Quality Inspections

Quality is not something you inspect into a product — it is something you build into the process. But inspections remain the formal mechanism by which a manufacturing business verifies that materials and products meet defined standards. In an ERP system, quality inspections create a documented, traceable record of every quality check, its result, and any corrective action taken.

For Indian manufacturers supplying to automotive, aerospace, or export markets, formal quality records are not optional. Customers expect inspection reports, traceability data, and evidence of quality management. Even for businesses serving domestic markets, systematic quality tracking reduces defects, lowers rework costs, and builds customer confidence.

Udyamo ERP Lite provides a quality inspection module that integrates with production orders, purchase receipts, and other reference documents across the system.

What You Will Learn

• The three types of quality inspections: incoming, in-process, and final
• The inspection workflow: create, inspect, pass or fail
• How to record severity levels and corrective actions
• Linking inspections to production orders, purchase orders, and other references
• Step-by-step: creating and completing a quality inspection
• Building a quality culture through ERP-integrated inspections

Prerequisites

Required: Before creating quality inspections, ensure:

• Production orders or purchase orders exist in the system to link inspections to
• You understand the manufacturing workflow (see Chapter 12)
• Users who will perform inspections have appropriate system access

Why Quality Management in ERP?

In many Indian SMBs, quality management operates on paper — inspection sheets filled out by hand, filed in folders, and rarely reviewed after the fact. This approach has several problems:

No traceability. When a customer reports a defective batch, finding the relevant inspection records means digging through filing cabinets. If the inspector did not note the production order number, the trail goes cold.

No trend analysis. Paper records make it nearly impossible to identify patterns. Is rejection rate increasing? Are certain raw material suppliers causing more quality issues? Are specific production shifts producing more defects? You cannot answer these questions without structured, searchable data.

No accountability. Without formal inspection records in the system, it is difficult to establish who inspected what, when, and what they found. This makes it hard to enforce quality standards consistently.

No integration. Paper-based quality records are disconnected from production and procurement. A failed incoming inspection does not automatically flag the purchase order. A failed in-process inspection does not automatically put the production order on hold. The communication happens informally, and things fall through the cracks.

ERP-integrated quality inspections solve all of these problems by making quality data structured, searchable, traceable, and connected to the rest of the business.

Types of Quality Inspections

Udyamo ERP Lite supports three inspection types, corresponding to the three stages where quality checks typically occur in a manufacturing process:

Incoming Inspection

When: Raw materials or components are received from a vendor.

Purpose: Verify that purchased materials meet specifications before they enter the warehouse and are used in production.

Examples:

• A textile mill receives a consignment of yarn and checks the count, twist, and tensile strength against the purchase order specification
• A food processing unit receives raw spices and checks for moisture content, foreign matter, and microbiological contamination
• A steel fabrication shop receives MS plate and verifies the thickness, grade, and mill test certificate

Reference: Incoming inspections are typically linked to a purchase order or goods receipt note.

Tip: Establish standard inspection criteria for each raw material category. If you always check the same five parameters for MS plate, document them once and use them as a checklist for every incoming inspection. This ensures consistency across different inspectors and shifts.

In-Process Inspection

When: During the manufacturing process, at defined checkpoints.

Purpose: Catch defects early — before more value is added to the product. Reworking a partially machined flange is far cheaper than reworking a fully assembled and coated one.

Examples:

• After the cutting operation, check that flange blanks are within dimensional tolerance
• During mixing in a food processing unit, verify that the temperature and consistency meet the recipe specification
• After welding, perform a visual inspection and dimensional check before proceeding to surface treatment

Reference: In-process inspections are linked to the production order.

Final Inspection

When: After production is complete, before the finished goods are dispatched to the customer or received into finished goods inventory.

Purpose: Confirm that the finished product meets all customer and internal specifications. This is the last gate before the product leaves your control.

Examples:

• A completed MS flange is checked for dimensions, bolt hole alignment, surface finish, and coating thickness
• A batch of packaged food is checked for net weight, labelling accuracy, seal integrity, and appearance
• An auto component is checked against the customer's drawing and specification sheet, with measurements recorded on an inspection report

Reference: Final inspections are linked to the production order and may also reference the customer's sales order.

