| Policy: | Harrington Signal Inc. shall determine if products meet specified requirements prior to their use, if possible and practicable. |
| Purpose: | To define appropriate methods for receiving materials, components, parts, finished goods, etc., inspecting them when required, and determining their disposition. |
| Scope: | This procedure applies to receipt of all incoming items. |
| Responsibilities: | Receiving Personnel are responsible for receiving materials; inspecting for correct items, quantities, and possible damage/nonconformity; stocking items; and forwarding paperwork to Purchasing (issues with incoming product) or Accounting (paperwork).
Accounts Payable is responsible for paying invoices. The Quality department is responsible for contacting vendors in case of damaged shipments or discrepancies. Quality is responsible for conducting detailed examinations of incoming materials when required; recommending acceptance or rejection of goods to the Purchasing Manager or designate. |
| Definitions: | Certificate of Analysis (C of A) – External providers written statement, authorized by contract or purchase order, certifying that supplies or services comply with contract requirements based on quantitative instrumented physical or chemical analysis of representative samples taken from the shipment accompanying the certificate.
Certificate of Conformance (C of C) – External providers written statement, authorized by contract or purchase order, certifying that supplies or services comply with contract requirements, signed by a responsible individual, and displaying part number and version number, buyer’s purchase order (PO) number, PO date, and PO revision number. Also called “Certificate of Compliance”. Direct-to-stock (DTS) – Parts/supplies placed directly into stock without inspection; done to reduce duplicate inspections and where a vendor has a history of providing satisfactory quality. First article inspection (FAI) – Process monitoring of key characteristics to ensure that parts can be manufactured continually, inexpensively, in compliance with specifications, and with minimum variation. Positive recall – Where incoming product is released for urgent production purposes prior to verification, it is positively identified and recorded in order to permit immediate recall and replacement in the event it is found not in conformance to specified requirements. |
Procedure:
1.0 RECEIVING AND STOCKING
1.1 Receiving shall review all incoming shipment documentation against purchasing expectations (see QP1220 PURCHASING) and communicate such discrepancies to the Purchasing Department.
1.2 Receiving shall visually inspect all incoming shipments for possible damage.
- If damage is apparent (e.g., packaging is dented or punctured, leakage is evident), Receiving should notify the Purchasing Department and move the suspect shipment to the appropriate holding area for determination of disposition, in accordance with QP1030 CONTROL OF NONCONFORMING OUTPUTS.
- Management shall determine if a damaged shipment may be conditionally accepted and damaged items returned or the entire shipment is to be rejected and returned. The Purchasing Department shall file claims against the shipper, where applicable.
- If the shipment shows no signs of damage:
Information on the packing slip shall be matched with the incoming shipment; and Item inventory shall be updated.
1.3 Where the vendor and Harrington Signal Inc. have a “direct-to-stock” agreement in place, Receiving shall move incoming items directly to their appropriate storage area(s).
1.4 For items that must undergo a detailed inspection to conform to contractual or other requirements, Receiving shall notify Quality and move the shipment to the appropriate holding area.
1.5 Receiving shall update the computer System with the appropriate information, move incoming items to their appropriate storage areas, and forward the packing slip to Accounts payable for reconciliation with the related purchase invoice.
1.6 Receiving shall not place parts, components, supplies, etc., into inventory unless they are found to conform to specified requirements, unless they are released under positive recall or are DTS items.
2.0 DETAILED INSPECTION
2.1 A first article inspection (FAI) report may be required on some items (e.g., new parts, part revisions). If Harrington Signal Inc. requires an FAI report of the vendor, the Purchasing Manager shall verify that it addresses Harrington Signal Inc.’s requirements.
2.2 If multiple part numbers are included in a shipment, each part will be segregated and handled (e.g., inspected, put into stock) according to applicable requirements.
2.3 The Quality Inspector shall record found nonconformities (nonconforming red tag), review the event/situation and place those products “on hold” in accordance with QP1030 CONTROL OF NONCONFORMING OUTPUTS.
Regardless of that determination, the Quality Inspector shall maintain this record for vendor evaluation, in accordance with QP1120 EXTERNAL PROVIDER EVALUATION. The Purchasing Manager shall be notified of nonconforming product by the Quality Inspector.
2.4 The Quality Inspector shall stamp acceptable items and notify Receiving personnel to update inventory and place items into stock. Receiving label shall indicate part number (and other identifiers, if needed) and date of acceptance.
3.0 ITEMS RECEIVED WITH CERTIFICATES (C of C or C of A)
3.1 Items in this category, while similar to DTS items in that they do not require inspection, must be accompanied by a “C of C” or a “C of A” when moved into inventory. The certificate shall be filed by the Quality Manager and reference to the certificate.
3.2 Receiving shall notify the Purchasing Department when a C of C or C of A shipment is not accompanied by the required certificate and move the shipment to the appropriate holding area, pending investigation and resolution of the problem by the Purchasing Manager.
4.0 RECEIVING/INSPECTION REVIEW
4.1 The Purchasing Manager shall periodically review and analyze the ability of the receiving inspection process to ensure that externally provided process, products and services do not adversely affect the organization’s ability to consistently deliver conforming products and services to its customers.
4.2 Quality shall periodically review and analyze related reports for nonconformities and trends. If found nonconformities, trends, or occurrences suggest a need for corrective action, quality shall ensure that any such action is taken in accordance with QP1040 NONCONFORMITY AND CORRECTIVE ACTION.
4.2 The Purchasing Manager shall report to Top Management on the effectiveness of the verification, or other activities, necessary to ensure that the externally provided processes, products and services meet requirements and are communicated at Management Review meetings (accordance with QP1060 MANAGEMENT REVIEWS).
Effectiveness Criteria:
- Timely processing of incoming goods
- Timely inspection of received goods (cycle time)
- Material availability for production
- Production down time due to material shortage or poor quality is kept to the minimum possible
Revision History:
| Revision | Date | Description of Changes | Approved By |
| 0.0 | 07/03/17 | Initial Release | Jim Theesfeld |
| 1.0 | 8/17/18 | Digitized version | Todd Gifford |
| 2.0 | 3/12/2020 | Changed 4.2 from Purchasing to Quality | Dave Zirkelbach |