PURPOSE OF QUALITY CONTROL
The purpose of quality control is to pinpoint the production operations which need special
attention.
By working proactive, the defects will be found at an early stage of production. The problems will
be solved at once and the number of defective merchandise can be reduced and last but not least be
prevented.
In order to reach the best quality, the following inspections and meetings should be performed and
attended by either QC's, the Supplier or both parties
.
1/ COC MEETING
Buyer CoC responsible must be held on thru Audit team.
When QC performs an inspection she/he must keep “her/his eyes and ears open” and check the
safety concerning the workers in the factory.
Also check that:
• Emergency exits are unblocked
• Emergency exits are unlocked
• Fire extinguishers are unblocked
• All workers have free passage to and from their workplace
• Toilets are clean
• First aid box are available in all units
When urgent issues arise in factory the QC must involve the Buyer CoC responsible immediately.
2/ OVER VIEW MEETING
Meeting with Merchandiser/Technician must be held on a regular basis , at least one per week. QC
will get significant information regarding the style, fabric, samples, changes etc. during this
meeting. If possible a fitting should be done.
For the QC to be able to perform a proper inspection this Over view meeting is very important.
3/ PRE- PRODUCTION MEETING
• Buying ofice personnel like Technician (Sr. Technician, Merchandiser) must attend the Preproduction meeting with approved Pre-Production samples by Buyer
• The meeting must include discussions regarding e.g. difficulties, important parts, changes,
machinery, fabric, pattern, fit etc.
• Records must always be kept from the meeting.
• Production can never start until the Pre-Production Meeting is held.
To be able to do a good job during early inspections, it is important for the QC to be involved in the
order at least at Pre- production stage.
4/ GENERAL FOR ALL INSPECTIONS
• Work together with the Supplier’s quality personnel responsible for each order.
• Check the previous inspection reports if re- order, both from buyer QC .
• Compare the production to the sealed approved samples.
• Find and solve problems instantly during the initial inspection.
• Follow the Minimum manufacturing requirements when inspecting the order.
• Measure the QC measurements (see the How to Measure manual).
• Measurements must follow the Buyer +/- agreed tolerances.
• Check that trims, labels, price tag, hang tag etc. agree to the trim card or approved Samples.
• Perform the Nickel tests within Buyer standards and write reports.
• Perform the Button tests and write reports.
• Perform the Children’s safety tests and write reports. (on children’s order)
• Perform the Drop tests and write reports (on products where this is required).
• Perform the Functional tests and write reports (on products where this is required).
• Check some garments on dummy or live model. (Preferably different sizes)
• Always use the Buyer Initial-, Inline-, Final inspection report sheets when writing reports.
• Explain the comments, faults or rejections to quality responsible from factory.
• Make sure all involved workers in the factory get the message
• Uunderstand the explanation
• Follow the information
5/ PRODUCTION SAMPLES AND HOW TO PICK PRODUCTION SAMPLES
• Production samples must always be taken from the actual production line and always be picked
by the QC & send to technician.Technician must check sample & give technical comments.
• Production samples must have all labels, price tags etc. attached and merchandise must be folded
as for delivery.
• Production samples must be folded according to Packing Manual, have correct packing and
correct information as for delivery.
• The production sample must be approved by technician before any delivery can take place.
6/ INITIAL INSPECTION
The Initial inspection should be carried out after a production of approximately 100–300 pieces
covering all sizes and colors.
When QC is doing Initial inspection, she/he will be able to find and solve problems in the very
beginning of the production.
• Start the Initial inspection by checking the production status and the Supplier’s/factory’s
inspection reports e.g. Trim inspection reports, Fabric/Material inspection reports.
• Check the production in all areas e.g. cutting-, stitching-, embroidery, Printing, finishing-, pre
assembling-, casting-, soldering-, plating-, spray color coating area etc
• Compare carefully production to sealed aproved Buyer samples
• Randomly the QC must select the merchandise to inspect from production line.
• 50-100 pieces covering all sizes and colors.
• On woven and knitted products: when needed cut the seams open, check against the paper pattern
and the Technical Package for comparison with the production.
