Inspection records and reports

The header

• Part number and name; drawing number and revision.
• Operation or inspection stage (first article, in-process, final).
• Batch, order or serial number, and the quantity inspected.
• Date, inspector and the person who authorizes release, here or on a separate release record.

ISO 9001:2015 clause 8.6 asks for documented evidence that the product meets its acceptance criteria, traceable to the person(s) authorizing the release. The clause numbers in this article are from ISO 9001:2015, which ISO 9001:2026 replaced in September 2026.

One line per characteristic

Use the numbers from the characteristic list, so each line can be found on the drawing:

Write the value as read, with every digit the instrument resolves, and compare the unrounded value with the limit (see recording and rounding readings). Write the number, not “OK”: a number shows how close the part is to the limit and can be checked later.

The example is the lab’s deliberately oversize shaft. Its 0.05 mm band is too tight for a caliper (ratio 2.5 to the caliper’s 0.02 mm maximum permissible error), so parts in this band should be accepted only on a micrometer reading. This reading is 0.07 mm above the upper limit, more than three times the caliper’s maximum permissible error, so the reject stands.

Recording a nonconformity

ISO 9001:2015 clause 8.7.2 asks you to keep documented information that describes the nonconformity, describes the actions taken, describes any concessions obtained and identifies the authority deciding the action. In practice:

1. What is wrong: the part and batch, the characteristic, the requirement, the actual value and by how much it misses, for example “Ø20 shaft, batch …, No. 1, Ø20 0/−0.05, measured 20.07 mm, 0.07 mm above the upper limit”.
2. What was done: the part tagged and segregated, the batch held, the cause investigated.
3. Any concession: if the part is used as it is, the concession and who approved it (and the customer, where required).
4. Who decided: the name or function of the person authorized to decide.

Corrections and keeping records

Do not erase or overwrite a value. Follow your quality system’s rule for corrections, so that the original entry stays readable and the change shows who made it and when. Keep records as long as your quality system and your customer require, with the batch or in a system where they can be found from the part number.

Practising in KELIBRON

The lab shows the actual value, the limits and the decision for each measurement, but it does not keep records. Measure the oversize shaft and write its line and its nonconformity on paper or in a spreadsheet, then measure a part that passes and write its line the same way.