Inspection Workflow

Every quality inspection in Udyamo ERP Lite follows a three-stage workflow:

Stage 1: Create the Inspection

The quality inspector (or production supervisor) creates an inspection record, specifying:

• The type of inspection (incoming, in-process, or final)
• The reference document (production order, purchase order, etc.)
• The inspection date
• The inspector's name
• Any initial notes or observations

At this point, the inspection result is Pending — the inspection has been initiated but not yet completed.

Stage 2: Perform the Inspection

The inspector physically examines the material or product, performing the required checks. Measurements, observations, and any deviations from specification are noted.

Stage 3: Record the Result

The inspector records the outcome using one of two actions:

• Pass Inspection — the material or product meets all specified requirements
• Fail Inspection — the material or product does not meet one or more requirements

Result Tracking

Severity Levels

When an inspection fails, the severity field classifies how serious the defect is:

Severity classification drives the corrective action. Minor defects may be accepted with a concession note. Major defects typically require rework. Critical defects result in outright rejection.

Warning: Be honest and consistent in severity classification. Downgrading a major defect to minor in order to avoid rework might save time today but creates reliability problems and customer complaints tomorrow. Quality records are auditable — they should reflect reality.

Corrective Actions

The corrective_action field records what will be (or was) done to address a failed inspection. Common corrective actions include:

Always record the corrective action, even if the inspection passes. A pass with a note ("Dimensions within tolerance, but trending toward upper limit — monitor next batch") is more useful than a bare pass result.

Linking Inspections to Reference Documents

Every inspection in Udyamo ERP Lite is linked to a reference document through two fields:

• Reference Type — the type of document (e.g., Production Order, Purchase Order)
• Reference ID — the specific document identifier

This linkage means you can:

• View all inspections for a specific production order from the production order screen
• See the inspection history for materials received from a specific vendor
• Trace a customer complaint back through the final inspection, the production order, and the incoming material inspections

Step by Step: Creating and Completing an Inspection

Creating a Final Inspection for a Production Order

Step 1: Navigate to quality inspections.

Go to Manufacturing > Quality Inspections. Click New Quality Inspection.

Step 2: Fill in the inspection details.

Step 3: Save the inspection.

Click Save. The inspection is created with result Pending.

Step 4: Perform the physical inspection.

The inspector checks the sampled flanges against the specification:

• Outer diameter: 285 mm +/- 1 mm
• Bolt hole PCD: 240 mm +/- 0.5 mm
• Thickness: 22 mm +/- 0.5 mm
• Surface finish: No visible cracks, burrs, or coating defects
• Bolt holes: 8 x M12, evenly spaced

Step 5: Record the result.

If all units pass:

Click Pass Inspection. The result changes to Pass. Add notes: "All 20 sampled units within specification. Dimensions measured with vernier caliper and PCD gauge."

If units fail:

Click Fail Inspection. Then fill in:

Tip: When an inspection fails, do not just record the defect — record the corrective action and ensure it is followed through. An inspection failure without follow-up is worse than no inspection at all, because it creates a false sense of quality management.

Building a Quality Culture

Quality inspections in the ERP system are a tool, not a solution. The tool is only effective when it is part of a broader quality culture:

1. Inspect consistently. Define which production orders require inspections and at which stages. Do not inspect selectively based on who the customer is or how busy the shop floor is.

2. Act on failures. A quality inspection that fails but is followed by no corrective action is just paperwork. Ensure every failure triggers a defined response.

3. Review trends. Periodically review inspection data. Which products have the highest rejection rates? Which vendors supply materials that frequently fail incoming inspection? Which production shifts produce the most defects? The data is in the system — use it.

4. Close the loop. When a corrective action is taken (rework, process change, vendor feedback), document the outcome. Did the rework pass re-inspection? Did the process change reduce the defect rate? This closes the continuous improvement loop.

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: For production orders with large quantities, define a sampling plan. Inspecting every unit is impractical for most SMBs. A sampling plan (e.g., inspect 10% of the batch, minimum 5 units) balances thoroughness with practicality.

Tip: Record the inspector's name on every inspection. This enables accountability and also helps identify training needs — if one inspector's pass rate is significantly higher than others, they may be applying standards differently.

Tip: Use incoming inspections to build a vendor quality scorecard. Over time, you will have data on which vendors consistently supply conforming material and which do not. This data is powerful during vendor negotiations and selection.

Warning: Do not create backdated inspections to fill gaps in your quality records. If an inspection was not performed, it is better to acknowledge the gap than to create a fictitious record. False quality records undermine the entire system.

Quick Reference

Inspection Actions