• When garments, try some on dummy or live model if possible. (Preferably different sizes)
• Mark the identified defects with stickers.
• Solve the problems together with factory personnel instantly.
• Do the follow up (to be sure the products are produced the exact right way).
• Discuss Major and Minor defects with the Production Manager, Quality Manager, Line QC’s.
• Check if goods are packed according to the Packing Manual (if necessary contact Buing Office).
• Fill in the Initial Inspection Report and explain it to the responsible persons in the factory.
• If required inform/send the report/result to Buing Office
• Pick Production samples from production
Number of pieces to be
measured Initial inspection
3 pieces per size across all colors in the shipment
(or one color at the time acc. to production setup)
e.g. 6 sizes x 3 pieces across 4 colors=18 pieces
*only QC measure by self
If any important QC measurement is out of the agreed tolerance, then a further 3 pieces of that
size/color are to be measured for that specific measurement.
If one more piece is found outside the tolerance requirements, then the entire quantity for that
size/color must be measured by the Supplier’s QC-team
7/ INLINE INSPECTION
The first Inline inspection should preferably be carried out immediately or very soon after the
Initial inspection. When to do Inline inspection depends on the quality of the products at previous
inspection.
If QC spends as much time as needed, doing early Inline inspections for each specific order, the
products will be produced in a correct way.
• Start the Inline inspection by checking the production status and the Supplier’s/factory’s
inspection reports e.g. Trim inspection reports, Fabric/Material inspection reports.
• Check the production in all areas e.g. cutting-, stitching-, embroidery-, finishing-, pre assembling, casting-, soldering-, plating-, spray color coating area.
• Compare carefully production to sealed approved samples
• Randomly the QC must select the merchandise to inspect from production line.
• 50-100 pieces covering all sizes and colors (if possible acc. to setup) must be picked.
• On woven and knitted products: when needed cut the seams open, check against the paper pattern
and the Technical Package for comparison with the production.
• When garments, try some products on dummy or live model if possible. (Preferably different
sizes)
• Mark the identified defects with stickers.
• Solve the problems together with factory personnel instantly.
• Do the follow up (to be sure the products are produced the exact right way).
• Discuss Major and Minor defects with the Production Manager, Quality Manager, Line QC’s.
• Check if the goods are packed according to the Packing instruction and Packing Manual. Discuss
packing problems with Suppliers Packing responsible (if necessary contact Buying Office).
• Fill in the Inline Inspection Report and explain it to the responsible persons in the factory.
• If required inform/send the report/result to Buying Office.
• Pick Production samples from production if possible from a transport carton.
Number of pieces to be
measured Inline inspection
2 pieces per size across all colors in the shipment
e.g. 6 sizes x 2 pieces across 4 colors=12 pieces
*only QC measure by self
If any important QC measurement is out of the agreed tolerance, then a further 3 pieces of that
size/colour are to be measured for that specific measurement.
If one more piece is found outside the tolerance requirements, then the entire quantity for that
size/colour must be measured by the Supplier’s QC-team. & sort out all the garments which out of
the agreed tolerance
8/ FINAL INSPECTION
 Final inspection must take place when a minimum of 100% of the pieces are packed.
 Merchandise packed in retail packaging e.g. pantyhose, must be checked before they are
packed.
 Final inspections must be performed in a Quality Control room.
 The Quality Control room must have a big table where the controls will take place.
 The Quality Control room must be lit up by fluorescent tube Daylight = D65.
 In this room only concerned people from factory should be present during inspection.
 Smoking is totally prohibited in the Quality Control room or near to Buyer group products.
 Start the inspection by checking the Factory’s QC Final Inspection reports, (to get an
overview).
 Compare the Factory’s QC Inspection reports with the Independent QC Inspection reports.
 The QC must, from a working packing list print out, select the cartons to be inspected
according to supplier’s internal markings.
 Control that all packed cartons are stored order-by–order, country-by-country on pallets.
 Check that the cartons have the correct size and quality.
