Third Party Inspection Company – TPI

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Third party inspection company

Some importers work with a few suppliers for a long period of time, and then find out that they should do regular quality control. Generally this decision is taken after a major quality disaster that wiped out a whole year’s margin.

But how can they justify this decision in front of suppliers that have not caused any quality issue in the recent past? We have seen several purchasers in this case, and they know the supplier will take it personally (or will feign to do so). Here is an example of justification:

We have a new company policy. A single quality accident might cost us huge amounts of money, so we will perform quality inspections before every shipment. We trust that you have good management systems in place, and we trust that you are constantly working on improving these systems. However, we need additional safety in the form of external QC inspections.

A third-party inspection firm brings a fresh pair of eyes in the factories. Your people are constantly working on the same products, and sometimes they don’t notice issues that will immediately catch the attention of an outsider. Yes, you read right. I believe the main advantage of third-party inspectors (over a factory’s internal quality controlers) is their fresh pair of eyes.

And, at the same time, it is a good argument to justify systematic QC without criticizing a Chinese supplier’s organization.

Pre-Shipment Inspection in China,pipe inspection,steel sheet inspection

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China Pre-Shipment Inspection
Quality issues on products manufactured in China do happen and they often impair business profitability, affect brand image on the market and can mean lost sales, product returns and factories stopping production.

The most traditional kind of inspection that is performed on exports from China is the Pre-Shipment Inspection before shipment. After production is completed and all merchandise is ready and packed for shipment, inspectors randomly inspect batches of products to check compliance to the specifications and requirements, including cosmetics, function and packaging. It is based on a statistical approach know as AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) and defined during World War II for the US military, that allows to test only a small number of units out of a large batch of products.

What is checked during a Pre-Shipment Inspection?
Three types of issues can trigger the failure of the inspection, and potentially the refusal of the shipment by the purchaser:

1. Conformity to specs:
All the relevant aspects of the product are controlled: quantity, components, assembly, aesthetics, function, size, labeling, packaging, etc.
Ideally, the buyer has constituted a document listing all the specifications of the product to inspect, and these specs become the inspector’s checklist. When no such information is provided, the inspector simply collects information for the buyer’s review.

2. Number of visual defects:
Based on the sampling plan, the inspector selects a predefined number of products at random. He checks them one by one, and counts the number of defects, which are compared to the AQL limits.

3. On-site tests:
Depending on the type of products, certain tests are included in the inspector’s job. For example: a product drop test on 3 samples, from 80cm high on concrete floor (if at least 1 sample breaks or does not function any more, the test is failed).

Pre-Shipment Inspection(PSI) will ensure your products are consistent and compliant with all country, industry or otherwise-specified requirements and that no critical major or minor defects appear.