Incoming Inspection Procedure

Incoming Inspection Procedure

1. Purpose

Define the controlled process for inspecting purchased material received into Metrolane before unrestricted inventory use, including the revised sampling approach introduced for the July 2026 issue.

2. Scope

Applies to purchased items for which incoming quality inspection is required. It does not replace item specifications, purchase orders or goods-receipt records.

3. Roles

Receiving identifies and segregates the receipt. Quality personnel select the inspection sample and record results. Procurement owns supplier communication. Inventory acts only on documented dispositions.

4. Preconditions

A traceable receipt must exist. The item, supplier and received quantity must be known. Applicable inspection characteristics must come from approved controlled information.

5. Procedure

1. Identify the receipt, purchase order, supplier, item and received quantity.
2. Confirm whether lot control or other traceability applies and preserve that identity.
3. Apply a sampling approach proportionate to the controlled inspection need; do not infer acceptance from an uninspected quantity where the procedure requires inspection evidence.
4. Record every characteristic actually evaluated, including measured numeric results and descriptive visual observations.
5. Evaluate each recorded result against the approved criterion and record PASS or FAIL.
6. Separate conforming and nonconforming quantities when a result affects only part of the receipt.
7. Release only the quantity supported by a RELEASE disposition.
8. Route failed quantities through the nonconforming-material process for return-to-vendor, scrap or other approved disposition.
9. Retain the source references, results and disposition evidence.

6. Exceptions and escalation

Where the applicable criterion is unavailable or contradictory, stop the acceptance decision and escalate the controlled-document issue. Do not create an informal tolerance to complete the receipt.

7. Records

Goods receipt, purchase order, supplier/item identity, inspection results, holds and dispositions form the controlled evidence set.

8. Related controlled information

This version supersedes v1. See the Nonconforming Material & Quality Disposition Procedure and applicable item specifications.

Process controls

Personnel performing this procedure must use the current published version and the authoritative business records for the activity being processed. Source references, identities and quantities must remain traceable throughout the procedure. Where information is incomplete or contradictory, the affected work is held or escalated rather than completed using an assumed value.

Evidence and audit trail

Each completed execution of the procedure should leave enough evidence to reconstruct the decision path: the triggering business record, the information reviewed, the action or disposition selected, the responsible function and the resulting status. The procedure does not replace the operational transaction; it defines how that transaction is handled and evidenced.

Deviations and escalation

A deviation from this procedure must be explicit, justified and recorded through the responsible business function. Repeated deviations should trigger review of the procedure rather than becoming an undocumented alternate process. Matters that cannot be resolved within the responsible function are escalated to the appropriate owner while preserving the current state and evidence.

Version control

Only the currently published version should be used for new work from its effective date onward. Historical versions remain part of the controlled record so that earlier business activity can be interpreted against the procedure that was effective at that time.