 Always check cartons containing SS/SC (solid size/solid color) and the cartons containing
ASST (assortments).
 Control that all suggested improvements in earlier QC inspection reports have been
accomplished.
 Pick carton of total carton √
 Pick more cartons than required and check the specific fault, if improvements not have been
accomplished.
 QC must always pick up the merchandise from the cartons themselves.
 Check that the goods are packed according to the Packing instruction and Packing Manual.
(contact Buing office if necessary)
 Check that the quantity, color and size of the items inside the cartons correspond with the
working packing list.
 Follow the AQL(if Buyer has another instruction) and pick the amount of pieces from the
cartons.
 Take the requested quantity to inspect from different levels in the cartons.
 Make sure all colors and sizes are represented among the picked pieces to be controlled.
Number of pieces to be
measured Final inspection
2 pieces per size across all colors in the shipment
e.g. 5 sizes x 2 pieces across 5 colors=10 pieces
*only QC measure by self
If any important QC measurement is out of the agreed tolerance, then a further 3 pieces of that
size/color are to be measured for that specific measurement. If one more piece is found outside the
tolerance requirements, then the entire quantity for that size/color must be measured by the
Supplier’s QC-team & sort out all the garments which out of the agreed tolerance
We will follow the below AQL chart during any InspectionANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2003
Single sampling plan for normal inspection:
Lot or Batch Size
General Inspection
level II
Sample
Size
2.5
(major)
4.0
(minor)
2 to 8
9 to 15
16 to 25
26 to 50
51 to 90
91 to 150
151 to 280
281 to 500
501 to 1200
1201 to 3200
3201 to 10000
10001 to 35000
25001 to 150000
2
3
5
8
13
20
32
50
80
125
200
315
500
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
3
5
7
10
14
21
0
0
0
0
1
2
3
5
7
10
14
21
21
9/ DEFINITION OF DEFECTS
There are Critical, Major and Minor Defects
If a critical defect is found during inspection, the entire production must be rejected, 100% must be
re-inspected by the Supplier’s QC teams.
9.1 Critical Defects:
• Goods that do not comply with Buyer Safety Requirements for babies’ and children’s wear.
• Goods that do not comply with Buyer Chemical Restrictions.
• Cartons found with Insects, strong odor, moist products or objects apart from packed goods.
Labels:
All label errors are to be considered as critical defects. All labeling must be correct before
shipment.
Use the label specification to ensure that the product is labeled correctly.
Important! Many planning markets require additional labeling.
• Country specific info tags – must be clearly indicated by the merchandiser in the label
specification
Labeling information is updated very often. Pls always check latest info for Overview.
9.2 Major Defects:
• When the defect is noticeable to the customer and visible when using the goods.
• When the defect does affect the quality of the goods.
• When the usefulness of the goods is affected.
• Loose and uncut threads and loose buttons.
• When the goods does not comply with Buyer Quality Standards and Requirements.
• When the order is not packed according to the Packing Instructions and the Packing Manual.
9.3 Minor Defects:
• When the defect is not noticeable to the customer and visible when using the goods.
• When the defect does not affect the quality of the goods.
• When the usefulness does not affect the goods, but the quality is not up to approved standard.
9.4 Judgment of Defects:
• A combination of 3 minor defects concentrated in the same critical area will be treated as 1
major defect, (e.g. upper front part if it is a garment).
• If 1 major defect is found together with minor defects on the same product, the whole product
should be counted as 1 major defect.
• If consistent minor defects occur, which affect the overall appearance of the products, stop the
process and contact the Buying Office for further information (QC Manager, Merchandiser,
Technician).
10/ INSPECTION PROCEDURES
In addition to the trial production inspection, we require a minimum of 2 approved inspections on
all orders. The trial production inspection should be consulted at inline and final inspection to make
sure any quality flaws were successfully avoided on bulk production.
• It is the suppliers responsibility to inform Production team about the actual production start date
to be able to conduct inspections at an early stage of production.
• A minimum of 2 approved inspections must be made for all orders by the brand dedicated QC
before shipment. The inspections are:
- Inline inspection
- Final inspection