How to arrange a during-production inspection

Book against a process stage

Ask the factory to map the order from incoming materials through fabrication, assembly, finishing and packing. Identify where your main risk becomes visible and where correction becomes difficult. A dimension may need checking before assembly hides it; a finish may need checking after curing. Book against that stage, with time remaining for investigation, correction and another check.

Our inspection-stage guide explains the broader timing choices. For this visit, agree a readiness trigger rather than relying on a calendar date or an overall completion percentage. Request an updated production schedule and confirmation that the relevant operation will be running when the inspector arrives.

Confirm what output will be available

Before confirming travel, request dated photographs and a breakdown of material awaiting processing, work in progress, finished goods and packed goods. Ask for quantities by product variant, batch and production line, separating usable output from rejects and rework. Clarify whether photographs show this order or demonstration pieces.

Agree what must be available for meaningful checks, including variants and goods from the relevant operation. If output is insufficient, move the visit or record a narrower scope with your approval. Do not let a factory-selected display sample stand in for checks across accessible production. Record unavailable variants and stages as unchecked.

Agree inspector access before the visit

Obtain written confirmation of the site, factory contact and permission to observe the relevant line, select goods, measure parts and photograph findings. Agree access to material identification, process records, measuring equipment and factory test facilities where needed. Confirm arrangements for opening assemblies or consuming samples during destructive checks.

If a subcontractor performs the critical operation, agree a visit there or another way to obtain the necessary evidence. Ask the inspector to report restricted access immediately. Decide whether to reschedule, expand the evidence request or pause affected work; an inaccessible process should remain an explicit gap in the report.

Check unfinished goods against their stage

Give the inspector the current specification and define which characteristics can be assessed at each stage. Check accessible dimensions, component identity, joints, assembly sequence and visible workmanship against the relevant requirements. Distinguish a normal unfinished feature from a defect: an uncoated surface cannot yet be judged against the final coating requirement.

Record each selected item's batch, stage and measured result. Check finished output alongside work in progress where available, and list functions, finishes or packing checks deferred until later. Our report comparison explains the limits of each report. Manufacturers and importers placing products on the UK market must demonstrate compliance with relevant safety requirements; production inspection alone does not establish this.

Agree correction and verify the follow-up

Before the visit, name who can authorise a pause and who approves restart. For a defect, identify affected batches and ask the factory to separate suspect goods, investigate the cause and propose a correction with a responsible person and completion date. Record your decision on affected work in writing, including any conditions for continuing unaffected production.

Request evidence showing the changed process, identified reworked goods and results from output made after correction. Photographs should connect to batch identities and measurements, rather than merely show tidy products. Agree which findings require a return visit or repeat test. Use our corrective-action closure guide for the wider closure decision.

Keep unresolved and deferred checks visible in the final inspection brief. Approval to resume production should identify its scope and conditions; it does not release the finished shipment. Send Cambridge China Bridge the order specification, process schedule, access arrangements and follow-up requirements so its staff in China can coordinate the visit.