Inspection involves the examination of incoming consignments for quality. Very often there is a separate Quality Control or inspection department or Inspection and Acceptance Teams appointed by the Accounting Officer of the procuring entity, which undertakes this work for most, materials. Otherwise in some cases (in the absence of the I&AC) goods are inspected by Stores to ensure that the inspection procedures laid down are carried out before materials are accepted into stock.
Objectives of inspection
- To maintain the standard of the quality of the product by accepting materials only of prescribed specifications as per purchase order
- To receive only the right quantity of materials
- To make the supplier ever careful in supplying the right quantity and quality materials
- To utilize the money rightly, and
- To make the purchase and stores staff always watchful against any irregularity
Checking for quality
Apart of the procedure associated with the receipt of goods and their placement in the storage is a check for quality. A great deal of attention is being paid to quality in industry today; there seems to have been a realization that getting the product right is a paramount concern for any organization operating in a competitive environment.
The increased concern for quality, which is reflected in the widespread use of quality assurance schemes, quality circles, ‗right first time‘ initiatives and so on, has, paradoxically led to less rather than more inspection taking place. It has recently been reported that in a typical Western mass production manufacturing concern it would be employed as specialist inspectors, whereas in the equivalent Japanese company, where quality assurance activities have been developed to a very sophisticated level, one or two per cent would be the norm. The reason is of course that responsibility for quality is seen as being the concern of all, and checking is built into actual
production assembly processes.
Notwithstanding this ‗quality revolution‘, it is an obvious fact that defective material lying ready for use in the company store is a kind of time bomb, which will do its damage, or following the time of issue. The possible outcomes range from, at least, the inconvenience and costs of a user returning defective material for replacement, through the range of delays from minor production stoppages to the failure of a product in service, with possible serious damage, loss of customer goodwill or heavy warranty claims.
Advantages of inspection
If goods are inspected properly, the following advantages are expected to accrue from the inspection:
- The use of quality materials having been ensured because of inspection, it will be possible to maintain a steady rate of development and high standard of living
- The good will in the market will be enhanced because of high quality production that too, at comparatively lower cost, since inspection will assure the quality of materials going to the production department
- Feeding the production with standardized items will reduce the cost of depreciation and cut down repairs and renewal costs
- Standardization of goods is achieved
- Saving is achieved because of lower cost curve
