manager module. The inspection order disappears from the operator’s screen. The results collected in the inspection order are locked, and exported to your ERP system. No more tests can be performed. The status of the inspection order is Closed and cannot be changed. The detailed view of the order can be used to review the results.

Inspection order actions

The list view of inspection orders allows you to trigger a number of actions related to the orders. These actions enable you to change the standard workflow, should it become necessary.

Make the order available on the shop floor, for inspectors using the Inspect / Operator module.

In order to release an inspection order, it is necessary to add at least one test step and the quantity must be higher than 0.

When you click the Release button, the system creates one or more samples. The number of samples created by the system is defined by the quantity and the selected sampling plan. If no sampling plan or quantity has been defined, one sample is created.

The maximum number of samples allowed is 500. If more than 500 samples are created, then the inspection order cannot be released.

Close the inspection order, lock the results and export them to your ERP system. No more tests can be performed. This action cannot be undone. The button becomes solid green when the operator has marked the order as completed on the shop floor.

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Remove the order from the list. All data related to the order will be deleted. This action cannot be undone.

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Withdraw an already released order from the shop floor. The order will be no longer visible for inspectors using the Inspect / Operator module, and all test results in it will be deleted.

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Push the order to Completed status, irrespective of potentially missing tests. The order will be no longer visible for operators, and no more tests can be performed. This action cannot be undone.

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Download a certificate containing the parameters and the test results of the given inspection order in PDF format, ready for printing. See the last section of this article for further details.

Inspection order results

In the list of inspection orders, the Result column may show one of three values:

- The inspection order passed all the tests according to the approval target.

- The inspection order did not pass the tests.

- The number of executed tests is not enough to determine the result.

Inspection order details

In the displayed order list, click the number of an inspection order to display its details.

The top of the detail view offers the same operations (buttons / options) as those in the list view, described above.

The header of the detail view shows the time stamp of creation and that of the last operation performed. For manually created orders, the user who created the order is displayed. In the case of automatically created orders, the header of the detail view also shows the type and some details of the ERP document that triggered the creation of the order. Namely, beside the document type, you can see

• the number of the document,
• the number of the corresponding line in the document (for In production inspection, currently available if your ERP system is SAP Business One this line shows the name of the operation that requires inspection),
• the batch number or serial number if relevant, and
• the code / name of the business partner (supplier or customer).

On a following line, you can see the item and the quantity inspected. For completed orders, the overall outcome of the order (passed / failed / inconclusive and the inspection order pass rate are also displayed.

The body of the inspection order detail view is called Results, and it is structured by samples. Each sample is on a new line. For each, you can see the tests performed, as well as the corresponding results.

The screenshot below shows the details of a manually created inspection order that has been completed by an operator on the shop floor.

Each sample line has an > (Expand) icon (indicated by the red arrow in the screenshot above). Clicking it will open a table with further information about each test, including any defects found and test equipment used. You can collapse the table clicking the icon indicated by the red arrow in the screenshot below.

Quality certificates

You can download a certificate of the inspection results by selecting the corresponding option on the side of the inspection order list (first screenshot) or on the top row of the inspection order detail view (second screenshot).

The certificate comes in a PDF file. It contains the parameters of the inspection order and the results of all tests for each sample. The screenshot below shows the certificate belonging to the above inspection order 6781.

The content and the layout of the certificate is standard and cannot be customized in Netronic Manufacturing. If you need a quality certificate tailored to your company's special requirements, you can develop your own format using the inspection data stored in your ERP system.