Inspection failed: how to get corrective action
Hold affected stock, preserve defect evidence and ask the factory to prove both the cause and why its checks missed it. Assign each change to a named owner, agree evidence and release conditions, then verify reworked stock and fresh production separately. Your factory follow-up can be coordinated by Cambridge China Bridge.
Define the failure and contain affected stock
Open a corrective-action record tied to the inspection report, purchase order, batch and specification revision. Describe the failed requirement, observed result and defect location. Attach labelled photographs, measurements and retained defective samples. Our inspection guide covers inspection stages and acceptance limits; this record should organise what happens after failure.
Ask the factory to segregate and label suspect finished goods, work in progress and related materials. Establish which batches share the material, machine setting or production period involved. Record quantities, locations and any goods already dispatched. Confirm who controls the shipment hold and who can authorise release. For UK consumer products, you must not sell goods you know, or should have known, are unsafe.
Require evidence of the cause and the missed check
Ask separate questions: what created the defect, and why did the factory's checks let it through? Request relevant material records, machine settings, maintenance records, work instructions and inspection results. Compare defective and acceptable units against those records. Treat explanations such as operator error or poor material as hypotheses until evidence connects them to the failure.
Ask the factory to demonstrate the proposed cause through a controlled comparison where safe and practical. If a setting is blamed, compare output under the suspect and corrected settings using the same measurement method. Keep failed samples identifiable throughout. Record unresolved questions rather than accepting an apology or training promise as proof.
Assign actions with evidence and approval gates
Keep containment, batch repair and prevention separate in the action record. For each action, name the factory owner, agreed completion date, evidence to provide and buyer-side reviewer. Agree rework costs, inspection costs and the proposed shipment decision in writing. A discount may settle a commercial issue, but it does not demonstrate that production has changed.
Match the action to the evidenced cause: replace a worn fixture, control an approved material, revise a setting or add a check at the point where the defect arises. Ask for the revised instruction and evidence that it is used on the line. Specify what must be approved before production resumes and before shipment is released.
Verify rework and fresh production separately
Before rework starts, agree how repaired goods will remain traceable and how they will be inspected afterwards. Check the original failed characteristic and any damage the repair might introduce. Ask the inspector to select samples from the identified reworked stock, rather than inspect only pieces presented by the factory.
For the next batch, confirm the action is implemented before the affected operation begins. Check output during production, then inspect finished goods against the agreed specification and acceptance limits. Record the batch, material source, settings, measurements and photographs. A sorted old batch can pass while the underlying process still produces defects; fresh production provides different evidence.
Close on evidence and keep recurrence visible
Before closing the record, compare the promised actions with implementation evidence and results from fresh production. Document any remaining uncertainty and who approves closure. A passing sampled inspection supports the batch decision but does not prove that defects cannot recur. Our corrective-action closure guide covers the closure decision.
Carry the failure mode, revised controls and targeted checks into the next order and inspection brief. Review subsequent defects and returns against the same record. If the same problem returns, reopen the investigation and reassess its scope and cause. Our guide to repeated quality problems covers the wider supplier decision.
Frequently asked questions
What should I ask for after a failed inspection?
Ask for an affected-stock list, defect evidence, a supported root cause, an explanation of the missed check, named action owners and agreed verification and release conditions.
Is rework enough to fix a failed batch?
Rework addresses existing goods. Inspect it afterwards, then verify fresh production separately to establish whether the change prevents the same defect.
What if the factory blames operator error?
Ask which instruction, setting or check failed, what records support that explanation and what process change prevents recurrence. A training promise alone is weak evidence.
Does a passing reinspection close corrective action?
It can support release of the identified batch. Close corrective action only after reviewing implementation evidence and results from fresh production against the agreed checks.