Do you need a quality inspection at the start of production?

A third party inspection company can perform many types of checks: before, during, at the end of production and even during the loading of shipping containers. One inspection that is very useful for importers is the First Item Inspection (FAI), also called initial quality control. What exactly is an inspection of the first item and why consider including it in a quality control program?

First of all, FAI takes place right after your factory has started producing the first mass production products, when 1% -10% of your order has been produced. The objective of this inspection is to verify the quality of the finished products, rather than the quality of the raw materials (which is done during a pre-production inspection).

The already finished products are compared with the validated samples, in order to communicate to the factory and the importer any potential problems from the start of production. The condition (such as storage conditions) and quantity of the raw materials are also checked, to confirm that all of the raw materials have arrived at the factory.

However, the inspector lacks time to check both: the quality of the finished products and the quality of the raw materials, because there can be thousands of different pieces coming together to make a product. The aim of the FAI is only to inspect the quality of the first finished products and find any faults that may exist.

By checking the products soon after production begins, potential problems and faults can be corrected early in the process, rather than waiting for all the goods to be produced. This avoids the situation in which a factory may have to reproduce all the goods. Instead of finding faults at the end of production and having to reproduce everything, the FAI saves precious time and money at the factory and the importer.

While your factory will be informed of the measures to be taken to correct product defects at the start of production, it is always recommended to carry out an inspection at the end of production. A pre-shipment inspection,  PSI (Pre-Shipment Inspection) , should be carried out to ensure that all necessary measures have been taken to correct the defects. As an importer, you should consider doing an ISP to avoid any surprise on the quality of your goods at the end of production. Many problems can be identified at the very beginning of the manufacturing process!